Why Hawksley Workman loves Friday Night Lights so much (he watched it twice!)

"No one is different, everyone's alone," Hawksley Workman sang on Almost a Full Moon, "Let's make some soup 'cause the weather is turning cold." When the passionate rock-pop troubadour suggested a recipe against lonesomeness and the chill in 2001, he was just getting warmed up. Fifteen years later, he's released an illustrated children's book (also named Almost a Full Moon) adapted from that song. We asked the Juno-winning Workman about the things heating his own soul this autumn.

What he's watching: "Lately I've been splitting my time between two TV series, Friday Night Lights (for the second time) and Roseanne. The second time through Friday Night Lights is hitting me much differently – the themes of parenting and aging are coming across heavily. There's still a tear-jerk moment during every episode, and I love how the strangely understated melodrama works. I also love how the show is lit (or under lit). There is so much contributing to the handmade feel of the thing. Another American Gothic classic, Roseanne, was a big part of my childhood television watching. A brilliantly written and acted show, it's every bit as good watching it today. As in Friday Night Lights, the marital relationship is a central working theme, and John Goodman and Roseanne Barr are incredible together."

What he's reading: "I just finished André Alexis's Fifteen Dogs while travelling through France and Italy. I'm a dog lover; I fanatically anthropomorphize birds, cats, dogs. Fifteen Dogs is a stunning parable told through the eyes of sentient dogs. I loved the themes of tribalism and hierarchy. I really enjoyed living in the committed world of a dog's myopia of instinct, smell, inclusion, sex and eating."

What he is looking forward to: "I'm off to see the Saskatchewan singer-songwriter Andy Shauf in Peterborough at the Gordon Best Theatre on Nov. 26. [Shauf also appears in Hamilton (Nov. 23), Waterloo, Ont., (Nov. 24) and Toronto's Mod Club (Nov. 22 and 25).] Andy has been one of those rare artists to come along who I can genuinely get jazzed about. Lyrical brilliance, high-minded writing and arranging – he ticks the most important box for me when it comes to music: Is it fascinating? With Andy Shauf, that's a big, resounding yes."

Hawksley Workman's Almost a Full Moon Tour begins in Winnipeg on Dec. 5 (hawsleyworkman.com)