… and we’re already done with the first month of 2019! January was such a busy month for me, so I barely feel like I got anything done outside of university and working, but it was still a good month, so I don’t mind that much.
I started the year by spending New Year Eve with my family, my best friend and my boyfriend, which was perfect, then enjoyed the last of my holidays. On January 6th, I went on my first trip outside of Europe… I travelled to Algeria for a uni project and it was quite interesting. We got a lot of material for our project and had such a nice weather, it was a bit hard to go back to France in that aspect. The morning after I got back from Algiers, I started my four month long internship in a cultural institution and I've been working full time since then. I’ve been there for the past three weeks and I’m loving it, I’m working on interesting projects and everything I learnt in my new master is really helpful, it definitely is the right fit.
I feel like I didn’t have time for much outside of all of that, as I always was really exhausted when I got home, but I realize now that I’ve been out a lot in January, so that explains it as well. It was different from usual and I got out of my comfort zone a few times, but it was all for the best.
Truth be told, I didn't read as much as I usually do in January, but I didn't mind at all, for I was super relaxed about my reading and whether I was reading or not. I was doing my best, I was happy whenever I found time to pick up a book, and I think that's pretty great.
Here are the books that I read:
- Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, 5/5 stars (reread)
- The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi, 3/5 stars
- Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, 3.5/5 stars
- Mera: Queen of Atlantis, by Dan Abnett and Lan Medina, 3.5/5 stars
- A Clash of Kings, by George R.R. Martin, 4.5/5 stars
I decided to start the year by rereading my favourite book, Les Misérables, and it made me the happiest as it had been so long! If we don't count that one, though, my favourite was A Clash of Kings: it took me almost three weeks to finish it, but I am so obsessed with this world and didn't mind at all!
I went to the movies five times in January (we love having an unlimited movie card) and the best movie I watched was On the Basis of Sex. This movie is based on the life and early cases* of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with Felicity Jones portraying her. I had really high expectations for this movie, as I had been waiting for it for so long and Felicity Jones is one of my favourite actresses. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed: it was such an empowering movie, it had amazing family dynamics (especially between Ruth and her daughter Jane, who was so inspiring as well) and Felicity Jones delivered a stellar performance. Please watch it if you can!
*those cases were about discrimination on the basis of sex.
BOOKS // A Song of Ice and Fire
In December, I finally got started on A Song of Ice and Fire and adored the first book - it actually was my last book of the year - to the point that I only wanted to pick up the second book after that (I don’t usually like to binge-read series?). That’s exactly what I did: I started reading A Clash of Kings when I left for Algeria and finished it at the end of January, so I spent almost all of my month in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. I have a weird relationship with the show, I either couldn’t be invested less or can’t stop thinking about it depending on the seasons, so I can already say that I adore the books a lot more. I'm constantly thinking about ASOIAF, researching little details about it and apparently I follow a lot of people who love the books and show on Twitter too? So basically, I can't get out of this world and it makes me so happy, I had missed fantasy so much.
TV SHOW // The Good Place
I already watched and loved the first two seasons of The Good Place (it made it into my favourite TV shows of 2018) and I’ve started catching up on the third one now that it’s over. This TV show is just perfect to binge-watch, so I wait before getting into it because I always want to know everything straight away and not wait in agony every week (how dramatic). I'm now watching it with my boyfriend as I got him addicted as well and it's so much fun. I’ve been loving this third season so much, it is so clever and I adore these characters more than ever!
MISC. // Knitting
During my holidays, I picked up knitting again and I’ve been loving it again. I can’t sit still while watching movies and TV shows, I always end up checking my phone, so knitting is the best alternative, because I’m still occupied while watching something. It’s also quite a calming activity and helps me a lot when I’m stressed. This time, my mom taught me how to knit socks (so very useful when we’re getting snowy days) and I’m knitting my second one at the moment. Once I’m done with my pair of socks, I am planning on knitting a sleeve for my new e-reader, it would be perfect.
MISC. // AquamanYes, yes. How predictable, it already was in my favourite last month. I always follow the same patterns when I fall for a movie from a franchise: I'll rewatch it ten thousand times and get started on extra content... Which is exactly what I'm doing because I loved the 2018 Aquaman movie. I can't explain how much I needed this movie when it arrived in my life and that's one of the reasons I'm so obsessed, the others including the actors and the fact that it deals with the sea and I'm a sea person. So anyway, on top of rewatching the movie, I have started reading comics set in the Aqua-world through Mera's comic and I'm loving that! I need to read the entire Aquaman (2016) series to continue and it makes me so excited to read comics and have found a new fictional world to love. Mera and Arthur, I love you so.
I’m always really excited to get into February, because it is my birthday month and I intend to make the most of it! I don’t have anything planned, as I’ll still be working full time at my internship, but I’m hoping to finally get started on master thesis #3, continue outlining my work in progress, be more creative with my bullet journal and continue reading as much as possible.
I am beyond happy because both The Favourite and Mary, Queen of Scots are being released in France this month and I’m always there for period drama. I’m also already late with January book releases, but I intend on reading February releases as they come out: I’ve been waiting for The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (my most anticipated fantasy book, already pre-ordered) and Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers (I can’t believe we’re getting more His Fair Assassin books!) and I have an ARC of The Familiars by Stacey Halls to read, so that will pretty much be my TBR, haha.
What about you? How was the first month of 2019?
What did you read? Any new favourite TV shows/movies?
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