Reading wrap-up + favourites // May 2018

Hello, beautiful people!

As I'm typing this, I finished revising my master's thesis and I believe it is the best way to conclude the month of May (I can't believe I finished writing it on Tuesday, at long last!). May was a tough month, to say the least, because I was so stressed out about uni, as well as for other personal things. May still had good moments though, because I came back home to my parents' and will stay there for the entire summer, saw my best friend all the time, went to the beach, saw my grandmother getting better and saying she hadn't walked like this in twenty years, watched the royal wedding and cooked English food, watched too many movies and TV shows, fangirled too much and cuddled our pets. I feel like May lasted forever, so now I cannot wait to see what June will have in store for me.

W H A T  I  R E A D

I didn't read as much than usual in May, but I still have a pretty good wrap-up. I wouldn't say I was in a reading slump, I just didn't have time and when I did, I was in the mood to watch TV shows and that's okay. Here are the books that I read:

• The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie, 3.5/5 stars
• Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray, 4.5/5 stars
• The Oddling Prince by Nancy Springer, 2/5 stars
• How To Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake, 3.75/5 stars
• Guardians of the Galaxy (2013), issues #1-27, by Brian Michael Bendis, 3.75/5 stars
• Middlemarch by George Eliot, 4 stars

My favourite read of the month was, by far, Star Wars: Bloodline. By now, you know that a) I'm a Star Wars fan, b) can't write a wrap-up without mentioning it or Kylo Ren (yes, I did  it on purpose, it's a running gag at this point), so: there. Anyhow, Bloodline was my first Star Wars novel outside of the novelizations and it was brilliant! I loved reading about events that led to The Force Awakens, to see Leia again and to fall for Ransolm Casterfo (the author imagined him as Tom Hiddleston, I'll say no more). I also really enjoyed Middlemarch, it was my first George Eliot and I really want to read the rest of her works now. I'm planning on getting second-hand Victorian classics for the summer, so I can go back to them, I had missed them so.

F A V O U R I T E  B L O G  P O S T S

Ashleigh @ A Frolic Through Fiction went to Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare's birth place is!

Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales wrote an ultimate guide to YA books with mental health representation.

Morgane @ The Beauty and the Bookstore discussed why new romance shouldn't be treated as illegitimate and how it differs from erotic literature.

Cait @ Paper Fury announced her second published novel (!!) and interviewed herself.
Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books talked about how to find new ideas and inspiration to blog (the first gif is Andy Dwyer from Parks and Rec aND I SCREAMED).
Resh Susan @ The Book Satchel interviewed five readers who shared their reading habits and tips.
Marie @ The Bibliologist interviewed herself (I love those kind of posts because it's hilarious, okay?!) for her first bookstagram anniversary.

Robin LaFevers announced on her blog that the His Fair Assassin trilogy was getting new paperback covers, because the fourth book is coming out next year. She started revealing them, this month with the one for Grave Mercy and I adore it, I can't wait to buy them in October, then reread the series! 

F A V O U R I T E S

MISC. // Marvel

I started May rewatching Avengers: Infinity War, then almost every single Marvel movie with my best friend, who was catching up on them. I just wanted to rewatch the Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor franchises, but Marvel marathons are fun, so. Nevertheless, I wasn't quite done with Marvel yet. I needed more. I wanted to rewatch Guardians of the Galaxy again, but Caroline said we had just rewatched it. *sigh* It had been a week, so I really don't know why she said that. AHEM. So, to have more Marvel content, I started reading comics again and I couldn't be happier about that. It was perfect, considering how little reading time I had in May. I read Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) and it broke my heart, but it was really good (except for the crossovers where you don't have all the information, ugh)! So now that I'm back to comics, I shall catch up with Miss Marvel, I miss Kamala Khan.

MUSIC // Cinderella OST (2015)

I love listening to movie soundtracks while I'm studying, last year I wrote master's thesis #1 to The Theory of Everything, but master's thesis #2 was born from Cinderella. Fun fact: Cinderella was my favourite princess as a child and I love the live-action movie, even though it's cheesy, the cast is amazing (I mean, Hayley Atwell plays Lily James' mother and they're my faves) and I've been in the mood to rewatch it forever. Listening to this soundtrack always makes me in a good mood, despite studying and it makes me feel magical or something. Anyhow, I love it.

Now let's move on to the TV shows!

TV SHOW // Legion (FOX)

I hope everyone is pretending to be surprised that it's on the list this month. I was only half-including it last month because I had only watched two episodes, but I watched seven of them this month and I can't believe we only have two left. *cries* Do I have to tell you again how brilliant I find this show? Because it is. I had missed feeling confused 80% of the time, the soundtrack, Dan Stevens, the aesthetically pleasing visuals. Aubrey Plaza is really killing it this season (like in the first one), I'm still on the floor since I caught up with the show. I've been watching something else with her, so I couldn't help but compare a bit, I can tell you that she really is amazing in Legion, wow. The second season really is confirming the show as one of my all time favourites and I'm so grateful for one thing that happened in this week's episode. I knew I was right to love it all along. Thank you, Noah Hawley.

TV SHOW // The Bold Type (Freeform)

I binge-watched the first season of The Bold Type in two days at the beginning of the month and quickly became obsessed with it. It follows Jane, Kat and Sutton, three best friends who work for Scarlet, a women's global magazine in New York. Sometimes, you find the right TV show, the one that's perfect for you at that exact moment in your life, that's what The Bold Type was for me. It tackles topics such as immigration, sexuality, women in politics, the BRCA gene test, online harassment and so many others.  It hit very close to home so many times, to the point that it made me cry (granted, I cry a lot during TV shows/movies, but still) and I felt so grateful. The three main characters all now feel like role models to me, they were so empowering and I aspire to be more like them. I cannot wait for season 2 to start airing this June. I'd definitely say that The Bold Type is my favourite currently airing show so far this year!

TV SHOW // Parks and Recreation (NBC)

Last, but not least, I started watching Parks and Recreation not even three weeks ago, even though I had said I wouldn't start anything until I was done with my master's thesis. Oops. As you're reading this, I'm on the fifth season and I hadn't binge watched any TV shows that fast since Gilmore Girls. Anyway, Parks and Rec is set in Pawnee, Indinana, and follows the team from the Parks and Recreation department (duh) on their adventures. I will confess that I did start watching it because Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt were in it, but I accidentally fell in love with the show and there is no coming back. I'd rather watch it than read apparently?! It's funny, always makes me feel good, has relatable characters and I would almost move to Pawnee to work in the department by day and be a Mouse Rat groupie by night. *starts singing The Pit like there is no tomorrow* I'll buy the DVDs to rewatch at some point, because I won't be ready to say goodbye when I'm done... 

L O O K I N G  A H E A D

I am so ready for June. In a week, I'll have turned in my master's thesis for real, then will go on a little vacation with my family in the south of France, my boyfriend is also coming back from Sweden. It's gonna be a good month.

Here are some things I'm excited about:
> TV shows: The Bold Type season 2 and Poldark season 4 will start airing in June, I couldn't be happier!!
> Movies releases I'm interested in: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Love, Simon (those two are finally coming out in France!), Ocean's 8, Jurassic World: Falling Kingdom (yeah, it's just for Chris Pratt, his daily Jurassic World Lego stories won me ever and I shall miss them).
> Books releases: A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews, A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir, My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh, and So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y'all Don't Even Know by Retta.

What was the best book you read in May? 

What are your new favourite things in general?

I hope you had an amazing month in May and that June will treat you well.

Lots of love,

Lucie