Reading wrap-up + Favourites | September 2018

Hello, beautiful people! 

September was such a long and busy month. I moved back to Paris, started my new master's degree and have been loving my classes, started talking to new people, fangirled too much, watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on the big screen for the first time in my life (!!), visited museums, enjoyed the beginning of Fall and saw my friends again. Of course it was exhausting at times and I need to remember to keep time for myself, but it was so worth it, I feel like my life is going in the right direction and it couldn't make me happier.

W H A T   I  R E A D

September has been a great reading month, I overall enjoyed every single book I read and also developed a thing for Greek mythology retellings: I so need them all! Well, I've been reading less and less because of uni (I read a book per week these days), but I don't really mind, it makes me happier when I finally have time to read! 

Here are the books that I read:

• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke, 4.5/5 stars
• Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales: a Selection, 3/5 stars
• The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker, 4/5 stars
• The Children of Jocasta, by Natalie Haynes, 3.5/5 stars
• Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray, 4/5 stars (reread)
• If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, 4/5 stars 
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, 3.5/5 stars
• Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, 5/5 stars (reread)

If we don't count rereads, my favourite book of the month was Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I had been looking forward to reading it for so long and it didn't let me down, it was such a complex novel, with amazing historical details and fleshed-out characters. I cannot wait to watch the adaptation at some point! I was also full in my autumnal reading in September, it was perfect!

F A V O U R I T E S

DRINK // Pumpkin Spice Latte

I'm not a very original person on that one, for everyone raves about Pumpkin Spice Lattes every year, but I adore it so much and it's the perfect Fall drink. Unfortunately, I couldn't drink too much of it because the weather was very warm for most of September, but now that it's colder, that's the only Starbucks drink I'll get until they stop making it. I still need to try to make my own, that shall be the plan for October.

MOVIE // Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Until this month, there was this one thing that had bothered me for almost my entire life: I had never watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in theaters. I was five when it came out and while I did read the book, my parents didn't want me to see the movie on the big screen, because I would have been too scared (now that I think about it, most Disney movies scared me BUT ANYWAY). However, I did watch the rest of them in theaters and it always made me so sad to have missed out on the first one. Then, this month, they aired the movies on the big screen again (thank you, France) and I was able to finally, after seventeen years, watch it there. I cried most of the time, because I was so overwhelmed and the wheel had finally come full circle. Like so many people, Harry Potter is what I grew up with and it means the world to me, so that was the best feeling in the world.

MISC. // French press coffee maker

For some time now, I really wanted to get a French press, not only for the aesthetic (#shallow), but because I really needed a coffee maker of some sort for when I moved back to Paris. My mom first got me a big one so we could use it at home and I adore the whole process and the taste, it's my favourite thing for sure. She then got me a smaller one (for one person) and I've been using it everyday, now that I've moved back to Paris. I obviously named the big one Lorelai Gilmore and the small one Rory Gilmore, I HAD TO.

TV SHOW // Gilmore Girls

Speaking of which, my best friend and I started our Gilmore Girls rewatch at the end of August and have continued in earnest throughout September. We even watch it at distance now, as we're living in different cities. Gilmore Girls truly is one of my favourite TV shows, it makes me feel good, motivates me to study as hard as I can and makes me want to drink coffee all the time. I had so missed my favourite character, Paris Geller. I also have a Gilmore Girls moodboard on my desk and that's the perfect study motivation.

(I love her so much and now 

I'm reaaaaally emotional)

FASHION // Scratch sneakers

I had to throw away my good old sneakers in August and it made me so sad, I had them for more than a year and a half and they were so comfortable, I travelled everywhere with them! With that came the need to get new sneakers and... I gave in to a cheaper brand that made cute scratch sneakers. I even put a golden star on one of my shoes and it made me love them even more, they're all the more unique. I used to not like scratch sneakers very much, but they're so handy, comfortable and I like the concept of them! It seems like they're trendy again because I keep seeing people wearing them and I so approve.

FASHION // Grey plaid dress

As I'm typing these lines, I'm actually wearing said dress. If I could wear it everyday, I would? Grey is one of my favourite colors (with purple and yellow), I adore dressing in it so much. While I was looking at clothes online and in stores, I saw that there were lots of grey plaid dresses in the autumnal collections, so I gave it and got myself one. Mine is super comfortable and has both blue and green lines as details on the sleeves, which is perfect for the Slytherclaw that I am! It also looks very cute with the scratch sneakers, so it helps its case!

L O O K I N G  A H E A D

October seems to be shaping itself like quite a challenging month, but I'm ready for it. Now that uni truly has started, I have lots of projects due, which is stressful, but also exciting, I am eager to study, study and study again. When it comes to reading, October means Victober and I am beyond happy to get back to Victorian literature as much as possible! I also have so many movies I want to see on the big screen (... five?!) and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will get released as a DVD in France! I cannot wait to get my hands on it and to rewatch it over and over again. Oh and of course, October is the best Fall month, it's time to do everything on my Fall bucket list now, right?

How was September? What did you read? Any new favourite things?

Lots of love,

Lucie