Hello, lovelies! Today, I’m sharing my April and May Favorites, where I talk about the books I’ve read, movies I’ve watched, etc. I hope you enjoy.
Previous Favorite’s Posts – March 2019 Favorites (Books, Movies, Music, Etc.)
//Books
Percy Jackson & The Olympians (Books 2&3) by Rick Riordan – It’s been so long that I forgot that I was rereading this series. The fourth audiobook came in from the library, but I was listening to something else at the time, so I had to put it on hold again. I definitely plan on finishing the series this year. When I first read the series, the second book was my least favorite and the third one was my favorite, so they were interesting to reread. I didn’t realize how much I had forgotten. I can’t really give you a summary here without spoiling the first book, but basically, the series is about the half-blood children of the Greek Gods and the adventures they have.
Peter Pan by J.M Barrie – This was my classic book for April and I really enjoyed it. Everyone knows the story of Peter Pan, but the original story has so much ridiculous logic that I wish was portrayed in the movies. Peter Pan is such a little snot and goes back and forth between being kind to mischievous. I really enjoyed it.
- Related – 12 Classic Books I’m Reading In 2019
Becoming by Michelle Obama – I listened to the audiobook and it was the first time I’ve ever had to speed up the narration. Michelle Obama is amazing, but she reads very slowly and deliberately which kind of took away from the story for me. When I sped up the narration, I could actually process the words. I don’t normally enjoy memoirs, but I enjoyed this one. The part that got to me was when she described getting a tour of the White House from former First Lady Laura Bush, and how she told Michelle she got the same tour by Hillary Clinton, and Clinton got the same tour by Bush’s mother in law. Then Michelle Obama stated that she was already happily anticipating giving the same tour to the next first lady. The book was very well-written and Michelle Obama talks about more difficult topics like couples counseling and IVF. I also learned a lot about the background of her children’s health campaign and how she had Walmart lower the prices of their produce. It was all very interesting.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson – This was my classic book for the month of May. I read it when I was pretty young and didn’t like it. People kept hyping up the book so much that I read it again when I was eight or nine, and I still didn’t like it. Now that it’s been over ten years, I wanted to see if I was wrong. Well…I wasn’t. I still don’t like it. I found it to be boring, mostly because I’ve read significantly better classic adventure novels that have much more interesting premises (i.e. Gulliver’s Travels; Swiss Family Robinson; Etc.). I kept comparing it to other classics, which is why I didn’t enjoy it as much. Here’s the premise: The son of an innkeeper, Jim Hawkins, gets hold of a map to Treasure Island. There are twists and pirates, and mutiny ensues.
Wires & Nerve (Graphic Novels 1 & 2) – These are the companion graphic novels to The Lunar Chronicles. I started the series in December and the first book even made it into my favorite books of 2018 post. I already miss this world. I read all four books and both companion novels before starting the graphic novel series, and it did not disappoint. Because it takes place after the events of the last book, I was able to see the political aftermath of everything that happened. It was sweet, action-packed, and funny. I was sad when it was all over because I got invested in these books very quickly. I can’t wait to reread them.
- Related – Top 10 Books I Read In 2018
Room by Emma Donoghue – This book was phenomenal. It was in the point of view of a five-year-old boy named Jack. His mother was kidnapped and locked in a room. Her son was born there, so his entire world was encompassed in those four walls. Because the story was from his perspective, we slowly learn and infer things about his mother that Jack doesn’t understand. I don’t want to give too much away because part of the fun of the book was figuring out the circumstances of the kidnapping. I highly recommend it.
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (Books 1-3) – I listened to the audiobooks for the first three books in this series while I was in Europe. It’s my favorite historical fiction series, by far. It takes place during the Great Depression. A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island with his family because his father gets a job as a guard. The reason these books have always resonated with me is that Moose’s sister, Natalie, has autism (which wasn’t a diagnosis at the time) like my brother. You’ve heard me talk about these books before. I reread them almost every year, but it struck a chord with me this time. I don’t know if it’s that I’m more self-aware, but I saw so much more of myself in Moose’s character than I have before. His reasoning for all his actions in regard to his sister and how he feels and acts around his family and friends are things I completely understand and actually do. (Especially in the third book.)
The Nightengale by Kristin Hannah – I love historical fiction, but I don’t read a lot of it because most of the genre is sad. I have to be in a specific mood to read the sad ones. The Nightengale takes place in France during World War II. It follows the lives of two sisters surviving the war. I don’t normally notice the writing style in books, but this book was beautifully written. It’s such an environmental book. You can feel the dust on your skin and the chill in your bones while reading it. I felt more sorrow during certain parts of this novel than I did while visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland (and I cried there). I learned a lot from this book and felt every emotion.
//Movies
Avengers: Endgame – I’m still getting over the depression caused by this movie. I drove the hour back to Atlanta on a Thursday to watch it with my brother the day before it came out. Now that I’ve had two months to process it, I don’t think I liked it. It was definitely an experience to have at the cinemas. One of my favorite parts about watching Avengers movies in theatres is listening to the audience’s reactions, but it’s not my favorite MCU movie by any means. I think the only character developments that made sense were by the ones who died. Everyone else’s choices and demeanors don’t make any sense. Some of it was trashed for the sake of comedic relief. The week after the movie came out was finals week, and 90 percent of my underproductivity was because of this movie.
Ready Player One – European Netflix has significantly better movies and T.V shows. I would download them in different countries and watch them on the tour bus on the way to each destination. I read Ready Player One back in February and really enjoyed it. The thing is that the book takes place over the span one and a half to two years, so there was a lot of time to develop the characters’ relationship with each other. The movie had a much shorter time frame, so while the action was great, the friendships and romance were not as developed. There’s this scene in the book between the main character Wade and the friend he likes, which was really well-written and emotional in the books because we saw them develop over time, but when it happened in the movie, I was thinking, “You’ve only known each other for TEN MINUTES! This doesn’t make sense!” That took away a lot. The movie was also completely different from the book. I still really enjoyed it since the bones were there and it was understandable that all the challenges would not have worked out on the big screen, but I can understand why other people would be upset by that. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I recommend both the book and the movie.
The Age of Adaline – I really wanted to watch this movie when it came out a few years ago but never got the chance to. It’s about a woman who stopped aging in the 1920s or ’30s and had to disguise her identity for decades in order to escape being experimented on. The premise was really interesting, but what really made the movie was Blake Lively’s acting. Prior to watching A Simple Favor a few months ago, the only movie I had seen her act in was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, so I hadn’t seen her in many films. She sold Adaline’s character perfectly, from the way she spoke to her general demeanor. The way she carried herself through the whole movie made Adaline’s situation very believable. You could totally see her being from another time period.
//Music
- Chariots by Jacob Lee
- Almost by Hozier
- Hold Me While You Wait by Lewis Capaldi
- Silhouette by Aquilo
- Somebody to Love by Queen – This was our “wake up song” on the bus tour in Europe. Five minutes before we had to get off the bus for any breaks, our tour guide, Fran, would play it so that we’d be prepared. I’ve listened to this song in its entirety at least fifty times.
//T.V. Shows
Kim’s Convenience – I broke my rule of not starting any new shows while school is in session. Both my parents were watching this show and kept recommending it to me. Thankfully, I didn’t binge-watch it. This is a very funny Canadian sit-com about a Korean immigrant family. It’s very much a slice of life type of show. It reminded me a lot of Blackish or Fresh Off The Boat in that it showcased a lot of POC experiences and humor.
Titans – I was very much against this show when the trailers came out. I loved Teen Titans as a kid, so I was wary about it anyway, but the trailer completely turned me off from the show. While I was in Europe, the first season of the show was on Netflix, so I thought I’d give it a try. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I wasn’t so invested in it that I needed to watch the next episode immediately, but the plot was really good. Robin ended up being my favorite character despite the fact he was my least favorite character in the original cartoon. I think I’ll check out the next season when it comes out. The show is very centered around Raven, which is cool since she has the most intriguing backstory. The show premises how all the Titans came together because of the people who were after her.
The 100 – My favorite currently running T.V show is back. They’re on season 6 now and I love all the science fiction elements they’ve added to it. I think this season shows that all the even number seasons are better than the odd numbered ones because the plot points in those seasons have been significantly more interesting. Also, the actors who play characters that end up together in the books and haven’t ended up together in the show yet got married last month. I’m all for a slow burn friendship to romance, but you know it’s been a long time if the actors got married before their characters even kiss on the show. Anyway. I’ve been anticipating every episode with a lot of excitement. I can’t wait for the next one. The 100 is a post-apocalyptic show where the Earth was irradiated and humans have to live on a spacecraft called The Ark to survive. All crimes are punishable by death, so the only living criminals are under eighteen. The prisoners are sent back to Earth because the Ark is running out of oxygen and they wanted to check if the Earth was survivable, so they sent expendable people to check. The show goes on from there. (A lot has happened since then)
//Priceless
My Cousin Visited With Her Daughter – One of my cousins in New York visited Atlanta with her family and we all got to meet her baby daughter for the first time. My niece is so cute!
Pohela Boishak (Bengali New Year) – Bengali New Year takes place in April. This year, my brother Zidan said, “I can’t believe it’s already April. So much has happened in 2019.” And that is so true. One thing I like about having another “new year” celebration a third of the way through the year is that it reminds me how much has happened since January 1st.
Moving Out – I moved out of my dorm at the beginning of May. It was bittersweet, but I was glad that the summer was starting. (And that I would be in the headspace to pack for my Eurotrip.)
My Trip To Europe – Definitely the opposite of “priceless,” but I can honestly say that I haven’t given the money a second thought. I spent a good chunk of my savings on this trip, but it was absolutely 100% worth it. That month in Europe is one I won’t soon forget.
That’s it for now! My next post will be my Italy travel diary.
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Did you read any good books last month? Movies? T.V Shows? Music?