I sort of don’t want to write this post because I haven’t really read or watched any shows this month. Well, I have, but May has really been an all or nothing type of month. I’ll explain this more in my “May 2017 Reflection,” which will be posted Friday, but basically, I’ve either finished reading a book in a day or two or binge-watched a season of a show in a day or two. That’s why I had a hard time either starting a book or starting a show because I knew I’d spend the entire day doing nothing else.
This definitely manifested itself in my blogging because I’d procrastinate so much on it. I also prioritized my job over writing, so that was an all-or-nothing situation, as well, because I wanted to put all my attention on one thing. I’ll go more into that in the next post, but here are some of my favorites from May.
//Books
The Handmaid’s Tale – I’ve wanted to read this book for a while, but the trailer for the Hulu show really piqued my interest. I ordered it at my local library months ago and it finally came. It’s really good. The copy I got was new, so the author wrote a note at the beginning in February 2017 about the controversy about the show and how it relates to what is happening in America right now. It was so interesting. I definitely recommend it. You can watch the trailer for the show here.
Eleanor and Park – I don’t know whether I should call this a contemporary or historical fiction novel because it takes place in the 1980s, but I know people would get mad if I called it a historical fiction novel because it sort of is. All it taught me was that I’m nerdy enough to understand all the comic book references, but not trendy enough to understand the music references (My parents are immigrants, okay. I did not grow up listening to old American music). It’s a cute contemporary romance about a Korean-American boy and a girl in an abusive home. I liked it. I finished it in a day.
The Hate You Give – This book is indescribable. It’s inspired by the black lives matter movement, but it’s not over-political. Here’s my friend’s review of it.
Al Capone Shines My Shoes (Audiobook) – This audiobook has been in my car for months now. It’s from the library, but they never fined me for it. It’s not even in my account! The reason I haven’t returned it is because my parents lost Disc 4. They’ve done this for so many other library disks, but I usually find them. If I find the disc for it, I’ll return it, but basically, all the music currently on the radio sucks, so I started listening to the book again. It’s one of my favorite historical fiction novels, so I didn’t mind, but there are seven discs and the one in the middle is missing. That’s a bit annoying.
//Movies
Everything Everything – I watched this on the day it came out, but it didn’t meet my expectations. The pacing was way too fast. It didn’t show the passage of time very well, like The Fault In Our Stars did. I think the only way to make romance movies and books work is if you keep it slow paced. The movie was still good, though. I liked the way they showed their text and email conversations. It was very creative.
(Sidenote: I think YouTube knows when you watch the movies because the trailers stopped filling up my ad feed almost immediately)
Kong: Skull Island – I didn’t want to watch this. My dad sort of kidnapped us and took us there. I don’t get men and action movies. They’re all the same. There’s a cooky scientist guy who believes in some strange phenomenon, his assistant, a rugged ex-government guy with a European accent, one badass woman with a name and credentials that make everyone else believe she’s a male before meeting her, and a foreigner who is usually from East Asia. Plus a bunch of men who die before you get invested in them. There are way more action movie tropes, but those are a few that are in every action movie my dad takes me to see. It’s fine, but it’s getting a little repetitive.
Hassan Minaj: Homecoming King – Oh my god, this comedy special is HILARIOUS! If you have Netflix, you should watch it because I had tears coming out of my eyes from laughing. My parents watched it too and we were doubling over. I could relate to every single thing he said.
//TV Shows
Anne With An E – I was sort of skeptical about the show because I loved the original. Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie will always be Anne and Gilbert to me, but I found myself falling in love with this show too. I think it’s because it’s so different from the books. I’ve already read a book and watched a movie that followed it. Watching another version would be boring. This one was so much darker than I expected and I loved it. I watched it in one day, which I didn’t think I’d do.
Cable Girls – It’s a Netflix Original, but this show was originally made in Spain. It’s about the feminist movement in 1920s Madrid. It’s really good. I want to watch the entire thing again in Spanish. Netflix did a good job at the voiceovers. If you’re not focusing on it, you barely notice that the words don’t match up with their lips. I loved it and can’t wait for the next season.
Friends – I know a lot of people are gonna hate me, but I’ve never been a fan of this show. I prefer How I Met Your Mother, but since I didn’t want to get obsessed with any new shows, I started watching one or two episodes of Friends every day and it’s sort of grown on me. I skipped around when I first watched it, so I just watched parts of season 4 and 9 this month. I’ve gotten the gist after hearing about it all these years. I think I’ll finish the show this month because there is so much fuss about it.
Imaginary Mary – I didn’t think this show was gonna be any good, but when I found out that Adam Goldberg wrote it, I was sold. After watching the first episode, I was hooked. It’s a nice quirky feel-good show. Unfortunately, it didn’t get renewed for the next season, but it was fun while it lasted.
The 100 – I promise that this is the last time this show will be on the list for another year. I know you’re sick of hearing about it, but it’s my favorite show. The season ended last Wednesday and I don’t know how I’ll survive until the next season comes. My friend Feza and I started texting like mad after the finale. I also rewatched most of the first season with my friend at the beginning of the month because I’ve finally convinced her to watch it. She likes it too, but the obsession hasn’t kicked in yet. (It took me a while too)
Baby Daddy – This show is officially over. I really liked this show, but the finale was nice and tied up all the loose ends. Can’t complain.
//Music
Whistle While You Work It by Katy Tiz – This has been my summer anthem. It’s so fun to dance to in the morning, I love it!
Imagination by Shawn Mendes – This is an old song, but it got stuck in my head, so I listened to it on repeat until it went away. I’m going to his concert in July with a friend. I’m excited because it’s been a while since I’ve been to a concert.
Finding Neverland Soundtrack – I watched the Broadway show at the Fox Theatre and really liked it. I’ll go into that later, but the soundtrack is all I’ve been listening to in the last two weeks. Neverland is my favorite song.
//Live Shows
Finding Neverland – I’ve been waiting almost a year to watch this show (I found out it was coming to Atlanta last summer). I was excited!!! Peter Pan is one of my favorite stories, but the play managed to surprise me. It wasn’t the actual story of how Peter Pan got to Neverland (That was turned into a Broadway show in the ’80s). It was about J.M Barrie meeting the boys who inspired the story.
James Barrie (the author or Peter Pan) would spend time with four boys (5 in real life) in Kensington Gardens. He had befriended their mother, Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies, whose husband had died of cancer (In real life, the father was still sick when they met, but the show didn’t cover that because it would’ve been confusing for the kids.) Barry was also married. He and his wife divorced. He never married Sylvia. It’s said that they were engaged, but that was never confirmed. She died before they could get married and left all her sons to be taken care of by him. It shows his relationship with the boys and how they inspired Peter Pan.
There were changes of course because everything couldn’t be fact, but it was still good. The original cast members who played Captain Hook and Wendy were in the performance in Atlanta. That was cool.
//Priceless
My Grandparents Came Home – They were in Bangladesh. They technically live with us, but they travel a lot. They’ll probably leave again soon because they prefer traveling in the Spring and Summer. I think they’re going to Calgary next.
My Cousin In New York Visited – She’s the one who got married last summer. Well, technically she got married two years ago, but their wedding was last summer. She and her husband came to visit. They were in Europe a few months ago and she was telling me how she couldn’t enjoy it because she was puking the whole time (she’s pregnant). They’re not telling anyone the gender, which must be torturing my aunt because they know it and aren’t saying anything. We’ll probably go to New York sometime this year to see the baby. That’ll be fun.
An Empty House – Classes ended for me on May 1st, which was three weeks before my brothers’ school ended, so I had the house to myself a lot. My grandparents didn’t come until two weeks later, my mother was out and my dad was working in his room, so I tried to relish the quiet while it lasted. Now, the house is full of people, so I probably won’t have any alone time for a while. It was fun while it lasted.
So Many Birthdays – My mom, dad, brother, grandpa, and five cousins had birthdays this month. SO MANY! Another one of my cousin’s and aunt’s birthday is tomorrow. There are way too many birthdays duringthe summer in my family.
Ramadan Started – I’m going to write a post about growing up celebrating Ramadan in America in the next week or so, so stay tun ed.
Well, those were my May Favorites. I hope you enjoy.
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What books did you read this month? What movies did you watch? What song was stuck in your head?