#i need to do a rewatch and reread asap!!!

[tisdae]

i just finished heartstopper s2 n ahh!!! even tho i’ve read the books the show and the actors are amazing telling the story, @chronicintrovert thank you for creating this universe 💜

[titsthedamnseason]

just remembered when the internet outed kit connor and now i am FILLED WITH RAGE

[reigningqueenofwords]

Fucks

I've been trying to work on my mental health and shit lately. Part of that includes doing a reread of a few books I own: Unfuck Yourself, the Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, and You Are a Badass.

Not getting into detail about all of them, but one main point of the Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck is actually choosing what to give a fuck about. It's not saying be an indifferent asshole. It's saying that you need to make your fucks count. Like, do you really need to give a fuck that some guy online thinks you're weird? Not really. There's no point. But should you give a fuck about that weird thing your back has been doing? Probably. See what I'm saying?

My entire life I've given too many fucks about shit that I have no need to give a fuck about. What's that gotten me? Anxiety. A lot of fucking anxiety.

Last night, as I cuddled Xena in bed, I was thinking this over.

And I realized...I am not going to give a fuck about my writing anymore. I'm not going to stress over it. I get so worked up about getting work out that I get writer's block. I get so worked out to keep updating things ASAP. And why? For 4 likes, MAYBE a reblog, and the rare comment? "Write because you love it!" Because I know I'll hear that tired ass line. You know what? That's only part of it. You know what I love? Honestly (because one thing I will keep giving a fuck about is honest, but like...being totally honest), the validation. I love when people interact with my work. I love when I put something I worked on out where and people go bonkers over it. Why would I keep giving a fuck when I post it and get...crickets?

I'm not saying I'm quitting, either. I'm simply just choosing to write when the mood hits. No more sitting here and going "I need to write 500 words by tonight". I'll still update fics that are already written, though. That takes no fucks and no efforts lmao

I had another thought, but I have other things to do. And, frankly...I'd rather go do those things.

Also, rewatching Supernatural for the millionth time. I think the boys would be proud of me for choosing to not stress over silly shit. :)

[roncheg]

get to know me better tag meme

@idrilka, thanks for tagging me ♡

rules: answer all the questions, then tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

three ships: SEONHWI (my country: the new age), wangxian (mdzs), aaand i cant remember anything else at the moment, even wangxian feels a bit cloudyXD harry/drako in adult post-canon-slice-of-life AUs was always my comfort ship though.

first ship: oooh boy let me tell you a storyXDD it’s kind of irl RPF BUT (long story ahead!) -

here it is: i was ~15, and i was in a school hiking club, and we went on a 2 weeks mountain hike in two squads - older kids (last year of school) and younglings (like me, second to last year of school), supervised by our geography teacher. It was an amazing experience, we were responsible for everything but trail navigating and pace. 

And in the older squad (those kids were like only a year older than us but the gap felt insurmountable, they were Wise Adults (TM)) there were two leaders, two best friends, one tall, handsome and like aristocratic (but pretty outgoing) and the other one an inch shorter, with longer hair, always laughing, and he had The Guitar (TM) and was not afraid to use it. All the girls were either infatuated with one or the otherXD

So, those two cute guys, always tousling, sharing a tent (with three more boys, ‘cause limited tent amount, tents are f* heavy), laughing, constantly bickering with lots and lots of innuendos, ‘cause you know, teenagers))

And one evening almost at the end of the hike we were sitting around the campfire, and The Laughing One with The Guitar was singing the most heartfelt song about a breakup , which coinsidentally had a name of his friend in it, while looking straight at said friend with laughter sparkling in his eyes,

and my little maiden heart went - OMG are they......... you know..................... ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ 

(mind you, i live in a very homophobic country and it was as bad then as it is now, i knew in theory abt possibility of same-sex relationships only because i was a curious child who liked to read too much for her own good and i’ve found an uncensored version of greek mythology in my mom’s books on the topmost shelf; but it was like historical and not applicable to modern society in my mind, so those two guys might’ve been pretty intense to even put a thought abt that possibility irl in my head))) 

* in retrospect, a lot of my fictional ships make so much sense nowXDD i’ve just imprinted on those two guys)))*

//and if we are talking fictional ships - the first one would be Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Byakuya (Bleach)))))

last song i listened to: Иду - Танцы Минус 

last movie i watched: /last movie i watched that left an impression, i def watched smth else after but can’t recall what was that/ - Triangle of sadness. Don’t go for arthouse usually, that genre can be too pretentious or too revolting for the sake of revolting but this one was good..

currently reading: i mostly read fanfiction these days; if we mean a novel - then Thousand autumns (it’s on pause, i’m too into my current obsession)))); reread some of shorter stories by Olga Gromyko last weekend, needed comforting)))

currently watching: psyching myself to rewatch MCTNA, planning do dive into WDH’s & Yang Se-jong’s filmographies; planning on watching A league of noblemen (gifsets on tumblr look intriguing);

currently consuming: nothingTT_TT food needs to be prepared asap

currently craving: roasted tofu from that one cafe my friend dragged me to last month*////*

tagging (not obligatory! ♡) @gorgeousgalatea, @dadwife, @opticor, @rej11, @soleil-tiara, @smallwinterchild, @turtlewobbles, @maureen2musings, @notenoughgatorade

[longinglook]

reveal your watch & rewatch drama list

thank you @tutontawans for tagging me!!!! my watchlist is a bit of a distaser atm while I get used to working full time and I catch up on the year of life I missed while writing my thesis

currently watching:

enchanté: OBVIOUSLY. as if i could talk or think about anything else rn. I am so in love with it my third eye has opened i am the you need to have a high iq to get this show rick and morty meme about it. if you don’t get it you are simply wrong

cherry blossom after winter: i am being held hostage by this show meaning I am a completionist and will not drop anything but I desperately want to. jinuk is doing the best he can with what he’s given (literally nothing), I am pity watching for johyun’s career

cutie pie: i am here for zee nunew and perth as people but it’s a struggle. i just think that the novel it’s adapted from is not for me bc overall as a Concept this sort-of-arranged marriage/we’ve known e/o for years but we’ve been acting as someone else because we don’t really know e/o IS interesting but I don’t like the way it’s going

remember 15: started it for zee, stayed for everything else. I am super into it and it’s an extremely well done show, super violent and gore-y so I would not recommend it to everyone, but it has me wrapped around its finger. so sad it’s ending next week, I’ve loved trying to predict its twists and turns

lovely writer: this is one of those shows I missed out on last year while trying to graduate so I’ve been veeeery slowly catching up. I am halfway through and it hasn’t hit yet sadly so I’ve been struggling to remain interested

starting soon:

star in my mind: i will mostly be watching because I need a friday show to make sense of my weeks + I am curious to see how Joong will do. the trailer was just okay so it’s hard to tell how much I will actually enjoy it

kinnporsche: the trailer looked stunning, we’ve been waiting for centuries, I am very excited for some action. I need it to fill the manner of death shaped hole in my heart

a very large amount of korean bls I can’t keep track of: i never thought there would be so many i’d struggle with keeping up but here we are now. I know blueming is starting soon but there’s also like 1000 other ones filiming rn and who knows which ones I’ll actually end up watching (to my star 2 for sure)

rewatching:

I am currently not rewatching anything but I sort of have a list I want to get to? so here it is:

i really need to rewatch dark blue kiss it’s been so long

same with sotus/sotus s, they’re like classics you have to reread every once in a while despite being old and some parts of it have aged badly

also cherry magic rewatch soon i think (in like 3 weeks when I’ll be frustrated bc I can’t watch the movie)

and maybe 1000 stars??? it hasn’t been that long but I miss the little village and the forest and the people it felt like I was there with them

also not a rewatch but i still need to catch up on kieta hatsukoi so that’s going to happen asap

[izzy-b-hands]

Quarantine Tag Game

Tagged by @dabitchisback thank you!! I needed something to get me through this very slow morning of work!

Under a cut because y’all know I’m a wordy motherfucker lol.

Are you staying at home from school/work? 

Yes I am! I actually requested to be moved to work from home in part due to the COVID-19 stuff and due to some coworkers behaving like high schoolers and flat out bullying me (and I had had enough of that shit once it started making it hard to do my job lmao.) 

So just as they were setting it up for me, the clinic suddenly started realizing how serious this was and all of a sudden, they could find all the money for all the work from home equipment for a bunch of us in the non-direct patient contact side of things (funny, considering I’d begged to work from home over a year ago due to how bad my anxiety was getting with coworkers and patients when I was still in the direct patient contact part of it all, even offered to pay for the equipment, and was told it would always be too expensive and never be in the cards, even after my therapist recommended it for the sake of my mental health and blood pressure. Funny. that. Real funny.) 

If you’re staying home, who’s there with you?

Mostly my cat, Nisha. My mum works at the same clinic, but is front desk, so they’re rotating who goes in to the clinic and then who gets days off “to keep the financial health of the clinic” aka begging anyone who stays home for a day off (or in my sector who takes a day off due to reduced call volume) to take that time unpaid and not use PTO or EST...but we both have that time to use, so it is Being Used or we won’t be able to keep the lights on or the condo lmao. However, she does have assigned days off coming up, so on the weekend and those days off, my mum is here too. 

Are you a homebody?

Ohmygod yeah. The older I get, the more I dislike going out in general like. I work a full time job, I barely have time for chores or relaxation after, even now being work from home because scared patients asking you questions you can’t answer or don’t have an answer to (because no one has answers right now) just...idk how to explain it. But it gets weirdly exhausting, even though it sounds like it shouldn’t, and by the end of my 8 hours I just wanna lie on the floor and nap usually. So going out has never been my thing too much, because then my writing/chores/nap time gets neglected lol. I don’t mind the occasional appetizers and drinks night with mum and her friend, back when we could go out, but tbh it’s just nicer still to drink at home. Even on vacation, I go out more than usual, but also if there’s a night we can drink in the hotel with the mini bar, and just enjoy being somewhere other than home...I will take that night in a heartbeat. 

My anxiety also doesn’t love going out, but I’ve been working and getting better at dealing with that. Of course, current times might mean a bit of a setback, but I’m going to work really hard for it not to be too bad. I haven’t been in six years of therapy for nothing lol.

An event that you were looking forward to that got cancelled?

Um...does my root canal count? And I wasn’t really looking forward to it per se, I just am afraid of the tooth getting worse and starting to have worse pain. 

Other than that, it hasn’t been cancelled yet because we’re playing it all by ear (but I admit I’m afraid it probably won’t happen due to the virus stuff, even if it’s over by the time this thing was supposed to happen), but I have a trip to New York City planned with a good friend in August. Even if things have calmed down, I know New York has gotten hit extremely hard, and if they’re still fighting with the aftereffects of it all...might not be fully open for business by August so to speak. And besides, with everything as it is right now, and the talk of a vaccine being at minimum over a year away, with periods of possible social distancing needed even if this calms down but possibly goes through flare ups until a vaccine is ready...travel might not be back to normal for awhile, I can’t say more than anyone else on that I suppose. I’d really like it to be, by August, I admit that as selfish as it is. I was just really looking forward to it, kind of living for it even, and now...yeah. 

But, better to be at home and healthy in the end, travel insurance exists for a reason, and trips can always be rescheduled. 

What movies have you watched recently?

Haunt (Mum and I never got to see it when it was in theaters), Queen Rock Montreal (my go to oh no I’m sad movie), Tammy (a fave of mum’s, and we both just like Melissa McCarthy in general), and Jojo Rabbit. I’ve got a bunch I bought and rented just last night too (maybe not a smart financial decision, but I’ll deal with that when I have to lmao), since it feels smart of have a backlog of stuff to watch right now.

What shows are you watching?

Mostly rewatching the IT Crowd, the Office, Travel Man, and other tried and true faves. It helps mum to relax since she loves all those too (including any episodes of 8 out of 9 Cats Does Countdown I can find, I finally got her hooked on that!) Basically if it has a chance of Richard Ayoade or enough episodes to keep us going for a bit, then it’s on the list to watch.

What music are you listening to?

So many. No, but legit, I’ve been all over on Spotify as of late, especially searching for music to help the fic writing. A lot of Queen, Elton, Clams Casino, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, David Byrne, Childish Gambino, St. Vincent, and Moses Sumney especially.

What are you reading?

Fanfic, trusted news sources like AP, Reuters, updates from WHO, wanting to reread Mercury and Me and Elton John’s Me, and really need to get back into reading And The Band Played on by Randy Shilts (started it right as shit started to get wild, so it got put to the side, but I want to finish it asap.) 

What are you doing for self-care?

Trying to enjoy that this is also the trial time to see if I want to make work from permanent (work is making me make it a trial, I’ve wanted to work from home for years so...yes is the answer to that lol) and what I can do now that I’m home, like work more on my writing and music. Not to mention, eating foods that normally upset my stomach/I have sensitivities to like meat and dairy (I might be developing straight up allergies to them, but we all know I can’t afford to see an allergist lmao) but that since I’m safe at home where I be sick and still work...I can indulge. I can also play music more and movies so long as I pause them if I get a phone call during work hours, so overall I’ve been a lot more relaxed and my BP is down during work as a result, which is something I’ve never really felt before in my life, and I’m rather enjoying. 

Aside from that, video games have also made a resurgence in my life, especially Saints Row, and that’s been fun as well. 

All of this in between taking care of Mum of course, who worries and panics, and tends to believe everything she hears and reads and watches without thinking critically or carefully, so...that’s been a thing. 

Actual therapy appointments would be my best self care of course, but the last few have been cancelled due to everything going on. This week, however, my appointment is supposed to be done via telecommute and I should finally get to catch up with my doctor, which I admit I need pretty desperately right now. It’s getting hard feeling like I’m on my own, helping soothe others but struggling to soothe myself most of the time. But, c’est la vie, right?

Tagging (if y’all feel up to it and wanna!): @skylinepigeon, @freebooter4ever, @bearkare, @rathernotmyname, @galaxy-starheart, and @youdontrememberthesomme

[paradoxhamartia]

About me

I was tagged by @nimudashh. Thank you so much for thinking of me! :D

- How tall are you?

Haven’t checked in a while, but last time i was 1.86 cms.

- What color and style is your hair?

Black. About the style...do i even have one? My hair are so afro that it’s almost impossible to find a way around their consistency, in order to give them some kind “of style”. I tried multiple times, in so many ways, to make them softer so that they could be worked with, but...it was always a failure. The most i can do is get a regular ass haircut. Eh.

- What color are your eyes?

For the longest time, i just assumed they were two pits of absolute, dark black. Turns out, they’re actually an extremely dark shade of brown. But if you look at them under a direct/strong light, you can clearly tell that they are brown.

- Do you wear glasses?

Yes, i do. They are a part of me, at this point. I’ve been wearing them since i was...seven? Eight? Still, it’s been a long ass time. They are my most valuable tool for living, cause without them i literally cannot see a single thing. I would die in something like, 30 minutes. If you want to kill me and get away with it, literally just take my glasses away and i’ll do the rest on my own.

- Do you wear braces?

Nope, never had to. The dentist always said that i have the most beautiful teeth he ever saw.

- What’s your fashion sense?

I’m really just a huge slut for beauty and elegance. Still, multiple individuals told me that my style is really close to that of an hipster. I guess.

- Full name?

I have two names. An italian one (Marco) and a senegalese one (Youssoupha).

- When were you born?

October 9th 1997 (i’m a libra).

- Where are you from and where do you live now?

I was born in Dakar (Senegal) and i lived there until i was around one, with my motherly relatives. At that point, my italian relatives came in and took me with them. Since then, i’ve been living in Abano Terme (a thermal city extremely close to Padua, near Venice).

- What school do you go to?

At the moment i’m working, but in the past i went to this Liceo Classico named after Tito Livio (in Padua). I’m also preparing myself for an audition at a drama school in Milan. I’ll probably give it a shot in around a year.

- What kind of student are you?

The smart but extremely bored one. Every professor had to go extra hard in order to keep me entertained. I was lost in thoughts 90% of the time.They always joked about how i was a philosopher that time traveled into the wrong era, lmfao. And my classmates always asked photos of my notes.

- Do you like school?

I loved it. When you go to school, you get to learn something new. You get the possibility of looking at reality from yet another, new viewpoint. Also, going to school forces you to stay with others. And i’m an extremely social individual. Being alone kills me. So, yeah. High school was dope.

- Favorite subject?

Mostly the ones related to human sciences. Aka ancient greek, latin, philosophy and history.

- Favorite tv shows?

My fave ongoing show is Shameless. Yes, i know it’s basically a shadow of its former self. But it’s my dear child and i’ll always love it, even tho it has obvious flaws. I recently discovered Now Apocalypse. It’s most likely fave material, can’t wait for season 2 to drop. If we’re talking about shows that already ended, Awkward (known in italy as diary of a superstar nerd) was my shit. Started a rewatch the other day. I love it so much.

- Favorite movie?

This will probably put a smile on your face, but it’s a tie between LaLaLand and Moonlight. They both resonate with me on extremely deep levels.

- Favorite book?

South of the border, West of the Sun (by Haruki Murakami). I could talk for weeks about this book. I resonate with Hajime so. Fucking. Much. Looking for an event to consider the “real beginning of your life”, so that you can completely invalidate the past that you simply cannot accept, is something that i do as well. Always looking for “rebirth”, basically (coff ken kaneki complex coff). But the one character that really pierced my heart was Shimamoto. We both are that kind of person that naturally attracts others, but is unable to be understood by them. We both are that kind of person that finds inconceivable the idea of being completely honest about the situation we’re living, even with those that are extremely close to us. That book is a gem. I’m rereading it asap. Higly recommended.

- Do you have regrets?

Having regrets is basically my main personality trait. Most of the time i’m unable to focus on the present cause i’m too busy wondering about what i could have done differently, and the scenarios that could have been but will never be cause of the choices i made.

- Dream job?

Actor/writer (for both books and series/movies).

- Do you like shopping?

Yup. As i said, i get easily bored. So i need to keep myself stimulated with new stuff.

- What countries have you visited?

Oh boy. Need some focus for this one. Italy (fucking duh, Marco), France, Spain, Germany, England, Sri Lanka, Senegal (again. no shit sherlock) aaaaand...that’s it? I think so. Dunno tbh.

- Scariest nightmare you have ever had?

I had this recurring nightmare where i was running aways from Gollum (he scared the shit out of me as a child), and while he was fast as fuck boiiiii i was extremely slow (imagine running underwater) so he always managed to get me and eat me alive. But if we’re talking about something recent...i would say my two cases of sleep paralysis. The first time it was about the main hunter from Bloodborne. But the second one is the one that really scared me. Korekiyo Shinguji came and, unlike the hunter, he didn’t just stare at me from a corner of the room but he legit came on top of me and chocked me. It was so surreal cause i could physically feel his hands around my neck. Weird. Especially cause i, like, really love Korekiyo as a character.

- Any enemies?

Not really. I’m that kind of person that goes along with everyone.

- Do you believe in miracles?

If with miracles we mean extremely positive but random events, yes. If we’re talking on the religious side, i dunno. My whole thing with religion is that i really don’t care about it (aside for the philosophical side of it) cause even if there’s actually a God i wouldn’t really be ok with how he’s managing this whole humanity thing so, yeah.

- How are you?

Don’t want to seem like a major edgelord so let’s just SKIP.

I’m too awkward to tag anyone, and also 90% of y’all probably already did this. So, if you see this and feel like it, just go for it.

[haleyfury]

If you couldn’t tell by the title, today is my twenty-second birthday. To say the least, it’s definitely a weird birthday thanks to our current reality. I’ll be going out shopping – in mostly outdoor shopping outlets –  for the first time since January and I have plans to celebrate with friends later on this week. 21 was a big growing up year for me, and despite the events of the last five months or so, I loved being 21. I think 22 is going to be another big growing up year for me, as I navigate post-college life, real working world and grad school included. I’m trying to be more optimistic and less stressed in August, and I want to do my best to carry out this attitude this year!

I wanted to bring some birthday cheer to the blog today, so I’ll be sharing 22 of my favorite things that have brought me so much joy this summer, in the forms of books, TV/movies, and podcasts – you’ll likely recognize a few repeats from my monthly wrap-ups but I can’t stop gushing about them so much! I also didn’t want to share strictly books because I recently shared my favorite reads of 2020, and let’s be honest yearly wrap ups or a summer wrap up will be here before we know it!

Books

Some books that I’ve LOVED but haven’t shared too many details about yet or full reviews for include: 

The Heir Affair (The Royal We #2) by Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks – I feel like I’ve mentioned The Heir Affair in so many blog posts this summer, but I officially read & finished it last week… and I can’t stop thinking about this sequel to The Royal We! I actually got too impatient to wait for a physical copy from the library, so I borrowed a digital copy and devoured it on my Kindle in about 2 days. The Heir Affair was everything I wanted in this sequel, and while I’m really content with the way it ended, I seriously would not mind a third book. 

Anna K by Jenny Lee – Anna K is hands-down one of the best YA books I’ve read in 2020. I’ve come to realize that I don’t want to use the Gossip Girl meets Crazy Rich Asians comparison because while it has GG vibes (and honestly not really CRA), it is such a story of its own. I loved its Anna Karenina retelling, and it just felt so mature. I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on the upcoming sequel. 

Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman – I didn’t write a review of Deborah Feldman’s Unorthodox, having just included in in my July wrap-up, but it definitely didn’t do how much I loved this memoir justice! This was another Kindle read because I didn’t want to wait for a physical library copy. I watched the Netflix adaptation back in March, and while I feel like the show captured the spirit of the book (Deborah Feldman was also a big part of the project), her memoir is just so, so good and so different from the show. Almost immediately after finishing it I borrowed her second memoir, Exodus, and enjoyed that read too. 

From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon – I admit that I’ve become more critical about what historical fiction I pick up because of my coursework and reading in Holocaust Studies, but I thought From Sand and Ash was a really well-written and untold story set during WWII. The book follows a Catholic priest and a Jewish woman who were raised together pre- WWII and the efforts the two go through trying to hide Jewish people in WWII time Italy, while they also have feelings for one another. 

Books I’ve also loved, but also feel like I’ve been talking non-stop about include:

All Adults Here by Emma Straub – Seriosuly, everyone needs to give all of her books a chance and I think her latest release, All Adults Here, is the perfect one to start with.

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle – The BEST contemporary romance I’ve read this summer (and maybe ever??). 

Beach Read by Emily Henry – The.hype.is.true!!! Please take this one with you on your travels to the beach, pool, or bed this August! 

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo – Such a must-read YA book. I loved Emoni’s story about raising her daughter and her dreams of going to culinary school. 

Have a Little Faith in Me by Sonia Hartl – If you’re looking for a YA book with great discussions surrounding sex and religion (and want to transport yourself to summer camp), Have a Little Faith in Me is the perfect read for you. 

10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon – It really isn’t summer without a Sandhya Menon book, and her latest release is another must read, especially for those who love frenemies-to-lovers.

Some romance reads I’ve talked A LOT about and have really enjoyed include Colleen Hoover’s Verity, Hannah Orenstein’s Playing with Matches, Robinne Lee’s The Idea of You, & my reread of Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments. 

TV/Movies 

Below Deck Mediterranean S5 (Bravo) – Below Deck has pretty much been my reality TV obsession since stay-at-home life started back in March. The latest spinoff season, Below Deck Mediterranean, might just be my favorite season yet. I love the crew and its female leadership and the drama has me so hooked this season especially. 

Selling Sunset S2 & S3 (Netflix) – I really think Selling Sunset might be my favorite Netflix reality show. I watched the second season over Memorial Day weekend, and at the time I’m writing this post, I’ve watched the first 6 episodes of season 3. I know I’ll likely have finished the whole season by this morning! I admit that the drama between the women is way over the top, but at the same time, I can’t get over the extravagance of their lives & jobs. 

The West Wing (NBC/Netflix) – The West Wing has been my family’s watch since about June. I think because of Parks & Recreation, it often pops up on my Netflix recommendations. My parents decided to rewatch it, especially because major league sports hadn’t been on for a while. I’m still on the first season – we’ve slowed down since baseball came back on- but I’m ready to sneakily watch it on my own because I love it so much.

Sleepless in Seattle (Netflix) – You might know that I love movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s, so it might seem really weird that I’ve only just watched Sleepless in Seattle for the first time! I really loved it! I enjoyed it a lot more than You’ve Got Mail, but I still have to watch When Harry Met Sally so I can properly share my rankings. 

The Politician S2 (Netflix) – If you’re craving a slightly ridicuslous, but absolutely addicting watch, please go watch The Politician ASAP. I think I liked the first season more than this second season… but that doesn’t mean I didn’t finish it in less than two days and find myself listening to Ben Platt’s cover “Corner of the Sky” all the time. 

Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet (Netflix) – I’ve recently realized that Sugar Rush might just be my favorite baking competition show! I feel like it’s so refreshing from other American baking shows because the judges are just so nice and not super critical, and I really love the themes in this season. 

The Babysitters Club (Netflix) – The Babysitters Club is another thing I feel like I keep mentioning in posts, so I think that’s enough of a sign that it’s time for you to watch if you haven’t! 

Podcasts

Bad on Paper – Bad on Paper is definitely going to make it’s way on to my yearly favorites wrap-up. I’ve really ventured into the world of podcasts in 2020, but Bad on Paper is my absolute favorite. I specifically make time to walk or do some sort of activity (mostly baking or cleaning) so I can listen to their new episodes on Wednesdays. Their podcast is such the perfect blend of books and conversations about careers, life, shopping, pop culture and more. I also love reading Grace’s blog, The Stripe, and I loved the first season of Becca’s RomCom Pods. 

“Behind-the-Scenes of Book Marketing with Morgan Hot (@nycbookgirl)” Episode by Sarah Bookshelves Lives – Another favorite bookish podcast of mine is Sarah Bookshelves Live. She does bi-weekly episodes in the summer- I also think she’ll be starting the fall with bi-weekly episodes as well-, but my favorite so far has been with Morgan of the bookstagram, @nycbookgirl, who also works in publishing. I loved her insight on the industry.

What have some of your summer favorites been? Any I mentioned? Do you have any book, TV, or podcast recommendations for me? Share in the comments!

Happy 22nd Birthday to Me: 22 Favorite Books, TV Shows & More  If you couldn’t tell by the title, today is my twenty-second birthday. To say the least, it’s definitely a weird birthday thanks to our current reality.

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Unpopular Opinions Tag

This was created now over 3 years ago by the Book Archer, and I don’t know why, but I really felt like I wanted to do it. So without further ado, let’s get into the questions.

 A popular book or series that you didn’t like:

 I think the most popular of the books I haven’t liked is Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. I just found this book excruciating to read, I thought the premise was underutilized, I hated the main character and all the supporting characters and the ending was convenient in a way that really annoyed me. 

 A popular book or series you like that everyone else hated

Hate is a strong word; I think polarizing is a better descriptor for both of these, which are the Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff and the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. I love both of these series, but they are rather polarizing.  Nevernight is a book about a teen assassin full of violence, gore, explicit sex and murder so I guess if you don’t like any or all of these stay far far away. But it’s also a book full of humor, an interesting plot and magic system and one of the most interesting and fascinating fantasy worlds, I’ve ever read.  Inheritance is a classic fantasy dealing with dragons and words of power, written before Skyrim was a thing, which has one of the most likable protagonists I’ve ever read. I love Eragon and Safira they are an amazingly cute pair and I liked how much the series expanded after the second book, though I think that’s where most people take issue with the series in that it expands maybe too much for the scope of the first book. 

 A love triangle where you hated who the main character ended up with/ least favorite OTP:

Otherwise I’m pretty easy to please. If there is a love triangle, it’s usually pretty clear and simple to tell who will be endgame, and I tend to agree with the author.  This is an easy one: Katniss and Peeta. I always, always preferred Gale. Katniss cares for Peeta, sure but I never got the sense that she loved him romantically. And I hated how in order to get rid of Gale, Collins had to make him literary commit a war crime, that’s how far she had to go to make him unlikable, because he was nothing but supportive, caring and loving to Katniss and her family the entire series. I still get heated to this day about how much I didn’t like this ending. 

A popular book genre you rarely if ever reach for: 

Contemporary, both YA and adult. Unless it’s a thriller or deals with a very specific topic, I don’t like contemporary books. I live in the real world I don’t need more of it in my reading too. 

A popular character that you don’t like: 

Rhy Maresh. I just... He’s literary just a damsel in distress. He constantly gets kidnapped, killed, stabbed, wounded or threatened, and 90% of the time it’s so he can be a hurdle for Kell and keep him in the palace. I am halfway through the third book and I need him to develop some personality ASAP that isn’t just hot, promiscuous, drunk prince who gets put in danger near constantly and has to be rescued by Kell, because I swear, he is the most annoying trope of a character, the only difference being that he’s a dude. 

Popular author that you just can’t get into: 

Blake Crouch, and William Gibson. Blake Crouch I’m sad because I really wanted to read the Pines trilogy since I love that type of Twin Peaks, X-Files, Deadly Premonition vibe, but after Dark Matter which sucked in all the worst ways for me, I don’t think I will be.  William Gibson is basically the father of cyberpunk along with Ridley Scott and Shirow Masamune, and I love cyberpunk. But Gibson’s writing style, characters and especially way he treats and describes his female characters turned me off forever. The only other book I’d be willing to try by him is Pattern Recognition, because the premise sounds amazing, but I doubt I’d like it, just because of the way he writes. 

Popular book trope that you are just tired of: 

I have two for this and unfortunately they both seem to be more prominent wit female protagonists: the plain, unattractive protagonist who is really just a bombshell but they don’t know it; and obligatory romance if the protagonist is a girl.  Both of these tropes are present in book I really like! With the first trope, I hated it even with Katniss, and Alina, and even Mia Corvere. It’s fine for the protagonist to be insecure in their appearance, but why do you have to tell me, every 10 pages that they look plain or ordinary, or unassuming, when every character of the opposite gender they meet will fall in love with them in literary less than a page? This is especially true of Alina, who out of the three I mentioned has the most people falling in love with her despite her being supposedly actually ugly (like that’s how she’s described, not me being mean).  The other one actually annoys me even more. How many books have we read where the male protagonist doesn’t get a love interest or gets one halfway through the series? And now compare that to how many we’ve read where the love interest for the female protagonist has been introduced in literary the first 50 pages. Jace and Simon, Mal and the Darkling, Gale and Peeta, Tric, Gansey and Adam. And the protagonist has to end up with at least one of them by the end, they can never stay single. It’s not the individual books that bother me, it’s the prevalence of it.

Popular series that you have no interest in reading: 

There are a few, but I’ll mention 3: Throne of Glass, Red Queen, and Falling Kingdoms.  Red Queen is the one that has the highest chance I’d change my mind about, since it’s the one I know the least about. It has to do with the color of your blood determining magical affinity, which is a cool concept and I know it has a lot of court intrigue and a love triangle. Lots of people don’t like it, but I know people who do, so for now it’s a no, though not a firm no. Falling Kingdoms I was going to try, but then I lost interest. I don’t need a teen version of Game of Thrones; I have the ASoIaF books if I wanted to read Game of Thrones. Especially because it seems that most people like this series for the romance, which... I don’t want to read a 5 book high fantasy series for a romance.  Throne of Glass is the one I have the least desire to read and a firm no. First off there are 8 books in this series. Second of all the first 3 seem to be a completely different series than the latter books, to the point where the main character changes names and identities. If you followed an assassin just trying to survive in a world where everyone hates them, then maybe, but when she is also a faye and a lost princess and there is another love triangle.... I’ll pass thanks.   

Book or TV adaptation that you prefer more than the book: 

READY PLAYER ONE. I can’t stress enough how annoying and obnoxious the book is to me, but the movie is great. Yes it still has some of the confused world building, bland main character and the insta-love romance, but the challenges, the visuals and even Halliday himself is improves tenfold. I would rewatch that movie no questions, but I wouldn’t reread the book even if it was the only thing I had to read on a 12 h flight.