Hello, hello, hello.
Long time no see.
I didn’t mean to take a bit over a month long hiatus but sometimes, life happens and we just need to let it happen.
The past few weeks have been a weird mixture of well needed relaxation and chaos. I went on my first vacation with a friend to St. Augustine, Florida and spent a ton of time at the beach, museums, tiny shops, and reading books. There was a ton of good movie nights that involved us screaming at a hotel TV when a certain man clenched his fist after helping the girl who just rejected him onto a carriage (if you know, you know).
The aftermath of the vacation was that I was so relaxed and calmed by the ocean waves and somewhat comforting yet suffocating heat of overcrowded alleyways that I forgot about the crippling stress and chaos of reality that I had escaped from for a few days. Simply put, I’ve been reflecting a ton post vacation and realized that I’m in desperate need of a life reset and what better way to do that then by welcoming in the first month of Autumn/Fall?
My reading kind of slowed off in August but I’m hoping to fix that this Labor Day Weekend. I read the most on my vacation and not very much when I returned back home. Not to say that the few books that I read weren’t amazing. Take for example this beauty right here.
I never thought that I’d like “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin as much as I did. I’m working on a review for it that’ll be out soon but please check the trigger warnings for this book. While it’s got a pretty cover and pretty writing, it discusses some very heavy things including but not limited to physical/domestic abuse, loss, grief, cancer, mention of abortion, and a ton more.
The end of August also brought in a bunch of new releases that I’ve been anticipating for a very long time. First came “Babel” and then “Carrie Soto is Back”.
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is my favorite book of all time. That book means so much to me in ways I cannot describe and I knew that Carrie Soto is going to be the end of TJR’s historical series so I wanted to make the most of my reading experience with this book. I wanted to relish in another epic story about a bad ass, unapologetic, ambitious women one more time. I ended up pre-ordering this book along with a ticket to a Zoom press event with Taylor Jenkins Reid and honestly, I could cry about how great of a night that was for me. I now own a signed book by Taylor Jenkins Reid and have been on a Zoom call with her, all in the comfort of my home.
Now that we’ve gotten the life events stuff out of the way, I thought I’d do a little thing where I share some of the recent stuff that I’ve read, seen, and listened to. It’s a bit of a spin on that whole “last book I read, what I’m reading right now, and what I’m going to read next” trend I’ve seen going around.
The last show I’ve watched was “Delhi Crimes” on Netflix. The second season just came out and my mother basically yelled at me to not watch the first season and just start the show with the second season so I ended up being a good daughter (momentarily) and listened to her. I say momentarily because the second I finished the five episodes in Season 2, I started Season 1.
Honestly, this show is amazing and I’m happy that it’s been nominated for awards because it deserves it. The production value in this show is epic and the way the episodes are put together from the scenery and visuals to the pacing of the plot is just perfection.
That being said, this show handles very gruesome topics. Each season follows a true crime that happened in Delhi and the inspectors and detectives trying to catch the culprits and close the case. The reason my mom tried to convince me to not watch the first season of the show is because it’s about the most God awful gang rape case. It’s honestly stomach churning. The entire first season follows these detectives and inspectors dealing with the most inhumane, savages that truly embody the evilest of evil humanity’s ever seen. If you’re a woman or are sensitive to topics such as rape, I highly suggest skipping the first season. There isn’t much of a continuing plot line that requires you watching Season 1 before Season 2 so I’d listen to my mother and go ahead and skip Season 1. Season 2 features a series of murder cases that targeted older people who were brutally attacked and murdered in their own homes.
Each episode in this series is around 40 minutes and there are 7 episodes in Season 1 and 5 episodes in Season 2.
I’m currently watching Season 2 of “Lucifer” on Netflix. I flew through the first season of this show and absolutely loved it. I love that detective/investigative type of shows like “Criminal Minds” and while “Lucifer” isn’t as high brow as “Criminal Minds”, it’s got all that I want. That sitcom touch, comedy, a sassy anti-hero, and great chemistry between all the characters. It’s far lighter than “Criminal Minds” so if that show scares you, don’t need to worry about that when watching this show. I’m a bit mad at myself because I googled something and now I know more about the show than I wanted to. I’m probably going to continue watching Lucifer.
The last book I read was “Carrie Soto is Back” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I won’t go into too much detail about this because I’m working on the review for this and don’t want to give too much away. But my oh my, I definitely liked this one and read it basically in a day.
I’m currently reading “Vicious” by V.E Schwab and am loving it. I’m not going to lie, I was supposed to read this book with a friend a while ago but like everything else in my life, I can’t commit to obligations. It’s why TBR’s never work for me. I tell myself I’m going to read a select few books and I end up reading everything but those books. I love sabotaging myself, what can I say. Anyway, I’m about halfway through this book and I love it. I can’t wait to finish this book this weekend and get my hands on the second.
Next, I’m probably going to read “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones or “Vengeful”, the follow up to “Vicious”.
I’ve been in the middle of “Howl’s Moving Castle” for a bit and I really want to finish it this weekend so I can watch the movie. The book’s pretty cozy and an easy read. I don’t know how to describe it, but it reads like I’m watching a cozy animated movie or an older movie that gets me feeling nostalgic like “Matilda” or “Hocus Pocus”. I also know this one aspect of the plot because of all the fan art I’ve seen so I’m curious to see how it plays out in the book.
I really wanted to read a thriller this weekend but after the way “Vicious” is going, I’m probably going to be picking up “Vengeance” immediately. Also, I recently heard this is going to be a trilogy and that it’s not a duology so yay for cliff hangers!
The last song I’ve listened to is “Ordinary Girl” by Kate Alexa and if any of you recognize this song… you’ve got excellent taste lol. For those who don’t know, this is the theme song for H20, the Australian show about the girls who turn into mermaids whenever they touch water, sorry H20. It’s amazing and it’s such a big comfort show and I honestly really want to watch it next but I’ve got other things on my list that I should probably watch instead of the childhood show I’ve rewatched at least ten times. If you’re wondering how I fell down the H20 tunnel again, feel free to check out this video because I was cry laughing at this reenactment.
I’m currently listening to Episode 360 of Morbid podcast which is all about cryptids and other spooky paranormal activity. This is a podcast that covers a ton of true crime stuff in amazing detail and also paranormal stuff. I’ve never been into cryptids but I honestly will listen to anything this podcast puts out because the episodes are super long which I love but also because it feels like I’m hanging out with two friends and what better feeling is there than that?
Also, this episode is so much more quieter and calming than the last few ones I’ve listened to. Episode 358 was especially crazy because of how violent the crimes were but also because the guy went around hunting women where I grew up. I mean yes, this took place in the 70’s or 80’s but the fact that I recognize the roads he’s abducted women from is insane to me.
And I’m not going to lie, next I’m probably going to listen to another Morbid episode after I finish this one.
What have you been reading, watching, and listening to?