lately with lila april 2023 | cherry blossom cheer
Hey there, friends! ‘Tis I, Lila, here again with yet another monthly wrap up! How’s everyone been? Hopefully well and if not, then I hope brighter days head your way soon!
My April was…uuuuuh…busy, for lack of a better word? Crazed?? That word works too I guess, hahaha! Let’s just say that I was juggling a lot of things this past month, especially in regards to academics. Nevertheless, I persisted and made it through, sanity just barely intact! And, on top of that triumph, I managed to read and finish a book and consume some other media—so let’s take a look at what went down!
what i posted
First Quarter Favorites of 2023
what i read
🫖 Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) I have a review coming for this book, but I also loved it so much that it’s hard not to gush about it! But what I can say is that Spice Road is absolutely a new favorite! I was overjoyed to read a book that draws so much from part of my own cultural heritage (Spice Road is an Arab fantasy by a Lebanese author) and the book is so well done besides that!
what i’m currently reading
Sadly, because the week of May 1st is finals week for me, I’m not currently reading anything other than textbooks 😭
what i hauled
what i watched
🔫 The Night Agent I saw this one trending on Netflix and decided the trailer looked interesting so might as well give the show a go. It’s a nice action/thriller that’s a fun watch, although I will say as a resident of the DMV (where the show is set) there were some moments I could tell weren’t filmed in DC/the DMV which took me out of the show for a second (for example, the opening scene definitely wasn’t filmed in DC since our Metro trains don’t look/sound like that). But beside that very specific quibble that I’m fairly certain most people watching won’t have or care about, I enjoyed what I watched of the show and I’m interested to see where it goes!
🪙 Outer Banks Season 1 I watched a bit more of the first season of OBX, which I started waaaaay back when it was first released and never finished because of school. I’ve actually found that I’m enjoying the show. I do love a good treasure hunt and I didn’t realize that that’s what OBX is about until recently, so now I feel like I’ve been missing out haha! I’m still at the beginning of the season, though, so I’m looking forward to the story ramping up even more soon!
what i listened to
what i bookmarked
Cait recommended 50+ autistic books in celebration of Autism Acceptance Month
Sophia gave us tips and tricks for reading with ADHD (Video)
Roisin talked about the trauma p0rn in A Little Life (Video)
Eustacia wondered whether or not we should be paying more for books
Ange talked about the problem with star ratings for books
Elli tried reading a book a day for a week
Michelle had us pick an emoji to get a book recommendation
Leonie investigated the apparent phenomenon of declining attention spans and the rising popularity of reading (Video)
Alex spotlighted 25 chonky fantasy books
Celeste went over ARC review etiquette
Eleanor recommended books and TV series to the characters of The Atlas Six
Sophia highlighted books that scream spring
Fanna featured a talk from Kelly Andrew, debut #ownvoices deaf author of the YA dark academia fantasy The Whispering Dark
Sophie shouted out books about writers
Caro gave us spring book recommendations
The Orangutan Librarian made the case for audiobooks
Sophie wants us to help her decide which books to keep on her TBR
Marie asked us to pick a spring aesthetic to get a YA book recommendation
Morgan shared her unpopular bookish opinions
Sofia wrapped up her read of other people’s favorite books of 2022
Angela blogged about her experience trying audiobooks
Joy shared tips on crushing your reading slump
Max reviewed the viral Shrek romance novel
Sumedha tipped us off to blogging tools she uses
Rio explained why she hates the “fated mates” romance trope
Lisa compared the book, film, and series of Picnic at Hanging Rock
Charvi celebrated six years of blogging plus her birthday
Young Creative Press explored why fanfiction is a valid form of literature
Gab recommended books for your moon sign (Video)
Nyx thought about how her reading has changed in the last 10 years
Rae explored my favorite mysterious manuscript, the Voynich Manuscript
miscellaineous things i’ve been enjoying
I decided to take the plunge into gaming and purchased Mass Effect, The Entropy Centre, and The Elder Scrolls Online…aaaaaand immediately realized I have to clean up my laptop as there wasn’t enough room on it to download and play the games *facepalm* What can I say, it is clear I am new to this gaming rodeo, lol! That being said, I managed to play a bit of Mass Effect specifically and so far I love it! I’m super hyped to clean up my laptop when I get the chance so that I can play the other two as well!!
what life’s like lately
April had its highs and lows, but for the most part it was decent. I managed to get some good fun in, despite the overwhelming pile of homework I found myself wading through, so that was nice! First up in April, I went to see D.C.’s famous cherry blossoms with my friend. We had a blast just gabbing while soaking in the beauty of the trees and the tulips planted nearby! Next, I performed with the US Army Chorus in my college choir’s spring concert. We’d worked really hard on some admittedly tricky pieces since the beginning of the semester, so it was really gratifying to finally perform them, especially in concert with such an esteemed chorus! I also got back in touch with a good friend and it was so incredibly nice to hear from her again! I also had two physics exams and two papers in my African History course, which made the month a little bumpy in regards to school. That said, I managed to stumble my way through, mistakes and all, and I can at least be proud of that…I think, lol!
spill the beans, friends!
- How was your April?
- Did you read anything memorable?
- What are you looking forward to this May?
Thanks for linking to my post! I’m glad you got to see the D.C. cherry blossoms…they’re always a pretty sight. I haven’t been in a while because my only free time to see them is on weekends when it’s super busy haha.
Of course, thanks for creating such a great post in the first place 😀 Yeah, I’m always hesitant around cherry blossom season even just to go into the city cause it is usually a mess with tourists but this year my friend and I decided just to go for it, lol! It was definitely worth it since we found a nice place to sit under a cherry blossom in the sun right on the wall of the tidal basin and it was nice to chill and talk and people watch!