lately with lila | magnificent media & the lazy, hazy days of early summer
Hello, dear friends! ‘Tis I, Lila, back again with another wrap up! May was a whirlwind of a month, with so much going on! The month started with finals week for the Spring semester and ended with me starting on of my classes for my Summer semester—talk about a packed month! To top it off, in between those two events, I had lots of other activities and events. But it was mostly a happy month, thank God!! And!!! I even managed to finish up a book, a webcomic, and an entire TV series’s first season! So let’s take a look at what went down…
what i posted
Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim Review
10 Songs That Should Be Adapted Into Fantasy Novels
Discussing Villains And Diversity
what i read
😈Clara and The Devil Part III by Olivie Blake and Little Chmura (⭐⭐⭐.5) There was an update to this webcomic recently, which I eagerly took in as soon as possible! I’m still not sure exactly where this series is going (in typical Olivie Blake manner, sometimes it feels more “vibes than plot”), but I’m still interested in seeing what happens.
🌈Heartstopper: Volume Two by Alice Oseman (⭐⭐⭐⭐) I finally made it through the second volume of this adorable webcomic-turned-graphic novel series! The whole Heartstopper series and universe is so heartwarming and cute and finishing this volume made me want to go back to catch up on Oseman’s novels, as well as finish watching the Netflix adaptation.
what i’m currently reading
🐲Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros I’ve been taking it slow with this book but so far I’m loving it! There are dragons and a magical war college and a slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance—like, what more could you ask for?! Also!! It’s really funny—I didn’t learn this book was SUPER hyped until after I started reading it, but now I’m glad to hear there’s a big community I can gush about it with!
what i watched
💋XO, Kitty (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) I cannot express how delighted I am to see our girl get her own series, especially because ever since I first read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before waaaaay back in 2015 I’ve dreamed of hearing Kitty’s story!! And Kitty’s adventures are as wild and fun as you can imagine! Plus, I love all the other characters—Dae, Yuri, Q, Min Ho, and Alex/Professor Finnerty are all so lovable in their own ways (even when some of them don’t always make the greatest choices *cough* Yuri and the Chuseok present *cough*)! I managed to watch the entire season of this within 10 days, which is, like, unheard of for me given my attention span, so I think it goes unsaid that I loved this series!
what i listened to
what i bookmarked
Wyrd & Wonder 2023 took place
Veronica had us pick a boba drink to get an Asian authored debut book recommendation
Sophia matched books and songs off Midnights
Bianca analyzed what makes a book a five star read for her and also highlighted 25 cozy fantasies to read
Lauren Yero (autor of the upcoming 2023 YA sci fi novel Under This Forgetful Sky) guest posted on Bookish Brews and discussed anticapitalist resistance and imagining a better world
Krysta gave us tips for crafting engaging discussion questions
May recommended Asian books to pair with your favorite Thai food
Marie highlighted 28 YA books dealing with mental health for Mental Health Awareness Month
Catherine explained why book reviewers don’t need contracts
Cam created a Notion template for writers
Maddie interviewed Jessica Parra, author of Ruby Ramos’s Recipe for Success
Zainab Fatema revealed the cover for Kyla Zhao’s latest novel, Valley Verified
And On She Reads told us why she loves to reread books
Celeste shined a light on fiction and nonfiction books involving Arthurian legend
Jenica shared romance book recommendations for Midnights songs
Julie talked about “the Bridgerton effect” and the rising popularity of regency romance
Savvy covered recent publishing controversies
Nyx discussed what makes her read a book (from a non book blogger POV)
Liesl talked over why you probably hate Shakespeare
Rio made it clear why readers should try gaming
miscellaineous things i enjoyed
I continued my foray into gaming by purchasing an Xbox Pass Ultimate and an Xbox controller and diving headfirst into adventures! So far I’ve really been enjoying The Last Case of Benedict Fox and Homestead Arcana, which are the first two games I’ve decided to try my hand at and which are, like, diametrically opposed in terms of aesthetics and atmosphere. The Last Case of Benedict Fox is like a semi-noir, semi-gothic detective mystery game with horror and action elements and it’s super intriguing and fun. Meanwhile, in Homestead Arcana you play a farming witch who’s a pioneer/homesteader in a land filled with a mysterious dark magic—it’s so cozy and magical! Both games have been so much fun so far and I can’t wait to play more and discover more in their worlds!
I also discovered Rosie Crawford and Alivia Brown on YouTube and I’ve been loving their content. Rosie’s channel documents her life as a Cambridge University archaeological researcher, while Alivia’s channel is all about anthropology, which she has an undergraduate degree in. I find both channels incredibly interesting and helpful, as I’m currently getting an undergrad degree in anthropology. But even if you’re not an anthro undergrad like me, I think these channels would be super interesting if you’re looking for “studytube” content or are curious about anthropology and archaeology!
what life’s like
Finals are finally over and I had a three week break before summer semester started on May 30, so I took advantage of that period to have some fun and relax. My good friend and I went to a gluten free bakery to get pastries to celebrate failing our classes (cause sometimes spectacular failure calls for celebratory “mistake cake”!) and I tried an eclair for the first time ever (something I’ve wanted to have since reading Madeline as a kid, haha). I also went to to see three Astronomy on Tap lectures in one night with a different friend and it was so incredibly interesting! One talk was by a NASA astrophysicist and was about the JWST, one was by a George Washington University professor and astrobiologist and was all about the possibility of discovering alien life, and one was by a University of Maryland professor and researcher and was a talk on asteroids and comets—all were very entertaining and very educational! Then on the 30th, I started my first course of summer semester: a basic college composition course. Technically, I’ve already taken the course and passed it with flying colors, but due to a credit transfer mishap, I have to take it again *sigh*. Fortunately, English/writing has always been my best subject, so I’m not too pressed about having to take the class again.
spill the beans, friends!
- How was your month?
- Did you read anything particularly interesting?
- What are you looking forward to this upcoming June?
I haven’t watched XO, Kitty yet, but I feel like it’s in EVERYONE’S wrap up this month so I am definitely going to have to watch it soon. Good luck on your summer semester classes!
Thank you, Delaney! XO, Kitty is indeed adorable and just great in general, so I hope you love it if you end up watching it!
I’ve heard sooo many mixed reviews on XO Kitty that it scares me lol! It seems like you had a fantastic time though, so glad to see that!
Really? I’ve only seen love for it and one lone negative commentary lol! Although the one negative review was basically just saying that I if you regularly watch K-dramas (which I don’t) XO, Kitty feels a tad…idk, I guess basic (for lack of a better word)? I do think, though, that for viewers like me who don’t already watch K-dramas, it’s a good gateway into that style of storytelling maybe (I know I’m now definitely more interested in K-dramas haha)! Regardless, if you end up watching it I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Lol, you’re not alone on having been completely hooked by XO, Kitty! I may not have had the time to watch it, but watch it I did – and it was perfect for destressing! 🤗
I’ve only heard good things about Fourth Wing so far – so I guess I’ll need a copy 🤣
And OMG, your astronomy lectures sound fascinating! I’m extremely jealous!
Here’s to hoping your June has been and will be equally awesome! 💙
Aaaah Naemi, thanks for dropping by! <3 I finished XO, Kitty in record time---I need more to be injected straight into my veins lol! I'm still making my way (slowly) through Fourth Wing in between all of my coursework (ugh) but it is definitely a fun read! It's not, like, the greatest literature ever written, but it's a fun fluff piece and I think there's a lot of worth in that too (plus disability representation---yay!!). The astronomy lectures were so interesting and left me with so much to research on my own time! I hope your June (and July) was great as well!!