Sunshine Blogger Award | 7

~ Holly ~ 17 Comments

What better way to celebrate summertime than with the Sunshine Blogger Award? Usually I would post a book review on Thursdays, but I’m quite behind on scheduling posts in advance due to the chaos of moving back to the States. I was lucky enough to be nominated by the fab Andrea @ Andrea’s Nirvana— definitely check out her lovely blog!

  • Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
  • Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
  • Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
  • List the rules and display the sunshine blogger award logo in your post/or on your blog.

1. What’s your latest 5 star read and one thing you liked about it?

I haven’t rated books for a long time (see this post I wrote a while back explaining why) but one of the best books I read recently was The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I had no idea that THIS WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR JURASSIC PARK?!?!

2. How do you organize your bookshelves?

Right now they’re a MESS because I haven’t had a chance to properly organize them since returning from my year abroad; however, ideally I like to organize them by genre.

3. Print, e-book or audiobook? Why?

Definitely print! I love the feeling of holding a book in my hands and the fact that it allows me to be separated from technology. I do enjoy listening to audio books while walking around, cooking, cleaning, etc., though. E-books are usually my last resort.

4. What is your favorite bookish post to write?

I really enjoy writing Classic Couple posts because they’re so fun and always spark really great discussions. They also allow me to combine my two favorite loves: classic literature and contemporary connections.

5. Dream reading nook?

What a fun question! Definitely one outside in the woods, preferably in the middle of summer when it’s warm enough to sit outside for ages. Perhaps a tree house?

6. How much does it take you to read, say, 100 pages?

Depending on the font size/how much I like the book/how focused I am, usually an hour and a half or less. (Maybe? That’s a really rough guess!)

7. Do you prefer series or standalones at the moment?

Standalones! When I was younger I used to always prefer series, but now I really appreciate a book that is satisfying on its own without the need to drag the plot on for books and books and books.

8. How do you deal with reading slumps?

Usually the same way I deal with blogging slumps: I take a break and then come back to it whenever I’ve started to genuinely miss doing it. The more I force myself to read when I’m not in the mood, the worse the slump gets!

9. How many books are you currently reading?

I’m currently in the middle of three or four books, if you count audio books that I’ve left unfinished. Who knows when I’ll actually get around to reading all of them?

10. Does it come easy for you to unhaul books?

NO. I adore most of the books I own and therefore getting rid of them is always a lengthy process of me repeatedly trying to convince myself that getting rid of books just makes space for EVEN MORE (a win-win, right?!).

11. Fave Booktubers?

My favorite booktuber is definitely Ariel Bissett. I’ve loved her videos for so long! ❤

 

I’m going to ask these lovely bloggers the same questions that Andrea asked me because they were a blast to answer.

Thanks again to Andrea for nominating me! ❤ What are your answers to these questions? What do you think of mine? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

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A Classic Couple: Orlando and Every Day

~ Holly ~ 8 Comments

It’s time for another Classic Couple! I love this feature so much but for some reason it tends to be the last thing on my mind when scheduling posts. In an effort to be more regular about it in the future, today I’d like to share an interesting and unexpected pair: Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando (1928) and David Levithan’s novel Every Day (2012). While reading the former novel for my Virginia Woolf in Modernist Contexts tutorial, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Levithan’s young adult novel that I read a few years ago. Although very different in setting, style, tone, and audience, both novels nevertheless discuss similar themes that many books shy away from.

Changing Bodies || Both novels involve the rather fantastical concept of suddenly, inexplicably, unexpectedly changing bodies. In Orlando, the eponymous protagonist wakes up one day to discover that her body has changed from male to female. Once this change occurs, Orlando remains in this female body for centuries until the novel ends in Woolf’s contemporary time. In Every Day, the protagonist A wakes up in a new body each day, thereby taking on different identities, lifestyles, and physical attributes.

Gender || Due to the emphasis on changing bodies of different sexes, gender is  a major aspect of these novels. Although Orlando’s biological sex has changed, she struggles with the fact that she often feels the same way in regard to her personality as she did when she was a man. In this way, Woolf not only suggests that biological sex has little bearing on one’s gender, but she also asserts that gender is a socially constructed, performed choice that one should be able to make about one’s own identity. A’s gender is even more fluid due to the fact that they seem to be genderless (or all genders at once??) and go by the neutral “they” pronoun.

Identity || As you can probably tell, identity is an important and essential overarching theme in these two novels. Although one’s personal identity is often viewed as something that is stable and changes gradually over time, Woolf and Levithan suggest that it can be more fluid than one may expect. They also stress that identity frequently defies categorization or even description, as language can fail to encompass all aspects of one’s personality due to its narrowing tendencies. It’s difficult to describe Orlando and A without stopping to think about who exactly they are and what their identities are composed of. In a world obsessed with naming and labelling seemingly everything in sight, these novels offer a refreshingly open way of thinking about one’s identity.

I never thought I would be comparing a Woolf novel with a Levithan novel, but Orlando and Every Day go together incredibly well. If you’re interested in either of these novels, I highly recommend checking them out!

Click here to check out other Classic Couples from past posts.

What do you think of this classic couple? What other books would you pair with Orlando or Every Day? What are your thoughts on either or both of these books? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer 2018 TBR

~ Holly ~ 42 Comments

Happy Tuesday!! More importantly: HAPPY SUMMER! I’m officially back from Oxford for the next eight weeks, which means it’s time to share the books I’m most looking forward to reading this summer. This is a conglomeration of books that friends have recommended to me, that remind me of Oxford, and that I’ve been meaning to read for ages. Hopefully I’ll be able to get through all of them, but no promises!

What are you looking forward to reading this summer? What are your thoughts on the books I’ve mentioned here? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

HOME | Holly Goes Abroad

~ Holly ~ 21 Comments

I genuinely can’t believe that it’s already time for me to write this post. It’s a post I’ve been simultaneously dreading and looking forward to writing for months as I’ve oscillated between being homesick and never wanting to step foot outside of Oxford again.

I’m home.

Yesterday I made the teary-eyed flight from Heathrow Airport in London to Logan in Boston, too emotional to even register how tired I was from sleeping a mere two hours the night before. Walking into my house in New Hampshire was one of the strangest feelings–everything feels familiar yet strangely new. I was surprised to find that I had forgotten where I keep a lot of things in my bedroom, how I used to go about my morning routine, and what it feels like to take a shower without having to wear flip-flops. This feeling of disorientation in a space that should feel inherently familiar to me is similar to the confusion I felt the summer after my freshman year at Wheaton, but much, much more intense this time around. It’s amazing how the number of “homes” you can have seems to multiply the more places you go and people you meet.

Mansfield College, Oxford. 

My time at Oxford was undoubtedly the best year of my life. I did so many new things, explored so many new places, and met so many new people who I already miss dearly. From traveling to different cities over spring break to eating in formal halls and punting down the river, I’ll never forget all of the incredible memories I’ve made over the past ten months. It’s difficult to explain this year to people in words–where do I possibly begin?! Sometimes it feels like it’s something you can’t fully understand unless you were there alongside us all in the moment, walking those streets that feel like they’re straight out of a movie set and hurriedly writing essays in the Crypt cafe so you have time to go a pub later that night.

Leaving Oxford was one of the most emotional, challenging experiences I’ve ever had. It’s one thing to graduate high school or leave Wheaton for the summer, but a completely different ordeal entirely when you don’t know if you’ll ever see these far away friends again. We did our best to instill the “it’s not goodbye, just see you later!” mantra in our minds over the past week, but it’s definitely not enough to stop the tears from flowing completely. I can’t express how grateful I am to have had this amazing year abroad. It was better than my highest expectations!

However, the fact that I’m now back in the States doesn’t mean that this blog series is ending! There are so many more experiences I’d still love to share with you all (I still haven’t shared my trips to Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Berlin, or Vienna!!), which means that these weekly posts will likely continue throughout the summer. If there are any specific posts you’d like to see, I’d love your suggestions!

Thanks so much for coming along on this study abroad bonanza with me. I’ve had so much fun chatting with you all about different cities, experiences, museums, and memories over the past year and I’m really looking forward to continuing these lovely conversations this summer.

As always, click here to check out other posts in my Holly Goes Abroad series!

Have you ever had to leave somewhere you desperately wanted to stay? Did you ever study abroad? What would you like me to write about next? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

Summer in Oxford | Holly Goes Abroad

~ Holly ~ 14 Comments

As you may have guessed from my lack of posts the past few days, Oxford has kept me plenty busy as the end of Trinity term fast approaches. With less than a week left in this wonderful city, my friends and I have been trying to squeak in as much last-minute Oxford things as possible while still trying to maintain the semblance that we’re constantly reading articles and writing essays. Today I’d like to share just a few of the fun adventures Oxford offers in the summer months:

Punting

When you tell someone that you have a few hours of spare time in Oxford, one of the first things they always suggest is going punting. Punting involves using a pole to guide a small boat down a river and can be much trickier than talented punters make it appear. Not only is the Magdalen Boathouse quite close to where I live, but Mansfield College also rents out a punt that its students can book with more availability and for a cheaper price. There’s nothing better than taking a punt out in the late afternoon with some friends, eating snacks, listening to music, and enjoying the usual Oxford punting drink: Pimm’s.

Climbing

As you can probably tell from my past post about Carfax Tower, I adore climbing towers in Oxford. This is the perfect time of year to climb them because you can see some amazing views if you go on a clear day and you won’t be freezing at the top like you would in Michaelmas or Hilary terms. Recently I climbed the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin for the first time and the view of the Radcliffe Camera was absolutely breathtaking. There’s something about being elevated among Oxford’s many spires that gives you a different perspective on the city. It’s easy to get bogged down in writing essays and preparing for tutorials, but moments like these remind you what being in Oxford is really all about.

Playing Croquet

This past term I’ve discovered quite an affection for what I once thought was a boring, old-fashioned game. Playing croquet is the only time we’re allowed to step on the grass of the Mansfield center quad, so we’ve been taking full advantage of that privilege recently by taking out the croquet set whenever we have a spare sunny moment. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I’m not that bad at croquet, as well as that it’s much more interesting and strategy-based than I initially expected. Playing in the midst of Mansfield’s beautiful campus is also so surreal–there’s very little that makes me feel so stereotypically Oxford-esque.

These are just a few of the fun activities that have been distracting me from writing essays over the past term. It’s amazing how Oxford really comes alive in Trinity, particularly for those of us lucky enough to not have exams. I can’t even begin to describe how much I’ll miss these quaint summer moments!

Click here to check out other posts in my Holly Goes Abroad series!

Have you ever been to Oxford in the summer months? Do you like playing croquet or going punting? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

20 Questions Book Tag | 2

~ Holly ~ 22 Comments

Who doesn’t love a good game of Twenty Questions? Fortunately, the 20 Questions Book Tag is a lot more interesting than just “yes” or “no” answers. Thanks so much to Ash and Lo @ Windowsill Books for tagging me!

1. HOW MANY BOOKS IS TOO MANY BOOKS IN A BOOK SERIES?

It definitely depends on the series itself, but I think around four books is generally a good rule of thumb. For instance, I think the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater works really well as four books, but more than that would make the series feel like it was dragging on forever. When I was younger I used to love reading really long series, but lately I’ve been appreciating the closure of a good standalone.

2. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT CLIFFHANGERS?

I love cliffhangers in the middle of series or at the end of chapters when you know that your questions will soon be answered; however, I dislike them at the end of series or books when there are countless important questions left unsolved.

3. HARDBACK OR PAPERBACK?

100 percent paperback! I hate how expensive, heavy, and awkward to read hardcover books can be. When given the choice, I will always choose paperback.

4. FAVORITE BOOK?

Ah yes, the most impossible question. Usually my answer to this horrid inquiry is The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien because it holds such a nostalgic place in my heart. It’s one that I never get tired of rereading!

5. LEAST FAVORITE BOOK?

Another really difficult question! It takes a lot for me to really hate a book, but I think I’m going to have to go with Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. I started reading it several years ago and disliked it so much that I couldn’t even finish it!

6. LOVE TRIANGLES, YES OR NO?

NO. NO. NO.

7. THE MOST RECENT BOOK YOU JUST COULDN’T FINISH?

Last term I tried listening to the audio book of Bloodlines by Richelle Mead because one of my friends read this series when she was younger and said she was obsessed with it back then. The protagonist was so annoying that I literally could not bring myself to listen to the last few hours of it.

8. A BOOK YOU’RE CURRENTLY READING?

Grimm Tales: For Young and Old by Philip Pullman. I started reading this while traveling during my spring break and haven’t found the time to finish it now that term has started up again in Oxford. Maybe I’ll finally finish it on my eight-hour flight home? So far I’m really enjoying it!

9. LAST BOOK YOU RECOMMENDED TO SOMEONE?

Lately I’ve been telling so many people to read anything and everything by Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I feel like these two writers are on a lot of TBR lists out there, but are not often prioritized. They’re such brilliant writers!

10. OLDEST BOOK YOU’VE READ? *PUBLICATION DATE*

According to Goodreads, the oldest book I’ve read is the Epic of Gilgamesh.

11. NEWEST BOOK YOU’VE READ? *PUBLICATION DATE*

It’s hard to tell on Goodreads what the most recently published book I’ve read is, so I’m just going to throw Turtles All the Way Down by John Green out there since it was just published on October 10, 2017.

12. FAVORITE AUTHOR?

Since I have many favorite authors and I tend to be quite indecisive in general, here are a bunch of authors that I love: John Green, J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, William Faulkner, Willa Cather, E.L. Konigsburg, Frederick Douglass….the list goes on and on!

13. BUYING BOOKS OR BORROWING BOOKS?

I try to borrow books from libraries and fellow bookworms as much as possible because it’s less wasteful and definitely cheaper; however, there’s nothing quite like a great bookshop haul!

14. A BOOK YOU DISLIKE THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO LOVE?

I was so excited to read An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir because so many people highly recommended it; however, I think the hype monster made my expectations a bit too high and I ended up being rather disappointed with it.

15. BOOKMARKS OR DOG-EARS?

Definitely bookmarks! Not only are they fun to collect, but they’re so much more easy to use than constantly having to fold down pages.

16. A BOOK YOU CAN ALWAYS REREAD?

Any Lord of the Rings book, Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg… I just LOVE rereading books in general!!

17. CAN YOU READ WHILE HEARING MUSIC?

Yes! The only thing that really distracts me from reading is when I can distinctly hear a single conversation nearby.

18. ONE POV OR MULTIPLE POV’S?

It really depends on the novel, but generally I think books with multiple perspectives or story lines are really interesting.

19. DO YOU READ A BOOK IN ONE SITTING OR OVER MULTIPLE DAYS?

Once again, it depends on the book. Usually I end up reading books for fun over the course of multiple days and books for school in one sitting (so much required reading, so little time!).

20. A BOOK YOU’VE READ BECAUSE OF THE COVER?

SO. MANY. I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet, but some recent cover-buys for me were a few of the Penguin Modern editions that recently came out. They’re just so pretty!

What are your answers to these questions? What do you think of mine? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’m Glad I Didn’t DNF

~ Holly ~ 37 Comments

Happy Tuesday!! This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is supposed to be about books we’re glad we didn’t DNF too quickly. However, I’ve decided to switch up the topic yet again because I very rarely DNF books so there wouldn’t be much of a list with that theme. Instead, I’ll be sharing ten books I’m glad I didn’t DNF part way through. Sometimes it pays to stick with a book until the very end!

Which books are you glad you decided to keep reading? What do you think of the books on my list? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

Tower of London | Holly Goes Abroad

~ Holly ~ 18 Comments

One day while my friend and I were in London we decided to visit the Tower of London on a whim. We figured that it would take us a little more than an hour to walk through and that we would be on our way to seeing other sights shortly thereafter. Completely unaware of what we were getting ourselves into, we purchased tickets and waited eagerly for our tour to begin. Little did we know that what we thought would be a quick tourist stop ended up being an all-afternoon adventure through stone corridors, towers, staircases, and incredible exhibitions.

Where do I even begin? My friend and I were taken aback by how enormous the Tower of London is once you actually enter it–so much so that it almost feels like a little village! I didn’t know much about the Tower of London before taking the tour, so I was amazed to learn how many different functions the location had served up until this point. Not only is it famously know as being the home of the Crown Jewels of England, but it has also served as a treasury, menagerie, armory, etc. Although the tour only took one hour, actually walking through all of the buildings and exhibitions took us upwards of five hours. There’s so much to see and do within those gates!

While many people probably visit the Tower of London just to see the Crown Jewels, my favorite part was actually the plethora of interactive exhibitions you could walk through. The armory had an especially fun exhibition with many simulations of what it would be like to shoot a bow and arrow, wear chain mail, and see what each building would have been used for back in the day of fending off enemies from this fortress. We had so much fun trying on metal helmets and looking at all of the armor that the horses used to wear as they charged into battle. The exhibition kept going and going seemingly without end, and we could hardly believe how long it took us to look at everything by the time we had finished.

There is also an incredible view of Tower Bridge from the Tower of London that we stumbled upon while walking along one of the walls. It’s surreal seeing the bustling modern city so close to such an old fortress. Everything about our day here was so picturesque that we couldn’t have planned it better if we had tried. 

I know it’s already a very popular tourist stop for those visiting London, but I would still like to add my voice of high recommendation to the cacophony of praise for it. Pro tip: leave plenty of time for exploring this place because you never know for how long you’ll get sucked in!

Click here to check out other posts in my Holly Goes Abroad series!

Have you ever been to the Tower of London? What is your favorite thing to see there? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

MAY 2018 | Wrap-Up

~ Holly ~ 34 Comments

You know what they say: “April showers bring May flowers…” Well, this past month of May was certainly in full bloom! From making it over halfway through Trinity term, doing the usual summertime-in-Oxford activities, and hosting friends and family when they come to visit, I’ve barely had time to breathe lately. May was a whirlwind of so many twists and turns that I won’t soon forget. Here’s what I was up to in May:

In May I read a total of 4 books:

  1. Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid
  2. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
  3. How to Be Both by Ali Smith
  4. Grant by Ron Chernow

As you can see, I definitely read fewer books in May than in recent other months. Not only have I been incredibly busy writing essays and doing all the fun things that Oxford in summer has in store, but I’ve also dedicated most of my audio book time to finishing the 48-HOUR LONG audio book of Grant by Ron Chernow. I’ve been listening to it off and on since Hilary term (February maybe?) so it feels like such an accomplishment to have finally finished it. I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoyed Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton biography!

+ MOVIE: This isn’t technically a movie, but my favorite thing I watched this month was definitely John Mulaney’s new comedy special Kid Gorgeous. I’m not usually one for stand-up comedy, but for some reason I find John Mulaney absolutely HILARIOUS. Not only are his stories simultaneously relatable and oddly specific, but the way he delivers them always cracks me up. Plus, he gets bonus points for having a bit involving an epi-pen!

+ MUSIC: Shout out to Bastille for FINALLY releasing new music! They released their new song “Quarter Past Midnight” earlier in May with an album likely on the way. I was ecstatic to hear that this is a surprisingly upbeat song by Bastille standards–yet another great song to belt out as I dance in my dorm room!

+ FOOD: Probably fish and chips because I ate it SO OFTEN when my brother visited me for a week. I’ll miss it when I go back home!

+ PLACE: This may sound random, but I think my favorite place I visited in May was the Emirates Stadium in London, home of Arsenal FC. I’ve written an entire post about it that will be posted in the coming weeks so I won’t go into too much detail here, but touring this stadium was AMAZING.

So much happened in May that I don’t even know where to begin. My college’s semester ended back home, which not only means that all of my senior friends have actually graduated (so. many. emotions.) but also that all of my college friends are now on summer break. It sort of feels like summer here–the weather has been gorgeous, particularly by British standards!–but there are still plenty of books left to read and essays left to write. Lately I’ve been trying to balance fitting in last-minute Oxford things with doing school work and prepping for the summer and senior year, but it’s a tricky balancing act to sustain. Here are some photos that will capture my last month better than the my loss of words can:

May Day celebration on May 1st in front of Magdalen College (it was 6am).
A visit to Blenheim Palace.
Croquet is my new fave!
PUNTING!
My favorite view in the city.
I was lucky enough to have my brother visit me for an entire week!

 Here are some notable posts from my blog this past month:

Here are some posts that I loved reading this month:

How was your month of May? What was the best book you read? Did you do anything really fun or exciting? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME by André Aciman | Review

~ Holly ~ 15 Comments

“Andre Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. It is an instant classic and one of the great love stories of our time.”  {Goodreads}

Call Me By Your Name is certainly one of the most hyped books of the past few months. Thanks to the popularity of the recent movie adaptation of the same name starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, there has been an incredible amount of buzz about this novel. While traveling to a handful of European cities over my spring break I visited many bookshops, yet there was  not a single one that did not have a display of this book somewhere on its premises. With the intent of seeing the film directly after reading it (which I still have not done…) I decided to give this highly sought after novel a try.

You know a book is great when it doesn’t pale in the face of exceedingly high expectations. I was afraid the overwhelming amount of hype would result in this book being an unfortunate disappoint, but it was every bit as good as I hoped it would be. A large part of this book’s appeal to me is the beautiful writing style. My favorite kind of writing is simple yet lyrical and brutally honest, and that is precisely the style that Aciman delivers. I also love how the voice of the Elio, the protagonist, is so strong throughout this entire novel. Writing from a first person perspective captures the emotional intensity in falling in love (and lust). What at first appears to be a simple reflection suddenly transforms into a gut-wrenching tug, as in the following quote:

“And on that evening when we grow older still we’ll speak about these two young men as though they were two strangers we met on the train and whom we admire and want to help along. And we’ll want to call it envy, because to call it regret would break our hearts.”

It also helps that the idyllic 1980s Italian setting of this novel is unbelievably captivating, charming, and enthralling. I read Call Me By Your Name in ebook form on my phone while in bed warding off the cold Oxford winter weather; however, the next time I read it (for there most certainly be a next time) I’ll be sure to do so while lounging in the sun in some sort of meadow or by a glimmering body of water. This novel screams SUMMER! with every fiber of its being, making it the perfect book to read in the warm weather.

A bookshop in Amsterdam… goes which book was number one?!

For me, the earnestness and honesty of the protagonist’s narration is what makes this novel work. Without such a likable narrator that can’t help but be empathized with, the bizarre sex scenes and strange musings about sex would feel pointless and out-of-place. However, this novel is as much about growing up and discovering oneself as it is about his burgeoning relationship with Oliver. In this way, Elio’s process of exploring his sexuality is an integral, essential component of such a story.

Speaking of sexuality, I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention the importance of this novel focusing on two men who are bisexual. It’s refreshing to read something beyond the usual heterosexual relationship, although as someone who isn’t bisexual I can’t speak to how effective the representation is in this case. There has been a bit of controversy due to the fact that Aciman is apparently heterosexual and therefore cannot speak to the experience of being a bisexual man. While I do not feel as though I am the right person to judge the validity of this controversy, I will say that I feel as though there is still value in such a relationship being represented in literature at all. 

Overall, I am ecstatic to say that I enjoyed Call Me By Your Name just as much as I hoped that I would, if not more so. This novel is far from your usual romantic story; in fact, I would argue that it’s less about romance than many of its other themes, such as identity, growing up, sexuality, and memory. If you’re in the mood for an emotional, intense, beautiful novel, then look no further!

What are your thoughts on Call Me By Your Name and/or the film adaptation? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY