Hello, hello!! Summer is now well underway and it’s time to say farewell to June. So much has happened these past few weeks that it seems like June was YEARS long. As per usual, here is what I was up to last month:
In June I read a total of 9 books:
- The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
- Matilda by Roald Dahl
- Emma by Jane Austen
- To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
- Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
- Richard III by William Shakespeare
- Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
- Timeline by Michael Crichton
- Big Woods by William Faulkner
It’s so hard to pick just one favorite from this list! Matilda was the most fun book to read, Timeline was the most suspenseful, and Go Down, Moses was the most thought-provoking. It was unbelievably nice to spend as much time reading as I did in June after months of only having time to read what was assigned for my courses. Recently I received one of my summer reading lists in preparation for Oxford, and it’s safe to say that my reading will have to be much more focused for the rest of the summer!
June was a blur of working, reading, hanging with friends, and trying get my plans all squared away for studying abroad this upcoming academic year. A few weeks ago I published this post announcing that I’ll be studying at Oxford University in England for the entire next academic year and I was overwhelmed by all of the lovely comments I received. You’re all so sweet and I appreciate your well wishes, advice, and congratulations so much!! ❤ This month I finally booked my flight for September and it’s so nice to finally have a date set for when I’ll be leaving… the whole thing seems so much more real now!
Earlier this month my brother graduated high school, which made me feel SO OLD. (How has it already been two whole years since I graduated? How am I already HALF WAY through college?) Thankfully the weather cooperated and we had beautiful sunny weather for both the ceremony and our party afterwards. It was such a great day!
June was also a great month for TV and movies. I finally finished watching Twin Peaks, which I absolutely loved (though the last episode was AWFUL). Recently I started watching Freaks and Geeks and I’m already so invested. Not only is it hilarious, but the characters are also so easy to relate with. I was definitely a geek in high school, though thankfully I was never bullied to the degree that Sam, Neal, and Bill are in the show. There’s only one season of the show (*sobs*) so I should be able to finish it pretty soon. The best movies I watched in June were The Last Five Years, La La Land, and Wonder Woman (if you haven’t seen it yet, you definitely should!).
Here are some notable posts from my blog this past month:
- Are Book Hauls “Meaningless” Content? | Discussion
- The Happiness Tag
- Summer is Here! | Book Haul
- The Happy Videos Tag
- I’m studying at OXFORD?!?! | Study Abroad
- Liebster Award | 4
- My Problem with Shakespeare | Discussion
- Sunshine Blogger Award | 3
Here are some posts that I loved reading this month (there are so many!!):
- Dana shares some do’s and don’ts of bookstagram
- Aoife proposes putting several scary books in the freezer
- Shar explains how blogging has changed the way she reads
- Adam discusses bending boundaries with literature
- Mikaela lists 16 thoughts every book blogger has had at least once
- Gee talks about what to do when you own too many books
- Asti celebrates her favorite trees in fiction (!!!)
- Shanti talks about the need for more “own voices” settings
- Eva wonders why technology isn’t mentioned more in YA
- Aimal gives book recommendations for your Hogwarts house
- Analee shares 7 things about bookworms that are TOO TRUE
- Emma talks about reading outside your bookish comfort zone
- Hannah lists books that helped her through high school
How was your month of June? 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
Holly this is awesome, thank you so much for the shout out!
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No problem!! ❤ Thanks!!
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Ah, thanks so much for linking back to my post! I absolutely loved writing that one, so in glad people enjoyed reading it! ❤
And omg, getting to study abroad in England sounds absolutely amazing! 😄 I’ve always wanted to go there someday! I hope you have so much fun once September rolls around!
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No problem! ❤ And thank you!! I'm super excited… September can't come soon enough!
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Oh goodness, I haven’t done my June wrap up and I forgot entirely I’d have to pick a favorite for June….
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Oh no!! Better late than never 🙂
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Studying at Oxford sounds amazing! I hope you’ll enjoy it!
My brother also gratuated High School this month, but he’s older than me, so the roles are switched.
Thank you for mentioning me! I highly appreciate it ❤
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No problem!! And thanks so much!! ❤
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Matilda was a great book! My favorite of the month is always and forever lara jean by Jenny Han
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I’ve never read any of the Lara Jean books, but it seems like everyone LOVES them. I might have to give them a try sometime!
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Congrats to your brother! I hope you have fun at Oxford. That sounds like an amazing opportunity.
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Thanks so much!! 🙂
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I’d like to read The Road to Little Dribbling as well at some point. I’ve read Notes on a Small Island and really enjoyed it.
Thanks for sharing some great blog posts. I love checking out blogs.
Have fun at Oxford!
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How do you read so much? I’ve started reading 100 pgs a night and am going to see if it helps. Hope you have a lot of fun at Oxford!
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It seems like you had a lovely month, Holly! I’m really happy about you being lucky enough to go to Oxford, you’re going to have such an amazing time, I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures! 🙂 Congratulations to your brother as well for graduating! 😀
I hope you’ll have a great July ❤
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It sounds like you had a great month! I am so excited about you getting to study at Oxford and I’m not even the one going xD. I hope that is amazing!!
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I’m still so happy for you that you get to study at Oxford! ❤ And 9 books is a wonderful amount of books read (same as me 😛 )! Have a great July!
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What exactly is on your TBR-for-Oxford list?? Just curious! 😊 Also, so glad you liked Matilda. I read it AGES ago and remember really enjoying it. Because every small bookish girls wants superpowers, you know?
~Hermione
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Wow, congratulations on Oxford! That sounds absolutely wonderful! And it’s so funny hearing you talk about feeling old… younger siblings have a habit of making you feel that way right!? My baby brother will be 22 next month and that makes me feel so ridiculously old. So does you talking about graduating High School only 2 years ago as it’s going on 8 years for me *curls up and sobs*.
You read some fantastic books last month. I absolutely adored Fantastic Mr Fox as a kid. I had the audio on tape and I would read along with the book. I am currently collecting all the Roald Dahl stories for my toddler when she is old enough to be interested in them. I will have to try and find that same audio I had as a kid for her.
You’ve watched some great shows too! Both Twin Peaks and Freaks and Geeks are fantastic and should be watched by everyone! I’ve definitely watched Freaks and Geeks more than once.
I haven’t been blogging long, but I love this idea of a monthly wrap up. I do a post about my favourite things of the month (books, music, food, flowers etc) but I might have to take inspiration from your post and do my own version of a wrap up too in the future!
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I’m still super pumped for you about Oxford! What an amazing accomplishment!! Sounds like you had a really lovely June and I hope you have an even better July! 😀
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Ah, I’m a bit late but congratulations on Oxford University! That’s absolutely incredible, and I’m super pumped for you. Twin Peaks and Freaks & Geeks are both TV shows I’ve been meaning to watch, but have been putting them off because once I get invested, I ~need~ to binge in a week or two.
Thank you so much for linking to my post, Holly. That means a lot to me. ❤ Good luck with everything in July – I hope it's a wonderful month for you. 🙂
~ Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks
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Ahh that’s so exciting that you’ll be studying at Oxford from September – ENJOY! It’s going to be such an amazing experience. 🙂 I feel old too. My family has been best friends with this other family since I was 3 or something and I still remember holding the one little boy in my arms a few weeks after he was born and he’s now 14! And his little sister who I’m really closed to is now 8 and she was 4/5 which feels like a few months ago! It’s crazy how time passes.
I haven’t read any of these except Matilda which I LOVE SO FREAKING MUCH. Ahem. But seriously, one of the best books ever!
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Thanks so much!! 🙂 I feel that way about my dogs— they have so many gray hairs now haha
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Two years isn’t that much time, but I understand, it feels like high school started yesterday for me, but I’m done with it 😛 And you’ll be studying at Oxford, how exciting! enjoy!! ❤ I'd love to study abroad, but at the same time, I'm not sure if I'd be ready for that
I love the soundtrack, tho.
I haven't watched Wonder Woman yet – what am I doing with my life?? haha And I really liked La La Land, but it's not part of my list of favourites
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Did you watch the new season of Twin Peaks or the original. I still need to watch the new season, but the really long first episode is a deterrent. 😂 I really want to watch Freaks and Geeks! And I just saw Wonder Woman this week. It was so good!
I really liked Asti’s post on trees in fiction, too.
I had a great June. I read a lot of books, watched a lot of shows, and went on a small trip. There are pictures in my recap if you want to see. 😊
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It’s so good to hear that you had a great June! 🙂 I watching the original Twin Peaks series but I really want to watch the new season soon… I need to know what happens to Agent Cooper ASAP!!
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You read a lot of classics and older books this month! I’m superimpressed – I always try to dedicate myself to reading older books, but then my Netgalley list grows longer and books on hold come available…..good for you. You obviously have more will-power than I. Matilda is so much fun! You might have just motivated me to reread it.
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I have such an ancient reading taste haha 🙂 I hope you enjoy Matilda even more the second time around! ❤
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