MAY 2018 | Wrap-Up

~ Holly

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

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34 thoughts on “MAY 2018 | Wrap-Up”

  1. Oh, I love the Emirates Stadium – I went to see Muse there many moons ago. Still one of my favourite gigs to date. 🙂 Glad you had a lovely time and enjoyed the tour. 🙂
    Committing to a 48 hour long audiobook is truly admirable. I am a complete commitment-phobe in the audio-world. My idea of an ideal audiobook was Adiche’s We Should All Be Feminists (under an hour long he he). Well done! 🙂
    My fav was either the above mentioned book or Gaiman’s Norse Mythology. Both really enjoyable for me in May. 🙂
    Hope all your school work goes well. And happy reading!! 📚:)

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    1. And thanks linking up my post. Really glad you enjoyed it. ❤
      I haven’t read some of the other posts and will check them out for sure. 🙂

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  4. 48-hour audiobooks! The bane of my existence! They’re always REALLY GOOD BOOKS like Gone With the Wind or A Game of Thrones, but so long you kind of want to put them down just because every time you look to see your progress you’re at 26%. XD Congrats on finishing Grant – I’m really glad you enjoyed it!

    OMG, I haven’t watched Kid Gorgeous yet but I love Mulaney. I’m with you – not big on stand-up, but he’s perfect. He did a bit on SNL earlier this year where he talked about Grown Up Things and how we are all secretly excited to stay home and do nothing, etc. etc. My hero. 😛 Might have to sit down and do that this weekend!

    I’ll have to keep an eye out for your Arsenal post – some of my friends are HUGE fans and I’ve got to pass it forward to them. 😉

    Have a lovely June, Holly!

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    1. Yeah, that audio book was WILD! I kept taking breaks from it to listen to other books because I couldn’t stick with the same one for that long 🙂

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  6. Glad to see you’re still enjoying yourself Holly! 🙂 I absolutely loved Kid Gorgeous as well – I hadn’t seen any of Mulaney’s shows before (only seen him around Tumblr) so I had to immediately watch The Comeback Kid after 😛

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  7. Seems like you had a great month Holly (also yes the weather is gorgeous by British standards and I am seriously loving it!) and I love your pictures. Now I’ve been to Oxford once your photos are making me desperate to go there again! Also yes I love Bastille’s new song, I’ve been playing it on my iPod on repeat all day and it’s about time they released something new right?
    Great post, and thanks so much for featuring my post, I’ really glad you enjoyed it enough to feature it.
    Happy reading, and I hope you have a great June. 🙂 ❤

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    1. Thanks so much, Beth!! I definitely agree–Bastille hasn’t released new music in ages so it feels great to listen to finally listen to something different from them ❤

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  8. what a fabulous post! i love reading these because it’s so cool reading about what shenanigans—that word is so fun to use omg—bloggers have been up to in their free time ❤ you've had such a productive month, and also those photos are beautiful! it looks like you're having a blast! (i've never played croquet, but after reading Alice in Wonderland, it's on my bucket list. alas, i will probably have to play without flamingos 😉

    i watched John Mulaney on SNL recently and he's a new fave! i can't believe i didn't watch him earlier?

    and ahh thank youu so much for tagging me, this made my day! *sends infinite bookish hearts* 💕💕

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    1. No problem!! ❤ So glad you enjoyed reading this post! Have you watched John Mulaney's other comedy specials?? They're HILARIOUS and I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend them 😀

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  9. !!!!!!!!!!!!

    I somehow didn’t know Bastille had released something new, and now I must scurry off and go listen, because I’m so excited!!! Bastille is the best, and I can’t wait until another album from them. It also sounds like a SUPER busy month, but a fantastic one nonetheless. Hopefully June will be a good one for you, Holly, and thank you so much for including my post!! ❤ Wonderful wrap-up! ❤

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  10. May has been a crazy month for me as well, but I feel like it’s been that way for every student I know because of graduation and finals and all the lovely studying that goes with that. 😊 As always, I love how unique your reading list is! Good luck with all your college work & I’m looking forward to all your June posts!

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    1. Thanks so much! 🙂 Listening to audio books definitely helps me get some extra reading in while walking/cooking/cleaning… it also helps that I have to read so many books for my courses!

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  12. The sun has been out a crazy amount of time here too (the netherlands). With a bit too much heat for me and my toddler haha. It is so weird though so early in the year. You’d think it was full Summer already.

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  13. Hello! Great post, it looks like you had amazing fun! You are also really good at taking photos! In may i read 2 books, FANGIRL (inspired me to make my own blog) and HOLDING UP THE UNIVERSE I can’t wait to see what will happen next in June. Speak to you soon x

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