What a wild month of June it was! So much has happened recently that I don’t even know where to begin. (I know I say something like this every month, but this time I really mean it!). Here’s what I’ve been up to:
In June I read a total of 5 books:
- The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
- Grimm Tales: For Young and Old by Philip Pullman
- The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Why I Am Not Going to Buy A Computer by Wendell Berry
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Between finishing up my time at Oxford, adjusting back to living in America, and starting work, I’ve hardly had the time to read. However, the books I did end up reading were fantastic, making it difficult to choose just one favorite. While I loved having my mind blown away by learning that The Lost World was the inspiration for Jurassic Park (which I discuss in my recent Classic Couple post) my favorite novel from June would probably have to be Lincoln in the Bardo. A full review will be posted shortly, so for now I’ll just say that this book is both bizarre and brilliant. I love the unique format as well as the fascinating blend between historical fact and fiction. Would absolutely recommend it!
+ MOVIE: My mom and I have been looking forward to seeing the new Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom for months, and we finally went to the theater to watch it on opening weekend. I know there have been some mixed reviews of it, but I really enjoyed it! There were some great plot twists at the end that made me gasp and one character in particularly that had us laughing out loud throughout the entire film. If you’re a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise in general, then I would highly recommend checking this out!
+ MUSIC: My music choice this month is very general, but very exciting: I finally purchased Spotify Premium! I used to always burn music to CDs to listened to while community an hour back and forth to work every day; however, now I can just connect my phone to my car and play whatever I want. My friends have been telling me to do it for ages, and I definitely should have listened to them earlier–it makes life so much easer (and my car rides so much better!).
+ FOOD: Since moving back home from Oxford I’ve loved being able to eat my mom’s cooking again. It feels great to be able to eat things I know for sure are safe for me to eat with my nut allergy (including my favorite burrito place, which is inexpressibly better than the burritos I ate in Oxford).
+ PLACE: I’m sure you could probably guess what I’m going to list as my favorite place this month: OXFORD. As I discussed in a recent Holly Goes Abroad post, leaving Oxford was incredibly hard and I miss it terribly. I’m so grateful for my amazing year there and cannot wait to hopefully venture back someday ❤
I spent the first half of June running around Oxford trying to squeak in all the last-minute things I wanted to do while simultaneously finishing up essays and tutorials. In a recent Holly Goes Abroad post I discussed all the fun adventures that summer term has to offer, like punting down the river and playing croquet on the Mansfield College quad. Of course, it wasn’t all fun in games–there came a time when I had to say goodbye to it all, friends and places and experiences and memories included. Before I knew it I was hopping on a seven-hour flight and heading back to New Hampshire to start my last summer as an undergrad (eek!!).
My summer thus far has mostly consisted of working at the same nonprofit I’ve been at for the past few summers and studying for the LSAT (the law school entrance exam) that I’ll be taking in July. While I miss exploring new places and hanging out with my friends dearly, it’s also been nice to catch up on some reading, writing, and spending time with my family. I’ve picked up my WIP again and I’m really, really excited about it–I can’t wait to eventually show you all when it’s done! I’m a little over halfway done with a rough draft at the moment, so fingers crossed that I can finish it before the end of the summer.
Here are some notable posts from my blog this past month:
- 20 Questions Book Tag | 2
- A Classic Couple: The Lost World and Jurassic Park
- Feminist Fridays: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Exploring Edinburgh, Scotland | Holly Goes Abroad
Here are some posts that I loved reading this month:
- Sophie Cliff wonders whether Instagram has changed the way we travel for better or worse
- Wendy shares 5 recommendations for body positive books
- Resh Susan shares what she learnt from challenging herself to read 30 books in 30 days
- Krysta talks about summer reading programs at local libraries
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!
And for all my fellow Americans out there: Happy Fourth of July!
Yours,
HOLLY
book oats 
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