May-July 2020 Content Consumption

Today's post is one of my favorite posts to write: a content roundup!  I love watching people's YouTube videos and read people's blog posts about what they've been loving, and it's been so fun rating and keeping track of everything I am reading and watching.  So here is an update on what I've consumed the past few months, and hope you all enjoy!

BOOKS

"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid: 10/10 // This is in my top 10 reads of the year so far.  It is so incredible and I was pretty much glued to my iPad throughout the book.  It's about a writer who is tasked with writing a memoir about a very prominent and private actress, Evelyn Hugo.  There was even a HUGE twist at the end of the book that I was not expecting at all, and it was just so so incredible.  Highly recommend!

"In Five Years" by Rebecca Serle: 10/10 // This is another top 5 read for the year!  This is about a girl who just got engaged and has her whole life planned out.  Until she falls asleep and has a dream that she is five years in the future living in a different apartment with a different man.  The book follows her journey dealing with the aftermath of the dream, and how she handles what she thought was her perfectly planned out life.  Some people I've seen have loved this book or didn't really like it.  I personally loved it and loved watching everything play out with the possibility of the dream in the back of my head as well for the entire book.

"The Glass Hotel" by Emily St. John Mandel: 6/10 // I read this book (and In Five Years") for the Readheads Book Club and this was probably my least favorite out of all of their suggestions.  Don't get me wrong, it was written BEAUTIFULLY and is a great book, but the storyline wasn't necessarily for me.  It's a story about many different characters who all had ties to a certain hotel, and a fallout they all where a part of.  Again, it wasn't a storyline that really captured me but it was very well written and suggest if that sounds interesting for you!

"The Idea of You" by Robinne Lee: 8/10 // This is a book I have been seeing and hearing about for a long time.  So many people have said they have the worst book hangover when they finish this one, so I wanted to see what all the hype was about!  It's about a single mom who takes her daughter and some friends to a boy band concert (based on One Direction) and ends up falling in love with one of the boys at a meet and great.  Hayes is definitely supposed to be Harry Styles which made this even better for me (BIG time Directioner over here!).  This book was juicy, romantic, and just the perfect fun, mindless read.  This book was definitely worth the hype, but the only reason I didn't rate it higher was because it was a little on the smuttier side than I usually like to read.  Just keep that in mind if you go to read it, but I loved this book!

"Big Summer" by Jennifer Weiner: 8/10 // This is another book that I had seen a lot of people post about and the premise sounded exactly like what I was looking for.  It's about a plus-sized blogger who gets asked to be the maid of honor at her ex-best friend's Cape Cod wedding.  This did not play out at all the way that I originally thought it would which gave it a few more points for me.  I love books that take place on the East Coast which is what originally drew me to the book, but the twist that happens halfway through kept me going!  The first 40% was pretty slow for me, but I highly recommend pushing through because then it gets great!

"Code Name Helene" by Ariel Lawhon: 9/10 // This was another recommendation from the Readheads Book Club and I loved it!  I've never heard of this book before but thank goodness for the podcast because it's another one of my faves!  It follows the true story of Nancy Wake, a French woman who helped lead the resistance during World War II.  The beginning was a little difficult for me to get through since it switched between time periods (1944 and 1936).  On top of the switching time periods, there also were a lot of characters in both time periods so I was pretty confused for the first few chapters.  But once I had a handle on who everyone was and when and where things were happening, I was obsessed and flew through the book.  Nancy Wake was an incredible person and I loved learning about her.  Highly recommend for anyone who loves historical fiction!

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' by Maya Angelou: 9/10 // I have never read a book by Maya Angelou before, so I was very excited when this was the pick for the Readheads Book Club.  Oh my gosh I loved it so much.  This only covers from when Maya was very young to when she was 17, but already in such a short amount of time she went through so much.  She has so many more memoirs that cover later parts of her life that I want to read and learn about.  If you haven't read anything by Maya Angelou, add her to your reading list ASAP because she's such an incredible storyteller and person.

"My Dark Vanessa" by Kate Elizabeth Russell: 9/10 //  This is the most recent Readheads Book Club pick, and let me tell you, I read this book in literally 36 hours.  I feel bad saying that I loved this book because it is an incredibly dark subject.  This book follows Vanessa from both present day and her sophomore in high school self as she has a relationship with her English teacher.  For me what made this book so captivating was how well the author captured the psychological toll that the relationship had on Vanessa.  Even as an adult her teacher still had this pull on her, and reading how he talked to her and about her made me so angry.  However, seeing how those words had an affect on Vanessa really intrigued me since it was not something that I had ever gone through.  It truly made me feel like I understood what a victim has gone through and how one event can truly change someone's life.  Huge trigger warning with this book, but it was truly incredible.

"Beach Read" by Emily Henry: 7/10 //  So many people on my Instagram have been posting about this book.  It was already on my "Want to Read" list on Goodreads, but I moved it up after seeing everyone's thoughts.  This book was very good.  I think I over-hyped it in my mind and that's why I don't think it's as incredible as everyone thought, but I definitely enjoyed that.  This book is about two authors, one romance novelist and another who writes dark, angsty books, who end up staying in beach houses right next door to each other.  Both are suffering from writer's block and on deadlines for books, so they decide to write each other's genre.  Of course they end up falling in love and there's even a scene in the rain which is every rom com's dream.  Definitely a great summer read, and definitely recommend if you're in the mood for something light, fun and romantic!

TV

"Community" Seasons 1-6 (Netflix): 9/10 // When I finished this show, I was genuinely devastated.  It was the perfect show to have on in the background while working throughout the day, but I still understood everything that was happening and all of the story lines.  The first four seasons were amazing, but honestly 5-6 were not that great.  I went into it knowing the last seasons weren't good, but I'm one of those people that has to finish something, especially when I was so invested in the characters.  Definitely recommend the first four seasons, but watch seasons five and six at your own risk!

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" Seasons 1-7 (Hulu): 10/10 // I still have a post show-hangover after finishing this and haven't been able to find something that I'm obsessed with since.  This is one of those shows where I knew the characters and the memes from it and have seen a lot of the episodes but just never watched the in order or all the way through.  Oh my gosh am I glad I did!  Andy Samberg is truly a genius and Terry Cruz makes me laugh every time he's on screen.  I can't believe that this show was almost cancelled, and I am so excited for whenever Season 8 will come back!

"Queer Eye" Season 5 (Netflix) 10/10 // Queer eye is seriously the only show where I watch the newest season as soon as it drops.  I have no idea why, but it truly just makes me so happy and I love the energy of the Fab Five.  They are in Philadelphia this season, and I loved everyone that was featured this season.  As usual, I am always so sad that it's over and I am ready for the next season!

"Never Have I Ever" (Netflix) 7.5/10 // This is Mindy Kaling's Netflix should and I've heard great things about it!  So easy to watch because it's literally only 10 episodes and the episodes are short.  It's very high school, but it conquers a lot of issues which I thought was done very well.  Didn't rate it higher because it's a little high school but I loved it and am excited for the second season!  Also, I'm for sure Team Ben!!!

MOVIES

"Yesterday" (HBO) 7/10 // My mom and I have been wanting to watch this movie for awhile, and we finally did!  This is about a struggling musician who, after an accident, realizes that he is the only one who remembers the Beatles and their music, and begins using their songs as his own.  It was very cute, glad we saw it but probably not something that I would want to watch again.

"The Wrong Missy" (Netflix) 5/10 // My family are huge fans of David Spade, and when we saw his new Netflix original movie being promoted, we knew we needed to watch it!  Well, sadly we were pretty disappointed...it was still pretty funny but it was hard to get into it when the Other Missy was just a terrible character!  We cringed every time she came on screen.  We also were not big fans of the ending.  I think overall we went into it with too big of expectations.  Definitely recommend if you want a super easy movie to watch that's still funny and you don't really have to get too involved in.

"1917" (Amazon Prime) 10/10 // We're also pretty big history buffs in my family, so this was another easy pic for us.  This is about two British soldiers fighting in France in World War I in 1917 who have to deliver an urgent message to another group of troops before they start a devastating battle.  We were on the edge of our seats the whole time and I was so stressed out, but that's what made this movie so good!  Highly recommend if you love historical movies or anything really intense.

"Troop Zero" (Amazon Prime) 7/10 // We mainly wanted to watch this movie because it stars Jim Gaffigan and Viola Davis, two of my moms favorite actors.  This movie is about a little girl who dreams of getting a message into space, because space is a love that she shared with her recently deceased mother.  But the contest is only for members who partake in a girl scout-like troop.  So, she goes about creating her own so that they are eligible for a talent show where the winner gets to send a message into space.  It is very cute and heartwarming, but also a little strange so definitely keep that in mind.  Overall, we really enjoyed it and it was a very cute watch.

Let me know what you've been loving!

xoxo, Hannah