Hello friends, happy Friday! The end of the month snuck up on me; the month was dragging and now it’s over! Now it’s that time to wrap it all up. Today I’m wrapping up all that was May in my life, let’s jump right into it!

Currently Reading:

Skeleton Crew by: Stephen King. I’m now over halfway through this and some stories have been better than others, but to say the least I’m enjoying it. None of the stories have stood out to me too much. There are a lot where I wanted full novels of because the concepts are so good that I just didn’t get enough. I look forward to continuing, I have 9 short stories left!

Le Morte D’Arthur by: Sir Thomas Malory. My next classic read for the next few months because this is a chonky book! I’m so excited to be reading about King Arthur, since I haven’t before. I’ve rad the first 3 books and I’ve liked them, but I’m not 100% connecting with them. I’m hoping to enjoy them a little more as I progress.

A Girl Like That by: Tanaz Bhathena. I’ve literally read the prolong and I have basically zero thoughts on this right now. I do look forward to getting to it, though!

What I’ve Read:

37/100 (my best reading month so far!)

The Innocents by: Michael Crummey. ⭐️ I don’t remember the last time I rated a book 1 star… this was such a disappointment; I wanted to like it, but incest is not for me.

Bad Medicine by: Christopher Twin. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This graphic novel was so horrific in a good way; I enjoyed the creepiness and the campiness of it.

Moon of the Turning Leaves by: Waubgeshig Rice. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was such a great sequel; it wrapped up the stories so nicely.

I Capture the Castle by: Dodie Smith. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I adored this!! So much more than I thought I would; everything about it was so good, so much drama and emotions!

The Sky Weaver by: Kristen Ciccarelli. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was yet another fun and exciting novel in this world! I could read so many stories set here, but I loved the pirate story!

The Prince by: Niccolò Machiavelli. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I breezed through my next classic, and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. Kinda like Art of War… but better.

Shut Up You’re Pretty by: Téa Mutonji. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was short-listed for Canada Reads this year and it was a moving read that I thought was well written.

Intimations by: Zadie Smith. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed her short essay collection. She wrote this in the height of Covid and it was interesting reading it 4 years later. Also, her writing is just so good!

The Future by: Catherine Leroux. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was short-listed for Canada Reads… and this wasn’t my cup of tea. There were aspects I liked, but some I just disconnected with so it made it hard to read.

Links to my my blog posts this past month:

Links to posts I enjoyed around the blogosphere:

The Orangtuan Librarian went through some of her old blog posts to see if she still felt the same way

Bookish Blonde celebrated 5 years of blogging by sharing her favourite books from each blogging year

May was long… yet it just zoomed by – one minute was May first… now it’s the 31! I don’t even know how that happened. I was lucky enough to go on 2 trips; one to Niagara Falls, which I’ve been many times, and to Boston for the first time. I feel like I traveled a lot of Massachusetts while in Boston because I also went to Salem, Cambridge and Martha’s Vineyard.

Work has been up and down, some days are crazier than others, but I’m managing, somehow.

Highlights:

✨Had a nice weekend away in Niagara Falls

✨Went on a wine tour and we had an incredible tour guide!

✨Ate a lot of yummy food

✨Went to a few more bookstores

✨Obviously bought more books!

✨Took a trip with my mum to Boston… and Salem, Cambridge and Martha’s Vineyard

✨Went out with friends for great Italian and great drinks

✨Got back into using my film camera

✨Did a work presentation, and I think it went pretty well!

What I’ve watched:

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; season 2. This season went by so quickly! I can’t believe I’m all caught up with it and now have to wait for whenever they decide to film and air the next season. As for this one, I finally felt like I was connecting with the characters and getting to know them. Watching each of their journeys has been so fun. I love watching Spock feel conflicted about his identities as both Vulcan and human. His relationship with nurse Chapel has been really interesting, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t invested. I also love watching La’an because she’s such a badass, same as Erica, but the plot where they took La’an to Earth… Toronto to be exact, was so cool; her relationship with Kirk is such a slow-burn, I want more! I can’t wait to see where the show will go next!

Law & Order: Toronto; season 1. This was a solid first season; I like that we got really good writing and really good cases that kept us guessing. They did a great job of keeping us on our toes and I could watch so many more episodes of this so I hope it gets renewed for another season. I like the main cast, too. We don’t know too much about them aside from the slight hints they’ve provided from case to case, but I’m so curious about all their backstories, especially Detective Graff, he’s so mysterious that I want to know more. I guess I’ll find out if and when there’s another season.

Angel; season 4. I feel like I understand why people stop watching this show because what was this season?! I felt like I was on a train wreck heading for a cliff. The one thing I do like is that Lorn became a main character; he’s been my favourite since he was introduced in season 2, but aside from that I felt like the writing and the acting and the plots were so clunky and out of place. I had such a hard time staying focused because I stopped caring about any of these characters. So they didn’t kill off Cordie, but they might as well have, the way they used her like that. Then her plot with amnesia, forgetting she loved Angel… only to hook up with his son?!?! WHO IS WRITING THIS AND WHY?!? Also don’t get me started on the pregnancy plot so a divine being can come down and brainwash them all. I get they were writing the actress’s pregnancy into the show, but there are better ways to go about that. They also brought Wesley back as this too cool for the rest of them guy and Gunn and Fred were just background for me. This season wasn’t it. I’ll watch season 5 because I only have 1 more to go… but I fear what I’ll find.

The Good Doctor; season 7. This wrapped up last week, and I’m kinda glad that it’s ended because I think the show took Shaun’s character as far as he could go without dragging it out too far. There were times when I already thought it had gone on long enough, but they did do a great job of tying it all up. I like that they basically came full circle in that they dedicated it to Doctor Glassman who was the first person who gave Shaun a chance. It was really heartwarming and moving. I like that we jumped into the future so Shaun could give his TED talk thanking Glassman, and to see that his fellow doctors and friends had his back. I thought it was really well done. I’ll miss the show because it did have a lot of heart, but I’m happy it wasn’t overkilled.

Grey’s Anatomy; season 20. I found it really hard to believe last night was the season 20 finale because it did not feel that way! It honestly just felt like an end of an episode, or maybe a mid-season finale, because that did not scream ‘I am the end of the season’. There are still so many stories to wrap up, like hello Joe and Link… and a baby?! And we’re just going to leave it there. Or the fact that Quan just ran into his ex-fiancé, and we’re just going to pass it by like it’s nothing. Or the fact that everyone stood up for Adams and we’re just supposed to assume everything will be okay. Then to top it all off, is Meredith leaving medicine like Richard is?! It was all so open-ended and nothing felt resolved. It also felt rushed, like they wanted to throw all this at us… and for what? To wait for another season? It’s like the show is going to be back next week, not possibly next season. For a show to reach a milestone age like this, you’d have thought it would have been bigger. Season 20 was kinda lame and unmemorable. I guess I’ll wait to see if there will be a 21.

Station 19; season 7. Goodbye, Station 19! You were very entertaining for many years. You brought many plots to life, while also speaking to a lot of injustices that happen in our world. I’ve always liked how real this show felt. Of course there was drama, but it was good drama. I’m sad to see it go, but like the Good Doctor, I think this show has run its course. I feel like the way this ended was a little cheesy, but I also liked seeing each character’s flash forward into the future, I thought that was cute. We do get to see into the future and I was so happy to see where characters ended up. Like Travis, who I’ve had a love/hate relationship all season. He’s been so self centred, but he does come to realize it and the way it ends for him is great. I honestly thought Theo was going to show up for Vic, but I’m glad it was Travis. Then, we have Mr. Ben Warren – I saw this coming a mile away, he’ll probably be moving back to Grey’s Anatomy to be a doctor again. I’ve seen a lot of talk about it, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. Anyways, I didn’t like that they kinda got rid of Jack’s character this season. He popped in, but not for long. Also I like how Beckett became one of my faves after hating him when he started, he also came a long way. In the end, I’ll miss this.

List of Movies:

• Disney Movies
  • The Greatest Athlete – I don’t know what Disney’s obsession with failing schools are, but this was another one; it was mildly entertaining.

What I’m watching:

Boy Meets World; season 4. I’m down to last 2 episodes of this season! I will say, the episode I watched the other day had me feeling quite emotional; Security Guard, where Allen gets really proud of Eric for doing well on the SATs… man, what an episode. Like we go from having a bear in the episode to having great father/son heart-to-hearts, what a show. Oh and last month I ended on if Topanga was going to leave… I knew she wasn’t! She doesn’t even leave for a whole episode.

Bear and the Big Blue House; season 2. I’m making a slow progress on this show, I’m coming closer to finishing this season… but I underestimated how long these seasons are… 36 epiosdes! It’s still been a joy to watch.

Star Trek: Discovery; season 5. I have one episode left to watch of the series… so I’m going to hold off on any of my thoughts until I’m finished.

Star Trek: Prodigy; season 1. This only has one season as it got cancelled, but I’m still going to watch it. This is a 20-30 minute animated show where we’re following a ragtag team of kids who find the starship… not realizing what it is. I love that they brought back Captain Janeway as a hologram to be their guide. It’s been a lot of fun. I also love anything Jason Mantzoukas is in, he’s hilarious!

One Day; limited series. I loved this book, I’ve read it a few times, so when I saw they made a TV on Netflix, I was weary. Everyone said it was really good and would tear my heart out. I’m all of 3 episodes in and I’m really enjoying the build up of the characters. I’m excited to see how it progresses (as I obviously know how it ends!).

Instagram & YouTube videos from the month:

How was your May? Read, watch, do anything interesting? Let me know!