April-May-June 2019 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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Hello fellow readers! It's been a while since I last posted anything on this blog. It's been waaayy overdue but I still feel the need to post this because it's actually been sitting on my draft for a long time. So here it is, my wrap-up for April, May, and June. Yes, three months. I haven't posted anything in three months! In terms of reading, I still read. Not as much as when I was a student. But at least I'm still reading. I even managed to finish two series and one duology lately which I'm satisfied with. I think I'm doing good with my reading. As for blogging, well, that's another story; and I'm going to fix that. Here's the list of books that I read in April, May, and June.

Books read in April

	Mosters of Men - Patrick Ness (★★★)
	Monsters of Men is the last book in the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. Since this is the conclusion of the series, I won't say anything much about the plot. To be honest, I don't love the series as much as what most people in the book community do. But I won't deny that the series do have important stuff to talk about. The series keeps getting better and better as it progresses to the last book. I won't write a full review of this book, but I did write a full review of the first book and the second book if you're interested to check them out. All in all, Monsters of Men is the nice conclusion to the series.
	The Martian - Andy Weir (★★★★)
	The Martian is a science fiction début novel by Andy Weir. It follows Mark Watney, an astronaut who's in a mission to explore Mars. Several days in, there's a dust storm which forced the team to evacuate. Unfortunately, because of an accident in the middle of the storm, Mark was presumed dead and being left behind. As it turns out, Mark is still alive. So he has to survive with limited resources until the next Mars mission. This book is written in a journal log format. Though there's a lot of technical science explanation in this book, it doesn't hinder my reading experience. In fact, that's one of the thing that I enjoy from this book. It makes me rediscover my love and excitement for science and Mars exploration. If you want to know more about what I think of The Martian, I've written a full review of this book which will be up on this blog.

Books read in May

	The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han (★★★★)
	The Summer I Turned Pretty is the first book in the Summer trilogy by Jenny Han. It's a contemporary YA series following Isabel Conklin and her relationship with the Fisher brothers. I think this book is a perfect summer read. It's fun, fluffy and easy to read. It gives off a strong summer vibe. I recommend this book if you're looking for a summer read. If you want to read more about my thoughts on this book. I've written a full review which will be posted on this blog.
	It's Not Summer without You - Jenny Han (★★★★)
	It's Not Summer Without You is the continuation of The Summer I Turned Pretty. Something big happened in the Fisher family after the summer in the first book. So the next summer, they don't spend it in the Cousins house any more. Conrad goes missing, Jeremiah asks Belly to help him find Conrad. This book still has the same summer vibe as the previous book, but this one deals with more issues, such as grieving and finding yourself. The love triangle is still happening but not as prominent as the previous book. I like this one better than the first book. I like the interaction between Belly and Conrad. However, this book doesn't end the way I want it to. If you've read the first book, I recommend continuing with this one.
	We'll Always Have Summer - Jenny Han (★★★★)
	We'll Always Have Summer is the last book in the summer trilogy by Jenny Han. I can't say anything about it without spoiling the series. It still follows Belly Conklin and the Fisher brothers. They all are in college now and their relationship gets even more complicated. Belly makes some questionable decision that becomes the centre conflict in this book. But I like that it's emotionally intense towards the end. It ends the way I want it though, which is a great because I like the second book better. All in all, We'll Always Have Summer is a good conclusion to the series.

Books read in June

	Man Tiger - Eka Kurniawan (★★★★)
	Man Tiger is an Indonesian literature book by Eka Kurniawan. I know, despite of the fact that Indonesian is my first language, you might find from this blog that I don't read that many Indonesian books. This book intrigued me because it's so critically acclaimed and even being nominated for a Man Booker international prize. Man Tiger is a crime novel which focuses more on the why it happened and how. The who itself is disclosed at the very beginning of the book. For a short book, Man Tiger is quite a complex book. Anyway, I've written a full review of this book which will be up later on this blog.
	Just One Day - Gayle Forman (★★★)
	Just One Day is the first book in Just One Day duology by Gayle Forman. It follows Allyson Healey and her adventure in Paris with a man she just met named Willem. Though it sounds romantic, this book doesn't solely focus on Allyson and Willem's romance. Just One Day also follows Allyson's self-discovery journey. Many people that I know who've read this book praise it, which I understand why. But I feel like this book doesn't give that big impression to me. I think that's partly because of who I am when I read this book. Maybe had I read it years ago when I just graduated from high school and starting my freshman year in university, I'd have given this book high rating because of how relatable it is. This book is relatable, just not to me. But it's still a good book to read. If you want to know more about my thoughts on this book, you can check it out on this blog later this month.

Review Posts in April
Circe - Madeline Miller

April Favorites

Book

The Martian

May Favorites

Series

Six Feet Under

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Six Feet Under is an American drama series which premièred on HBO. It was aired starting from 2001 until 2005 and consists of 5 seasons. The show is critically acclaimed and I've heard good things about it. This show has actually been on my to-watch list for some time but considering the theme of the show, I think I have to be in a good place mentally while watching it. My God, what a ride it was. It follows the life of the Fishers who own a funeral home. In the pilot, Nathaniel, the patriarch of the family, died of an accident. So the family members have to rearrange their life plan to adjust to the situation. The eldest son, Nathaniel junior has to step up and take over the funeral home business which he's been avoiding his whole life. With the help of his younger brother David and their business partner, Frederico Diaz, they try to keep the funeral home open throughout the series. Since it's a show about a funeral home, each episode the characters are forced to deal with human mortality. It's such a poignant and touching show. When I first started watching the show, I didn't expect to like it. But then the more and more I watch it, I became attached to the Fishers and the show makes me reflect on life. One thing though, when I was in the middle of watching season 5, the final season of Game of Thrones was on air. The internet went crazy on how bad the ending of GoT is that some of them give examples of a good series finale. Six Feet Under is on the list. Then I got to Six Feet Under finale and I have to agree with them. I cried. All in all, it's a good show I highly recommend it. But I recommend it to mature audience because of the theme, vulgarity, and some violence in the show. Other than that, excellent show.

Music

Map of the Soul: Persona

Yes, it's a Kpop album and yes, it's a BTS album. Before you throw any shade because it's kpop, let's treat it like any other music from western musician. That's what I did. After all, music is supposed to be universal. Believe it or not, I started listening to BTS a long time ago. I think since the most beautiful moment in life era. But I didn't pay attention to the boys. I was purely listening to their music because their songs are catchy and if you're willing to spend more time to understand the lyrics, their songs resonate well with the young generation. Anyway, for this album it started with Boy with Luv. Once I was hooked, I'm intrigued with other songs in this album and they all are good. For recommendation, besides Boy with Luv, you can try listening to Jamais Vu; or Make It Right which is their collaboration with Ed Sheeran. Mikrokosmos is also a good one, always gives me chills. Nevertheless, try to listen to their music without any prejudice. Who knows? you might end up liking it.

June Favorites

Book

Man Tiger

Series

Black Mirror - Smithereens

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Netflix finally released new season of Black Mirror. As usual, Black Mirror is highly anticipated ever since they release a teaser trailer for the new season. There are 3 episodes released for season 5, 'Striking Vipers', 'Smithereens', and 'Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too'. Of all the three, Smithereens is my favorite. I think because it hits the closest to home. I won't say anything about the episode since Black Mirror is the kind of show that's better not knowing before watching. Although this season is not as shocking as the previous ones, I still recommend watching Black Mirror especially Smithereens episode.

The Twilight Zone (2019) - Nightmare at 30,000 Feet

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The Twilight Zone is a classic anthology science fiction show. The original show was on air in 1959. The show has been revived several times. My first encounter with the Twilight Zone is actually with the 2002 revival version. I like it a lot I decided to watch the original show but end up only watching the first five episodes. When they announced that Jordan Peele was going to revive the show, I was so excited. I was especially curious to see if they're going to update the show and give some modern twist to it. Let's just say that overall, I'm not disappointed. Although, judging the episoodes individually, each kind of hit or miss to me. Some I do enjoy, some are just meh. Nightmare at 30,000 Feet is definitely my favorite of this season. I believe the episode is a nod to the original twilight zone episode. I haven't watched the original episode but heard good things about it. Funny thing is, I was actually going to travel by plane just several days after watching this episode. You can imagine how paranoid I was back then. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this episode to watch even if you've never watched Twilight Zone at all.

There you have it! Honestly, these past few months have been up and down for me. Mostly down, to the point that I didn't have time to myself, to sit down and write write when it's actually what I needed. Sometimes I forget how creating something or writing can be healing. Thankfully, I found another outlet to heal and I'm glad I found it. Anyway, that's my wrap-up for April, May, and June. How about you? Do you have good experiences you want to share these past few months? Did you have a good reading month?