My Life in June: Pride, Loneliness, and Creepy Monkeys

Hihihi. So I have never done one of these monthly recaps before, but I was thinking I might start doing them as a means of keeping track of my life, blogging, and reading from month to month. As I will be returning to school in September, I will likely have less time for reading and so I thought I might introduce a more personal non-reading aspect to my blog... then again, maybe not if no one is interested. I guess this will be a trial run! Feel free to tell me if any of this is TMI. I can take it.

There are so many bloggers who do these monthly recap type features that I don't really know who to credit for my version. But it would probably be a safe bet to throw in Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner's name as she is frequently the originator of popular memes and features.

My Life in June: Pride, Loneliness, and Creepy Monkeys

The first big event of June for me was the 2013 Edmonton Pride Parade:

(photos from my Instagram)

This was actually my first time attending the pride parade and I have to say, it was kind of overwhelming! In a VERY good way. There were a ton of people who came out to support the LGBT community. It was such an uplifting experience. Definitely gave me the warm fuzzies!

After the excitement at the beginning of June, things quieted down for me for the rest of the month. My bf was away doing field work hunting for dinosaur fossils, so I spent a lot of time on my own and was consequently quite lonely. I know it might sound a bit pathetic to completely fall apart when your boyfriend goes away for a few weeks, but there it is. Can't change the way I feel.

And unfortunately, this really affected my reading habits! I am a total mood reader so if I am not in a good mood, I can't enjoy reading. I got so little reading done in June, it was sad! My mood also affected my blog commenting. I usually pride myself at returning comments to each and every person's blog for everyone who leaves a comment on one of my posts, but unfortch, this did not completely happen in June. And I felt SO guilty about it! Sorry guys, I hope to do better in July!

I did manage to occupy myself and keep my spirits up with a few good get togethers with family and friends, at least. My cousin from New Zealand was up visiting, which was nice because I rarely get to see her. She taught me the Maori word for "book"! There was also an Edmonton Book Bloggers meet-up this month and it's hard not to be happy surrounded by fellow book lovers! I also had a number of meaningful conversations with close friends this month and that did wonders for my psyche.

I also managed to keep myself entertained in June with a number of good TV Shows and Movies that I would highly recommend:

Sherlock is simply brilliant. It's a contemporary retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. I loooove Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock and Watson, respectively. Sherlock and Watson have the best bromance of all time!!

I also watched all 13 episodes of The Comeback starring Lisa Kudrow and it was pretty entertaining. But also uncomfortably awkward in that UK Version of The Office kind of way. It is a brutally honest satire on the making of sitcoms and a reality TV shows. And it's kind of brilliant.

Monster's Inc. is one of my all-time favourite movies, so I was stoked (and a little nervous) to see its prequel, Monster's University. While I don't think a new movie could ever live up to the original, I do think it was a pretty damn good effort. I really enjoyed all the inside jokes and references to the original. But I missed Boo!

I also re-watched 500 Days of Summer and somehow was able to love it even more after the second time. I love it alotalot.


Something else of significance this month: this absolute GEM was found in a thrift store:

O_O  I think my initial reaction was, "Holy shit." I don't know that I have ever seen anything creepier in my life. It appears to be a creepy-ass monkey in a bonnet and pearls. It also seems to be a salt shaker, but its pair was not in the store, alas. And it was only $3, so of course I had to have it. I figure it will make an excellent joke house warming present. But until then, I have to deal with it living in my house. I will be taking Jessica's advice and keeping it locked in my closet at all times lest it MURDERS ME IN THE NIGHT.

Blogging in June

In June, I joined Instagram finally and immediately became obsessed. You can find my profile here. Also, you can leave your username in the comments and I will look you up and give you a follow!

June was the last month of Google Reader, one of my other main obsessions. And of course, as the World's Biggest Procrastinator, I waited until the last possible moment to make the switch. But I still haven't decided which I prefer, Bloglovin' or Feedly. I will follow blogs on both platforms for a while until I make up my mind. Does anyone have a preference?

Posts in June:
Muggle Monday: New Chamber of Secrets Cover Reveal
Waiting On Wednesday: Simon & Schuster Summer 2013 Catalog
Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Summer 2013 Catalog
Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Summer TBR (Help Me Prioritize!)
Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013
Review: Glimmer by Phoebe Kitanidis - 3.5 Stars
Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer - 5 Stars
Review: When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney - 4 Stars
Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - 5 Stars

If anyone is interested in the results of my poll that people voted in to help me decide which books I should prioritize for my reading schedule this summer, here are the results:
1st Place: 38% said Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
2nd Place: 31% said The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
3rd Place (tied): 25% said City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
3rd Place (tied): 25% said Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

And finally, the best book I read in June was...:

The Scorpio Races, of course! It's hard to put into words how much I loved this one. But with the most beautiful writing, characters to love, lots of pretty horses, and a sport that is more dangerous than Quidditch (and that's saying something), it was hard not to love The Scorpio Races. Highly recommended!

Alright, that's it for me. But I would love to receive any feedback with regards to this post, my first monthly recap. Too long? Too ramble-y? Too personal? Maybe less pictures of creepy-as-f*ck monkeys next time? Let me know!