Another month come and gone before I knew it. May was good to me because even though I was busy with school, I still found time to squeeze in some good TV, good reading, and an author signing.
This month I had the pleasure of meeting one of my faves and fellow Canadian, Moira Young:
She was soooo lovely! I bombarded her with questions about Nero and Tracker (Saba's pet crow and wolfdog from the Dust Lands Trilogy) when it was my turn to talk to her and she provided thorough answers to everything I asked. What's more, she actually knew how to pronounce my name (Eilidh)! If you're keeping count (I know I am), that makes Moira Young the third author I have met who knew how to pronounce my Scottish Gaelic name (the other two were Beth Revis and Elizabeth Wein). I am very impressed by this because it is extremely rare that people I meet know how to pronounce my name and yet so far, a high proportion of the authors I have met have known immediately! Authors know their stuff is all I'm saying.
In the wake of finishing Downton Abbey last year, I have been on the lookout for other period dramas to become obsessed with and boy did I ever find some in May!
Mr Selfridge, The Bletchley Circle, Call the Midwife
Mr Selfridge tells the story of the real life founder of Selfridge's department store in London in the early 1900s. This is the guy who, from what I understand, basically revolutionized the retail industry. Ambur recommended it to me as a means of satisfying my Downton Abbey withdrawal and I can't thank her enough because of course I loved it!The Bletchley Circle follows four British women who used to be codebreakers during WWII. Together, they solve mysteries in a most ingenious manner! So not only does The Bletchley Circle satiate my period drama obsession, but my love of mysteries, as well!
Call the Midwife is set in London's poor East End in the 1950s in which many, many babies were being born and midwives were desperately needed. I first heard about Call the Midwife from Sara and have been wanting to watch it ever since. I haven't quite finished up the available episodes yet, but I'm loving every minute of it so far!
And because it felt like such a momentous event for me, I must make mention of the Great John Green Read of 2014:
Blog Posts in May:
My Life in April: Ripley's Aquarium, Easter Eggs, and Meeting Laini Taylor
Waiting On Wednesday: Penguin Summer 2014 Catalog
Waiting On Wednesday: Simon & Schuster Summer 2014 Catalog
Top Ten Most Beautiful and Unique Bookshelves (AKA Bookshelf Porn)
Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor - 4.5 Stars
Review: Rebel Heart by Moira Young - 4 Stars
Review: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - 2 Stars
In Which I Read Non-Fiction For The First Time And Find Out That It Can Actually Be Really Good - I received so many great non-fiction recommendations from you guys on this post! Bookish friends are THE BEST! THANK YOU.
Best Book Read in May:
I love that you read all five of JG's books in one month. That is impressive! I am also glad that you liked TFiOS- I always get nervous when my friends read a book I loved- so when I knew you were getting to it soon, I was all sorts of nervous!
ReplyDeleteCan we talk about how awesome British Television is. I am glad you started Call the Midwife and that you are enjoying it (I am waiting for you to jump on the Doctor Who bandwagon ;)). I haven't see the other two shows you mentioned, but they are definitely on my list. Specifically, Mr Selfridge. I just binge watched Broadchurch- it was incredible.
Anywho... I have really been loving these posts from you. I like seeing what you get up to (in a non stalker-y way).
What's Broadchurch about?
DeleteI was just wondering that myself and I might need to google it as I always hear good things about it, but have no idea what it's actually about. And heck yes British Television is awesome! It's pretty much all I watch these days...
DeleteIt sounds like May was a pretty good month for you. I'm jealous of you getting to meet Moira Young! Lucky duck!
ReplyDeleteAll three of those shows are on my Netflix TBW list. So glad you enjoyed them.
I haven't read any John Green either, but maybe I will have to follow your example and read them all in order!
Wow! It looks like May was an exciting month for you! Can I say how jealous I am of you for getting the chance to meet Moira Young? That's so awesome! And she sounds super nice!
ReplyDeleteRight now, I'm binge watching Breaking Bad and that is like the polar opposite of all those shows. I really need to watch Downton Abbey though. And I also did not cry when I read The Fault in Your Stars. Like you, I almost cried. I could feel the tears coming, but they never actually did. It was a great read though and so sad!
I hope you have an amazing month and I look forward to more posts from yo!
Oh dear you* not yo haha
DeleteThanks, Courtney! Oh man, hearing you say that makes me want to rewatch Breaking Bad!!
DeleteI need to check out two of those series you mentioned but I LOVE CALL THE MIDWIFE! I so love the show and it's one of the few that actually makes me both happy-and-sad cry often. Have you also seen the Christmas specials?, because they are so good.
ReplyDeleteI've never read a John Green book, you know? I tried once - the Alaska one - but didn't stick, been meaning to read Fault in Our stars but I dunno, I guess I'll watch the movie first. :D
I hope June is most excellent to you!
The Christmas special will be the next episode I watch. CAN'T WAIT!!
DeleteShockingly, I didn't cry during The Fault in Our Stars, but I know I will when I see the movie. I'm hoping to see it this Thursday at midnight; love midnight shows!
ReplyDeleteI still need to read a couple John Green books, but that's awesome you've read them all. I should make one of my goals this summer about finishing up the books I haven't read by him...I don't have much after all!
-Lauren
Amazing post sweetie :D Thank you so much for sharing. <3 Sigh. The Fault in Our Stars. I love that book so much :D And I cannot wait for the movie. Sigh. Hopefully it will be just as good :) I'm so glad you loved the book as well. <3
ReplyDeleteCool, how she managed to pronounce your name the right way :D! I've only read The fault in our stars and that is enough from him at the moment. The other books just don't call as much to me. I also didn't cry, but I was close too!
ReplyDeleteYou're so cute. Great pic. I get sooo starstruck when I meet authors.
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks Juju :)
DeleteI love John Green!! :) My favorite book is Paper Towns, there's just something about that butt-kicking, too-cool-for-school MaRgO roTh spIegelMAn and a road trip. I can't wait for TFIOS premiere though!!
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Go you for reading all of John Green's books! I have the boxset and have read TFiOS and Alaska, but want to read the other two in the coming months- I just keep putting it off, which is unacceptable. Also, so exciting getting to meet a favourite author!
ReplyDeleteWow, you read all of John Green's books?! I still need to read one and will probably start with TFioS. I have a feeling I'll end up watching the movie before reading the book and although that may end up spoiling the book for me, I know I'll end up liking the movie more than if I had read the book first and then watched the movie.
ReplyDeleteI'm not crazy about period dramas - I may need to give Downtown Abbey another chance (and watch it longer) - but The Bletchley Circle sounds interesting.
Oh, and Moira Young sounds lovely. I'm really happy for you that you got to meet her!
Well look at you with another FABULOUS month in the books! Man I wish I lived closer to T.O. and could attend all these bookish events with you :D Even though I still need to read Blood Red Road >.< Oh and now you've made me curious if *I* would pronounce your name correctly...hmmm...
ReplyDeleteAnyways, YAY for meeting yet another fab author. She sounds really great and it's awesome that she answered all your questions too!! Also I love that you found more period dramas to enjoy - I've never heard of any of those but I'll have to look them up after I finally start Downton Abbey! And it's SO amazing that you read ALL the John Green Books...my fellow contemporary shunner :D I'll definitely need to read his books as well, I enjoyed Fangirl so who knows?! Here's to a fabulous June xxxxx
Oh, I'm sure you would pronounce it correctly. Aylee is the phonetic spelling :) And say yes to more contemporary!! From one contemporary shunner to the next, you won't regret it, I swear :D
DeleteOh, I enjoyed seeing your John Green book pictures on Instagram and I'm so glad you went ahead and read all his books. I don't any of the shows you've mentioned but period drama sounds really nice so I need to check them out. And wow! It must have been great to meet Moira Young and have her not just pronounce but also know the meaning behind your name. I didn't know it myself, so I feel enlightened now. Amazing post, Aylee!
ReplyDeleteSarika @ The Readdicts
I meant to do a May recap post myself weeks ago, but never got around to it...but I'm finally checking yours out now! haha You definitely had a great month!! That's so neat that Moira Young knew how to pronounce your name properly, too!!! :D
ReplyDeleteYay for Mr. Selfridge!!! :D I really need to start Call the Midwife myself, and I'm gonna have to definitely check out The Bletchley Circle, too. This is the first time I've heard of it! :) Yay for period dramas! Hooray! The only TV I really consumed myself with in May was Doctor Who (I finally ventured into watching Matt Smith's episodes as the Eleventh Doctor :P haha).
I love that you've read all of John Green's books now! I still haven't read An Abundance of Katherines...I've been saving it! haha My favourite of all of his books is still the first one that I read of his, and that's Will Grayson, Will Grayson!!! :D
I'm glad May was so awesome for you, Eilidh! Since June is (sadly) already getting close to its end, I hope its been great so far, too! :D
Thanks, Ambur!! I hope you continue to post monthly recaps because I love catching up with what's going on with you! Still need to get into Doctor Who... I've been holding off a bit, but I would think if you love it, then I will as well because we have similar tastes in TV shows, it seems!
DeleteYou're welcome! ;D I plan to, but this past month I just kept putting it off, so I figured I'd just skip it. :P I'll make sure to do one for June though...and I'll probably squeeze a bit about May in it, too. :P I heart Doctor Who soooooo much!!! It's addictive, and I knew it would be...that's why I put it off for so long, so I definitely understand you waiting! I'm sure you'll get hooked just as I did...especially when you reach David Tennant's seasons (although Christopher Eccleston is super awesome, too....but Tennant was in Harry Potter, so he gets some awesome points just for that alone ;D haha). We definitely have a similar taste for shows, so I really do have to watch The Bletchley Circle! I added it to my Netflix watch list...so it's on there! :D
DeleteOh good, I love your recaps! Thanks for your advice on where to start with Doctor Who, by the way! I'm excited to get wrapped up in it... I hope I like it just as much as all my friends do!
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