July Wrap-Up

Books I Read

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

3/5

While it was totally confusing to read, I did love the story and the general cleverness of Shakespeare (there was one line in particular that used some metahumor, but I'm struggling to find it now). Plus, it made for great discussion at the St. John's Summer Academy, which I attended last week. The whole plot reminded me of one of those sitcom episodes where everyone makes different assumptions about what's going on and ends up coming to a head a few minutes before the end when they realize they were all totally wrong.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

3/5

I got bogged down by the writing style, and these sorts of romantic plotlines with endless discussions about marriage and status and dowries isn't my favorite, but I did enjoy the characters. Elizabeth was pretty ahead of her time and her parents were hysterical. I still have a hard time believing how quickly all of the characters fell in love, but hey, it's not like I don't ship them.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

4/5

This was beautiful! I'd heard nothing but good things about it and was looking for some good poetry to read, so I picked it up at the bookstore on a whim and read it in one sitting. It's very simplistic and raw, which is my favorite, and the bare bones illustrations added to that. Some of it could be a little repetitive, but as a whole, I loved it.

Movies I Watched

"Crazy, Stupid, Love"

4/5

Super fun movie with a great cast! I loved the plot twist at the end. So clever.

"Despicable Me 3"

3.5/5

Not as good as the others, a little more cheesy, but still fun. Mostly I was disappointed with the lack of Agnes. She still had a fair amount of screen time, but not nearly enough for my taste.

"About a Boy"

4/5

I'm pretty much guaranteed to love anything British, and this was no exception. I wasn't a huge fan at first, it's a little depressing and I didn't like the main character, but that quickly changes and I was hooked by the end. Hugh Grant is great.

"Pride and Prejudice"

4/5

I liked this better than the book, and I rarely say that about any story. Keira Knightley made a great Elizabeth, and it was easier to keep track of who was who and what marriages were happening and who exactly owned what estate, etc. I also loved how likeable the movie made Bingley. It really brought his character to life in an Eddie Redmayne-ish sort of way.


Quotes I Wrote

    "Fools," he spat. "Thinking you can rob the Signus Velper, even if I am at the bottom of the sea. You should've learned from the others. No one robs Signus Velper and survives to tell the tale."
    "You should really stop referring to yourself in the third person," Finch said, though he tripped over his words in his anxiety. "As a poet myself, I know a thing or two about language, and it doesn't make you seem intimidating, it just makes you look--"
    "Shut it," Velper snapped.
    "Y-yes, sir."
-Captain Zahira and Her Wayward Crew

Obsessions I Acquired

"Orphan Black" - I'm actually watching another episode as I write this. I don't know how I didn't start before now! After the endless advertisements during "Doctor Who" and "Broadchurch," I finally gave in and tried it out. Tatiana Maslany is so freaking good at what she does, I often forget it's her playing every one of these clone characters. They're all so distinct. I'm totally hooked.

These videos - My friends and I got up to entirely too much fun at our most recent writer's camp. We made three videos: One that turned Norman Bates into a meme, one that's actually a nice slideshow set to music (the campers had an impromptu gathering outside the cafeteria to sing "Little Talks"), and one recording the lip sync to "Gaston" a bunch of us put on for the talent show (I was nominated to be Gaston because I was the tallest and had been in "Beauty and the Beast"). That  lip sync actually ended up winning the "Miscellaneous" category!

At the St. John's Summer Academy, my RA was part of the theatre club and ran a bunch of theatre workshops throughout the week. We had so much fun, she worked with a couple classmates and me to put on the sleepwalking scene from "Macbeth" with a bunch of really cool choreography. There were three of us who played Lady Macbeth, and two other classmates who jumped in last minute to play the doctor and the gentlewoman. The video is dark, but you can still see the choreography pretty well. I'm the one on the very right in the red dress.

Picture of the Month 

Scout always has a seat at the table.

I took my brother to see "Despicable Me 3" at his request, since my movie theater job gets us both in free.

Here are some collages from my last writer's camp!

Also from writer's camp: My roommate and I recreated a bunch of "Sherlock" photos.

  

 

 

This one's my favorite.

 

 

Pictures from the St. John's Summer Academy! One of my highlights from the week was the swing dance party we'd prepared for by taking lessons from the RAs who taught swing dancing to us.

 

How was your July?