What I Currently Love (June 2015)

I saw this idea on Erica Crouch's blog and although I wasn't tagged, I thought it was such a good way of keeping track of my passing fancies, that I decided to make it a monthly thing (maybe even fortnightly, depending on my fickleness!). I'm not sure if there is an existing meme for this and if there is, please comment below with a link so I can give the right people credit where it's due!




ONE ALBUM



Who doesn't love Shut Up And Dance by Walk The Moon? Not many people I know that's for sure. It's infectious sound has been a real earworm and so when their new album came out last month, I couldn't wait to listen to it. To you know, infect myself with further earworms.

It's quite different to their other albums but in a good way; it harkens back to the John Hughes era but brings in a splash of what I love about music now. The best way for me to describe it is, if I could turn YA summer contemporary romance novels into music...this would be the album. It's rare to find an album these days where you like every track but Talking Is Hard is definitely one of those albums for me.





TWO SHOWS



I started to catch up on Once Upon A Time since I had to stop watching mid season 2 when I went to university, and I'm almost at the end, just in time for Season 5. I'd forgotten how much I love these guys and how good the twists in the show could be. The first half of season 4 lost me a little, because I felt like the Frozen storyline was dragged out a lot longer than it needed to and I missed the individual character flashbacks (as opposed to the Frozen-centric ones) but it definitely got back on track!



If you read my writing update, you'll know that the WIP I'm writing this Camp NaNo is a modern day retelling of the King Arthur legends set in London. So what better what to get into that mindset than by revisiting the BBC series Merlin?! I'm marathoning it with my sister, who seems to love it and since she knows next to nothing about the legends, her reactions and who she ships are so cute! Haven't got the heart to tell her that Gwerlin just isn't going to happen...





THREE MOVIES





1. I finally got around to seeing Kingsman - a movie I've been excited about since I first heard they were making, but I still managed to miss it at the cinema (university kind of got in the way). I don't know what I expected exactly but this blew any expectations I had out of the water! It's violent, funny, action packed, well shot, and a great story - plus Colin Firth, so who could ask for more. Taron Egerton is a face to watch out for too.

2. Despite a disastrous time getting to the cinema (just...don't ask), I finally saw Jurassic World! I know people can find criticism with the series, but it's one of those things I'll always love (er...hello...DINOSAURS) and I liked the new installment. I'm dubious about whether they could actually do another one after this - I was anxious that they might be rehashing it with this one - but this one had all the elements I love about the originals.

Well, and Chris Pratt. That's always a nice addition.

3. I feel like I'm displaying a 'late to the party' vibe with these movie choices, especially since Big Hero 6 was released last year too, but I put it on just after finishing uni because I needed something to veg out to after a year of academic rigor, something that didn't require too much thinking. I didn't expect to love this movie as much as I do.

Genuinely, it's fast become one of my favourite Disney movies of all time; aesthetically it's beautiful, with some stunning action sequences, but the message is really beautiful too. Each of the characters is really different and interesting, and I'm a sucker for a superhero movie so it really ticks all the boxes for me. Fistbump! (Balalalalala)



FOUR INTERNET WONDERS

1. Since I've been doing rejigging and HTML stuff with the blog (I am a beginner!), I turned to the amazing I CAN BUILD A BLOG. It does exactly what it says on the tin and I feel so much more confident every time I manage to do something with coding.

2. Not technically a site but...I am finally part of a Goodreads book club called SQUARE IN WONDERLAND and I am loving it! We're reading Grave Mercy right now - come join us!

3. Okay this one is kind of boring but...as I'm preparing to write my dissertation this coming academic year, I love the ebscohost database available through my university portal! I was so worried I wouldn't be able to find any secondary sources for my topic choice (I want to write about YA and publishing trends, surprise surprise) but there is a whole host of articles and books on there to help. I know, I know. NERD ALERT.

4. And finally, THE BROKE AND THE BOOKISH! They do so many great top ten ideas for book blogs...I have to get round to doing them at some point! I love reading everyone else's!



FIVE OTHER OBSESSIONS


1. As always - Pinterest. I've been using it a lot since I'm in the middle of Camp NaNoWriMo and it's an important inspiration tool! As always, here's me if you want to follow :)




2. In the same vein...my #RoyalWriters cabin! They're a great support and we have some awesome chats too. In between sprints, discussing plot points and character developments and coming up with names for our characters too, these guys are really helping me through this. I love them! Dana and I took the sprint to Twitter with royal pizzazz and had a lot of fun!




3. Humus...om nom nom. I don't even know if it's technically considered a healthy snack but if I eat it with carrots and cucumber sticks, that's good right?

4. I wish they had taught camogie at school in England! It's an Irish sport for girls (the version for men is called hurling with slightly different rules) and it's a big deal over here. Imagine lacrosse meets field hockey meets rugby and you're sort of close. The way Americans feel about their football and the Superbowl? Multiply that by 1000 and you might come close to the Irish pride of the GAA. My sister has gotten really into it since moving out here and has vowed to teach me - she says I'm a natural! 

5. I have three group projects in the works; one with Dana, the second Patchwork Press anthology, and a winter romance collection with Dana and Steph. Working with other writers is a lot of fun and I'm really enjoying it; one of the benefits is always having someone to answer a plot hole question!



WHAT DO YOU CURRENTLY LOVE? Are any of my current loves yours too? Comment below!






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