June Recommendations by Jen V
It’s been a challenging month for me as I yet again tempted fate by daring to make plans during Covid times. Note to self: It never works. I flew too close to the sun thinking I could visit my parents in Perth for the first time in 27 months and see my friends in Sydney, all in one trip, and I’ve been punished for my hubris by being trapped in Perth as New Zealand said thanks but no thanks to Australia’s latest Covid outbreak. Will I ever get home? Magic eight ball says cannot predict now.
So! I’ve had to keep myself busy this month with various odds and ends. I’ve cooked dinner almost every night (all my recipes come from Half-Baked Harvest because I’m obsessed with it) and did some baking – including having a scone bake off with my parents and trying to make sugar-free snickerdoodles that turned brown because I had to use date syrup. But still delicious!
I have also used all this extra Straya time to catch up on my all-time fave reality TV show – Masterchef Australia. Honestly, the only bright spot of being stuck here indefinitely is that I may make it to finals week. Anyway, Pete is my favourite because he always seems so surprised by positive feedback, seems super kind and has a great friendship with another contestant. I’m just here for all of it.
I’ve been catching up on Lupin on Netflix now the second season is out. I tell myself that watching it counts as learning French but the very intense DuoLingo owl does not agree. The show is a refreshing take on the Arsène Lupin stories which I loved as a kid and I’m really enjoying it! Omar Sy is absolutely compelling as always.
I binged all of Shadow & Bone on Netflix and to say I was annoyed to discover there were only 8 episodes after I read 500 odd pages in preparation is an understatement. Still, I’m glad I read the books because I think it does add to the appreciation of the show. Do I care about Alina? No. Do I think the Darkling is a lot more interesting than Mal? Yes. Does any of that stuff matter? No. Because the Crows are the only important thing in this world, and I would die for them all. I will not be taking any questions at this time, thank you.
I’ve also been watching Loki on Disney+ this month. The Thor crew are my favourite out of the MCU, and I thoroughly enjoy Loki as a character, but I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. Tom Hiddleston is incredible because of course he is, he’s Tom Hiddleston, it just feels a lot like I’m watching Doctor Who. Which I love, so no shade, but still. Only two episodes left so I’ll reserve final judgement!
As for reading – there was the aforementioned Grishaverse novels; the Shadow and Bone trilogy (meh) and Six of Crows duology (perfection). Then there was Mister Impossible which absolutely destroyed me and sent me into a spiral that I could barely stop talking about for days. Poor Jenn D has to listen to all my Ronan Lynch feels (and there are a lot of them). I also read A Deadly Education (another Jenn D recommendation because she knows exactly what makes me tick) which I thoroughly enjoyed and I just want to roll straight into the second one. Phew. So much for my rule about not reading unfinished series!
Music recommendations are a bit thin on the ground from me I’m afraid. I’ve been listening to a lot of T Swift while working (predominantly Evermore at the moment) and Orla Gartland after Spotify introduced us. I’ve been scratching my ever-present punk rock itch with Trophy Eyes, an Aussie punk band from Newcastle.
I’ve taken immense joy in Tom Cardy’s comedy songs this month and highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t spotted one in the wild yet. Not only are they funny, the songs are also just straight bops. There’s no reason for them to go as hard as they do, but they do. Tom’s on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. My personal faves are Big Breakfast and Business Man, which I haven’t stopped singing since March.
If you like podcasts and D&D, you’re in luck because The Adventure Zone has just recently kicked off a new season called Ethersea and there’s still time to get caught up before things get wild, as they inevitably do. Griffin McElroy has taught me everything I know about being a DM, and is just an excellent storyteller, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this new undersea adventure pans out. Very much worth checking out the past seasons too.
Things I’m looking forward to:
Getting back home! So I can attend book club, my HPST group, and pick up my massive pile of reserves from my local library.
Starting Fangirl for season four of the podcast.
Watching the second season of Never Have I Ever, which is due out on Netflix this month. The first season was so refreshing and relatable!
And getting to the cinema to see In the heights, which is out now in NZ. Also Black Widow, Gunpowder Milkshake, and The Sparks Brothers documentary, all coming out this month. Got to support my local cinema!