Greetings, friends! Summer is here! June was a busy month, but I still managed to squeeze in some reading, TV series, and music. Here are my favorites:

I Read…

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin. This was a “re-read as a writer” novel for me. I’d read the book last summer and feel in love with Griffin’s writing style – which is lyrical and emotional and oh so lovely!  

The Nature of Witches is not as action-packed as many other YA fantasy novels, because Griffin focusses heavily on the MC’s emotional journey. This, however, makes her perfect for studying character development.

Of course, it helps that the story is cute and sweet and easy-going – ideal reading material during a sweltering summer month 🙂

I Watched…

The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime! Ah, the teenaged nostalgia!

Of course, I was super excited to see this book series become a TV show (Jenny Han is a writerly QUEEN), and I wasn’t disappointed: the show is warm, inviting, and fun. It’s full of all the essentials for a young adult summer romance: first love and heartbreak, the endless possibilities of summer, secret midnight swims, charming boys, a drive-in theater, feel-good friendships, and family.

Also, can we talk about the soundtrack? It. Is. DIVINE (and the lyrics on point)!

To conclude: I’m still swooning!

I Listened to…

“And…Vampires!” with Shelby Mahurin and Adrienne Young!

Mahurin and Young recorded an episode on Always Authors, a podcast featuring candid conversations between two authors, representing the broadest spectrum of literary genres. They cover their work, lives, inspirations, and favorite books. It’s a great behind-the-scenes look at the lives of two of my favorite YA authors!

I Played on Repeat…

The Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite for Clarinet, composed by Paul Reade – an English musician and composer who worked as a repetiteur at English National Opera. The piece won the 1991 Ivor Novello Award for best TV theme music and has become one of the most famous works for clarinet EVER.

The piece is short and charming but demands constant vigilance around intonation and well-developed level of musicality. For all these reasons, I love, love, love playing it!