Summer Favourites
September 14, 2018
It's mid September and summer is well and truly over now, so thought it was a good time to talk about some things I've been loving this summer. I'm very much a creature of habit: while I love finding new things I often stick to the same TV shows and books and find a lot of comfort in returning to them again and again. For some people summer is associated with holidays, adventures, going away and having new experiences, but since being at university for me summer has become a time for being at home for a few months at a time. That's especially true this year as last year I spent two months living alone doing an internship, so in a way this summer has been a time for familiarity and being at home.
The Harry Potter series
Every couple of years I get an overwhelming urge to revisit the Harry Potter universe and read all seven books from start to finish. Sometimes I watch the films over as well, but this time I stuck to the books. For me Harry Potter is peak cosiness and childhood nostalgia, and although I think seasonally they fit better with autumn in terms of maximising that cosy feeling. Even though it's been a few years since I was at school (and I'm just entering my last year of education), there's something about stories set in schools which is inherently comforting to me, I think it creates a familiar environment and helps me identify with the characters which of course I did more when I was of that age. There's not a lot else to say about my re-reading of Harry Potter to be honest, just that they were just as good as ever and much enjoyed.
Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates
Continuing with the book theme, a stand-out favourite of the summer was this book by Laura Bates. I've been aware of the Everyday Sexism Project for a while now (check out the website here) and we even covered it in one of my university modules last year, but I hadn't got round to reading the book. Having finished it, I have to say stop whatever you're doing and read it now. I thought I couldn't be surprised any more at the pervasiveness of sexism and sexist attitudes in society, but on every single page there was some terrible statistic or experience which felt like a punch in the gut, to the point where I read a lot of it in tears. Each chapter covers a different theme, from academia to the media, and I have never read anything which resonated with my own and friends' experiences so clearly. It was harrowing to say the least and I honestly think it should be required reading for everybody.
Twin Peaks: The Return
It's taken me over a year to finally watch all of the new season of Twin Peaks, mostly because I wasn't able to watch all of it when it was initially released and had to wait until I got it on DVD for Christmas, but then I also decided I wanted to re-watch the first two seasons before I started it which was actually a good idea. In many ways The Return blew me away. I'd only watched up until Episode 8 before and had been highly confused by everything going on, but when I got past about Episode 10 this time around things started to fall into place. My favourite bits were definitely the parts that focused on the FBI team and the Twin Peaks police department, although some of the new character storylines started to grow on me too. I think the stark difference between the old and new series for me is that the old series is now so familiar, and with the exception of a few disturbing scenes it's generally quite easy and predictable viewing in the sense that things happen in logical order and (again, generally) the weird is toned down. The Return, on the other hand, embraces the weird fully and deliberately tries to unsettle the watcher and create an uneasy viewing experience. Personally I really enjoy being make to think and second-guess my assumptions when watching TV because I feel more engaged with the material, but I can see why people might feel negatively towards The Return because of it. On the whole I think the new season is definitely on a par with the original, although to compare the two in style and content is unhelpful.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
While I was in my Harry Potter phase this summer I came across a Harry Potter game called Hogwarts Mystery which launched earlier this year. It's an app which is available for Apple and Android (I think?) and I downloaded it onto my iPad and quickly became obsessed. As a general rule I'm no gamer, but the storyline and style of it brought back a lot of memories of playing similar Nintendo DS or GBA games as a kid when I had a few Harry Potter games. It's set in the period between Harry's escape from Voldemort as a baby and him arriving at Hogwarts and follows a story about your character's brother who was expelled from Hogwarts for trying to find and opening the 'cursed vaults'. There are various tasks you have to complete to progress, including attending classes and developing friendships as well as side tasks which can help earn you points and rewards. The only really annoying thing is that it takes so long to complete anything because the main currency of the game is 'energy', where a unit of energy replaces itself every 4 minutes. Different tasks take up different amounts of energy and are time-limited to make it even more difficult, as I've been in a position a few times of not having enough energy to complete a task but running out of time. Of course you can pay real money to replenish your energy, but I'm not that obsessed and I frankly draw the line. I've been playing it for about a month and I'm progressed to Year 3, but I've also been at home mostly and able to go on the game every couple of hours. It's nothing ground-breaking as a game but I've really been enjoying it, especially as I was reading the books as well.
And those are my favourites from this summer!
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1 comments
I feel like I need to read the Harry Potter series. I was one of those kids who never read it!! Time to using the busy excuse. That game sounds fun too!
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