I Saw Some Bands and Forgot How to Read // May Monthly Wrap Up

 

This month would have been a complete trash fire if it wasn’t for the fact that at the very last minute I was able to see All Time Low, but more on that later!! Thanks for sticking around whilst I’ve been absent ♥.

I bought some books this month!!! I also won a giveaway that Louise @ Foxes and Fairytales hosted on Twitter and chose History is All You Left Me, so thank you so much again Louise 😘

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera • The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan • Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology edited by Danielle Binks

Compared to April my reading this month was TERRIBLE. I only managed to read 2 full books, but do I get extra points because they were books that I actually own??? No. Okay… I have like under 100 pages of History is All You Left Me and I’m so mad at myself that I haven’t been able to finish it??? I’m just in such a slump right now.

 

root by Melissa Tripp ||★★★★ || – This was a really lovely poetry collection! Honestly, I can’t remember too many of the poems but I know I enjoyed them whilst I was reading them and I did annotate quite a few things.

The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan || ★★★★ || – I’ve been waiting for this since last year and honestly I was a little disappointed. I originally rated this 5 stars because I just love this world SO much, but the more I think about it the more I realise this wasn’t a 5 star read. Don’t get me wrong, I still LOVED it and there were so many great elements. It just didn’t connect with me as much as the first book did? I’m still SUPER excited for the third book though.

Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology edited by Danielle Binks || ★★★★★ || – AHHHH. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!!!! So many wonderful stories by heaps of awesome Aussie writers! There were so many stories I never wanted to end like the ones by Amie Kaufman and Lili Wilkinson which were both amazing WLW stories. I loved Will Kostakis’ story too. I’m gonna try and write a mini review for this and talk about each story more.

 

Giant Days, Vol 3 by John Allison (writer) and Max Sarin (illustrator) || ★★★★★ ||  – This is honestly one of my fave comic series and I’m so happy I FINALLY continued with it. It’s so much fun and the characters are so brilliant. I highly recommend this even if you’ve never read a comic before! It’s a contemporary one so you don’t need to worry about any superhero stuff, haha.

Camp Half-Blood Confidential by Rick Riordan || ★★★★★ || – I know a lot of people say it’s time for Rick to give the world of Percy a rest, but I am not one of them. I thought this was a really fun addition! It was really interesting learning more about the history of Camp Half Blood. I just love Rick’s writing style so much. He’s hilarious.

So, I spent the first half of this month being incredibly depressed because I couldn’t see All Time Low when they came out here. Then the next thing I knew I was in Perth (I live 5 hours away from where bands play in my state) and buying a ticket 3 hours before doors opened. I was kinda anxious because I’d never been to an 18+ show in Perth. I was super paranoid about the security not believing my ID because I barely look 18 never alone in my late 20s lmao.

Whilst I was waiting in line The Maine walked right past me TWICE and I was too fucking awkward to say anything so I just kinda stared at them??? Then I found out after the show they were hanging at merch in between Neck Deep’s and All Time Low’s sets and I’m so emo that I missed them!!!

Anyway, the show was FUCKING AMAZING. Honestly one of the best shows I’ve EVER been to.

The Maine were first and I’m so happy I finally got to see them after like 10 years of waiting, haha. I can’t even begin to explain John’s stage presence??? It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. I SWEAR we made eye contact during English Girls and I DIED. Even though they only played a 6 song set they all put so much into it. John also threw water at the crowd and it all seemed to end up in the spot I was in so I was like drenched lmao.

Neck Deep played next and they were good, but I’ve kind of lost a lot respect for them after the vocalist said some shitty things about feminism on Twitter and made a triggered joke. The mosh pit was insane during their set, I got kicked in the face like 5 times from people crowd surfing. I love being in a mosh pit though so I was loving it. I know a lot of dudes seem to think that girls can’t handle themselves in mosh pits, but I like to think I can do a relatively good job, haha. I just kinda stood there and chilled though lmao. I went with the crowd pushing and managed to go from like being 10 rows back to being about 4 or 5. A girl who was like right behind me actually passed out during their set jfc, but the crowd was awesome and Neck Deep even alerted the security so I’ll give them props for that. She ended up being fine once she had some space and some water.

I’d seen All Time Low once before at a festival, but seeing them headline was INCREDIBLE. My show was pretty small, but I’m really glad it was because it felt like I was seeing them back in 2007 or something? Their energy was next level and for the first time in a long time I felt safe and happy and stress free. They make a lot of dumb jokes, but like it was something I really needed and it was great to just be able to laugh and not worry about anything. They played a bunch of my favourite songs like Six Feet Under The Stars, Therapy, Missing You and Jasey Rae. It was especially surreal seeing Six Feet Under The Stars because that was the first All Time Low song I ever heard. I also never thought I’d get to hear Jasey Rae live either so that was such a cool addition to the setlist. Admittedly, up until they released Nice2KnoU I haven’t been the biggest fan of their new songs. They sounded so good live though! It’s like whatever the studio versions were missing came through during the live performance. I HATED the studio version of Life Of The Party, but it sounded INCREDIBLE live. I managed to get to the barrier for their encore and seeing Dear Maria live will never get old. Even though it was slightly better last time I saw them because I got to interact with Jack, haha. Alex also did a shoey on stage (some dumb Australian thing were you drink beer out of a shoe – don’t even ask) and it was fucking hilarious. I’m just so, so, so happy I was able to see them because it had been FOUR years.

I didn’t get to meet anyone after the show because I had to leave straight away, but it was still such a wonderful experience. It’s kinda hard to take photos when you’re having people crowd surf on you, but I got some dodgy videos 🙌🏻

View this post on Instagram

rip @ my emo ass 🖤 no but seriously, this is the second time i've travelled almost 500km to see @alltimelow and it's been so, so, so worth it. this band has been a constant in my life since 2006 and i am eternally grateful. i will never be able to express how much music means to me. it's permanently etched into my skin (& heart), but it still doesn't seem like enough. thank you for everything @alexalltimelow, @jackalltimelow, @riandawson, @zacharymerrick 💖

A post shared by lauren 🖤 (@laurennkara) on May 18, 2017 at 5:30pm PDT

take me back 💔 pic.twitter.com/A9D20M3BUx

— lauren 🔮🖤🌙 (@wxnderless) May 20, 2017

still can't believe i witnessed this 😂😂 @AlexAllTimeLow pic.twitter.com/Odv4mHXf0H

— lauren 🔮🖤🌙 (@wxnderless) May 19, 2017

I also spent too much money on merch (seriously band tees in Australia are like $40 and it’s honestly the only time I’ll ever pay more than $20 for a shirt).

Anyway, to get a little serious now….. Going to shows and seeing live music is one of the only times I feel truly alive. It helps me escape from the self-hatred in my mind. To wake up to the news about Manchester just a few days after I’d been at a concert myself absolutely broke me. I’m still reeling from it. I can not imagine how Ariana and all the people involved felt. My heart goes out to everyone who lost someone. Concerts are supposed to be safe spaces. Music is about healing and bringing the world together. To see something so hateful and horrific happen at a concert is soul crushing. Those kids should have come home from having one of their best nights of their life.

In more of a general life sense things are…. not good. I just feel kinda hopeless and pointless. I’ve skipped out on going to important appointments and trying to fix it now just seems like too much work, haha. Things at home are bad. I don’t know. I hate being so negative on here and talking about these kinds of things, but I’m also trying to teach myself to let things out instead of bottling them up.

I decided to check out Rick and Morty because suddenly EVERYONE was talking about it and it was so not what I was expecting, haha. It’s kinda weird? I’ve rolled my eyes a lot during it. However for some reason I couldn’t stop watching and there have been some really good moments. I finished season 1 and started season 2. I really should have been watching Sense8 because I have been waiting SO long, but I just don’t have the attention span for that show right now. So I watched a cartoon instead because I’m an ADULT!!!!!

THERE’S BEEN SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC THIS MONTH MY SPOTIFY PLAYLIST HAS LIKE ALMOST 50 SONGS ON IT ????? I thought I was going to hate the new Paramore album, but the more I listened to it the more I loved it?

 

Yep. I’ve sucked BIG TIME at blogging and honestly I’m probably gonna be sparse until I can sort my life out a bit more. I’ll probably be back sooner than later though because I miss this place and I miss you guys and when I don’t blog I realise how little I actually do??? Haha.

Some posts from this month:

• REVIEWS:
  • Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
  • Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
  • Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
• Music Monday 🎧 How I Find New Music
• Books I’ve Loved Lately but Haven’t Reviewed

I’m also extremely behind on comments and blog hopping. I’m super sorry, omg. I’m going to try and catch up soon. I’m just really tired??? Thanks for sticking with me ♥

Would love to hear your thoughts on any of the books I read this month!

What were some of your favourites from May?

I hope you all had a great May and an even better June.

 

Find me: Twitter – Goodreads – society6 – RedBubble