Get Your Summer Reading Sorted

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As we approach summer, it’s the perfect time to find some good books to read during the hot months. After all, with vacation season approaching, it gives us plenty of time to do some reading. In fact, there is nothing better than relaxing on your sunbed in the hot sun with a good book in your hand. But what books should make the pile for your holiday reads? I’ve compiled a few which you will love to read this summer. Therefore, here are some good novels which will get your summer reading sorted!

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

It appears that all everyone seems to be talking about at the moment is the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. In fact, you will find online a wealth of articles with people giving their opinion on the series. After all, it’s definitely brought a tough subject to people’s minds as the series focuses on character Hannah Baker’s reasons for committing suicide. And the controversial series has been a surprising success. In fact, it’s been one of the most tweeted about programs of the year so far. And it might not come to anybody’s surprise that producer Selena Gomez revealed that there will definitely be a second series! However, if you are missing the series, and want to go back to where it all began, you should look at reading the original 13 Reasons Why novel by Jay Asher. After all, books are often a lot more thought provoking than TV shows. And if you are in the mood for a cry fest, it’s one book that should be on your radar. Of course, the book is hard going and intense. But it will definitely get you hooked from the start as it goes through the 13 reasons why she felt it was her only option and the people who let her down. If you haven’t seen the series, you still might want to consider reading the book which goes through tough topics. Just make sure you have plenty of tissues on the sunbed next to you while you read the book!

The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick

Author Amanda Quick came to the forefront after releasing best seller ‘Till Death Do Us Part. And now she’s back with a great summer read which is rising high on the charts for the summer. In fact, you will find her new novel The Girl Who Knew Too Much on the bestseller chart in a lot of the major stores. You can even get an online copy by getting some Barnes and Noble coupons which will make it a cheaper purchase. And if historical romance is your thing, it’s definitely a book which should be on your radar this summer! The new novel is set in the 1930’s and is full of glamor and scandal. In fact, it focuses on the Burning Cove Hotel where a famous actress is killed. And reporter Irene tries to find out the truth of what happened, alongside the owner of the hotel Oliver. The story progresses with the two revealing some very dark secrets which bring them closer together. It’s definitely a book which will have you hooked till the very end. And will transport you back to the 30’s while you are lying on your sunbed!

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

Known for her Shopaholic series (and film which starred Isla Fisher), British author Sophie Kinsella has been coming back with best seller after best seller ever since. And the author doesn’t seem to be slowing down with another great book which should be added to your summer pile. My Not So Perfect Life is a great chick lit novel which will keep you occupied in the summer sun. The story focuses on Katie Brenner who is living in London and working for an advertising company. To keep pretenses up, she pretends to have the perfect life on Instagram (don’t we all). But in reality, she is stuck in a small flat and having to endure a long commute every day to a job with an awful boss. The story takes a twist when she has to return home and starts to help her family set up a glamping business. It’s a great story with many twists and turns along the way. And there is a nice romance side of the story too that will keep you hooked to the very end! There are also parts of the book which will see you laughing out loud, so be prepared for the funny looks from other beach goers!

And remember to get a good pair of sunnies. That way, you can keep reading even when the weather is scorching!

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Summer Movie Musings: Star Trek Beyond

Greetings!

I wanted to write up some thoughts on my latest summer movie love of this year, Star Trek Beyond (I'll get around to Ghostbusters next week).

I checked out this movie this past week on Thursday night. I was looking forward to it after some good buzz in the weeks leading up to the film's release. I wasn't as hard as others were on the previous installment, Into Darkness, but Beyond is a much better movie. This film feels like the first time this rebooted series is breaking out on its own.

The plot finally gets the Enterprise crew off of Earth, and encountering strange, new worlds on its five year mission to explore the galaxy. We have some better character moments, a better message, and is just solidly fun. I look forward to what is to come next after this movie, but it does have to unfortunately move forward without cast member Anton Yelchin due to his recent tragic death.

This film also has the recent death of Leonard Nimoy hanging over it, as well as the 50th anniversary of the original series premiere. The future of Star Trek is being highly scrutinized right now, and with the premiere of Star Trek Discovery coming next year, we will see if the optimistic, thoughtful vibe of Star Trek is something people want right now. I will say that I hope it is.

Let me know what you thought of Star Trek Beyond if you saw it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Movie Musings: Ant-Man

This past weekend, I saw the new Marvel movie Ant-Man with a group of friends. It's been an anticipated movie for me since it continues the long, positive streak of films and television shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). While the trailers had me a bit worried, there was a lot of good buzz going in ahead of Ant-Man's release and the movie lives up to it's Marvel pedigree. It's a lot of fun and further builds upon the established MCU in some very cool ways.

The story surrounds Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and his redemption through his origins as the classic Marvel hero Ant-Man. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who created the Ant-Man suit decades earlier, needs Scott to use the suit to stop the evil plots of Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), his former assistant who has been obsessed with recreating Pym's work. With the help of Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Scott devises a plan to break in and destroy Cross's work for good.

This film is another fun, light-hearted entry in the MCU. It is most like Guardians of the Galaxy, which also has a very different tone and vibe to it. Ant-Man is a heist movie (for the most part) much like GotG is a sci-fi, space-faring epic. None of the other Marvel movies really come close to embodying the unique feel of Ant-Man. What they do all have in common is the fun, humor, and increasingly rich universe they all share. They put Hank Pym into the history of the MCU properly and set up new characters too.

I really enjoyed Ant-Man and I hope people will check it out, especially if you're a fan of the MCU.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 06/26/15

Greetings!

Here's what was going on in my world this week:

• New Student Orientation

This past week has been our summer New Student Orientation at my institution. It's always a fun, exciting time welcoming new students to college and this was the first time I've been able to go through the entire process here. I even helped plan and track everything ahead of this week, so it was really nice to be able to see everything come together. A great NSO can go a long way with paying dividends for the upcoming academic year. If we really a good job getting our new students excited to come to our institution, properly prepared, and generally just feeling like they have support for this big life transition, we can retain more students and have them thrive instead of just survive. I see myself easily (ideally) transitioning to a position with orientation in the near future. It's just so much fun as well as important for the rest of the institution's operations.

• Spider-Man Casting!

I was really excited to see the news this week that we finally have our Peter Parker/Spider-Man casting for the new Marvel Cinematic Universe iteration of the beloved character. Tom Holland will be portraying the webslinger, and since he is a relative unknown, there isn't much baggage coming for the actor, which is good. He has the look and physicality down, so I'm intrigued to see if he has the comedic chops, which is so important for the character, especially go along with the current vibe of the MCU. I'm we'll see much more of Holland ahead of his debut in Captain America: Civil War in May 2016.

• Seinfeld on Hulu!

Seinfeld is one of my favorite shows of all time. I've seen most of the 171 episodes of the show, but I know there are some I've missed. Hulu now has the entire series streaming as of Wednesday, June 24 (only for their paid subscribers). It brings so much more value to the table for people paying into their service, and now, with a Showtime add-on on the way, it is continually proving to be a solid competition (or companion like I do) to Netflix and the other up and coming streaming services.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I Was Geeking Out About This Week - 05/29/15

Here's what is going on in my world this week:

• Vacation

I took some time off last week since my first year as a professional was complete and it was my 26th birthday, so the timing felt right to get away and relax. I went down to Delaware and New Jersey to see my brother, some friends, and meet more of my partner's family that lives around there. It was a lot of fun, I ate a bunch of great food from the area that I miss (bagels, pizza, diners, etc.) and was able to unplug (mostly). I didn't blog much while I was away and just kept tabs on my email. It was nice to have quality time with my partner before she left for her internship in Boston and to just be out of the office. I'm taking another trip next month to Chicago to see a friend and then I'm sure July will have something fun in it as well, keeping my trend of a trip a month this year.

• Work

I'm back to the office this week and it's already jarring having the students gone, especially after the whirlwind of closing and my trip. It's too quiet but thankfully the summer (as it always is in student affairs) is a time to plan and prepare for the upcoming academic year. I have a lot of little projects in my queue (including some personal ones) so I'm stoked to get working on them and make next year even more successful. I feel pretty good about how last year went (more on that in a separate post) but there are always ways to improve our systems and procedures (here at my institution especially). Stay tuned for more reflections on how my first year as a professional went.

• Summer

So I've already talked a lot about summer goings on, but I am pleased to have gotten to this point. The weather has warmed up, the sun is out, I have time to spare for things I care about and some of the positive feelings that were missing during this long, hard winter have dissipated, leaving behind optimism and eagerness for the potential of this summer season. I want to get better about working out, see more of the nature here in Maine as well as some of the institutions here in my home state. I'll let you know how it actually goes, since I'm sure I won't get to everything but that I'll have some salient thoughts from what I do get to.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 05/01/15

Good day to you!

Here's what is going on in my world this week:

• Seinfeld

I love the show Seinfeld. It is a classic television sitcom that stands the test of time. As such, I was pretty excited when it was announced that Hulu will be bringing the complete series to their streaming service beginning in June. I feel like I still haven't seen every episode so I definitely plan to slowly burn through them all to relive my favorite moments and appreciate the series as a whole. If you haven't seen the show before, definitely check it out on Hulu when it's released.

• Summer!

The end of my first academic year as a full-time professional is drawing close, and as such, I've been thinking about how I want to spend my summer. I'm sure it will be a mixture of work and fun (as I tend to like for my down time) but I want to take in all that I can while I have the opportunity here in Maine. That means trying to venture out to Canada, seeing more of New England, and continuing to appreciate the local offerings here in Maine as well. I hope I can get to it all while also planning and preparing for the next academic year. I have high hopes but I believe I can do it!

• Sustainability

I've been working with our campus-wide sustainability committee here at my institution, and it made think about how we make change happen at a institutional level. My perspective on it is that it really can be difficult and time intensive, which needs to be acknowledged, but the efforts of committees like ours need to be strongly supported in more than just lip service and pats on the back to make us all feel good. We need broad support and we need financial support to make things happen. We can do a lot with changing behaviors to make a difference, but for sweeping, lasting change, we need to reform a lot of infrastructure, which costs money. While making sustainable changes gives the opportunity for a return on investment, the initial cost needs to be made, and I feel stifled by that concept most times. I also am impatient and have a sense of urgency for fixing the problems that surround us everyday (that I feel may not be shared by others at times). These are just some stream of consciousness thoughts I've had after going to these meetings for a few months.  We have just started this work on our campus, and we feel very far behind already, and then it feels like we can only move at a snail's pace. It's frustrating but I know you have to start somewhere, so I'll do my best to be patient for now.

Thanks for stopping by!