What's Occurring?

The Pages

• I've read a couple of good'uns since the last 'What's Occurring?' post. Highlights include: The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion; Ten Girls To Watch by Charity Shumway; and #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso. Reviews to come for all. Some that were just okaaaay: The Vacationers by Emma Straub (I'm sure it would've been perfect for the pool but I read it during one of the most miserable weeks, weather wise, in London) and The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp, which I've wanted to read for so long. Spectacular is one of my favourite words after all. I probably hyped it up too much in my head. Oh, and I started Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, another I've been looking forward to, but I just wasn't in the right mood. It seemed too twee. I'll try again later. 
• I've recently reviewed: Roomies by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando and These Days Are Ours by Michelle Haimhoff. 
• I'm currently reading: The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. 

The Soundtrack

• I looooove Jhene Aiko's album 'Souled Out' and I've been listening to Tinashe too. 
• I tried Ariana Grande's latest album but wasn't feeling it. Why does she slur all her words?! It's really distracting. 
• I've also been on a bit of a Beyonce binge since that VMA performance. 
• Looking forward to seeing Pharrell in concert next month! 

The Words

• I haven't written anything concrete. Just dabbling with a new idea. NaNo is almost upon us but we'll see...

And The Rest...

• I watched all of Orphan Black season one last weekend. Brilliant show! I'm also still working my way through Total Divas and I've started watching WWE Smackdown again haha. Great British Bake Off is back on our screens but I'm not really into it this year. 
• There are two new shows I've started following too - NYMed and A Season at Julliard. Both are set in my favourite city in the world and are very interesting. 
• I haven't really watched many films. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, which was excellent. I also watched Kings of Summer last week and thoroughly enjoyed it - great soundtrack. It was similar in tone to The Way, Way Back, which I watched whilst I was ill and it cheered me up immensely. I'm hoping to get some tickets for some of the films on offer at the London Film Festival. 
• Taraji P. Henson (love. her.) and Viola Davis both spoke out about being a successful black actress and dealing with the lack of recognition. Both are far more talented than the likes of the Jessicas and co. but we're always hearing about what they're (not) doing. Strange, eh? 
• Similarly, Duana at LaineyGossip wrote a great piece of Keke Palmer and her stint on Broadway as the first black Cinderella. You go Keke! 
• I feel like I should listen to some more podcasts on my commute. HelloGiggles have compiled their top 5 girlboss podcasts - I'll have to try them.  

So, what have you been up to?