55 questions about books - part II.

Hallo meine Lieben,

hope you are enjoying your weekend. Here's part 2 of the questions about books. You can find them on my friend Em's blog. She writes the best books reviews.

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28. Favourite reading snack?

I don't really have a favorite reading snack because that depends on my mood but I do have snacks I love: salt and vinegar chips, pretzels, banana chips, chocolate, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

I don't think that hype ever ruined a reading experience. I mean, I can decide on my own if I like a book or not. 

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?

That depends on the critic. If the critic has a similar taste then I often agree. Obviously. 

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

Well, I am not a book blogger but I think I should really start to write some book reviews. I think I would always say my true opinion when I do not like a book but I would not "trash" it just because it is not my taste. Okay, some books are really poorly written (50 shades of grey, at least the first couple of pages I have read)...

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?

Swedish, Spanish, Dutch, Hindi, Arabic...There are so many languages I would love to be able to speak. 

33. Most intimidating book you have read?

The Stranger and The Plague by Camus I guess. 

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34. Most intimidating book you are too nervous to begin?

I always wanted to read Ulysses but never started it. I am not really nervous about it but kind of hesitant to start. 

35. Favorite poet?

Edgar Allen Poe. 

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

Currently, I do not use the library. But I always came back with way too many books in the past. 

37. How often have you returned books to the library unread?

A couple of times. I often went crazy in the library and checked out more books than I could read. 

38. Favourite fictional character?

Adrian Mole. He is hilarious. Hedwig. Dumbledore. Carl Mørck and Assad from the Adler-Olsen books. Nick Twisp. 

39. Favorite fictional villain?

Lord Voldemort. Patrick Bateman. Hannibal Lecter. 

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41. The longest you’ve gone without reading?

I don't think I have gone a long time without reading. I usually read every single day. So since I learned how to read maybe a day or so when I was terribly busy. But even then I try to read at least a couple of pages before I fall asleep. I am always in the mood for reading, that's for sure. 

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

One Day by David Nicholls. I started this book a couple of times but always had to stop at some point because it annoyed me. I like the idea of the book but I don't really like the book itself. I tried to watch the movie a while ago but did not like it either. 

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

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Nothing really I would say. Well, maybe the pets. When they are hungry then I have to stop to feed them. But you can pet a cat while you read so giving them attention in that way does not distract you very much. 

44. Favourite film adaptation of a novel?

Harry Potter. The Silence of the Lambs. American Psycho. Bridget Jones' diary. Forrest Gump. Brokeback Mountain. Trainspotting. The Graduate. The Lord Of The Rings. 

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?

Youth in Revolt (Nick Twisp diaries). 

46. The most money you have ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

225 euros (295 dollars). But that was for textbooks. I think for all other books it was probably 100 euros (130 dollars).

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?

I would never ever show such a weakness. 

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through?

When it bores me to death. 

49. Do you like to keep your books organised?

Yes, I would love to have my own library which I would keep well organized. Right now my books are not very organized, they are at different locations in different bookshelves and even boxes. I hope that will change soon. 

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

Keep them. I do not give books away. 

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51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?

Not really avoiding but I only read the books I am interested in so I avoid the books that I know I would not enjoy. 

52. Name a book that made you angry.

A statistics textbook I guess. 

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

1984.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?

One Day by David Nicholls.

55. Favourite guilt-free pleasure reading?

I never feel any guilt when I read. But to give an answer: I do not feel guilty about re-reading the Harry Potter books a million times. Or the Adrian Mole diaries. 

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Thank you for reading! I would love to see your answers! 
Have a happy Sunday!

The one with the food and book addictions. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

you can link up for Ten On Tuesday with my friend Alyssa here.

1. You can watch Noddy's (an orang-utan) first day at forest school here (and see lots of other rescued orang-utans). 

2. My favorite smoothie consists of a banana, a nectarine, orange juice, cinnamon, a pear and vanilla almond milk. 

3. I feel like I need to re-watch ER and Breaking Bad at some point. 

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4. My current food addictions are Müsli with nuts, chocolate peanut butter, watermelon and vanilla pudding. I don't know why but I always get obsessed with different kinds of foods and then I want to eat nothing else for a couple of weeks. 

5. This is my friend Moritz, the mini horse. He loves to eat carrots and apples. I often go and visit him and his friend Helena when I go out for a walk. Spending time with animals always makes me happy. 

6. I am still doing my workouts, 5-6 times a week. I originally planned to do them only 3 times a week but it is kind of addictive. Never thought that would happen. Today I did one called "6 week six pack" and it's a pretty mean one. I would not want to do it every single day. 

7. Must love books. 

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8. Tiger loves to sleep. And always looks cute. Animals always make me happy. I am so thankful to have my cats and bunnies in my life. I am hoping to be able to adopt more animals as soon as possible. 

9. Before I start to read I make sure to have enough food and drinks around so that I do not have to get up and get interrupted. 

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10. Sad but true. Meat, milk, eggs....

Evolve Campaigns

Thank you for reading! Have a good rest of the week!

55 questions about books - part I.

Hallo meine Lieben,

hope you are all having a fantastic weekend. I found these questions on my friend Em's blog and I had to answer them...because I love talking about books. 

1. Favourite childhood book.

"Das alte Haus", a book full of stories about an old lady and all her animal, the potato king etc. My mom always read it to me. Also detective stories like "Die drei Fragezeichen" and "TKKG". I was that kind of child who read under her blanket with a flashlight at night.

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2. What are you reading right now?

Several crime novels by Ake Edwardson, Max Bentow and Karin Slaughter. Also a book about sewing because I want to learn how to. 

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

None. I have to admit that I rarely go to the library. I am a book hoarder and need shelves full of them. They make me happy. 

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4. Bad book habit?

I don't know if this is a bad habit but as you can read in the previous question, I love to collect books which is why I can never resist buying them (I do buy lots of books at the flea market though) so I just keep adding more and more books and I can never say goodbye to them (it would hurt to much to give them away). 

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? 

None. See question #3. 

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6. Do you have an e-reader?  

Yes, I read a lot of books on my Kindle Fire and my iPad mini. They are perfect for traveling because I can take hundreds of books with me. 

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7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? 

Several at once. 100%. I never just read one book at a time. 

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8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? 

Well, I guess this question is meant for book bloggers and I am not one although I should maybe start to write some book reviews. But to answer the question, no I still love crime novels as much as before but I guess I am getting more book recommendations now. 

9. Least favourite book you read this year so far?

It's not a new book but I forced myself to re-read "One Day" by David Nicholls to see if I like it this time but I just don't. I also started to watch the movie but had to stop after half an hour. I don't know what it is but this book just isn't my friend. 
10. Favourite book you've read this year? 

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I started to read the crime novels by Max Bentow and really loved them. My first German crime novels to be precise. But yeah, I love so many books!

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? 

When people recommend books to me or when I get a book as a gift which I would not buy for myself. 

12. What is your reading comfort zone? 

Crime novels. 

13. Can you read in the car? 

Not always. Sometimes I get really sick. I prefer trains and planes. 

14. Favourite place to read?

My couch. At least until I have my own library with a fireplace, a cozy armchair and a globe bar. Where nobody interrupts me.

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15. What is your policy on book lending? 

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16. Do you ever dog-ear books? Break the spines?

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17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books? 

No. way. 

18. Not even textbooks?

That's different. I write in textbooks all the time. They are meant to be written in. I also use different colored highlighters and post its. 

19. What is your favourite language to read in? 

I love reading Scandinavian crime novels in German but otherwise I read a lot of books in English. Scandinavian crime sounds better in German. 

20. What makes you love a book?

A good story line and characters I either love or hate. And of course a good writing style. And lots of blood and murders.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

I recommend books all the time because I want other to love these books as much as I do. 

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22. Favourite genre?

Crime. Fiction but also non-fiction. I know it sounds like I only read crime novels but that's not the case, I swear. Just a lot. 

23. Genre you rarely read but wish you did?

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24. Favourite Biography?

I rarely read biographies. But maybe I should. Any recommendations? 

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25. Have you ever read a self-help book? 

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I don't need any help. 

26. Favourite Cookbook?

Right now, "Isa does it". I think it is very exciting that you can find more and more vegan cook books out there now. 

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27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?

Well, I mostly read crime novels and since I am not a psychopath I am not very inspired to commit a murder by them. But all books are kind of inspiring. The book about sewing inspires my to sew. My cooking books inspire me to try new recipes. My books about traveling make me want to discover new places....sorry I cannot come up with a fantastic answer to this question. But stay tuned for part II. 


Thanks for reading, I hope you don't want to punch me because of the gif-overload. Have a happy Sunday!

The one with the black cats and the baby bats. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

hope you are all doing great! You can link up with my friend Alyssa here. 

1. Did you know that every year humans kill approximately 100 million (!) sharks and 5-7 people on average die from shark attacks? (Humane Society International). So who is the predator?

2. Did you celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day on Sunday? I surely celebrate it every single day because my black cat rules. 

3. Martha and I love bats. You can see more pictures and watch a video on Cute Overload, which is one of my favorite sites on the whole internet. 

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4. I am in love.

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5.  I am officially a fan of scones now. I made some last weekend and liked them. I got a new recipe from Martha and  I cannot wait to bake those because they sound even more delicious than the ones I made. I am also craving pancakes. 

6. I am currently craving pickles and camomile tea. 

7. Some of the exercises in the Jillian Michaels workout are pure evil. They do seem to work because some muscles that I did not even know they existed hurt like crazy. I am sticking to it. 

8. A quote. 

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9. I am officially addicted to "Chicago Fire" because I do not feel like watching anything else right now.

10. Me.

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Thank you so much for reading! Have a fantastic rest of the week!

A lazy squirrel, some weekend thoughts and a quote.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I have to apologize for not posting that much. I am really sorry but I hope you are all enjoying your weekend and doing fine. I need to make some more time for blogging. 

I squeezed in some time today to bake my first scones ever - vegan apricot scones to be precise. And they actually did not turn out horrible. They are probably not the prettiest scones the world has ever seen but they taste so good that I am planning to experiment some more and perfect my scone baking skills. How many scones can you eat before you start to feel sick? I think I will find out tonight.

What's your favorite comedy of all time? I feel like watching a movie which will make me laugh a lot. But I cannot find one which I want to watch and haven't already seen 5 times. 
I am sticking to my workout routine. I skipped Friday but I worked out every other day of the week so far. Which helps not making me feel so bad about eating too many scones. 

I hate folding laundry. But that's another thing I have to do this weekend. What I hate even more is ironing. 

Here is something cute for you. Trust me, I could spend hours looking at pictures and videos on Cute Overload. Best site ever. 

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I am planning to be back with some more posts next week but for now I just want to share a quote with you which really touched my heart.

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What are you up to this weekend? Have a wonderful time and talk more soon!

The one with the pangolins, scones and murder mysteries. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

you can link up with my friend Alyssa here.

1. I went to the bookstore today and found a gazillion more books to add to my reading list. There are just way too many books I am interested in and not enough time to read them all. Sad.

2. Have you read the crime novels by Stuart MacBride? If so, do you like them? I discovered that series in the store today and have no idea why I never checked it out before. 

3. I am dying because of all the cuteness.

{Cute Overload}

4. I had a seitan roast on Sunday and it was delicious. I also spilled a whole glass of red wine over a brand new table cloth. 

5. Today is World Elephant Day. Elephants are faced by several threats and they need our help and protection. 

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6. When I go to the bookstore I take pictures of all the covers of the books I want to read so that I can remember to get those books at some point. Am I the only one or is that a normal thing to do? I never see other people doing it. 

7. I had peanut and truffle ice cream today and it was delicious. Even the ice cream cone was vegan so you cannot really ask for more. 

8. I realized that I never had scones in my entire life so I will bake some vegan apricot ones soon. I have no idea what to expect. I would like to know: what is your favorite pastry/cake/cookie/pie etc.?

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9. After finishing the 30 Day Shred I still feel like working out. Not necessarily every day single day of the week but at least a couple of times. I hope this feeling won't stop anytime soon.

10. I confess that I have an unhealthy addiction to the TV show Chicago Fire. 

Have a fantastic rest of the week!

The defeat of the mean workout witch.

Hallo meine Lieben,

last Monday I finished Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and I have to say that I am glad it is over. You can read about the first 15 days of the workout here.

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I have to admit that I did not exactly what Jillian Michaels told me. You are supposed to do each of the 3 levels for ten days but I got annoyed with level 1 after a while and only did it for 6 days and then level 2 and 3 for 12 days each. 

So all in all, this workout was really exhausting and it makes you sweat a lot. I still don't want Jillian Michaels to be my best friend but she definitely knows what she does. The exercises work. That is for sure. I feel so much better. I feel energized, my body feels more toned and I have muscles that I did not have before. And I feel so much fitter than before. 

Of course I wasn't always in the mood for the workout, I mean, you have to do it 30 days straight. But I stuck to it and I am really glad I did. For me, it was easier to do the workout without having to hear Jillian Michaels talk. So I only listened to her instructions the first day of each level and then muted the workout video and played some of my music instead. She does not explain much anyway so that works fine for me. 

I like about the workout that you only need a mat and some weights. There is only one thing I did not really like very much: doing the same workout over and over. I mean, I did the level 3 workout 12 times in a row and that got a bit annoying after a while. But yeah, it is definitely worth to stick to it. 

So what now? I definitely want to keep working out. The thing is that I will probably start to go running again (if I can motivate myself. I have to say that being able to work out inside is kind of nice.). But otherwise I want to check out some other Jillian Michaels workouts and see what I like. There is a yoga workout which I definitely want to check out and I already did a workout from another dvd. I think it is supposed to be a 90 day workout but I am planning to do her workouts maybe 3 times a week (depends on how I like it). I am pretty sure that I will add the yoga workout to my schedule. And ignore her diet plan. So we will see how that goes, I definitely liked the first workout which made my arms hurt a lot.

Do you have any workouts you can recommend? 

Unicorns make your coffee taste better. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

you can link up with my friend Alyssa for Ten On Tuesday here.

1. Yesterday I finished the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I am glad it is over but I will definitely keep working out. I will tell you more about my experience soon!

2. I am often disgusted by the way human beings treat animals. So when I read about a guy who forces a fish to inhale the smoke of a cigarette and laughs about it then I just want to force that assh*$% to eat all his stupid cigarettes. Read here.

3. I feel the urgent need to drink my coffee out of a unicorn mug.

Uncommon Goods

4. Speaking of unicorns.....

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5. Here is a map that shows you where the last 3200 remaining tigers in the wild live. It's a pretty sad map.

6. Barknado! (The only way to stop it, is to adopt it.) PS: Dogs are such wonderful creatures. See here.

7. Is it weird that I already feel like shopping for fall clothes? And shoes. Like these.

Beyond Skin

8. I think I have an almost unhealthy obsession with the show "Chicago Fire". I cannot help myself but I just want to keep watching. And I don't feel like watching anything else right now. 

9. I think I have to re-read the Harry Potter series. I usually do that once a year. 

10. I made ice cream for the first time ever last week. To be precise: coconut milk peanut butter chocolate chip ice cream. It was delicious and now I want to have ice cream for breakfast every day. 

Have a fantastic rest of the week!