{Book talk #4} Would you rather...

Hallo meine Lieben,

hope you are all doing great and had wonderful holidays and a good time, no matter what you celebrated or not celebrated. I found these bookish questions over on Bookshelf Reflections and thought it would be fun to answer them as well. You will read some more meaningful posts in 2015 I guess. 

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Rather read only a series or stand-alone books?

Phew. That is a tough one to start with! I guess I have to go with the series because I just love my detectives from all the crime novels so much that  I would not want to spend my literary life without them. To name a few: Inspector Van Veeteren, Inspector Barbarotti, Inspector Wallander, Carl Mørck and Assad, Detective Erlendur, Dora Gudmundsdottir, Inspector Winter, Inspector Huss....so yeah, definitely series. 

Rather read a book whose main character is male or female?

I really don't care. I guess most of the characters I mentioned above are male but I guess that's because the majority of inspectors in crime novels are male. It does not have anything to do with my preference. The character has to be well written and interesting. The rest does not matter to me. 

Rather only shop at Barnes and Noble (or other bookstore) or Amazon?

Bookstores. Real ones. One of my fave things to do is to spend an afternoon in the bookstore reading the blurb of every single book they sell.  Of course I look online for books as well. It is probably easier to find books you are interested in online but nothing beats the experience of a real book store. So when I find a book online I usually go to the book store and buy it there. I do like to support small businesses. Of course I also order online, especially when I have a gift card etc. 

Rather all books become movies or TV shows?

Movies. Cannot even explain why but that was the first thought that popped up in my head. I usually like the book better than the movie/TV show anyway. Really, I cannot explain my answer here. 

Rather read five pages per day or five books per week?

Five books per week of course. It would be fantastic to always have the time to always read five books per week. It would be so much easier to catch up on my to-be-read pile. I could never stop myself from reading after only 5 pages. 

Rather be a professional book reviewer or author?

An author of course. I wrote some book reviews a couple of years ago and I am still planning on writing some for the blog. I really hope that will happen at some point soon. I love reading book reviews. But holding a book in your hands that you have written yourself would be a dream come true. I should give it another try to write a book. I started a couple but never finished one. 

Rather only read 20 of the same books over and over or get to read a new book every six months?

Get to read a new book every six months. That would be sad, indeed. But having the read the same 20 books for the rest of my life would be even sadder. I do love to re-read  books, especially the Adrian Mole diaries and the Harry Potter books but I do need to read new books as often as possible. I mean, I always get so terribly excited when there is a new book of one of my favorite writers, I would not want to miss that feeling. 

Rather be a librarian or own a bookstore?

Own a bookstore. I could be like Bernard Black from Black Books. Or maybe not. But owning my very own book store would be fabulous. I could impose all my favorite books to my customers and would only sell vegan cooking books and non that include meat. And the crime section would be the hugest one in the store. 

Rather only read your favorite genre or your favorite author?

Favorite genre of course. I mean, that would give me a bigger selection at least. Duh. 

Rather only read physical books or eBooks?

I guess I need to go with the physical books because I have so many of them. I do love eBooks, I have a lot of books on my iPad and Kindle and it is perfect for traveling, plus I always have a ton of books with me which always makes me feel nice. I do love to stand in front of my bookshelves and look at my books though. And libraries and bookstores are wonderful places. 

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Thank you for reading! It really means a lot to me that you always read my posts and leave so many lovely comments. Thank you! You are such great friends! I hope your new year will be filled with happiness and wonderful things! You are all fabulous and deserve the best!

Happy new year!

The one with the vegan cookie monster a.k.a. sweets I admire deeply.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I confess: I love sweets. A whole lot. Even more in winter time. All the lovely baked goods are just way too tempting. And as a vegan you can find even better sweets than the regular ones. Because: no cruelty involve. Who would not prefer that? Nobody. Which is why I want to share my favorite sweets with you today.

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Zero Zebra chocolate.

{Zero Zebra}

I don't even know where to start. Vegan, fair trade, organic. Made with rice milk. The only sad thing: I always feel bad about eating them because they come in such cute animal shapes. But fear not, they also have chocolate bars that you do not feel sorry about. 

Vego Bar. 

{Vego Chocolate}

Oh, Vego Bar...my dear friend. You come in a handy 150g bar which is way too tempting to eat in one sitting. Filled with yummy hazelnuts, you will always be my dear companion. Thank you for existing. 

Chocolate peanut butter. 

{Peanut Butter & Co.}

I know you are supposed to eat it with bread but it tastes even better directly out of the jar. And all you need is a spoon. This stuff is seriously good. I did not even like peanut butter that much before I tried this. 

Manner Schnitten. 

{Manner}

I love it when stuff is "accidentally vegan". And a lot of the Manner stuff is. Be aware, not all of their products are suitable for vegans but they state it on their website which is pretty nice. Can't get enough of those wafers. 

Naturata chocolate, the vegan kind. 

{Naturata}

Not all the chocolates from that company are vegan but a lot of them are. I prefer the almond one. It is seriously so good. I swear you do not want cow milk chocolate anymore if you try this. 

Goody Good Stuff and Surf Sweets.

{Surf Sweets}

I have no idea why people still eat gummi bears that contain gelatin. I mean, if you ever looked up what gelatin is then you might want to switch to a vegan version. My friend Martha surprised me with Surf Sweets gummi bears and they were delicious. When I open a bag then it will be empty in 15 minutes, max. 

Dandies Marshmallows.

{Dandies}

Fun fact: I never had marshmallows before I went vegan. I always wanted to try marshmallows but was never able to find some without gelatin. And then my friend Em send me some and I was addicted. 

Earth Balance stuff. 

{Earth Balance}

This sounded kind of gross to me at first because it has cheddar flavor but I was also fascinated and had to try it. And it did not disappoint. Good stuff. Never even liked popcorn very much before I tried this. 

So Delicious Cookie Dough Ice Cream. 

{So Delicious}

It is vegan, it is ice cream and I can eat ice cream three times a day so I do not need to say more. 

Also, I really love Marzipan dearly. It is very popular in Germany, especially at Christmas time and I do prefer it in potato shape or covered with dark chocolate. I also need to mention that there is a vegan version of a famous coconut chocolate bar. It is called Mahalo and pretty delicious. 

Well, pudding is always a good idea as well. And cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes...

You can clearly see two things here: I have a huge sweet tooth and there are lot of vegan options for people with that kind of sweet tooth.

What's your favorite candy? Happy weekend. 

The one with the bunnies in disguise, the faith in humanity and the stupid onions which should stay out of my food. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Tuesday. I hope you are all having a wonderful December. You can link up with my friend Alyssa here. 

1. The most important thing first...please please pretty please sign this petition and help saving an animal shelter and 450 dogs in Serbia. Thank you so much!

2. I am a huge fan of socks because I always have cold feet. I am also a huge fan of animals because animals rule. Which is why I need these. 

{The Sock Drawer}

3. If this site would be completely vegan, it would be food heaven: Stupid onions, stay out of my food. 

4. Some things help to restore my faith in humanity. At least a little bit.

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5. I saw this quote on the internet (here and on Instagram) and I guess it is something to think about. 

No one wants Babe to be chosen for Christmas dinner.

No one wants the humans to foil the chickens’ escape plans in Chicken Run.

No one wants Nemo to be caught by the scuba divers.

When we watch these movies we see the humans as villains and we don’t want the animals to be killed or captured.
Then we go back to our lives and become the evil we hated in the movies.

Go vegan and stop being a villain.

6. Tea pot love. 

{Urban Outfitters}

7. The power of German engineering. Also works for turtles.

8. I don't know about you but I always loved Piggeldy & Frederick. I don't even know if they are famous outside of Germany but they were my childhood heroes. 

9. No words. 

{Cute Overload}

10. When I love a song then I usually listen to it a gazillion times in a row - without ever getting sick of it. Do you do the same thing or am I the only one?

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

Huge piles of books all over the place....

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all having a fantastic week. 

I guess it is not a secret how much I love books and that huge piles of reading material are desperately waiting for me all over my place. 

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My lovely friend Chrissy gave me the opportunity to write about my winter reading list on her fabulous blog The Brave Wanderer - which you should all check out if you have not already...Chrissy is such a wonderful, smart, funny,creative, loving and beautiful person. Her blog is one of my daily reads. And I feel so honored that she let me be a part of it!

Thank you, Chrissy! You are so fantastic and I am proud to be able to call you my friend!

So if you feel like reading what I have to say about a bunch of books, then you can click here. And also say hello to Chrissy!

Have a great day!

The one with the vegan sweet tooth, the bunny hammock and more bookshelf porn. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Tuesday! Hope you are all having a good time. You can link up with my friend Alyssa here if you wish to do so. 

1. I started playing "Words with friends" with Martha which is a perfect thing to do because it is a lot of fun plus Martha is my friend. If you like playing Scrabble then you should totally start doing this as well. 

2. Last weekend I made the most delicious Christmas cookies I ever ate (Except of the ones my Mama and Oma made of course). I have no idea how they are called, I made the recipe up but they contain all the good stuff. Marzipan, almonds, coconut flakes, dark chocolate, apple sauce and some alcohol. I am pretty sure one has ca 27485 calories and I made 40 of them so you can do the math. But they are worth every calorie plus calories do not count at Christmas time. 

3. Do you have any interesting youtube channels you watch? Maybe vegan or book themed? Or  just something funny in general? 

4. I think my bunnies are in desperate need of a hammock because who does not need a hammock? Bunnies surely do. 

5. I got so excited when I found vegan chocolate Santas in the store that I bought 4 of them. I just cannot resist chocolate. Also bought chocolate covered marzipan, plain marzipan and vegan gummi bears. I also bake at least once a week. Plus my daily hot chocolate. I cannot deny my sweet tooth right now. 

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6. I am finally trying to figure out how exactly my camera works. 

7. I want to sleep here, please. Then I do not have to walk that far to get a new book. 

{Bookshelf Porn}

8. And my living room should look similar to this. Just with a comfy couch, maybe a fireplace and a globe bar of course. 

{Bookshelf Porn}

9. I had three car accidents in my life, none of them were my fault. When there is a lot of traffic, driving freaks me out. I prefer to take the bus. 

10. Pretty much. That counts for all animals. 

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Have a fantastic rest of the week!

The one with the crazy cat lady cardigan, the non-Christmassy movies and the crappy cake. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

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

#1. December means it is time to watch Love Actually (even though I hate Liam Neeson), the Harry Potter series, The Holiday and my very special Christmas Eve movie Dirty Dancing. Which is not a Christmas movie at all but it is my tradition and I will stick to it. 

#2. What movies do you watch in December? What are your favorite Christmas movies? Do you have any non-Christmassy movies you like to watch at Christmas? 

#3. I am in love with this cardigan so please magically appear on my doorstep. Thanks. 

ModCloth

#4. I bought vegan curry mayo today which sounds kind of weird but also kind of awesome...considering I hated mayo so much before I went vegan. It is one of the grossest things I can imagine...only topped  by onions and meat etc. of course. But give me vegan mayo and I am a happy girl (and I only discovered my love for it a couple of weeks ago). 

#5. I drink a hot chocolate every night. It is good for your brain, it warms your heart, it tastes yummy and I do not even need a reason to drink it.

#6. My hair sucks.

#7. I want this to be a place in my house. Just add a globe bar. 

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#8. Last weekend I made a cake that looked like crap but tasted like heaven. Banana, hazelnut and chocolate. I did not bother to take a picture because it was so ugly.

#9. I am still not over the fact that I have to wait until April for the newest Jussi Adler-Olsen novel. I need a Danish speaker to translate it for me. 

#10. My current food addictions are: apricot cream filled wafers, applesauce mixed with soy yogurt and cinnamon, Müsli with lots of nuts, Vego bars and bananas. 

Have a great rest of the week and thank you for reading!