... in books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish and this week’s topic is:

Top Ten Books I Think Would Make Great Book Club Picks

 

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

 all the plays by William Shakespeare

Gervase Phinn’s School Inspector series

I would love to discuss these books with other teachers in training 

Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters

after reading William Shakespeare’s Macbeth 

Janet Evanovich’s One for the Money

in combination with watching the film and discussing differences

Nick Hornby’s About a Boy

I read this for my final exams in high school and wrote a paper discussing the differences between book and film and I would be really interested how other people experience it

I only came up with six books but one are the Complete Works of Shakespeare. Book Clubs aren’t popular in Austria so it was a bit difficult for me think about good books to discuss but I would love talking about those mentioned above.

... in books

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristie at The Story Siren.

My Birthday is next Wednesday so I haven’t bought any new books this week – until yesterday evening. I celebrated my birthday with my friends on Friday because some of them will go on vacation this week and I really wanted them there. My friends know me really well and that is why they don’t dare to give me books as presents. Sometimes I get vouchers but most of the time I get a special something that I really love.

This year two of my best friends got me a Winnie the Pooh mirror and a colleague and really good friend got me a doodling book for when I am bored at university. I also got a wonderful necklace and many other beautiful presents.

But back to the story – being out partying on Friday I slept in late on Saturday and wasn’t really able to sleep yesterday. So I got up again, fired up my laptop and browsed the internet. I found a new blog over Maggie Stiefvater’s Facebook page and started reading it. And there on this wonderful blog, called In the Closet with a Bibliophile, I found a recommendation for a book called “Yours to Keep” by Shannon Stacey. I read the review and then went on Amazon and started looking for it because this novel has the subtitle “Kowalski Family No. 3”; so there had to be more books.

I found all three in no time and downloaded them all to my Kindle and started the first one, Exclusively Yours, right away. I love it. It is chick-lit – no question but it is really good and entertaining and that is why I am spending my Sunday wandering between the couch and my bed nose stuck in my reader and I am pretty sure I will finish this book today because it seems that I can’t stop reading it for too long.

That’s why I will only show you the covers of the three Kowalski family books here and will get back to my Kindle right now.

Read you all next Sunday!

I finished Exclusively Yours an hour after posting this entry and I can highly recommend it.

... in pictures

I am sorry that I am two days late but the last two days were just crazy around here.

Feeling was a difficult topic for me and it took me some time to figure out what I wanted to do as a contribution to this challenge but in the end I am really contend with my picture. All the other pictures are fabulous too. This week was so difficult for all of us and still the pictures are amazing.

Here is the topic for next week.

I think it won’t be any easier than last week but here it is:

sound(s)/Geräusch(e)

Please link you post with mine in time.
Submission period is between the 27th of January and the 4th of February
(11:59 pm CET).

I am really looking forward to your pictures!

... in pictures

This week's topic was hard!

I never thought that finding the perfect picture would be so difficult. 

It took me really long to come up with something that could be captured in a picture and then there was the difficulty of capturing something that expresses feeling and not emotion (these two word are synonyms in German). 

Here is my picture:

In Vienna there are many public playgrounds for kids and during the summer months they are full of life and action. Kids runnning around, laughing, havin fun. But during the winter months when it is cold and grey outside the playgrounds become empty and neglected.
This is the feeling I tried to capture here - neglect!

I am looking forward to warmer months because I am longing for warm weather when you can sit outside in the sun. This is the time I try to get as much sun as possible on my skin. I love these first warm days of the year. 

Right now we have beautiful winter weather in Vienna - blue sky, some clouds but it is freezing cold! I enjoy this as well. I also thought about using this picture for this week because it captures happiness and contendness for me:

a long walk in the snow with my dog, listening to the snow crunching under each step you take

Next week's topic will be posted tomorrow!

... online

Today I want to share some wonderful bookaholic quotes and pictures I found online with you!

                

... in books

                     Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.
                             This week is a freebie week so I chose the following topic:
                                                    Top Ten Fictional BFFs

Meggie and Mo from Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart trilogy
Scarlett from Ali McNamara’s From Notting Hill with Love … actually
Granny Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels
Stephanie Plum from Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series
Lee McKinney from JoAnna Carl’s Chocoholic series
the Wee Free Men from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels
Gretchen Sackmeier from Christine Nöstlinger’s Gretchen Sackmeier trilogy
Dexter from David Nicholls’ One Day
Etienne from Stephanie Perkins’ Anna and the French Kiss
Joe Morelli (yummy!!!!) from Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series

I am not sure that I want Joe Morelli really as BFF – but who knows sometimes there is more to a friendship or is this just in books?

... in books

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristie from The Story Siren.

In this meme we can brag about all the books we got or bought during the week and here is my haul.

I ordered some books at Book Depo and they finally arrived. 

 I got Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Heartless by the wonderful Gail Carriger

 and Unearthly by Cynthia Hand.

I started reading Shiver right away but unfortunately there is much to do here due to the fact that my semester ends in about one week time, which means studying and tutoring hardcore, so I haven’t had a chance to read a lot during this week. Hopefully it will get better soon.

I also want to send a little question out into the universe and especially to you readers:

What were your favorite TV series when you were young?

I thought about it a lot and I also thought about watching them again sometime soon because I would really love to know if I can relate to the same people again as I could with 14/15/16/17?

Would be interesting….

I loved watching Full House from the age of probably 9 onwards and I got all the seasons on DVD at home – still love it. Wonderful series, especially John Stamos (yummy!)!

I also love(d) Friends and my all time favorites are still Rachel, Chandler and Joey (in that order).

When I was about 14 years old Dawson’s Creek came up and I watched it a lot. I wasn’t one of these hardcore fans but I liked it and I was so in love with Pacey and I always hoped that he and Joey would end up together living happily ever after. I wonder if I, when watching this whole series nowadays, would have those same feelings towards the actors and if I would love Joey as much as I loved her back then?

But never ever forget the amazing, wonderful and fab Gilmore Girls. When they went on air here in Austria for the first time, which was in 2003, I was 17. So I was practically as old as Rory and the relationship between my mum and me is kind of like the one Lorelai and Rory have. This is still my favorite series for cuddling up on the sofa or in bed and watching series all day long. It is just so comfy!

I am really curious? 

What were or are your favorite series – especially all time favorites?

... in books

 

Hannah at Once Upon A Time started The Terry Pratchett Reading Challenge 2012. I found it yesterday thanks to a comment she left on my blog and I just need to participate. It is the perfect challenge for me.

I am certain that there are bigger Terry Pratchett fans than me but I love his books so much. I received my first Pratchett book Wyrd sisters as a gift from a friend of my dad and he told me that he heard that I am a reader and he just knows that I will love this book. He was right!

The Discworld is my favorite place to escape to if everything around me gets hectic. I read Wyrd sisters so often that I bought a new one because the old is so fragile. That’s how much I love his novels.

I am so looking forward to this challenge and if you want to know more about it than clickhere and you will come to Hannah’s blog and her description of this challenge.

I can highly recommend his Discworld novels - a wonderful series!

... in pictures

The topics for the weekly challenge are drawn each Friday from this bag. 

Last week when detail was drawn I immediately knew that I needed to take my first joker. Last year I took some great details from my dog Felix and I wanted to show one of those to you. So I went digging in my huge mess of files on my external hard drive and finally came up with the pictures. But the next problem arrived…I couldn’t decide which picture to show you. So this week I will show you three of my picture series of Felix. Hopefully you don’t count it as three jokers. 

 Here is the topic for next week.

It will be:

Feeling/Gefühl

Please link you post with mine in time.

Submission period is between the 20^th of January and the 28^th of January
(11:59 pm CET).

I am really looking forward to your pictures!

... in books

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by GReads! and this week’s question is:

Recommend It:

Which book from the last 10 you've read would you recommend to a friend?

These are the last 10 books I read. Seven I read in December 2011 and the other three I finished in January.

Stephanie Perkins - Anna and the French Kiss

Sarah Mason - Party Season

Ali McNamara - Breakfast at Darcy's

Maureen Johnson - 13 Little Blue Envelopes

Gail Carriger - Changeless

Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London

Jenn McKinley - Sprinkle with Murder

Robert Shields - Daphne and the Mysterious Girls Secret Bathroom Society

Rachel Cohn & David Levithan - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Cassandra Clare - City of Bones

I liked all of these ten books but if I have to decide I would say …

… okay, let’s face it – I can’t decide.

My top four books I would definitely recommend would be:

 Stephanie Perkins - Anna and the French Kiss

 Robert Shields - Daphne and the Mysterious Girls Secret Bathroom Society

 Rachel Cohn & David Levithan - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

 Cassandra Clare - City of Bones

I find it hard to decide which one of these was the best book I read because I am one of those readers who does not finish a book if I don’t like it. It does not happen very often but sometimes. So normally you can only find books on my “Books I read”-list that I liked.

... in books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme brought to you by The Broke and Bookish!

Today we should name 
(Top) Ten Books I'd Recommend To Someone Who Doesn't Read Cozy Mysteries

I love reading cozy mysteries because I hate violence in books. When reading a crime novel I often become afraid and that is not what I want to feel when reading. Cozy mysteries are criminal novels as well but not brutal in any way and they have a really nice and harmless storyline.

I once told a friend that they are like mysteries but the girly kind with no spooky elements. And no, I don’t want to talk these novels down. I love them and the fact that I don’t get afraid is a real benefit for these mysteries.

Cozy Mysteries usually come in series so I will name my Top Ten Cozy Mystery Series here:

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum Novels

set in Trenton, New Jersey, Stephanie Plum a bounty hunter tries to capture criminals

she sometimes needs the help of her on and off boyfriend and cop Joe Morelli

or the help of her partner Ranger

but never the help of her partner, former hooker and file clerk Lula

JoAnna Carl’s Chocoholic Mysteries

after her divorce Lee came back to her aunt’s hometown and helps her run Ten Huis Chocolate

and solves murders as they come aling

Lorna Barrett’s Booktown Mysteries

running a mystery bookstore in Stoneham, New Hampshire’s town specialized on books

isn’t always easy for Trish

Cleo Coyle’s Coffeeshop Mysteries

between running her ex-mother-in-law’s New York coffeehouse and solving crimes

Clare has to deal with her ex-husband, her daughter and a very attractive cop

Anne George’s Southern Sisters Mysteries

a wonderful series telling the stories of Patricia Anne and Mary Alice two sister living in Birmingham, Alabama

unfortunately Anne George died after writing only eight of these wonderful mysteries

Maggie Barbieri’s Murder 101 Mysteries

set around a college campus and deals with the life of Alison and her involvements in murders

don’t forget to mention spooky Mafia connections

Jenn McKinley’s Cupcake Bakery Mysteries

running a Cupcake Bakery when there is a business rival in town isn’t always easy

for Mel and Angie

 

Joanna Fluke’s Hannah Swensen Mysteries

a cookie shop, a wonderful business partner, two sisters, two men, one cat and one crazy mother

Sammi Carter’s Candy Shop Mysteries

wonderful novels but unfortunately only five got published

Jenn McKinley’s Library Lover’s Mysteries

haven’t read it but hopefully it will be as good as the others