Week 3: Animal(s)

As a dog owner what other animal should I post except my beloved Felix. He loves water (but not rain) and is standing in puddles and river every opportunity he gets. During the warmer months - at least what he defines as warmer (aka March till October) - he loves chasing after stones we throw into a river. And nothing is more fun than barking like a maniac while doing it. Here's some proof.

Next week I would love to see your creations for:

Memories

Top Ten Books I've Recently Added To My TBR

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  

This week I'm going to tell you my

Top Ten Books I've Recently Added To My TBR

Wow, I've written my last Top Ten Tuesday post on June 16th, 2015. It's been a long time to neglect a meme I love so much but this week's topic stole my heart the moment I read it. 2015 was the year of reading books I already owned. I didn't buy as many books as I did the years before and I returned from London - my mekka for buying books without proper thinking before running to the register -  with only 3 books. That never happened before. 

So I want to try to limit my book buying even more in 2016 or to put it more correctly: I want to read more books I already own. I bought them with the intention of reading them, I bought them because they sounded interesting and like my cup of tea, I bought them, put them on my shelf and didn't give them a chance. In 2016 they will get their chance.

These are my Top Ten Books I've Recently Added To My TBR ("oldies" but goldies style):

V.E. Schwab - A Darker Shade of Magic 

(by the time this list goes up, I've already finished it the day before - go me!)
 

C.J. Daugherty - Legacy

Leigh Bardugo - Shadow and Bone
 

Samantha Shannon - The Bone Season
 

Ali McNamara - The Little Flower Shop by the Sea
 

Gail Carriger - Manners & Mutiny 

(the last book in a series and it's hard for me to say goodbye to the characters. Sophronia is just kick-ass.)
 

Kady Cross - The Girl with the Iron Touch
 

Janet Evanovich - Takedown Twenty
 

Terry Pratchett - I Shall Wear Midnight
 

Mike Gayle - Seeing Other People

 

Let's see how many of these I actually read during this year and if I can stick to my resolution of reading more books from my TBR pile. 

Week 2: Bloom

The promp this week was Bloom and the minute I read it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Unfortunately the sun wasn't a frequent guest last week and over the weekend when it was sunny-ish I just wasn't feeling like taking a picture. So here is my contribution for Bloom - a few days late.

Next week I would love to see your creations for:

Animal(s)

Books I read in 2015

source

2015 was quite a good reading year for me. At the beginning of January I didn't feel like reading at all but after about 2 weeks of not picking up a book (I so needed this little break) I binge read the first 9 of JoAnna Carl's Chocoholic Mysteries. 

In 2015 I read:

• 88 books, 
• 23597 pages, 
• which are on average 64,65 pages per day,
• 274 pages per book,
• read 34 books I already owned before 2015, 
• 76 adult books, 
• 32 books were re-reads of old favorites and 
• these were the genres I read in 2015:

Here is a complete list of all the books I devoured during the last year.

 

2015
 

January

• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Cat Caper
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Bear Burglary
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Frog Frame Up
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Mouse Trap
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Bridal Bash
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Jewel Case
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Snowman Murders
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Cupid Killings

February

• Amy Poehler - Yes Please 
• Shannon Stacey - All He Ever Dreamed
• Gail Carriger - Timeless
• Gail Carriger - The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar 
• Gail Carriger - Soulless: The Manga Volume 1
• Rachel Gibson - I Do!
• Leigh Perry - A Skeleton in the Family

March

• Terry Pratchett - Moving Pictures
• Rachel Hawkins - Demonglass
• Rachel Hawkins - Spellbound
• Thornton Wilder - Our Town 
• Gail Carriger - Waistcoats & Weaponry
• Janet Evanovich - Plum Lovin'
• Janet Evanovich - Plum Lucky

April

• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Pirate Plot 
• Royall Tyler - The Contrast
• Janet Evanovich - Plum Spooky 
• Susan Glaspell - Trifles
• Eugen O'Neil - The Emperor Jones
• Tennessee Williams - A Streetcar Named Desire
• J. Sterling - 10 Years Later
• Shannon Stacey - Alone With You
• Shannon Stacey - Love A Little Sideways
• Colleen Helme - Lie Or Die

May

• Roald Dahl - Matilda
• Derek Landy - Skulduggery Pleasant
• Kristan Higgins - The Best Man
• Gail Carriger - Soulless Volume 2
• Arthur Connan Doyle - A Study In Scarlet
• Derek Landy - Playing With Fire
• Emma Cane - A Town Called Valentine
• Janet Evanovich - Explosive Eighteen
• Gail Carriger - Soulless Volume 3 

June

• Emma Cane - A Wedding in Valentine 
• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Castle Clue
• Jenn McKinlay - Book, Line and Sinker 
• Jenn McKinlay - Read It and Weep 
• Emma Cane - True Love at Silver Creek Ranch
• Jenn McKinlay - Sprinkle with Murder
• Richard Castle - Naked Heat
• Jenn McKinlay - Buttercream Bump Off
• Jean Brashear - Texas Secret
• Jenn McKinlay - Death by the Dozen
• Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

July

• JoAnna Carl - The Chocolate Moose Motive
• Sarah J Maas - Throne of Glass
• Terry Pratchett - Wyrd Sisters
• Jenn McKinley - Red Velvet Revenge
• Terry Pratchett - Witches Abroad
• Jill Shalvis - Once in a Lifetime
• Donna Leon - Acqua Alta

August

• Janet Evanovich - Notorious Nineteen
• Shannon Stacey - Taken with You
• C. J. Daugherty - Night School
• Terry Pratchett - Lords and Ladies
• Shannon Stacey - Exclusively Yours

September

• Kristan Higgins - The Perfect Match
• Terry Pratchett - Men at Arms 
• Cleo Coyle - Latte Trouble

October

• Kate Rorick & Rachel Kiley - The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennett
• Emma Cane - The Cowboy of Valentine Valley 
• Rosie Genova - Murder and Marinara
• Jill Shalvis - It's In His Kiss
• Cleo Coyle - Murder Most Frothy 
• Lindsey Kelk - What a Girl Wants 

November

• Rainbow Rowell - Carry On
• Lynsey James - The Broken Hearts Book Club
• Astrid Lindgren - Pippi Longstocking
• Astrid Lindgren - Pippi Goes On Board
• Astrid Lindgren - Pippi in the South Seas
• Shannon Stacey - Undeniably Yours
• Terry Pratchett - Wintersmith
• Shannon Stacey - Yours To Keep

December

• Anne George - Murder Makes Waves
• Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Diary
• Anne George - Murder Gets A Life
• Darynda Jones - Third Grave Dead Ahead
• Janet Evanovich - One for the Money
• Susan Mallery - Chasing Perfect

Week 1: Music

The promp this week was Music and immediately my dad's favorite music instrument came to mind. My dad can play the guitar and the mandolin too. So I took my camera and did a little shooting with his mandolin and this is my favorite picture.

Next week I would love to see your creations for:

Bloom

52 ways of creativity

Over the last year creativity kind of took the backseat in my life. I love photography but could not be bothered to take my camera for a trip around the city or the zoo and even while on vacation in Lisbon during August it mostly stayed at the hotel. Yes, of course, camera phones have great quality, they are lighter and you can share the pictures more easily via Instagram, Twitter or other social media platforms but honestly - it does not substitute for a real life camera!

So in 2016 I want to jump start my creativity again and challenge myself. I want to launch "52 weeks of creativity" on this blog and would love for you all to join me. I will post this week's prompt every Monday morning and encourage you to post your contribution some day during that week. Don't forget to link your post here. It does not have to be a photograph but it could also be a drawing, a video or any other creative outlet that suits you and you feel comfortable with.

The prompt for the first week is:

Music

I cannot wait to see what you'll post and let me know in the comments below if you're participating in my 52 weeks of creativity.

Dear Blog,

how are you?

I know, you didn't get much love and attention in 2015. I cannot even tell you why that happened. It just did. But I missed you terribly. Maybe I just needed some time to reboot, focus on myself, my life, the things I'm doing or maybe I just wasn't feeling it. I simply don't know.

You missed quite a lot of things in 2015 so I want to share my highlights with you:

• In February a very good friend of mine got her second baby boy Valentin. He's so gorgeous and such a happy little fellow. Almost as cute as his big brother but I might be biased here. 
• In March two babies were born. A lifelong friend of mine welcomed her baby girl Charlotte one day before Sabine gave birth to Erik. They both had difficulties at first (the babies, not the mothers) and had to stay in the hospital the first month of their life but now they are happy and healthy little ones.
• Due to Marion having her girl, we got back in touch and I really enjoy being part of Charlotte's life and also reconnecting with Marion again. We spent quite a lot of time together when we were kids and discovering what we did back then...
• In July Valentin got baptised and we had a great afternoon celebrating. 
• Some days later I visited my kids (I was leader of a youth group many years ago and two of my kids became leaders too) on their summer camp. It was their last year with their group and it felt like history repeating itself. Watching my kids be all grown-up...it made me really proud of them and a little bit a lot sentimental. 
• In August Erik got baptised and I am his godmother. I'm so happy and proud. 
• In September I went on an excursion with uni and had a great time. 
• During December my old high school class met again for mulled wine and we had such a fun afternoon with some life-changing ideas being brought up. 
• This whole year was quite good healthwise which makes me so happy. 
• I've also been to some great concerts like Robbie Williams, The Puppini Sisters, Sting & Paul Simon and David Garrett. Can't wait which ones 2016 will bring.
• On Christmas day my cousin (who's three years younger than I am) told us that he got married to his girlfriend of many years. To say we were stunned would be an understatement but I am really happy for the two. 

I have some things to consider in 2016 and need to make some decisions about my life and the way I want it to go but right now I am just happy that I got to spend some time with my friends and family and my books during the days between Christmas and New Year's. Now I'm off planning 2016 and starting to focus on reaching my goals.

I'm planning to be way more active on the blog this year too, so don't you worry.

All my love and happy 2016,
Karin