My Current Journals

Hey guys  :) Today I'd like to blog about something that isn't really book related, but for me still belongs to the bookish/literary world: journaling. I have been journaling for years and recently I have discovered a ton of youtubers that dedicate their channels to this topic. Many of them have inspired me in my journaling. It is one of my favourite hobbies and I love the idea of being able to look back at the journals I am currently keeping in 20 years. There are so many things to write about! It doesn't have to be a diary-type were you write down your feelings you can journal about anything and everything. The picture on top shows all the journals that I am currently using. I am going to go into more detail about each of them and hopefully give you some ideas for your journals :)

The first one that I'd like to show you is a journal that I use quite frequently. In there, I write down everything to do with books. I jot down TBRs, log the books that I have read and if I liked them or not, create wish lists, keep track of my reading challenges and so on and so forth. I also take notes for new blog post ideas. I don't really aim for this journal to be pretty, it's just a documentation of my reading life and I love working on it. It's pretty much constantly in use. The journal itself is just a very cheap one from Primark, but I love the hotpink with the turquoise ribbon. 

This next journal is the one that I use the most. It's from Paperchase and has a Scotland theme. And that is exactly what it is about. As you might know, I am currently spending a year in Scotland and I use this journal to document my time here. I do not add to this journal every day, but I do it regularly. I write about what I have gotten up to, glue in miscellaneous bits and bobs and try out some artwork. I have filled a lot of this journal already, but most of it is quite personal so I'd rather just show you the outside ;)

Same goes for this one. It's a journal from Typo, my favourite stationery store and out of my current projects this one comes closest to a traditional diary. It's basically just pages and pages of writing. I like to turn to this one with everything that I feel like doesn't belong in any of the other ones. 

For my birthday, my parents gave me a TripBook by the brand Remember. Basically, this book has lots of plastic pouches in different sizes and some space to write in. The idea is, that you can stick all the little pieces that you pick up while traveling, like tickets, wrappers, bottle caps etc in those pouches and keep them together. I love the idea of this, as I always pick up stuff like that, as it reminds me of the places I visited. And it's so sad when they get lost or just end up at the bottom of your junk drawer. I haven't put that much in the book, but I really appreciate the thought behind it. 

This IKEA notebook, is my music journal. I have only started this recently and got inspired to do it by a good friend. In here, I write down the lyrics to some of my favourite songs. Usually not all of it, just the parts that speak to me the most. This journal I keep for emotional and aesthetic reasons. I want it to look nice and decorating the pages is so fun and relaxing. On the bottom picture, you can see one of the pages I have done :) 

Last but not least, my gratitude journal. Every evening, I try to write down at least three things that I have been thankful for that day. It really works as a reminder to appreciate the little things in life. Appreciate the little things in life, for one day you might look back and realise they were the big ones. 

It's not the happy that are grateful, it's the grateful that are happy. 

These are my current journals. I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe got inspired to do a bit of journaling yourself. How many/if any journals do you keep? Let me know in the comments. Have an awesome day. 

Tabea 

Huge April Book Haul

Hello dear fellow book readers and welcome to another episode of "The Secret Life Of A Book Hoarder", for real though, this is my April book haul and I have a problem. 

So far this month I have bought 11 books. In words, eleven, in numbers 11. Adding to a pile that I could easily stack to the ceiling if I wanted to. Gosh, don't you love impulse control? 

Anyway, the heart wants what it wants, right? But, I have acquired some real gems this month that I'd like to share with you. 

If you have read my "25 Bookish Facts About Me" post you might know that I generally don't believe in having more than one copy of a book. I should probably take that back and rephrase it. "I don't believe in having more than one copy of a book UNLESS it's Harry Potter." I saw these while casually browsing through ASDA's book aisle and oh my days, how amazingly gorgeous is this cover art? My little heart just had to have it and justify the fact that I now own three copies of Harry Potter And The Deadly Hallows.

My next gem is a charity shop find. I have heard amazing things about Wonder by R.J. Palacio and have been contemplating to get it for a while, so when I saw it for very cheap I simply could not resist. Really excited to read this.  

This gorgeous copy of The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky came in a box-set with The Year Of The Rat by Clare Furniss, The Age Of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker and Infinte Sky by C.J. Flood. I do own and have read The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, but it's only the movie edition and lets be honest, this one is infinitely more beautiful so I will give my other copy away. I haven't really heard anything about the other three books, but I think they will be nice when I get into a contemporary mood this summer. Have you read any of these books? What did you think? 

I also went out and got another box-set, this time a series. I have heard mixed things about the Legend series by Marie Lu, but I was quite intrigued by the premise and the set came quite cheap, so I decided to give it a go. The series includes Legend, Prodigy and Champion. I just hope I haven't yet tired out my interest in dystopian novels. 

The last book I bought was another second-hand find: The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, the first book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. I have heard amazing things about this series and I can't wait to start it. 

If you want reviews for any of these books once I've read them, do let me know and I will try to make that possible. 

Have a wonderful day <3
Tabea 

25 Bookish Facts About Me

Hello beautiful people :) 

Today, I wanted to participate in tag that has been very popular in the booktube community and that I find really entertaining: The 25 Bookish Facts. Since you are currently reading a book blog, it might be interesting to know the bookish habits of the person running this blog: ME! So, without further ado, here are 25 book related facts about yours truly. 

1) The Harry Potter series sparked my love for reading. I was very young when the books first came out and I remember my dad reading the first and second book to me and my brother. And thus began a never ending love story. 

2) One of my life goals is to have read 5000 books. I don't know why exactly 5000, I'd just like to make that number. Fun fact, apparently Winston Churchill read around 5000 books in his life, so there we go. 

3) I don't particularly like listening to audio books. I feel like I can follow the plot so much better and connect with the characters if I am actually reading the words. I get distracted much easier listening to something rather than reading it. Also, it feels like I haven't actually "read" the book. 

4) I am also not a big fan of e-readers. I do have a kindle, but I've had it for years and haven't used it much. I get that it is very convenient and often books are cheaper if you get them for your e-reader, but for me, nothing beats a physical copy. But, I am trying to use my kindle sometimes, as I still have quite a few books on there that I'd like to read. 

5) I read books in German and English, since I am fluent in both languages. Lately, it has been mostly English though. I have read books in French, but that was only for class and something I'd like to challenge myself with more. 

6) I don't like reading more than one book at a time, unless one of them is non-fiction. I just like to invest myself in only one story and one set of characters at a time. 

7) I prefer paperbacks to hardbacks. Not only are they cheaper, I also prefer how they feel while reading (lighter ect.) and I get really annoyed by dust jackets :D

8) I love slightly worn books; dents, broken-in spines, you name it. Of course the book shouldn't be completely destroyed, but I love when you can see that someone's read the book, maybe even multiple times. To me, a book well worn is a book well loved. 

9) Generally speaking,I don't really see the point in having more than one copy of the same book. I'd rather just invest the money in books that I haven't read yet. With that being said though, I do own three copies of Looking For Alaska (German, American and Tenth Anniversary Special Edition) and the Harry Potter series both in German hardback and UK paperback, with three copies of the first and the seventh book each. So, yeah :D

10) I usually carry a book with me wherever I go. I read on the bus, during my breaks at work ect. It can really help you to read more. 

11) A genre I'd like to explore more is poetry. I own a copy of "Ariel", Sylvia Plath's collected poems and I love it. Any other poetry recommendations? 

12) I am not interested in Graphic Novels. I know those are hugely popular at the moment, and I am not really sure what is putting me off about them, but its not a genre I'd like to venture into.

13) I don't like borrowing books. The book hoarder in me wants to have a copy I can keep forever, even if I only read it once. 

14) I tend to buy way too many books while I am on holidays and then have trouble getting them all back home, because, well, books are heavy and airlines have weight limits. For some reason this concept always escapes me. 

15) I have trouble DNFing books. Even when I dislike the book, there's usually something that keeps me reading, like a little sub-plot that I want to know the ending of. Sometimes the book does pick up and sometimes I am just left with regret and disappointment. 

16) The bargain section always gets me. If I see a book there that even vaguely interests me, I will buy it, because "It's only xxx". Again, that's a book hoarder problem. 

17) Fact 13 and 16 are the main reason why my TBR pile resembles Mt. Everest. 

18) I know that movie adaptions will disappoint me. Yet, I always go and see them anyway. And 99,9 % of the time I get disappointed (duh).

19) If you tell me that you don't like reading I will (silently) judge you a little.

20) I really want to get a book related/book inspired tattoo. 

21) I would say my reading speed is average to slow. I really, really would like to be one of those people that can read like 500 books a year, but it's just never going to happen for me.

22) I love to read about WWII. I have read a lot of non-fiction as well as fiction on it and there's just so many sides to all of those stories and events. 

23) I get really unhappy when I don't have time to read. A good day needs to contain some reading. That's why reading slumps are the worst. 

24) I have not yet read the Mortal Instruments series. I know this is a hugely popular book in the bookish community, but I have read City Of Bones and it was a "meh" book for me, didn't hate it but also didn't love it. So I haven't picked up the second book yet, even though I own the next four. Maybe I am just not the target age for this series anymore?

25) A book needs to be either really good, or really close to my heart to make me cry. There are books that make me teary or really emotional but one of the only books that actually ever made me cry was Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. I cried like five times when I was reading that book. 

Okay, so these were 25 more or less interesting bookish facts about me. What are your bookish facts? Do we share the same? Let me know in the comments and have an awesome day. 

Tabea 

Overly Ambitious April TBR

Hey guys, 

April has arrived and a new month also means new books, yay :) 

I usually don't plan out TBRs, as I just like to read whatever I feel like reading during the time, but this month I have some books that I need/want to tackle. 

The first three books that I'd like to read are part of the Henderson's Boys series. They are Grey Wolves, The Prisoner and One Shot Kill book 4,5 and 6 in the series. The reason why I want to read them this month is that I borrowed them from a friend and had them for a while, so I feel like I need to give them back. But, I am also looking forward to them, as they are really fun and fast paced reads. 

A similar thing goes for the next three books, which are part of the Mazerunner trilogy. I do own the first book but The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure are borrowed from my local bookswap and I'd like to read them and put them back so that others can enjoy them too. 

The next two books are books that I've been interested in for a long time, so I picked them out when I had a look through my bookshelf. Twelve Years A Slave by Solomon Northup, the story of a free man who, through unfortunate circumstances, gets enslaved for 12 years. As well as The 100 by Kass Morgan, which is a recent purchase. I have heard many good things about this book and I am intrigued by the premise. Humanity has abandoned earth after a nuclear war and lives in spaceships. 100 juvenile delinquents are send to earth's surface to re-colonize the planet. I am really looking forward to this one. 

This seems to be the month of series. I'd also like to read Outcast the fourth book in the "Chronicles Of Ancient Darkness" series by Michelle Paver. I still have to get my hands on Oathbreaker, the fifth book so I am trying to pace myself, but it's hard. These books are just way too addicting!

The last book I am mentioning is also the one I am going to read first, as it's my current read. I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson. I have seen very good reviews for this book and I read Nelson's first novel The Sky Is Everywhere a couple of years ago and adored it. I love her writing style and I am enjoying the story so far. 

So, these are the books I am hoping to read in April. It's a pretty ambitious goal, but some of these are pretty fast reads, so I am hoping to manage. I will keep you updated on my progress ;) What is on your April TBR? 

Tabea