Perfection: A bit of Palaver

The Oxford Dictionary definition of perfection

This is not the post I planed on doing today. If everything went according to plan, than you would read my second Book-Lookbook. This time inspired by Lila Bard from the Darker Shades of Magic series. Unfortunately, reality  eats plans for breakfast, so there had to be a change of plans today.

But what made me change my plans? The answer is simple. My own high standard, my desire to be perfect and create perfection. So instead of putting out something that I am not proud of, I thought I would start a discussion about perfection. Let's go.

Autumn Read-Recommendations

Autumn has arrived in Berlin. The leafs have turned red, brown and orange. Chestnuts are falling and puddles are filling the sidewalk.
What better time to snuggle up with a warm cup of tea and just read away.
Even better when the books you read have that lovely autumn feeling.
The following four books are my favourite autumn reads. None of them are strictly autumn themed, but they all feel like autumn (at least to me).
My faourite type of book to read in the autumn are adventure books. So the following books are all filled with quest, daring heists or a cruel fate.

September Wrap-Up

Welcome to another Wrap-Up. Writing these is always so much fun. Mainly because I can reminisce over the past month and I can revisit all the stories that I read the past month.

Although, to be honest, this month I did not read that much fiction. 

I have a paper due in October so I read a lot of non-fiction for that. I decided to include that for this month. Normally I don't do that because I read quite a bit for Uni each month so these posts would be super long. This time I thought I would shake things up a bit.  

30 things I learned in 6 months of blogging

1. Planning out content is the way to go. 
2. When the idea is already there wiriting does not seem as daunting.
3. Pictures are a must. But sometimes you have to go without.
4. Missing one upload does not mean the whole blog is doomed without redemption.
5. It helps to have some type of ongoing series on the blog. That way if you don't know what to do, you can work with an already familiar concept.
6. It helps to have a content guideline (eg. I have a blog about books!) but shaking things up does not hurt.

A 6 month recap: A bit of Palaver

On the 27th of March 2017 I decided to properly re-start my blog. I have had this platform since 2015, and another one before that. But I never took it seriously enough to post regularly. 

By March this year, I was knee deep in the booktube/bookstagram community- eventhough I enjoyed consuming the content other people crated, I was left unsatisfied with my contribution to the community. 

Whats on my bookshelf

This week I'm taking you on a visual tour through my bookshelf!
There wont be any reviews here today, just a few pictures of some pretty covers. Hope  you enjoy.

As Travas: Book Lookbook

"Kell wore a very peculiar coat." 

-V.E. Schwab: A darker Shade of Magic

Ever since I read the A darker Shades of Magic series, I wanted to cosplay Lila, Kell and pretty much everyone else. I fell in love with the world, the characters and the way Schwab describes them to us. Unfortunately I am a bit short on money and time at the moment. So a full on cosplay is postponed. 

But luckily, last week I found this wonderful scarf in a charity-shop in my neighborhood. One side is red, the other grey. It inspired me to create two outfits (and makeup-looks) that would fit into the world of A darker shade of magic! 

August Wrap-Up

Summer is in its last breaths, Autumn is approaching fast.
Uni has't started yet. I was spending my Summer Break on my aunts farm without an Internet connection. Because of that, I had a lot of time to read. In total I read eight books this month, so we have got a lot to get through. Lets get started!

Kindle Paperwhite: My Thoughts on E-readers

I bought an E-Reader.
It was not an easy decision to make since it it quite a financial investment (at least with my budget). For almost a month I was debating wether or not I should buy one. I researched all types, looked a reviews and made quite a few pro and contra lists. In the end I decided on the Kindle Paperwhite. But before I get into the review: A few thoughts on E-Readers in general.

Bullet Journaling: Setting Up my new Journal

Planners and I: a love story
I have always loved being organized. It gives me a sense of security. So to be as organized as possible I have kept a shit load of calendars in my life. It all started when I was six, with a "homework-book"(a small book that you are required to keep in school). But not only did I kept track of my homework, I also wrote down what I wanted to do that day, when Pokémon came on TV that day or when my grandparents would be in town. From that on, year for year I looked forward to buying a new planner at the beginning of the year. The older I got, the more intricate the planing got, I started to decorate my weeks and develop a color code for my homework. Then I discovered the Filofax community on YouTube. I was blown away by all those people having the same hobby as me. For my 18th birthday I got my first Filofax. It was bright orange and I loved it.

NaNoWriMo-Camp Experience: The second time around

July was a busy month for me. Due to multiple factors. I had exams, traveled and first and foremost: I participated in the NaNoWriMo-Camp again! If you are unfamiliar with the project: Here is a post explaining everything about it.

I participated first in April of this year. My goal then was to write for 30 minutes each day. I was not able to fulfill said goal, but still felt like the project was a success for me. This time around things were very different.

July Wrap-Up

 And just like that, another month is over in a blink of an eye. This past month has been very eventful for me. I participated in the NaNoWriMo-Camp, went on a lot of weekend trips, completed my fourth semester at university and currently I am writing this form a bench in Sweden. In between all of that I also managed to read a few books. Not as many as I'd liked to, but in the end thats not that important. And now, without further ado: My July Wrap-Up.

A month without headphones

On June 22 my headphones broke. My first immediate thought was: Where and when can I buy new ones? That though scared me. But the emotional state I was in scared me even more.   Headphones breaking should be no more that a mild inconvenience, but to me it felt like I had lost something very important. I was out running errands that day, the thought of running around the city all day without my headphones made me incredibly anxious. This anxious feeling was the reason why I decided not to buy new ones. 

The decision was ruled by a few determining factors:

Let's draw a map

A few weeks ago, I started preparing for the NaNoWriMo-Camp. As part of this preparation I drew a map to visualize the world the story takes place in.

Then I discovered the Instagram Account of Deven Rue. And got seriously inspired. So I decided to redraw the map and make it a bit more detailed.

Handlettering

I like Art. And I like books. Handlettering has given me a way to combine these two hobbies.
But what is Handlettering?
It basically means, to write quotes out beautifully. There are a thousand ways to do it, so there is no right way to do it. Here are some examples of my work:

out of: Rebel of the Sands

June Wrap-Up (and July TBR)

Another month is over. Another Wrap-Up is on the way. This time its a bit of a special one. As some of you may know, I was in a bit of a reading slump  last month. To battle the slump I decided to do a re-read month. I set myself the very ambitious goal of re-reading my ten favourite books. I managed to read four. There were a lot of reasons for that, some of which I will explain in this post.
There wont be any real reviews on these books because I have already reviewed them on this blog. I will link those reviews.
Now, without further ado: Let's get into re-reading!

How I prepare for NaNoWriMo-Camp July 2017

The next NaNoWriMo-Camp is approaching fast. Last time I participated, I decided to do so very spontaneously. I had no concept of what I wanted to write and no real ideas on how the story could evolve. This time I am a bit more prepared. In the last few days I have started to plan and flesh out the story I am working on. It is still the same one I worked on in April. But this time, it has a bit more structure to it.

So here is how I prepare for NaNoWriMo-Camp:

My To-Be-Read pile

Every booklover knows this problem. We all buy books faster than we can read them. This habit leads to heaps of unfinished and untouched books, sitting on bookshelves, slowly gathering dust. If you would pull out all those books and put them into a pile, you would have your to-be-read pile. The hight of this pile varies from reader to reader, but regardless of the amount of books. It is always stressful to look at.

Der alte Mann mit dem blauen Schal (2016) - Wortspiel

Montagmorgen. Die Temperatur liegt bei knapp über null. Es riecht nach Schnee. Müde Gesichter quälen sich zur Arbeit, zur Uni oder zu anderen Verpflichtungen. Auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt am Alexanderplatz trinken die ersten Touristen schon Glühwein.
Die S7 nach Potsdam Hauptbahnhof fährt auf Gleis eins ein. Ich steige mit unzähligen anderen ein. Ein stummer Kampf um die wenigen Sitzplätze beginnt. Heute kein Glück. Der Hacksche Markt und die Museumsinsel ziehen vorbei.
Friedrichstraße. Viele steigen aus. Endlich sitzen. Viele steigen ein. Auch eine Gruppe Musiker. Wie jeden Morgen versuchen sie die anderen Fahrgäste davon zu überzeugen, dass sie wirklich selbst spielen. Jeder weiß, dass der Verstärker die Arbeit übernimmt.
Die Bahn fährt weiter. Ich schaue auf mein Handy. Im Hintergrund läuft „hit the road jack“. Blechern, lieblos.

May Wrap-Up (and June TBR)

Another month is over, another wrap-up of the books I have read this month. This one will be quite short since I have only read three books. Mainly due to a reading slump, in which I have been caught. May also flew by. I had so much going on academically, that I barley had the time to read (I can see a pattern). But now, without further ado: The reviews of the books I have read in May.

Gewitternacht (24.05.16) - Wortspiel

Blitze zucken.
Das Handy blitzt auf. Nachrichten:
In Brandenburg soll schon die Hölle los sein sagt die eine.
Hier soll es auch bald losgehen sagt eine andere.
Es beginnt immer langsam.
Schon den ganzen Tag lag es in der Luft.
Man konnte es richen.
Doch alle sagten: Es wird nicht kommen, nicht heute.

Being stuck in a Reading Slump

Reading slumps suck. They suck hard.
For those of you, that do not know what a reading slump  is here is the Urban Dictionary definition, which is very accurate in my opinion:

On loving change

Current hairstyle. Is probably going to change soon

“Every time I see you, your hair is different.” I can’t count anymore how often I have heard this statement. It perfectly embodies the topic I want to talk about today. Change. 

There is this saying, that humans are a creatures of comfort. That we have to hate change because it rips us out of our routines and habits. That there is only bad in a change in environment and looks. We have to find our personal style, our trademark haircut and our own perfect interior design. I can't quite agree with that. I have always loved change.

My Camp NaNoWriMo experience

I like to read and I like to write. Those things are no secret. In the past years I have become an avid reader, reading around 4 books a month. This part of my literary hobby is well cared for and part of my everyday routine.

Writing on the other hand… Let’s just say writing and I have a love-hate relationship. I love writing, I love expressing my thought and creating worlds that only existed in my mind. But still, I find it hard to sit down and just write. There have been periods of my life where I wrote almost every day. Creating a wild array of short stories. On the other hand, there have been years where I have not written a single word. This inconsistency bothers me. It’s not that I don’t know what to write. I just don’t do it. I did not know how to tackle that problem.  Re-opening this blog was one part of the solution. By giving me a schedule of posting once a week, I have to write at least one day a week. So far that’s working for me.

April Wrap Up

Another month is over. April basically flew by. I was travelling quite a bit during the first half of the month and with travelling come long journeys, perfect for reading. I read four books during April. I’m quite happy with that. Enough talking, here are the books I read:

Spring Look book (also University stated again)

A public service announcement before we start: If you came here for pastel colours and pretty flower patterns, then I am sorry to disappoint you, but that’s not my style. Its more like black. With a little bit of grey. If you like that, or are just plain curious how to style a black spring outfit, then keep on reading.

All about Sketching

Every person, that ever wanted to be good at drawing had to practice. But how does one practice? The answer is quite simple. You sketch. As often as you can, as much as you can. It does not matter if it is good. It should simply be a way for you to get out of your comfort zone, acquire new skills or to deepen those that you already have.

Sammelsurium I - Kurzgeschichten

Die folgenden Passagen sind im Laufe der letzten paar Jahre (seit ca. 2012) entstanden. Zumeist während Bahnfahrten. Sie sind alle in sich abgeschlossen, auch wenn einige für mich den Anfang von größeren Geschichten darstellen, die ich jedoch nie schreiben werde. Welche gefällt euch am besten? und was haltet ihr von meinen kleinen Ausflügen in das Gebiet der Lyrik? Nun viel Spaß beim lesen meiner Wortspiele.

My reading year so far

This year I want to finish at least 30 books. As of today I have read thirteen in three months:

January: 

Rebel of the sands

My reading year started with Rebel of the sands by Alwyn Hamilton.

Going to the Leipzig book fair

Sunrise on the Karl-Marx-Allee

About half a year ago I got back into reading. I started to devour books, watching booktube and got involved with fandoms again. Also around that time I proposed the idea of going to the Leipzig book fair to a friend, who is as equally into books as I am. At that point I did not expect us to actually go. But in January the idea rose back up and we started planning our trip. We found more people and bought our tickets, then in a blink of an eye the day of LBM came.