25 facts about me

Hey, guys!
I thought it is time to get to know me a little bit better, so I thought of 25 facts to describe myself. I hope you enjoy reading this!


1. I love cakes and cupcakes and all kind of sweet things. 

2. I have three siblings, two older brothers and one younger sister.

3. I have three cats at my parent's home. They are called Minki, Blacky and Amy.

4. In September my little nephew Alexander was born. So I am an aunt now!

5. I danced at the Vienna Opera Ball last Tuesday!!! It was great! :)

6. I love tea, especially black and herbal tea.

7. I don't really like coffee but sometimes I have a cup of it.

8. I have had bright red hair for about a year when I was 15 or 16 years old. Sometimes I miss my red hair :(

9. I am using a glass bottle instead of a plastic bottle. Check out my bottle here if you are interested.

10. I love fluffy socks and I love them even more if they have cats or other cute figures on them :D

11. I have always wanted to travel through India but so far I didn't have the chance to ... 

12. I like summers more than winters.

13. But I wouldn't want to live in a country where it doesn't snow. 

14. I have been taking Standard and Latin dancing classes for five years and I still enjoy it :)

15. I can't stand house, techno or electro music. 

16. I like listening to punk rock, alternative rock, acoustic rock and sometimes even heavy metal. 

17. Some of my favourite bands/musicians are: Blink 182, Anti-Flag, Second Hand Serenade, Three Days Grace and Skillet. 

18. My favourite dish is lasagna. 

19. When I see a spider in my room I let it stay alive so that I won't have to touch it... or I scream for my dad. 

20. My passion is dancing. I'm also doing pole dance and acrobatics/acro-dance.

21. Since I have discovered booktube last summer I am even more into reading (and buying) books.

22. I am probably going on an Interrail journey through Europe with some friends in the summer. So excited!!!

23. I grew up in a one-horse town called Oberaich, in Styria.

24. I am collecting dolphin statues. I buy one every time I am on holiday abroad.

25. I want to write a book some day.

.

Larissi ♥

January Wrap-Up

Hello, everybody!

Today I want to talk about my January Wrap-Up :) Unfortunately, I didn't really read much since I had a lot of exams at the end of the month... Only two books! I am ashamed. Well, I started a third one on January 29, but I finished it in February so I won't count that. 

The first book I read was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. This is my favourite Harry Potter book so far! In this book, Sirius Black, a wizard accused of being a supporter of Voldemort and murdering lots of people, escapes the prison Azkaban. Rumours, that he is looking for Harry in order to kill him, are spreading fast. What's more, the Hogwarts Divination teacher always predicts Harry's death.... All that seemed very depressing, but the turn in the end of the book took my breath away!! I still think, that this was one of the most brilliant "story changes" I have ever read. I know many people say that the third part of Harry Potter is the worst, but I can't understand them :P I gave it 4/5 stars on goodreads.com

P.S. If you haven't checked out my goodreads account, now is a good time! ;)

The second book is also a Harry Potter book, namely Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have only seen one Harry Potter movie and it was this one. So I already knew what this book is about and maybe that's why I didn't like it so much. In fact, it is my least favourite Harry Potter book so far. 

In this book, the Triwizard Tournament takes place at Hogwarts. Strangely, Harry is elected as a fourth champion, even though he is actually too young to compete. He and the three other champions have to face three tasks through which a winner will be selected. But strange things are happening... Harry often feels Voldemort's presence in the scar on his forehead... No, I'm not going to spoil anything here now!
I enjoyed a lot of scenes in this book, so I gave it 3/5 stars although I didn't enjoy the book as a whole.


Have a nice day,

Larissi ♥

February TBR

Hey, guys!

Today I'm back with my February TBR :D

As it is already February 5, I have even finished two books by now. These are Looking for Alaska by John Green and Damals war es Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter. Actually I wanted to read both of them in January but I didn't manage to do so. However, I started LfA in January at least ;)
I have already told you the content of these books in my January TBR, so I won't repeat myself here.





The book I am currently reading is Ich schreib dir jeden Tag or in English I'll be seeing you by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan. This book was a total cover buy. Look how beautiful it is! I think the German cover is just so much more charming than the original cover (on the right side).
So, a little bit about the content:
The book is about two women, Glory and Rita, who are pen friends in the Second World War. Their husbands and also Rita's son are soldiers who have to serve their home country. The book only consists of letters. Letters to and from Glory and Rita but also letters to their husbands/son. Glory and Rita help each other through the rough life of war and attempt to shorten the period of waiting. Waiting for the end of war and for their loved ones to come home.



The next book I'd like to read (but also have to for university) is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. I have wanted to read this book for a few years now, because I gave up on it when I started it in English at the age of 15. I guess I was just too young and my English wasn't good enough to understand the plot. But as I have to read it for an exam in March, I will do so now! Jane Eyre is about an orphan girl who lives with her aunt and cousins who they treat her really cruelly. The book shows her suffering childhood and adolescence as well as her grown-up life later. As a young woman she meets a man, Mr. Rochester and falls in love with him. Mr. Rochester, however, has a secret locked away in his attic.......





The book I am most excited to read this month is.... Blankets by Craig Thompson! This is going to be my first graphic novel ever! :D It just got delivered today (together with All the Light We Cannot See and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe) and I am soooo looking forward to reading this!! This autobiographical graphic novel follows Craig through his childhood into his early adulthood. His family is Evangelical Christian but Craig struggles with this belief. In a Christian camp he meets his first love Raina. Craig also has a brother, with whom he got along well as a child but they drift apart as they grow older. He has to face a lot of troubles, at home as well as at school, where he gets bullied.



So that is my TBR for February. Let me know what you are going to read this month! Have you read any of the books I mentioned?`:)

Have a great holiday,

Larissi ♥

Doing good while buying a book?

Well, maybe buying books and buying happiness are really not that distinct from each other. Because there are many online bookstores which support certain charity organizations to make people happy. And YOU can be part of it, if you just buy your books in the right store. 

Today I want to show you some of those bookstores. They are also good shopping alternatives to  Amazon. But why should I avoid buying things at Amazon? It is said, that Amazon treats its employees very badly. They are pushed to a very high working pace, are exposed to very high temperature (many pass out, actually) and don't receive the basic benefits like healthcare. What's more, the company wants to sell books at the lowest price, so they demand additional discounts from their suppliers. This is illegal but Amazon clearly makes good use of it. A few years ago, it has also been discovered that this company has sold customers' private information to other companies.

The Book People
There you can buy new books in all kind of genres for very little money. They deliver books worldwide. With the money they take in, they support various charities. You can also purchase eBooks in this shop. 

Better World Books
This bookstore offers new as well as used books. You can also buy textbooks and sell your own books. They ship worldwide and even free if you choose the standard shipping method. Every time you buy a book, BetterWorldBooks donates a book to someone in need, libraries or non-profit groups. That's their way to fight poverty: through education. On the website it also says, that they never throw away a book but recycle it. 

I have to say, I never tried out any of the shops mentioned above but they seem very serious to me. I always try to buy my books in local bookstores, but I often have to order online because most bookshops in Austria don't have a big range of books written in other languages. The next two online bookstores are located in Germany and I have tried out and liked both of them.

Buch7.de
This bookshop sells new books and also helps various non-profit organizations. Buch7.de ships to all countries in the EU. The delivery, however, takes quite long so be prepared to wait for about a month until you have your books. But as I don't order books I need urgently at this bookstore I don't care about the waiting when I can help people in need. Buch7.de supports social, environmental and cultural projects.

Ecobookstore
There you can also buy new books while supporting the rainforest conservation. Ecobookstore delivers to all countries in the EU and also to certain other countries. The shipping times vary from one week to three weeks depending on the destination.


I hope you'll try out one or two of these bookstores. Of course most prices won't be as low as the prices on Amazon but I think one or two dollars/euros won't hurt you too much, will they?

Keep reading, guys!
See you soon,

Larissi ♥

December Wrap-Up

Hi, guys! :)

Here comes my Wrap-Up for the month December. Unfortunately, I read only three books but I had so much to do for university that I didn't have time to read more :(

The first book I finished in December was Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken. This is the second book in the Darkest Minds Trilogy. This trilogy is about a 16-year-old girl named Ruby, who lives in a world where a special virus has infected all children. Because of this virus, the kids have now certain abilities. There are some pretty harmless abilities, such as the power of moving objects and people with their thoughts or having a great knowledge in science. However, there are also some with dangerous abilities. Some can produce or destroy electricity with their hands or even thoughts, some can control other human’s minds, that means they can read their minds but sometimes they can also erase memories like Ruby can. The most dangerous ones are the kids who can produce fire with their hands. The kids have been put in special camps where they are being watched all the time and have to work very hard. In the second book, Ruby has already escaped a camp and is now with a league who wants to help the children. There she has a mission to complete which also includes looking for her (ex-) boyfriend whom she still loves. I didn’t like Never Fade as much as the first book but it still was a gripping read so I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on goodreads.com

The second book I read in December was Where She Went by Gayle Forman. This is the last book in the If I Stay duology. I’m sure most of you know If I Stay as the movie came out recently. Where She Went is written from Adam’s point of few. Three years after Mia has left him without a goodbye, he is nearly hitting the bottom after the huge success of his band. But then he meets Mia again and realizes he has to change…

At first I didn’t like the story so much because all you read about was Adams hard life with which he could not cope. But when he met Mia the book  got better and in the end I really enjoyed it, so this one also got 3 stars.

The last book I read in December was The Kill Order by James Dashner. This book is the fourth and last book of the Maze Runner Series. Also this book was made into a movie adaptation in 2014. The Kill Order is the prequel to the first book so you get to know what exactly happened when the sun flares hit the world. There are new characters and you follow them upon their dangerous and saddening tries to escape the horrors of the sun flares and a spreading virus which makes everyone who gets it go crazy. In the end you also know how WICKED, an organization trying to find a cure for this virus, was formed and how Thomas and Theresa (the main characters in the Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure) have gotten to WICKED. The book was quite good, but it didn’t draw me in all the time, and though I liked it more than the second and third book. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars as well.

I hope you enjoyed reading this!

Bye,

Larissi ♥

Language and Culture Tag!

Hi everyone, welcome back!

Today I´m doing the Language and Culture Tag! 

Okay, I admit it, it is actually a tag for booktubers but... well, I guess can just write it down as well? :D
As you might know I am studying languages and so I thought this tag fits perfectly.


So here we go!

1. What languages do you speak? And what languages would you like to learn to speak?
I currently speak German, English, Italian and French. I have studied Spanish about a year ago but after one semester I didn´t continue because I had the feeling that I did not learn much in this course. But I still have my book and I´m sure I´ll try to learn it again at some point in time :)
I´d like to learn a lot of languages! For example Dutch, Croatian, Arabic, Hindi or Swahili.

2. What books do you own that are written in a different language?
Well, I own loads of books written in German and English and a few written in Italian. I´ll just name my favourites here because the list would get really, really long if I told you them all!

Favourite English books:
Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Superhero by Eli Easton

Where Rainbows End by Cecilia Ahern

Divergent by Veronica Roth (but I hate Allegiant!)

Favourite German books:
I don´t think there exist English versions of these books but I´ll try to translate the title for you

Ich, die Andere by Jana Frey 

en: I suppose you cannot really translate this correctly... it´s something like: `Me, the different´












Wenn du mich brauchst by Jana Frey

en: If you need me










Elfte Woche by Christine Fehér

en: eleventh week












Favourite Italian book:
Tre Metri Sopra Il Cielo by Federico Moccia

en: Three Meters Above The Sky










3. Translate the first sentence of (one of) your favorite book(s) to a different language
For this question I chose the book `Superhero´ and I´m going to translate the sentence into Italian:
`Il mio nome è Jordan Carson e questa storia tratta di Pin Man, il mio super eroe.´

4. Translate the title of the book you're currently reading to a different language
I am currently reading Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken which is an English book so I´ll translate the title into German: `Verblasse niemals´
The real title is `Furchtlose Liebe´ which means `dauntless love´ but hey, everybody knows titles are always translated differently!

5. What is your favorite book that takes place in a different country than you live in?
Nearly all the books I read take place in the United States.

6. Last but not least: try to end the blog in a different language!
That´s fun!

Spero, che vi siate divertiti.

À bientôt :D

Kwaheri!

Larissi ♥