I love books

Hi! My name is Jana. I love reading and watching different YouTubers and Shows. I'm a fangirl (like probably everyone here). On this page I want to give book reviews. There may also be fandom drawings. And I'm a normal bored teenager so PLEASE! It's totally fine if you write me an ask and randomly talk to me :D

[nelu-chan]

Went to a medieval fair today and got a present for @ilovebooks-forever. It says magic of the forest and its half a litre of woodruff (galium odoratum) wine.

[ilovebooks-forever]

I loved it 😍

[biffisdrawing]

image description under the cut because this is a whole-ass 5 page comic. (sorry!)

happy pride. i drew this instead of things i should be doing. it was a good excuse to draw a lot of beautiful girls using references (found under the cut). it’s messy and bad, but i think the message gets across. i love being a lesbian because it helped me love myself more.

Keep reading

[ilovebooks-forever]

Hey everyone! Haven't posted in quite a while. So here is a little watercolour painting I did. Not quite happy with it but hey better than nothing is it?

[ilovebooks-forever]

The Summer Seaside Kitchen

Flora works in a big firm in London. She is ok living in the city and tries not to look back to her old live at home. One day her boss, whom she has a huge crush on, asks her to her office. A new client, Colton Rodgers, has requested her work, because she is a native of Mure, a tiny island in northern Scotland. He owns a huge portion of the land and wants her to help him with a legal case. She has to go home. Back at home she runs into a lot of memories and troubles. She has to hold up to the stares of the townspeople that judge her for leaving, reconnects with old friends and spends some time alone with her boss, who might just be human after all. The reason why she left, the intricate family relations, the town’s decision and the final decision on who she loves really keep you in suspense.

The Summer Sea Side Kitchen is a lovely novel. It captures the amazingness of the Scottish isles and mimics small town live beautifully. Jenny Colgan creates a well-rounded female character that cares not only about her love life but also about her family and her town. I absolutely LOVED reading it and I think so will you if you like a good love story with well-rounded characters, which all have different troubles. I have also found that it’s sometimes really nice to read a good romance when you are really fed up with love triangles and love stories that insert themselves into fantasy books and get into the way of the actual story.

Lots of Love,

Jana

ISBN 9780751567724

P.S. Sorry for the radio silence throughout most of the last year(s?). I was really busy with A-levels and Uni and haven’t really found the time to write reviews.

[sending-postcards-project]

6th December 2016 – It’s Nicolaus

Lasst uns froh und munter sein und uns gar von Herzen freu‘n…

On the 6th December, in Germany we celebrate St. Nicolaus Day. St. Nicolaus actually is a historical figure. He was a bishop of Myra (a place in Turkey) and there are tons of legends about him. Many of them have to do with children, who are saved by him. So he has become the patron of children and especially students and of a lot of the estates (in medieval times). When children think of St. Nicolaus, they usually picture a friendly, elderly man with a red bishop’s robe and a staff. He is one of the most iconic Saints in Germany and is not only celebrated by Catholics but also by Protestants and other Christian religious groups. Nowadays, children (and sometimes grown-up children) put out a shoe or a plate for “St. Nicolaus” to put sweets and small presents in. For some reason there are also often apples and mandarins on these plates, as they are seasonal fruits. Still, St. Nicolaus Day isn’t a national holiday, meaning that we still have to go to school and work that day, but everyone anticipates and enjoys it nonetheless.

If you want to read more on the legends surrounding St. Nicolaus here’s the Wikipedia page:

(German) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus_von_Myra#Feiertag

(English) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

Lots of Love, Jana <3

[sending-postcards-project]

5. December - Let's talk about Lebkuchen

A few days ago, I found a recipe on tumblr for Lebkuchen, which said they were cookies. Rule No. 1 when talking about Lebkuchen: they are not cookies! They’re not cake either ( although “Kuchen” in Lebkuchen means cake). They’re just Lebkuchen! Only refer to them as Lebkuchen please. Nobody in Germany would call them cakes or cookies. But you might be wondering what Lebkuchen are. So I’m gonna explain. I’m pretty sure you know gingerbread. That’s Lebkuchen, at least one type of Lebkuchen. It’s not really popular in Germany (although you get it here). The better Lebkuchen are those you only get during Christmas time. Those are called “Oblatenlebkuchen” or “Elisenlebkuchen”. And although I am sort of an expert on Christmas food, I couldn’t tell a difference between those two types ( Elisenlebkuchen are sort of special). Those Lebkuchen are softer, they have a fluffy consistency. They are usually as big as your hand and round. Their bottom is a thin “Oblate” some paperlike sort of wafer. And they’re topped with either chocolate or a sugar coating. The dough includes a lot of christmassy spices, and I guess not all of you would like them, but many Germans do. Baking Lebkuchen by yourself is extremely complicated but if you want to try them out you can visit www.lebkuchen-schmidt.com. They are famous for their extremely delicious Lebkuchen and they have worldwide shipping (They’re also expensive though, but way more delicious than the supermarket stuff).

Lots of love, Alina

[sending-postcards-project]

4. December - 2. Advent

It’s Sunday, another weekend is coming to its end, but today is still left to relax and do the stuff you love. Also, it’s the 2. Advent. In Germany, we light candles on every Advent Sunday. Almost every household in Germany has its own “Adventskranz”, a Advent wreath. Some people also decorate plates and put on four candles instead. But one thing’s for sure. Today, during breakfast or lunch or during coffee time in the afternoon, people in Germany will light two candles. It’s tradition and lighting the candles not only gives you a warm feeling, but it also indicates that Christmas is less than three weeks away. Two candles are burning, two are left. Only two more Sundays before Christmas. Many families also use the advent Sundays to spend one day together. They go to the zoo, or they go hiking (Jana and I are going hiking today since the weather is nice), while some families drink coffee together in the afternoon and play board games. So use this Sunday to get into the Christmas spirit and do something with your loved ones. We really hope you are enjoying your weekend. Happy 2. Advent!

Lots of love, Alina

[sending-postcards-project]

3rd December 2016 - Glühwein

Oh, Glühwein, a German‘s favourite alcoholic Christmas beverage. “What is ‘Glühwein’?”, you might ask. Well, let me tell you. Glühwein is a hot drink made with wine (in Germany it’s normally red wine) and different spices, most often cinnamon, lemon, cloves and aniseed. Usually, it’s served under 80°C because the alcohol starts to evaporate at that temperature, the spices change their taste negatively and the sugar can turn into dangerous substances. It is often drunk at German Christmas markets and is enjoyed by many. Spiced wines existed in Europe since the Middle Ages were they were consumed cold. Today’s Glühwein came into existence in the late 1950’s and has been a hit ever since.

A typical recipe if you want to try and make it yourself:

(Disclaimer: I got this from the Internet and have no clue if it works nicely. If I want to drink it I just go to the next Christmas market, Christmas party or supermarket.)

1l red wine 1 lemon (organic because you use the rind) 2 cinnamon sticks 3 cloves 4 Tablespoons raw sugar a little cardamom to taste (you can add other spices if you like)

Cut the lemon into slices and put it into a pot together with the wine and the other spices (except for the cardamom). Heat the mixture up to about 70°C (158°F). CAUTION: DON’T BOIL IT!!! Let it sit for about an hour and then pour it through a sieve. Add cardamom to taste. If you think it isn’t sweet enough you can add more sugar or honey to the mixture.

(Recipe in German: http://eatsmarter.de/ernaehrung/news/gluehwein-selber-machen)

Lots of Love, Jana <3

[sending-postcards-project]

2. December - Vanille Kipferln, a german Cookie recipe

Vanille Kipferln are one of the most famous Christmas cookies in Germany. They are moon shaped Vanilla cookies, often served with powdered sugar on top. The cookies are really dry and crumbly, don’t worry if your dough seems to be rather dry. So without further ado, here is our favourite Recipe for Vanille Kipferln:

You will need:

300 grams of flour 125 grams of sugar Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar (as much es you like) or one vanilla pod 3 egg yolks 125 grams of ground almonds 250 grams of butter ( you can also use margarine)

A little bit of vanilla sugar to powder the cookies

Instructions: 1. Mix all of you ingredients and knead the dough until it is smooth. 2. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and put it in the fridge for one hour to let it cool. 3. Take small portions of dough and form them into little moons, them put them on a cookie sheet ( line it with parchment paper before). Leave enough space in between the cookies, they’re gonna expand while baking. 4. Put your cookies in the oven and bake them for roughly 10 to 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius ( use 350 degrees Fahrenheit). Your cookies are ready as soon as they get slightly tanned. 5. Let the cookies cool and powder them with vanilla sugar( you can also use powdered sugar). Once they are cool they have the consistency they’re supposed to have ( they are softer while still being hot).

I really hope you enjoy this recipe. Happy baking!

Lots of love, Alina

[sending-postcards-project]

1st December 2016 - Christmas Calendar

„Wir sagen euch an den lieben Advent…“

Finally! It’s the 1st December 2016! Only 24 days till it’s Christmas!!! Alina and I decided to make a little Advent calendar for you. 24 posts about German traditions and customs. Today: our Advent Calendars. In quite a lot of countries there are Advent or Christmas calendars. Some start on the actual first advent some start on the 1st of December, some only have chocolate inside others have little gifts. In Germany, advent calendars start on the 1st December and usually have more in them than just plain Chocolate. In mine there have always been little gifts and a piece of Chocolate. One of my friends even got actual presents every second day leading up to Christmas (she shared it with her brother). Here every little child gets at least one advent calendar (yes some do get two. One with chocolate, one with other little things). Often even adults have one. My big brother gets send one to France every year, because he still wants to have one. Alina and I also get one and we both are technically adults. The advent calendar tradition is quite important here in Germany and we decide we wanted to share it with you.

Hope you’ll enjoy this.

Lots of Love, Jana <3

[ilovebooks-forever]

I’m collaborating on an advent calendar with my friend Alina this year! Hope you enjoy it!!!

[sunsetssomewhere]

[ilovebooks-forever]

Sending Postcards Project

First of all: Sorry for not posting in such a long time.

Okay. So my very good friend Alina (thedreamer-inside.tumblr.com) just started an awesome project. She plans to send a Postcard with funny German sayings to anyone who is willing to give her their address. For her it’s about connecting to other people world wide and to interest people in German culture, the weirdness of our language and especially of our sayings. To join the project you don’t have to give us money it is merely appreaciated if you send a postcard back. It might take a very long time for a postcard to arrive since she wants to send one a week. Her main problem is, that she herself doesn’t have many followers and won’t reach a lot of people. So even you don’t want to get a lovely postcard, please spread the word. There are no strings attached. We just want to spread a little happiness around the globe.

Check out her blog here and learn more about the project:

http://sending-postcards-project.tumblr.com/

Lots of Love, Jana

when rebloggin this please use the hashtag: #mypostcardproject

[ilovebooks-forever]

24th and 25th December 2015

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are both days people give presents to one another. I myself got some very nice presents and some gift cards but those aren’t the only gifts I got. Because there are way more important things than that new blouse or the extremely lovely owl plush you got. For me the people behind that count. I love gift giving, because I can make something I’m sure my friends will love without having to expect something back than the love and joy they show. Sometimes they aren’t even prepared that they get a gift. Still I believe that physical gifts aren’t the only gifts you get on Christmas. On Christmas you give love and you receive it as well. If you are going through a rough time at the moment and feel like you don’t belong or didn’t receive love from your family: here is you share of love this Christmas season. I feel that I get a lot from you guys as it makes me happy to see your icons and names on my dashboard when I read your posts if I follow you or get a message when one of you reblogged or liked something I posted. This is why I wanted to give this love back. Merry Christmas everyone. Feel loved in times of joy and happiness or in times of sadness and frustration. Jana P.S.I’m always here if you need to talk. 

[ilovebooks-forever]

23rd December 2015 I made these little Cinema cards for my parents as their Christmas present is going to see StarWars in a cinema in Berlin with my mum's cousin her boyfriend and her son. Further, I treated myself to some adorable Funko figurines. One of them had to be Cap and Yoda is just sooooo cute!

[ilovebooks-forever]

22nd December 2015

Today was a very exciting day. Both courses I would have had today didn’t happen and so I only had to go to school for our annual volleyball game between teachers and the students that will get their A-Levels next year in summer (aka my year). After the match was over (we unfortunately lost) I exchanged presents with one of my best friends @thedreamer-inside. She gave me a super cute owl and I ave her a shirt that said: Keep calm and be a demigod. From her reaction I took that she liked it as she put it on immediately. I was really happy but also got to the realization that this was the last year that we could do the gift giving in such a way as we both leave school in summer and go and study different things at Uni. I still very much hope that we stay friends and can do something similar to this for a long time. After all of that was over, I had the last rehearsal for the Christmas play we put on every year on Christmas Eve in my church. Everything went kind of well but we had some problems with the microphones. Still I believe that Christmas will be magical. 

I hope you had an amazing day as well. Also (at least in Germany): WE HAVE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Love, Jana

[ilovebooks-forever]

21st December 2015 Made some little things for my friends for Christmas. I hope the people who get them will be happy and have a lovely Christmas. If you'd like to know how I made them send me an ask and I'll make a post about it. Jana

[ilovebooks-forever]

21st December 2015 Made some little things for my friends for Christmas. I hope the people who get them will be happy and have a lovely Christmas. If you'd like to know how I made them send me an ask and I'll make a post about it. Jana