Getting to know each other!

I read Mandi's post @Smexy Books a few minutes ago and thought: What a great idea. It all started with Hilda from The Dip-Files. She decided in her 10th post to start a questionnaire about us, the bloggers.

The rules:

1. Post these questions (with your own answers) on your blog.

2. Come back and leave a comment with the link back to your post.

3. Answer the questions as honestly as possible.

4. Have fun!

So here are my answers:

Foremost, what’s your name?

My name is Susann but I'm only addressed this way by my mom and dad when I've done something wrong so I prefer Susi.

What is your favorite word and why?

Quark. It's German and means curd in the original way. In slang it's used for expressing that you don't believe that something said is correct. I like the sound of the word. Don't know why.

What is the hardest word for you to pronounce?

Appropriate. I will break my tongue with this one.

If you had to choose one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be? (Includes one drink):

Mashed potatoes with fried eggs and veggie wiener and I think apple juice.

If you had to choose one book to read for the rest of your life, which would it be? (I know, I’m mean!):

That's not fair!!! I'm not sure. Ähm, "Magic Strikes" by Ilona Andrews. Yep, definitely.

Hypothetical scene: You’re invited to a huge party where all your favorite authors are going to be at, but you are only allowed to speak to one of them. Who would you choose to talk to and why?

I would choose Walter Moers. A German author who isn't really into public appearances. Would love to see him live.

We know you like blogging, but what else do you enjoy doing?

I love to watch movies and a few series. I'm also a real sucker for cats and animals in general- so I like spending time with them. I love music, art in general and books(great surprise here).

Do you speak any other language? If so, which one? If not, would you like to learn one?

I speak German cuz it's my mother-language. I learned English, French and Spanish in school but I think English is the only one of this three in which I can express myself. French is OK but not very comfortable cuz I'm a dummy at conjugating and so I never try. Spanish is limited to I think three full sentences tops. I would love to to learn Russian.

Hypothetical scene N˚2: You’re trapped in a dark room, haven’t eaten for days and are starting to stink. Your only salvation lays within ten feet from you. It’s a huge spider (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets size) with the key to the door hanging from its neck. Do you go get it or do you doom yourself to death?

I think I would get it. I have a soft spot for spiders since Arragog. They are totally misunderstood.

If you could move anywhere in the world and be given tons of money in that specific monetary unit, where would you go and why?
I'm not so sure. A carebean island would be great but I think I'm a traveler at heart so I think I would love to move around a bit till I find what I'm looking for cuz I'm not sure in the moment where I want to live the rest of my live.

That was fun!! Go over to Hilda and try it yourself!

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Weekly Update

I can see the end of the horror weeks. It's just one week left but this one is the hardest. I have to write three more exams next week and then it will finally be over.

So now it's time to think about books again. I have to be prepared. So I decided I will start making a list of my most wanted books

.

These are top priority. I'm not sure if I will order them all together. Perhaps I shouldn't be so greedy. But I think I'm a little addicted and can't stop myself any longer.


I read "Talk me Down" by Victoria Dahl this week and I have to say it was one of the best book I read this year. I had to learn but I just wasn't able to stop. I read it in, I think, 20 hours tops. So if you haven't read her so far start now. A really perfect book.(click on cover to buy!!)
It's the first book in the Tumble Creek Series and so Start me Up went straight into my "I need this book now or better yesterday" pile.


I also read "City of Souls" by Vicki Pettersson and loved it. I will write a review after my last exam so I won't talk about it now.

As mentioned before I'm still struck in this Star Trek Marathon and we finally reached Voyager a few weeks ago. And the first season was great but now the only think I can think of is: "When will they finally find the Borg?" I love the character Seven of Nine and she will finally be part of the series in just 7 episodes. I can't wait. This will bring back my interest, I hope.

So now I don't know what to talk about, so I think it's time to reward us for all the things we achieved this week:
First you can take a look at wonderful David Boreanaz post from Rowena @CoFFee HouSe BanTeR! Yummy!

And now something sweet:

So I hope your week was good as well and I hope you'll all enjoy a great weekend!!!

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I'm still here!!!

Busy week for me and no real time for posting. But I thought I just give a short summary of my week and then I will be on my way to the wedding.

Bachelorette's party was small but real fun. We were only three girlz running havoc in Magdeburg. We made a little bar hopping and after that dancing till our feet hurt. I realized that day that dancing with ballerina shoes is not my thing. I need high heels. There were a few moments I thought I will lose them. We were stalked by a few paparazzi ;-) and now have a photographic proof.

Exams are still going and everything went well so far. Only two more weeks to go. I'm starting to count the days till this is finally over.

I won a book at a contest @ Pearl's World of Books. Am so happy. Thanks again Pearl.
And it was my lucky week: I won an signed copy of "Demon Inside" by Stacia Kane at her Blog. Hurray!!! It's the second book in her Megan Chase Series. The first book is "Personal Demons" and I enyojed reading this one so much. She's a real great author and I love her books. Thanks for that too.

I got two these two wonderful awards from Leontine over @ Leontine's book Realm. I'm so proud and I really appreciate this. Thanks.
Unfortunately I haven't enough time now to nominated for the awards so I this have to wait a little longer. Sorry.




So I'm off to the wedding now and hope it will be fun like this one:


Hope you all have a nice weekend!!!

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Exams, (nearly) no Books and Awards

So my exams go on and on. Next weeks will be horrible. The last one is on Friday 7.August and I can't wait for this day to come. I think I have to neglect the blog a little bit to have enough time for learning. But I hope I can take a little time to pop in here and give a little heads-up. I think reviews have to wait...

After my exams I will finally have vacation time. I convinced my boss to give me two weeks of lovely vacation time starting in the last week of August. We don't where we will go but I think it will be great.

Reading goes on slowly. I'm still reading Branded by Fire and I love this book. It makes my inner kitty scream. I wish I had time to read more. Perhaps I can keep my vow and don't buy books till the time of asceticism is over. I bought two books this week but they were both for school and were as expensive as a normal month of book-buying with the little exception that this books suck real time and aren't in any way fun to read. So I decided they don't count. My nex´t read will be "City of Souls" by Vicki Pettersson and I'm very curious about this one. I loved this series so far and can't wait to learn more about Joanna Archer.

My little kitten is getting better. We brought her bandage to perfection by fixing it on her with the help of a trimmed sock. This helped with the scratching problem(she didn't stop and this bandage wasn't very durable against kitties claws). Now it heals really good. Perhaps next week we can free her.

I got three new awards this week. Hurray.

I got the Lemonade Award from
Shellie @ Layers of Thought.
The Lemonade Award is a feel good award that shows great attitude or gratitude. Here are the rules for accepting this award:
Put the Lemonade Award logon on your blog or post.
Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.


And I've got a second one from
Linda @ ~Bambi Reads~ : The Let's be friends award.
Blogs that receive the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and befriends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers.


I've also got The Spread the Love Award from
Yvette @ True Crime Book Reviews.

I'm very happy about these awards but like I said before time is little precious in the moment so I have to postpone the nominating to next week.



So tonight I go to bachelorette's party and we willto a few clubs. I hope I can restrain myself enough so I will still be able to learn tomorrow. The wedding is next Sunday and I still need to make the present. We want to give them money but I hate it to just give them an envelope so I will do a little handicraft. I just need an idea and a little extra hours for the days till sunday.

So that's all so far on my site. Now I will reward us all with a little Hugh Jackman:

Yummy, can't wait for the holidays!!!

Hugz to all and have a nice weekend!

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A stressful Week & a hairy problem

This week was just one big struggle. I had to start learning for my exams this week and that's a really pity because so many good books found their way to me and are just waiting to be read.
"But I have to be brave and concentrate on Statics." This is my new mantra till Monday. And I should be serious about this. I don't want something like this happening to my first self planned bridge:
Another thing occurred this week: I had to go to the vet with my kitty. She got a little wound two weeks ago and just didn't stop scratching it. So the formerly tiny wound is now as big as a 2€ coin. Just great! So we had to borrow a car because traveling with a cat in a box in the streetcar isn't an option. We convinced my mother-in-law to give us hers in the time she's on work. So we drove to the vet and we were lucky, we just had to wait 20 minutes. The vet said that she can't do much because Yoko's wound is at her throat at exact the spot where these beautiful scratch hindering cone(<--see picture, not my cat) would be. So we just got an ointment and Yoko got shot of antibiotics. The doc told us to cover it with a tubular bandage and this isn't as easy as it sounds. Looks funny!!See the desperate look in her eyes . --> She doesn't like this thing and I can totally understand why. But what has to be, has to be.
So now I hope this works and that I don't have to bring her to the vet again next week.

So about my little hairy problem. I found something this week and need a little hep with it. It's a present I got a few years ago and totally forgot about. It's a barrette and I have to admit I have no idea what to do with this thing. Yeah I know I have to put it in my hair but how? I don't even no what this thing is called. So I thought perhaps someone has seen this before and could share her wisdom with me. I would greatly appreciate it.



So what was your week like? Did anything good or funny happen?

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The Heartfelt Award for me!!!

As mentioned before I got the Heartfelt Award from Donna @Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings. I'm so proud and grateful. And I have to say Donna really deserves this award. She has a wonderful Blog and I love to read. it. Cheers for Donna!


The Heartfelt Award

Do you reach for a cup of cocoa or tea when your relaxing, seeking comfort, sharing a plate of cookies with family & friends? You know that feeling you get when you drink a yummy cup of cocoa, tea ~or a hot toddy? That is what the Heartfelt Award is all about, feeling warm inside.

Rules:
1) Put the logo on your blog/post

2) Nominate up to 9 blogs which make you feel comfy or warm inside.

3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4) Let them know that they have been nominated by commenting on their blog.

5) Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

OK, this whole nominating thing is not as easy as it seems. At first I thought I should give this award to people who don't already got this award. But that wasn't very efficient 'cause mostly I spent the time searching Blogs for this award- and that sucks. So I decided to give it away only because of what my heart tells me. So here are my Nominees:

• All I Want And More
• I ♥Book Gossip
• Michelle's Book Blog
• Babbling About Books, and more
• Romance Book Wyrm
• Smexy Books
• Leontine's Book Realm
• Pearl's World of Books
  

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New Look with little complications

Today I started a project: New header for my Blog.
I had an idea and was so full of enthusiasm. I started to make the little bookworm and wanted to color it with Photoshop. But after an hour I had to admit that I'm a real nitwit concerning this program and was in great need of a coffe break. Good recovered I searched for an alternative for PS and found Gimp. That was my savor. It's really handy and self-explanatory. I just love it.

After completing my bookworm I had this big hole on the left side so I started searching again and found this wonderful picture af a girl on top of a weighted companion cube. For all the people who don't know what a weighted companion cube is, it's a running gag from the video game Portal (Great game!!!). The picture is of an artist named Sailor Bob .

When this mission was accomplished I remodeled the rest of the Blog a little and now I'm happy with it again.


Yesterday Donna has given me a Heartfelt Award.
It's my first one and I'm really proud.
The blog nominating I have to postpone to another day because it's really late and I have to think about it.
But thanks again to Donna.

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Review: Prey by Rachel Vincent

This is the fourth book in the Shifter Series. To read my review about the first three look here.

Description:
Sometimes playing cat and mouse is no game…
Play? Right. My Pride is under fire from all sides, my father's authority is in question and my lover is in exile. Which means I haven't laid eyes on Marc's gorgeous face in months. And with a new mother and an I-know-everything teenager under my protection, I don't exactly have time to fantasize about ever seeing him again.
Then our long-awaited reunion is ruined by a vicious ambush by strays. Now our group is under attack, Marc is missing and I will need every bit of skill and smarts to keep my family from being torn apart. Forever. (by goodreads.com)

Review:
Faythe's world is tumbling down and she has to do all she can to stop it. She runs from one complication into the next and can't afford to lose her head. It's time for her to grow up and learn how to be an alpha.
This story is full of conspiration, heartbreak and loss. In the middle of the book I took a break to mend my broken heart but I don't say why. Now I understand why Rachel said that she thinks her readers will hate her after this book. But I sorry to disappoint, I don't hate her. Perhaps I'm a little pouty but I understand the necessity of her plot development. Despite my heartbreak I think this is the best book so far in the Shifter Series. And thanks to the great cliffhanger I'm now so curious to read the next book that I think at least my fingernails will hate Rachel for this book.

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The wonderful world of Zamonia

A few weeks ago I tried to introduce a friend to the great world of reading. First problem was that he only understands German, so most books I've read were eliminated by this communication problem. So I thought about it for a while and remembered my great affection for Walter Moers. I'm not sure if many Non-German readers know him but he is really great. He's one of the most known comic creators in Germany and a unique author.

His comics are mostly satiric and political incorrect. The most popular ones are "Das kleine Arschloch" (The little Asshole) and "Adolf, die Nazi-Sau" (Adolf, the Nazi-Pig, here the music video). These need a little getting used to. The comic I love most is "Der Fönig". It's about a fing who just wants to go to the klea market but is thrown in the middle of a war with Krance. But the story is not the import thing about this book. It begins with the statement: That in his fingdom all F's are replaced by K's and vice versa. He uses words with many F's and K's- sometimes you have to read the word a few times to understand what he means. But this book is only kunny if you understand German relativly good.


But I love Moers for his Zamonia Novels. He created a world of his own with fascinating characters like Troglotrolls, Alpine Imps, Wolpertings and many many more. This long lost continent is also home of the popular capital city Atlantis, the Nocturnal Academy(including the seven-brained Prof. Dr. Abdullah Nightingale) and the Demarara Desert with its nomadic Mugg people.


My first contact with Zamonia was as a child of 5 years. Like most German kids I watched every Sunday "Die Sendung mit der Maus", a kids program which describes how the world runs, e.g. how is tooth paste made? or things like that. And in the end of the show there was always a cartoon with Captain Bluebear, a Chromobear who's created by Moers. He lives with his 3 nephews and Hein Blöd on the stranded cutter Elvira. Everytime Bluebear tells a story about his life as a captain which includes many unrealistic events or creatures. The nephews always acuse him of lying and he denies it. I hated it. My young moralic mind couldn't accept this public lying. You see. I always took the side of the young folks rather than accept the wisdom of old age. So I stopped watching the end of the show.

Many years later I got "The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear" as a birthday present and read it after a few convincing discussions with friends and family.

Here a description of the book:
"A bluebear has twenty-seven lives. I shall recount thirteen and half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest..." says the narrator of Walter Moer's epic adventure. "...Mine is a tale of mortal danger and eternal love, of hair's breadth, last minute escapes."Welcome to the fantastic and wondrous world of Zamonia, populated by all manners of extraodinary characters and created by author and illustrator Walter Moers. It's a land of imaginative lunacy and supreme adventure, wicked satire and epic fantasy, all mixed together, turned on its head, and lavishly illustrated. (by goodreads.com)

Review:
This book started my fascination with Zamonia especially because of Bluebear. I have to announce I love him now. The story is magnificent weird and wonderfully illustrated. It's full of unique ideas and intriguing wordgames. I read the German edition and so I can't guarantee that the translation is good, but I think a translator has to be a total nitwit to ruin this book.


Other books about Zamonia:

The City of Dreaming Books: German / English
Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures: German / English
The Alchemaster's Apprentice: German / English
Ensel und Krete: German / German audiobook (read by Dirk Bach, a German comedian; MUST HAVE)

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