That‘s 2024 wrapped up! As expected, I couldn‘t break last year‘s record (200 📚), but 172 is still pretty good for me. However, my average rating is only 3.3 and I only rated 5 books with 5 ⭐️ this year. I blame #romantasy, it‘s fun and quick to read, but usually not that great. In 2025, I want to focus more on reading actually good books.

#readingchallenge #myyearinbooks

A very bookish Christmas! I can‘t wait to dig into all of these books 📚. But first, the big Christmas lunch awaits.

#MerryChristmas #Christmas #BookHaul #Holiday

@MaleficentBookDragon

#jolabokaflod

Thank you so much @jhod for the lovely presents and thank you @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing it!

#bookswap #merrychristmas #holidays

I hope I packed enough books for my #Christmas break! I‘ve picked a wide variety of genres. I‘ve already reread #FourthWing and started #LittleWomen yesterday.

These last two weeks were a terrible slog at school, since neither the students nor us teachers had any energy left, but it‘s done. Of course, I immediately got terrible sick this morning. Hopefully it‘s only a one day thing!

My #Jolabokaflod package with this cute sticker arrived on Thursday!! I‘m very much looking forward to opening it on Tuesday 🥰🥳🎄
@MaleficentBookDragon

The writing is barely legible, but my #Jolabokaflod package is on its merry way ☺️🎁 🎄.

@MaleficentBookDragon

#ProphetSong by #PaulLynch is a fantastic read that smacks your head every other page. It depicts an Ireland that is slowly descending into fascism and civil war, being told by a mother of four who struggles to save her children. Very moving and an ending that will not let you go.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

First two days of this week already done… I haven‘t read anything since Sunday, I can‘t concentrate. Election anxiety is sky high, especially since I‘m not American and can‘t really do anything. To all American 🇺🇸 Littens, please make your voices heard today 💙🗳️.

My #HHS24 package 📦 is here, thank you so much @julesG (I hope I‘m guessing correctly?) 🥰🙌.

@wanderinglynn #hauntedhollowswap

Since there are complications with the #HHS24 package I‘ve sent, I‘m gonna wait with opening until that problem is resolved 🫣.

First two #Ireland purchases are already read! I got them all from a sweet store in #Gallway with a lot of Halloween decorations. Irelands history is bloody, immensely tragic and endlessly fascinating and I wanted to learn more about it. Both books are very engagingly written and do not feel long at all.

Unfortunately, I‘m already back from #Ireland 🇮🇪☘️but I had such a wonderful time & got really lucky with the weather too! These are all my purchases. I really recommend the EPIC Museum on Irish Emigration & Trinity College Tour. The bus trip to the Cliffs of Moher & Gallway was fantastic too. I loved all the Irish fiction sections in the many indy bookstores. I‘ll be back!

#holiday #Dublin #bookhaul

Last full day in #Ireland already. Today, I took the train 🚂 to #Kilkenny, a small medieval city. It had a small castle, two large cathedrals and a long Main Street with this pretty cool bookstore. I actually wish I had stayed in Dublin instead, but oh well.

#holiday

Very busy & long day! I went on a 13 hour tour to the Cliffs of Moher, The Burren and #Galway. The sights and nature were spectacular and we got really lucky with the weather (some sun, no rain and lots of wind). In Galway, I found this lovely indy bookstore and I got 3 non-fiction novels about Ireland (famine, murders and pirates!).

#holiday #ireland

So far, of all five bookstores I‘ve visited in #Dublin, this one is my favourite! It has a lovely interior, a great Irish selection and great lighting. I got #Kala and #CommonDecency. Afterwards, I went to St. Paul‘s Cathedral and explored the neighborhood around Temple Bar.

#Ireland #Holiday

The #LongRoom at Trinity College. Right now, most of the books except for the first four shelves have been removed. They are closing it down in January to renovate, which is expected to last 10-15 years. So I visited at the right time! They also exhibit the Book of Kells, which is estimated to be 1200 years old.
#holiday #Dublin #Ireland

Next stop: the small bookstore called The Winding Stair! It‘s very small, but has a lot of character.

#Dublin #bookstore #holiday

Funny sign in #Chapters #Bookstore #Dublin #Ireland. I got #TheColony by Audrey Maggee and a signed edition of #TheProphecy.

First day in #Dublin #Ireland, a place with many great authors and beautiful bookstores! First stop after a quick lunch was at #Chapters, a bookstore+cafe+arboretum combination!

#holiday

First seven weeks of school are over, now I‘m finally on holiday. October has been really nice so far, it‘s not cold and nature is very colourful. Hopefully, I will actually get some reading done!

#happyweekend #holidays

I finally dropped off my #HHS #HauntedHollowSwap package yesterday! I wanted to do it on Wednesday, but their machine was broken. All fingers crossed the package arrives safe on my swap partner‘s doorstep until October 30! Until then, Happy October! @wanderinglynn

My #HauntedHollowSwap #Halloween aesthetics! As you can see, I absolutely love autumn 🍂. I‘m also a fan of Dark Academia and Mythology. Starting last year, I‘m also a fan of #StephenKing (It, Pet Sematary, Salem‘s Lot…) so I do love some horror once in a while.

@wanderinglynn

Not even two weeks ago, I was sweating on the beach, now I‘m shivering every morning on my way to work again. Yup, school year has officially started and I‘m teaching my first classes next week 😐.
#LongLiveEvil is too long and the middle drags on and on. Idea was pretty cool though.

I‘m back on my #StephenKing hype train and I‘ve started with #SalemsLot. I really loved getting to know the town and all its (horrible) secrets. I definitely didn‘t expect such a big body count!

#horror

Just like Gwen & Art are not in love, the new novel by #LexCroucher is fabulous and a lot of fun! Definitely don‘t read it if you are looking for the biblically accurate Robin Hood stories (which I adore!), but read it for the witty dialogue, the fast-paced plot and the building romance between Clem & Mariel 🥰.

#lgbt #ya

With #CaseyMcQuiston, it‘s a hit or miss for me. Her debut was fine and I liked her second & third novel much better. Unfortunately, #ThePairing is horrid. It‘s an Americanized vision of Europa, filled with a very annoying mc (Theo) & a boring mc (Kit), wrapped around conversations on food & wine and SOMEHOW everyone is hot & wants to *** all the time.

Rating: ⭐️,5/5

This book got very close to being very good! It‘s got the best parts of One Day & Normal People. However, the will-they/won‘t-they continued for way too long and I lost interest.

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️,5/5

#romance #fiction

I wanted to read this book because I was really interested in a fictional novel which is set around LGSM. Unfortunately, the introduction did not hold that promise. LGSM is only a minor focus and the promised conflicts at the start of the novel quickly evaporated. Disappointed.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#queer #LGBT #historicalfiction

Great news - Fredrik Backman has a new novel coming out June 2025 (in English)!!! You can find out more about this novel and his creative process on his Instagram post.

#AManCalledOve #Beartown #AnxiousPeople #FredrikBackman

I had very high expectations, since her debut “Lennie & Margot” is one of my favorite books and keeps breaking my heart! Eddie Winston is very sweet and his friendship with Bella is heartwarming. I really loved it, I just wished it would have been ~10 pages longer, since the ending felt very abrupt.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I was busy! This photo covers all fiction novels I bought while in #London & #Bath. The two postcards are from the Vagina Museum, the Lady of Shallot is in #TateBritain and I also bought some fancy make-up, a cute coaster & tea towel.

Neon Roses - Gays the Word
They Were Sisters - Persephone Books
The Night Watch - #Waterstones
The Pairing, Tipping the Velvet, Not for… & Talking at Night - Special discount at WH Smith at Heathrow

#GaystheWord is a must-visit if you ever travel to #London. It‘s got a great history (watch the movie 🍿 PRIDE) and a fantastic selection of #LGBT novels. I got the book “Neon Roses” by Rachel Dawson, which tells the story of a young lesbian from a small mining community in Wales in the 1980s.

The shop at the #Globe was amazing! I got these really cute graphic novels that also include some educational material suitable for kids. Much Ado about Nothing, the sticker, card and blue magnet is a birthday present for a friend. The rest is all for me. I got the dying Ophelia poster from #TateBritain.

#travel #Shakespeare #London

Antony and Cleopatra is definitely one of #Shakespeares lesser known works, but it was the play that fit best in my schedule. Being in the famous #Globe was pretty cool, but next time I‘m gonna splurge for a seat. Someone actually fainted next to me when they carried out the dying Antony. I guess they couldn‘t deal with the fake blood 🫣.

#london #holiday #travel

I have no desire to ever read the #Bridgerton novels, but I love the series. This is the filming location of the dress shop, they use the interior as well. Right now, it‘s actually deli right in the center of #Bath, next to the big #Abbey. Bath ended up being a wonderful highlight of my trip to #London!

While in #Bath, I visited the #JaneAusten center. Tbh the shop is better than the exhibition, but the love for these books really shines through in every detail. There were multiple pictures of brooding Mr Darcy, played by Colin Firth (notice the pin), spread throughout the center, which was hilarious.
What‘s your favourite Austen novel? I‘ve only read P&P and Emma.

#PersephoneBooks is a store at the center of #Bath. They focus on publishing novels by female authors who have been forgotten by history. All of their books have a very unique design as well. I was there in London in 2019, before they moved, so I was very happy to visit them again on Tuesday!

#UK #bookstore

An unexpected highlight of my #Interrail trip was Innsbruck in #Austria, a small city surrounded by beautiful mountains. The view of the city and the surrounding nature was spectacular.
My trip back home was awful - two delayed trains and an accident right before Hamburg. It took me 2,5 hours longer than expected.

Learned by Heart: 3 stars

Only one hour away from Ljubljana is the famous Lake Bled. I really enjoyed taking a long walk around the lake and just enjoying the lovely views. At times of stress, I usually go back to a few of my old favourites. Rereading the #Twilight series, including #MidnightSun, is always a big treat.

#travel

Ljubljana in Slovenia is only a small capital and also happened to be my fourth stop. The highlight in the old town was their Dragon Bridge. Fitting that I also read a lot of #Romantasy novels during my journey.

Powerless: 1/5 (not 1 original thought in this series)
A Court of Silver Flames: 4/5
Kingdom of the Wicked: 2/5

#travel

#Bratislava is only one hour by train away from Vienna, so I traveled there for a few hours. It‘s a small city, with a surprisingly well-stocked English bookstore in the city center, and it also has this beautiful Blue Church ⛪️!
In those days, I actually reread all five #Twilight novels, and I had a lot of fun, as always.

#Interrail #travel

My third stop was #Vienna, a beautiful city, where I visited lots of fantastic museums and palaces. Inspired by Schloss Schönbrunn, I also read this massive biography about Kaiserin Sisi. I highly recommend it.

#austria #travel

My 2nd stop was #Krakow 🇵🇱, a city full of history. I did a tour through the Auschwitz Museum, another walking tour through the Jewish district and I visited the Oskar Schindler Fabrik. The tour guide recommended the tagged book to me. It‘s incredibly researched and also talks about lot about the famous movie, although it gets lost in the details a bit.

I was traveling through Germany‘s neighbor countries the last two weeks with my Interrail ticket. My first stop was #Warsaw 🇵🇱 and #FunnyStory by #EmilyHenry the first novel! Warsaw is very modern and I really recommend the walking tour through the old Jewish Town & Ghetto.

This novel might be the prettiest book of the year (looks really nice inside too). The mythology lesson at the beginning is quite interesting as well. Sadly, I‘ve got nothing more positive to say. The writing is supposed to be poetical, but it‘s just sentence after sentence shredded through a thesaurus. The FMC is annoying and overuses the word “c*ck” a lot. Romance goes from Enemies to Lovers in 5 pages.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5
#romantasy

In the last two to three years, my local bookstores have really stepped up their game for #Pride month! 🏳️‍🌈

#LGBT #bookstore

Finally, a 5 star novel!! I already loved her debut novel “22 Bahnen”, but I enjoyed this even more. The author has a very distinct voice and reading her novels is just so much fun, even when the content is very emotional.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#GermanNovel

If you loved the series adaption of #OneDay by David Nicholls as much as I did, you will definitely recognize these stairs in Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿! It‘s called The Vennel and is right next to the famous Grassmarket. When you climb up these stairs, you get a wonderful look of the castle 🏰!

Another #Waterstones, this time in Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿!
During my holiday, I also spent some time with a few of my favourite novels:

A Song of Achilles
Circe
The One Hundred Years of Lenni & Margot: not very well-known, but it‘s a complete tearjerker and extremely lovable characters. If you like Ove & Anxious People, you‘ll love this one too.

#Holiday

4th & last stop: a sunny day in #Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (Victoria Street)

The Future Future: great cover, very weird concept and terrible execution. Zero stars. I just flipped through the second half and it got weirder and weirder.

#holiday #scotland

🗺️ Kirkwall, Orkney-Islands (Home of sheep, cows and some puffins)

We went on a biking 🚴‍♀️ tour and had some time in the biggest city, Kirkwall. It was sunny ☀️ and the Scots were very warm & welcoming.

#TheBeeSting didn‘t convince me. The ending was a terrible punch to the gut. #PaulMurray

#holiday #sightseeing #scotland