What To Read This Summer

No chick lits or gossip magazines on the side of the pool this year. It's time to change things up a little. Throw those damsel in destress and celeb nudes to the side, because this is what you should be reading this summer. 

VLOGMAS DAY 10 / Book Shopping and An Early Night

Winter Reads

The first snow of the year has fallen to the ground and the sun sets at around 3 o’clock. Winter is here and the cold short days make for the perfect excuse to stay inside and cuddle up under a warm blanket. Even though I am a fore stander of the concept ‘Netflix and chill’, nothing tops a good book and a cup of coffee in my opinion. These are some of my favorite wintery reads.

My Bucket List

There is a lot I want to do with my life. Some things are small, some things are big. Here they are:

Write a book

Writing a book, I think, must be the most difficult and satisfying thing I could ever do. Creating something out of nothing by knitting ideas together and making them fit into a coherent story. To, then, crawl into someone’s head as they are reading your book and taking them on an adventure through the words you have written. And while being on that adventure, introducing them to your imaginary friends and enemies in the hope that they might become just a little bit more real.  There is nothing I would rather do.

Travel

I would like to see as much of the world as I possibly could. I want to understand different cultures. I want to visit the past by visiting the remains of it. I want to drift away while looking at breathtakingly beautiful landscapes. I want to let my imagination take me away, but never lose sight of what is right in front of me.

Meet one of my heroes

I would like to have coffee or cake or both with someone whom I look up to. Someone brilliant. Just so we could talk for a while. I would like to see where their minds go when they are not being asked questions.

Go to Disneyland

I need to go there.

Work in a bookshop and a library

These places and the people who work there make me happy. And I would love to be a part of that for a little while.

Work as a volunteer in a third world country

I want to see what life there is like, I want to understand it and I want to help.

Have a home library

I will have a pinterest worthy home library. There will be books, shelves, a coffee/tea/hot chocolate stand, socks, sofas, candles,… and quotes written all over the walls and the ceilings in glow in the dark paint.

Backpack through at least 2 countries

Pack a bag, a tent and a friend and go.

Graduate from an institution of higher education

Working on it…

Adopt a dog from a shelter

I love dogs and to be able to save one by giving them a new home would be amazing.

Have an article published in a paper

This would mean that I actually wrote something someone would want to read.

Make an entire outfit from scratch

My grandma and my mother used to make their own clothes. And they made some really beautiful stuff. So, I would like to learn how to do that too.

That is it for now! This list will probably keep on growing. And hopefully, I will also be able to tick some off.

The Great Puzzle #3: Ranty Ranty

What: The necessity of shameless days in bed with a collection of feel good movies and books, lots of books.

Who: “the hopeless romantic who can’t get her shit together”.

Warning: I am feeling a tiny bit ranty.

I, so far, have watched Love, Rosie; Magic Beyond the Words; What If; Two Night Stand; Begin Again; Remember Me; Stuck in Love and, get ready for it, Bridget Jones’ Diary. I  contemplated watching Christmas movies, but they almost always involve family parties. And when I think of family parties, I think of the phrase “How is your love life doing?” or “Are you in the friend zone?” or “How can a girl looking like you still be single?” or “You should really look for a boyfriend, go out more.”. And I never replay by saying what I actually want to say. I just say “Whatever happens, I’m not in a hurry. I have other things to do rather than running after some guy.”. Often, that is enough to shut them up for a little while. Especially when I tell them the running after some guy line. They give me “the look”. The oh no she is a feminist now look. I love that look. But I would much rather would have told them something completely different. And it goes a little bit like this:

“Dear close-minded person,

Firstly, there is no such thing as “my love life”. And this is not because I have a loveless life. It is because I only have one life, mine. And there is so much I can do with it. Therefore, my success in life and the way you see me should be based upon the things I accomplish and how I have accomplished them. Not by the person/people who just happened to stand next to me while doing so.

Secondly, I am not in the friend zone. If that is even a thing. The way I see it, the friend zone is this thing people assume they are in when they have fallen in love with a friend and do not dare to tell them for they are scared it will ruin the friendship. I can understand that fear. But, I also think that you should tell that person how you feel. Who knows what might happen. And if nothing does, fine. If the friendship is worth it, it will survive.

Thirdly, very close-minded person, I would want to say that good looks can only get you so far before the inside starts to show. But, then you might assume that I am ugly at the inside. And I like to think otherwise. So, I’m afraid you are a lost case.

Lastly, I don’t like to go out. Never have, never will. And no,  this does not make me antisocial.”

But, even if I said all of this exactly the way I meant it, it probably won’t have the impact I want it to have. The person will probably be quiet for a while, a little bit baffled. The silence will become too awkward and we will part ways. Then, when the awkwardness has past, that person will rediscover his or hers ability to speak. And from this point on it won’t be long before the sentence “She is so dominant. No wonder she is still single.” Is outed. *sigh*

My dearest close-minded person, it is probably not your fault. But please, do try to get your shit together. And if you do, feel free to join me for a shameless day in bed with a collection of feel good movies and books, lots of books.