three days of christmas

 i have been meaning to blog, and post a dozen different end-of-the-year, let's-wrap-it-up fun posts. but i have been putting off writing for days, since the 26th at least.

thank you * happy holidays

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dear very few people who come here on a regular basis,

i would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and wish you a merry little christmas.

friday favs: the christmas wishlist edition

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 i know it's waaay past the last minute, but i thought i would put together my christmas wishlist.

so, instead of a belated, monday morning edition of the usual friday favorites, let me present you all the many things i don't need at all, but want anyway. and, as an extra super-duper gift, let me give you a piece of my mind about christmas presents.

you probably know by now that i love winter, snow, christmas, and all things festive in general. however, there's one thing i really don't care about when it comes to christmas: buying presents, getting presents, and giving presents. i think it's absolutely unnecessary fuss. spending all that money (and the time to hunt them down) on products that the gifted person might not even like is just plain pointless, isn't it? so instead i like to make some presents myself, but only for those whom i really feel close to and about whom i know that they'll appreciate my efforts. if i can't come up with the perfect (or close to perfect) gift idea, i won't even bother making or buying it.

random friday thoughts

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it's friday evening, and i should be doing a thousand other things, most of them utterly festive, like kneading gingerbread batter, baking carrot cake, making eggnog, wrapping the presents i haven't even bought yet, writing last-minute christmas cards and listening to the cheesiest, cheeriest christmas music.

but instead i am feeling exhausted, and i am wondering where has all this time gone? when did the pages of the calendar turn to the 21st, and how come there are only two days left until christmas eve? how come i haven't written any of the numerous silly holiday blog posts i've been planning to do for weeks? how come i haven't bought any presents yet (except for the single bottle of perfume i got for my mom; truth be told i never buy them earlier than the 23rd or even 24th of december.), haven't baked the gingerbread cookies yet, taken photos of all the festive prettiness filling the high street of miskolc, or done anything the slightest bit christmasy in the past two weeks? but to be honest, right now i don't care about all of this, any of this. because it doesn't really feel like christmas at all. (so, this song is back, huh?)

25 going on 15

 have you ever loved a book so much that you just wanted to give it enormous bear hugs and hold it close and never let it go?

sunday evening

 

mood: cheerful and festive. i caught a cold though a few days ago, so i have a sore throat, runny nose and caugh a bit.
weather:  foggy, rainy, wet, yuck. hopefully there'll be some fresh snow before/during christmas.

2013 book to movie challenge

the third  challenge i am entering is the book to movie challenge hosted by doing dewey. in this one the idea is to review books and the movies which they've been made into.

back to classics challenge 2013

what does an english major do after graduation? finally reads all the literary classics she never had the time to do so in college.

the 2013 tbr pile challenge

it's that time of the year... when i find myself wandering about what i've been through the year, where i've been, what i've done, seen, experienced, taken photos of, and read. it's that time of the year... when i find myself compiling lists of the best books i read, films i saw or songs i listened to the most. and finally: it's that time of the year, when i find myself thinking of the new year's resolutions i might make, the changes i would like to make, and the challenges i might take.

not so accidentally i came across a few reading-related challenges, and being a devoted bookworm with at least two hundred books (half of which are hard copies whereas the other half are ebooks) in my ever so growing 'to be read' pile, i am way too eager to accept and take part in some of those challenges. just for the sake of reducing that enormous pile. and for my neverending, devoted love of reading. and because i love a challenge just as much as the next girl does.

friday favorites

ladies and gents, please find below the freshest instance of the friday favorites - some of the neat and pretty things that have caught my eyes in the past week. i am an eager little bee this time, and can't resist posting before friday. this week's post is filled with thoughts to ponder, books to pine for, and quotes to be inspired by. 

just the usual bookishness, you know.

enjoy and be inspired.

november reads

since the middle of december is just around the corner, i gather it's high time i did a bit of a recap of the books i read in november. although i have already written about most of them in various posts, it might be a good idea  to gather them in one post, just for the sake of  consistency.

top ten tuesday: top ten new to me authors i read in 2012

as i scrolled through my 2012 reading list, i kept thinking that i cannot possibly come up with a list of ten authors whom i discovered and whose books i enjoyed in the past year. nevertheless, i am going to give it a try.

in my mailbox (8)

this week's post comes late as always again, as i spent the weekend at my dad's and never had the chance or the time to sit down and blog properly. anyway, last week brought no new books in my way, which i am kind of thankful for, as my 'to be read' pile is still massive. there must be at least half a dozen  - if not more - books i am planning to read in december, so no new books in the next three weeks for me either.  

in my mailbox is a weekly meme originally hosted by the story siren, in which book bloggers post about the books they have bought, borrowed or received in the past week. since it began it has become fairly popular, and numerous book blogs post their weekly in my mailbox meme.

what i managed to finish  in the past week: 

• lola and the boy next door by stephanie perkins: as i have mentioned before here, it was quite a disappointment, with way too peculiar character and a predictable (and boring) storyline, and no chemistry between the protagonists. 
• a szent johanna gimi by leiner laura: silly little teenager book, but, to be honest, i liked it enough to read the second volume in  the series (and also: it's been sitting around on my shelf, borrowed from the library, so i might as well read it in a couple of days). 

what i am currently reading:

• a szent johanna gimi by leiner laura: it's predictable and weak on so many different levels, but i often find myself chuckling out loud and enjoying the literary and popcultural recommendations. it brings back fond and hilarious secondary school atmosphere and memories.
• szerelemféltők by ugron zsolna and meskó zsolt: so far i have read about 30 pages only, and can't make heads or tails out of the story yet. 
• skipping christmas by john grisham: i am only about 30 pages in, haven't made up my mind yet. 
• the casual vacancy by j.k. rowling: i haven't made any progress in the past week, should pick it up though before i forget all the many characters and their storylines.

what i would definitely like to read in the coming weeks (apart from finishing the ones i am currently reading):

• finding flow by mihály csíkszentmihályi
• ethan frome by edith wharton
• christmas carol by charles dickens
• the fault in our stars by john green
• the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde
• my life next door by huntley fitzpatrick

what have you been reading lately? do share!

sunday evening

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mood: tired and headache-y, slightly annoyed.
weather: cold and windy. winter is certainly here. no snow though, unfortunately.

friday favorites

ladies and gents, please find below the freshest instance of friday favorites - some of the neat and pretty things that have caught my eyes in the past week. this week's post is filled with some festive delicacies and the usual bookishness. enjoy and be inspired.

top ten tuesday



top ten tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by the broke and the bookish. published every tuesday, the post presents a list of a certain literary theme. being obsessed with both making lists and all things bookish, i have decided to participate. this week's topic focuses on books that we want santa to bring us this year.

in my mailbox (7)

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the last time i wrote an in my mailbox post was this, over two weeks ago. since then i've been trying to read like mad, getting lost in between the lines, gorging on as many words as i possible can.

let it snow

as i've mentioned in the previous post, we had a beautiful blizzard this morning, the first real snowing of the season. i was halfway out of the door with my mom, on our way to the market and then to my grandma's when it started snowing, the big fat flakes hitting the ground (and, alas, melting immediately) in rapid succession.

sunday evening

mood: cheerful with a big fat smile on my face. it's been a long but happy week filled with good news on the job front, enjoying the company of my colleagues, and a beautiful snow blizzard today.

One of my favorite holiday movies

the holiday movie i've seen the most times must be love actually (duhh), and the holiday comes a close second. however, the movie that is most special to me is the shop around the corner.