A Weekend at Frankfurt Book Fair

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Last weekend it was finally time for one of my favourite weekends of the whole year, that I'm always looking forward to. Each year in October, the book fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany takes place for a few days, being open to public for two of those. I started going there with my mum a few years ago, and haven't missed a year since.

Book fairs are were you are in a big area full of all these people that share your love for books, and how incredible is that?

I'm not fully aware of too many book fairs outside of Germany, but I'm pretty sure there are tons. If you have never been to one before, and you love books, I really recommend you to visit one. You might think it gets boring over the years, but that is definitely not the case. Each year their are new authors, new talks, new books and new experiences to happen (and tons of free stuff and food to take home hehe ;) ).

Today it's time to share my experiences from this year with you, and I will hopefully be able to make it enjoyable for you, at least in a slight way, and maybe even motivate you to go to a book fair yourself, if you haven't done so yet. :)

Saturday, and also Day 1 of the days that are open for public started off very early and foggy but it was definitely worth doing. I really recommend going early if you go to any of these things, because they get really full and sticky pretty quickly. It's probably not for everyone, at least here you can often find little mobs, especially in the second half of the day.

As soon as I was in, I practically ran for the hall of children- and teenager/young adult books which actually contains all books interesting to be honest. Not because I am only 17 but because that's were all publishers are that sell any book from childrens books, to thrillers, YA, Sci-Fi, etc - literally everything interesting. It's also the one that fills up the quickest, which is why it's always my first destination in the morning, and the one that I stay in the longest.

Even if I don't read German books anymore, I bloody love going through that hall. There's something really magical about it, I don't even know. Wherever you look you see people looking through books, taking pictures and picking up free bits and bobs.

Never have I ever seen more reading samples in my life before than at that place. The first year we came home with bags and bags of stuff, and I am really glad we went on a day that we weren't able to buy books at. That would have ended with us having to buy suitcases to get all that stuff home. This year I decided to only take the stuff that I truly wanted or felt like I would actually use (pens, food, Jamie Oliver recipes, Christmas tags etc). That's definitely been a better choice if you ask me.

Beforehand you get the chance to go through the app or the calendar on the website of the fair and find all the events happening over the whole time that it takes place. You can search for certain topics, authors, events or simply have a look through all of them and favourite which ones you want to keep in mind and maybe go to. That app has honestly saved me, even though I basically never end up going to these publishing events that I plan on going to, in order to find more information on things to do and not do once I've written the book of a lifetime maybe.

However, there are plenty of authors coming there for talks and signings, and not just German ones! There are many talks and discussions happening as well, so many in fact, you would never be able to see all of them. Not all of them focus on books, a lot of them also focus on political topics. In the hall that is partly about cooking and baking books, you can also watch cooking shows and try different stuff, I mean - what else could you possibly want?

There are photobooths, cosplayers, a certain country that they focus on in one hall each year (the Netherlands and Flanders), food trucks and sooo many other things that I am currently forgetting about.

Doesn't this sound awesome to you? It's the perfect place for everyone that loves to read and write.

On that day I also met a German youtuber and author, Mona Kasten, who I had already seen last year but didn't want to stand in that really long queue just to meet her when I've never read a book by her. I am really glad I got to see her on Saturday, even if it was just for a few seconds, because when I went to see how her signing was going on Sunday, the queue literally went till the end of the hall, and let me tell you - these halls are not small at all.

I also went to see the hall that included non-fiction and cooking, and afterwards headed out of the building to the shopping mall next to it. Don't judge me before you know what I did, I didn't just go shopping when I had paid 13 quid for a day ticket for the book fair. In that shopping mall was actually an event in a book shop happening, that I just could not miss in any possible way.

If you know me, you will probably be aware that I am not a big fan of German tv shows, but there is this one that really grabbed me. It's called 'Club der roten Bänder' (Club of Red Ribbons), and it's not even German originally. It's actually based on the life of a Spanish author named Albert Espinosa, who wrote about his fight with cancer, loosing one of his legs and several other things, and all that he has learned from it. The first book has also been translated into English, though the cover definitely isn't as pretty as it should be, trust me. It's not that typical cancer book, how Ms Hazel Grace Lancaster would describe them, but instead a book full of advice about life and death, and the things that he learned. I can't describe the way it's written in words, you will need to read it yourself in order to know what I mean - I definitely recommend you do that if you love inspirational stuff.

But back to the point, they actually made a Spanish TV show out of that, putting together a whole group of teenagers in hospital, living with certain illnesses and their journey as friends and individuals. That must have been the crappiest summary ever, but trust me - it's awesome!

Since last year there now is a German version of it, and I am freaking glad that it had its premiere on a day that I found nothing else to watch on. Now I'm obsessed, and I am so happy that I actually had the chance to meet 5 of the 6 main characters and the author as well on Saturday. I was one of the early birds there which meant I got to say hello a lot early and was first row in the signing line which was bloody awesome. I never would have thought that I would meet them, and it was honestly one of the best days of my life, minus the waiting. But they were so freaking nice, and I love that I had the chance to have little chats with them. 

Now I will stop boring you with that experience, because you probably won't be able to share my enthusiasm about this anyway. So let's get into the second part of that weekend, after I had finally been able to calm my very happy and energetic self down.  

The second half started just like the second, because for some reason I like to go through the 'children and teenager' one multiple times not to miss anything. That actually ended up with me meeting my first ever band favourite.

His name is Ross Anthony, and he used to be in a German band, put together by a German casting show in 2001! I don't know how that works out because I only turned three that year, but I definitely did listen to them back then! He wrote a book for small children and found his books when suddenly he was standing right behind me in a green snapback, and a blue suit with buttons tied over half of the things. Yep, that's Ross Anthony. But I think he's pretty funny. He's actually British, but over the years he has perfected his own version of a british/german accent. You literally wouldn't be able to hear it if he wouldn't put in a few English words or syllables from time to time.

I also went to see quite a few other halls that day, including the International one of course. Sadly they keep putting me down, as only Penguin gets a huge display and everyone just puts a huge mix of their books everywhere, has some tables and that's it. No discussions, signings or anything. Penguin actually do a sale each year at a certain time on the Sunday.

At least this time I knew better than to spend 20€ on a book that I would've gotten for 10 in any German library, after nearly panicking because they crammed so many people wanting to buy books in such a little space even though they literally have half the hall to themselves. This year they had 4 instead of  2 tables, so congrats on that :/. I didn't even bother doing the search for books because I definitely would have found a ton, but I knew better this time gladly, than spending the pound price on it.

If you were wondering, I only bought the book for the signing, as I prefer buying a new book when I have finished one in order not to get a huge TBR pile. :D

On a more positive note, I still had a really nice and relaxed day, apart from having to wait another hour at the train station to be able to get a train home. I had a really really nice weekend, and I would honestly recommend book fairs to anyone that loves reading and writing. Even if they can be stressy sometimes, they are the best thing ever, and it will totally get you into the reading and writing mode, whether you had been blocked before or not.

Have you ever been to a book fair? If so, where, and how did you like it? :)

Have an amazing day ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

A writer, a laptop and a midnight

Welcome to a new post?

Get a bowl and put in a writer, then add one laptop, a slice of music, and sprinkle with some midnight writing vibes. And there you have the perfect recipe for a midnight writing session.

I don't think I've been properly talking about my love for writing on this blog, yet when I didn't know what post to do today, I found this script that I had started writing in the middle of the night after I'd kidnapped my brother's laptop. I actually think it sounds quite good compared to what I usually write when I start a new story.

I hadn't planned on writing this at all, but the story kinda flew in my head in the middle of the night, and I had to start writing. That's what usually happens in moments when I should be sleeping or studying. Writer problems, I guess.

I thought for today's post I'd give you a little insight into my writing. I don't usually write stories in English for some reason, but somehow ended up doing this one in English. Please keep in mind that my grammar might not be the best in the middle of the night. I don't know if I'll ever keep on writing on this story, but who knows what might happen. It's not a lot either even though I had more ideas, but I guess a girl has got to prioritize her sleep on a school night. 

Make sure to leave me a little review what you think so far, and if I did keep on writing whether you would like to see more of it or not. I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)

And suddenly, when our eyes crossed, it was as if I was finally free. As if everything single stone on my chest that had been dragging me down finally fell off of me. The world around us stood still. Our eyes focused on each other, the outside – faded. We both knew it was wrong, terribly wrong. Yet, we weren't able to stop. A bond seemed to have occured out of the middle of nowhere, holding us together like an umbilical cord a mother and it's growing baby. In that moment, I never would have even guessed in my farest dreams what would soon be coming. I never would have guessed, that one day I would find out that the world as I knew it, was only half the cup of truth. If I only I would have known, that only days after this awkwardly, beautiful meeting, my life would smash and crumble out of all it's angles.

It was the day past graduation. Everyone seemed to have left before the morning rise, because when I awoke, our small, antique, German village was so silent. I felt the emptiness creeping through my veines.

Summer. Six weeks full of freedom. Weeks without nasty schoolwork and annoying school mates. I didn't even want to start thinking about the after. University was never something I'd looked forward to, yet it felt like my only choice. I'd never been one of those extremely intelligent people, and whenever I heard a teacher yell my name, I would basically crumble up in my chair and pretend not to exist. To be honest – I hated school. I hated it even more than I hated my fake friends.

But if I would've only started to demand anything else than a university degree after my graduation to my dad, he would have killed me. Not literally of course, but still.

It was almost midday when I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, and almost stood on a big fat patch of orange wool. The patch hissed angrily at me, before it stood up and strangled out of the room. I yawned. One day that cat would get itself killed by it's habitat of choosing the most unfitting sleeping spots.

The sky was clear, making space for the sun to warm up the country. My parents were still at work, creating the perfect opportunity to grab my stuff and finding a good spot to photograph.

I had the perfect plan for a whole summer related folder, which I would hopefully be able to secretly hand in, to receive an internship with one of my favourite artists in Paris. If I wouldn't at least try to fight for it, I'd regret not trying one day, no matter what my parents view on it was.

All they kept telling me was that I had to go to university in order to receive an amazing job afterwards, and earn more money than I could ever get hold of otherwise. They kept telling me how hard they'd work in order to make my dreams come true and provide me with a good future, yet for me these dreams I was fulfilling, where only expectations I had to achieve. They were my parents dreams, not mine.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door bell. Immediately I crouched behind the kitchen counter. I wasn't in the mood to socialize, neither to be confronted with the weird talk that went through town, by one of Mama's strange tea companions.

The most recent talk was about all sorts of weird catastrophes happening around the world. Cyclones in Bangladesch, hurricanes all along the european coasts, red rain in London, cat floodings in Albuqerque. The list went on and on and on, but neither of them wanted to believe that these were probably the consequences of climate change.

I'd already given up talking to them months ago, when they talked about a former classmate of mine from Primary school, Miles Parany, who they thought had vanished because a bat had kidnapped him. Sometimes I truly wondered, why they weren't getting any professional help. It was mental.

When I was sure that enough time had passed for the person to be gone, I hurried upstairs and grabbed my bag. I threw in a few bugs as well, since I was too lazy to make myself some proper breakfast. I'd rather get myself something on the way in one of the old bakeries along the main road.

They'd been existing for over three centuries, and still going strong. At least there was one thing that we'd kept from the good old 21^st century and it's technology. The bakery bits had been the best food in town for many years now, after the bombs had destroyed most of our reservations. I've only once seen something as a Schnitzel or Sunday Roast, and that was in my textbook in school.

Whilst I was strolling along the roads through town, history always repeated itself in my mind. I don't think I would ever be able to forget those times. How could I, with it taking up most of my childhood years?

It actually looks a lot less on here than in my document, but I guess I got to live with that. I hope you enjoyed to have a little bit of different post today. I'd love to hear your opinions, and also whether you would like to hear more about my writing on this blog. :)

Have a great day ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

My English Bookshelf

 Welcome to a new post!

Sorry there was no blogpost the past few days, but I didn't really have the time to post anything. I'll hopefully be prewriting the next few days so there won't be another gap!

As some of you might know already, I really quite like reading. Since I have only been reading in English for around two years now, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to show you my English Bookshelf. I don't own as many as I'd look to, as German book stores don't really sell many English books, especially the ones that I want to read. I also own some on my kindle, but I am focusing this mainly on my actual bookshelf. Maybe you can even find some inspiration from it.

First a little overview over my whole bookshelf. This a really plain shelf from IKEA, I think it's a Kallax one, but I am not 100% sure, so please don't blame me if it's wrong. They aren't really in a certain order, but I tried to keep series together kind of at the top left of the shelf. 

First up we obviously have my John Green Collection Box (inlcuding The Fault In Out Stars, Paper Towns, Looking For Alaska, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and An Abundance of Katherines), which I got for Christmas last year and I absolutely love, though I hated An Abundance of Katherines, as I am absolutely rubbish at Maths :D. All his other books are bloody brilliant though!

Then we have the Divergent Series by Veronica Roth, including Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant and the extras book Four. The first book is one of my favourite novels of all time, as I love the distopian world they are set in, as well as the main characters Tris and Four, with amazing personalities. A must-read for me!

Last but defintely not least is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Yes, I only own one in English, but that is only because we own all of them in German, and I used to reread it so often, that there is no sense in me buying the whole series in English as well, as I basically know the whole story and all it's details by heart. :D

Then we have another series, which is the Maze Runner one by James Dashner, including The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure and The Kill Order. If I wouldn't have bought the whole collection already I probably would have stopped after book two, because it was quite boring, to be honest. The first book however is great and the third one is okay, but I absolutely hated part 2 and 4.

Then we have two of the Pretty Little Liars books, and to be honest I never finished the second one. I just don't really feel like reading them, as I already know the actual story of the TV show, even if it is different in some ways than the one in the books.

And then there's Anna Todd's After series, including After, After We Collided, After We Fell and After Ever Happy. I obviously had to read these because I started reading After as a fanfiction on Wattpad, and you really just cannot stop reading, even if some parts are really slow and not that well written, especially in book three and four, as a certain pattern kept repeating itself. A great series though, especially when you actually have Harry Styles on your mind while reading it :P. 

 I absolutely loved all of Gayle Forman's books that I have read so far, which are If I Stay, Where She Went and I Was Here. Especially the first and the last one are books I would definetely recommend you to read.

Next are two of my Rainbow Rowell books, Fangirl and Eleanor & Park. Everyone seems to love Fangirl, but I personally didn't like it, as I felt like reading a fanfiction on a fanfiction about a fictional story I wasn't interested in.

However I did really like the story Eleanor & Park, which I personally would recommend more than Fangirl.

The perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was actually one of the first books I ever read in English, and I am still loving it. I quite like his writing style, as well as the story since it isn't a typical book story, but it kind of still it. Amazing read!

Another amazing read is We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. This book got so hyped about a year ago, and I read it a bit late, but it is honestly one of my favourite books as well because it is so different and the plot twist is INCREDIBLE! Read it, if you haven't done that yet!

Onto my second shelf. We are starting with Jennifer Niven's All The Bright Places. I picked this up around a week after it came out and loved it! Such a heartbreaking story, and beautifully written. Really reminds me of If I Stay.

Then we have Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. It took me quite some time to read this because I didn't really find the plot that interesting. I felt like it was a bit too repetitive, so I didn't really enjoy it.

Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl was obviously a huge hype because of the film, and I wasn't really sure at first wether a thriller was something for me. I am still not sure of my opinion on it. I didn't absolutely love it, but I didn't hate it either, so it's quite okay I guess.

Stephanie Perkins's series inlcuding Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After, is definetely one of my favourite series. It is a typical romantic school girl series, but it is so beautifully written that you can't even hate it for that. Absolutely love it!

Ava Dellaira's Love Letters To The Dead, was quite a lovely read as well, but nothing I would list on my favourite books list either.

I am obsessed with the The Originals tv show as you might know, and nearly screamed when I saw there was a book of it in the store, as I didn't know about them. Loved it, but also not particularly am obsessed with it, as I really love the show a lot more.

I really really liked The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey though, which I read at the end of last year. I can't wait to see the movie really soon with my friend and also finally read the sequels to it.

The last part of my English bookshelf starts off with Paula Hawkins's The Girl On The Train. Another pretty hyped book, which I completely agree with. I definetely prefer this thriller to Gone Girl, as I kind of prefered the plot and also the characters.

Of course there had to be Zoe Sugg's Girl Online and Girl Online On Tour. Loved both books, though I prefer the first one, as I like that she talks about quite a few topics that people around my age have to deal with. If you'd like a full review on Girl Online On Tour, click HERE.

Then we have Alfie Deyes's Pointless Book and Pointless Book 2. To be completely honest with you, as I have no idea why I actually bought them. It was probably just the thought of getting it, just because it had Alfie's name on it. The only thing that I ever really did in them was the mug cake, so pretty much a stupid purchase I shouldn't have made.

And that is basically the same for Wreck This Journal and Write This Book. They both sounded quite interesting and I really thought I would actually work on them, but I actually never do that.

Then we have Martyn Pig, which I actually only own because we read it in school. I really didn't like the story - basically no one, not even our teacher did, but we were basically forced to read this. Really don't recommend this, as the plot doesn't really make sense at all.

I only own the first Twilight book in English, because it is pretty much the same case as with Harry Potter. I know it way too well. :D

The last one on my shelf is 642 Things To Write About. I bought this to do some more creative writing on holiday, but never actually worked in it. I really want to do that this year though to step a little bit out of my writing comfort zone.

Last but not least are three books on top of my shelf, which are all by youtubers: Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter by Louise Pentland, Love, Tanya by Tanya Burr and The Glam Guide by Fleur de Force.

I loved all three of them, Love, Tanya in particular, and they are all so pretty as well that I always keep them in sight to decorate my room.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I didn't bore the hell out of you. :D Make sure to leave me some book recommendations as well, as I love exploring new ones. 

Have a good day. ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx