Hi everyone!!
I hope you all had a wonderful week! Mine really wasn’t the greatest, but at least now I can finally say: I DID IT!!! Written exams are over; all I have left is my oral on November 11th.
Honestly, guys, I am just so relieved. This was definitely the worst test I’ve ever had to take, and not having to study for it anymore after almost two years of preparation feels amazing 😊 I’m going to be so lazy from now on! It will be wonderful!!!
Anyway, I did promise you a Q&A post back in August, as a thank you for hitting 100 followers on this blog. Honestly, I am still flattered that so many of you think my content is worth returning to, and I am so grateful to have you! Reading your thoughtful comments and interacting with you always makes my day. So THANK YOU!!! You guys are the best 😊❤️
But before I start rambling on even more, let’s get to your questions! Some of them were pretty similar, so I hope you don’t mind that I condensed them a bit… But whether you asked in the comments or sent them to me personally – thanks to everyone who participated!
What are your favorite kinds of blog posts to write and read?
When I have loads of time on my hands, my favorite things to write are definitely short stories. I just have so much fun making up my own worlds! ✒️ But I also love exploring really weird ideas that suddenly strike me. If it’s something I haven’t done before, I’ll be way more excited about it! Also, I absolutely love being sarcastic every once in a while, which is probably why one of the posts I had the most fun writing this year was Dating Tips for Book Nerds. I really got to be creative and combine weirdness and sarcasm in that one, so I guess it’s a pretty good example for what I like to write!
As to the types of posts I like to read – it’s really hard to specify. I do love learning about intriguing niche topics, so if it’s something I haven’t seen before, I’m definitely more likely to be interested! And I love posts that relate to things that interest me. I know that sounds extremely vague, but there are so many fascinating things out there that I can’t really get any more specific 🙈
However, just to give you an example of what I’m less inclined to read: I’m not usually drawn to book reviews for books I haven’t read yet and never intend on reading. Don’t get me wrong: I love overly long and detailed analyses, but only for books that I’ve read myself. Then I want lots of spoilers and people’s reactions! I also don’t really like wrap-up posts where people just put pictures and synopses of a bunch of books they read, but don’t tell me what they themselves thought of them. Those just seem a bit impersonal to me, like the writer doesn’t really care that much about those books, either…
So yeah, I think what matters most to me is the way the posts themselves are written. I love when a blogger’s personality shines through their words, and I feel like I’m getting to know them while I read! I love long and detailed posts that show the person behind the blog is passionate about something and truly wants to share that passion with me. I love getting a glimpse into other people’s lives and bonding over shared experiences!
What is your favorite and least favorite thing about blogging?
My favorite thing is having a space for my thoughts. I actually really enjoy going back to my old posts to see what I thought back then, what I was up to, and how my reading tastes and writing style have changed. I get to be creative, gush, rant, and write whatever I want to on here, which is just so refreshing!
And I love how this has enabled me to connect with so many of you guys. Your comments always make me smile, and I love exploring your blogs and connecting over shared interests! 😊
The worst part, for me, is probably how much time blogging forces you to spend online. I’m not the most technology-affine person out there and would much rather spend an afternoon outside than on social media…
Plus, I always feel really bad about not being able to keep up with what everyone else is writing. I have discovered so many amazing blogs during my time here, but I just don’t have the time to read hundreds of posts per day. Still, having to ignore so many posts by wonderful people, especially if they always faithfully read mine, makes me feel like a bad person sometimes 🙈
What are some of your five-star TBR predictions?
I have really high hopes for The Empire of Gold, The Dragon Republic, Beloved, Spin the Dawn, and The Bear and the Nightingale! Please don’t let me down!
Is there a book you absolutely hate?
Ooooh yes, definitely! A few that come to mind immediately are Heart of Darkness, The Cosmic Race, The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Catcher in the Rye (sorry, Emer, if you’re reading this 🙈), Golden Son, and, obviously, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
How many languages do you speak?
That depends on how much of my mangled conversations in other languages you would actually define as speaking 😅 But here they are in order of fluency:
#1 Deutsch ist meine Muttersprache, also hoffe ich ja mal, dass ich darin einigermaßen kompetent bin… Es kommt allerdings schon ab und zu vor, dass ich schneller denke, als ich rede, und dann irgendwas ganz Seltsames vor mich hin stöpsele 😉
#2 I started learning English when I was seven, in pretty much the most drastic way possible: My dad got a job teaching at a US university, so my family moved across the Atlantic and I was thrown into a classroom where I didn’t understand a thing. I’m not gonna lie – those first few months were pretty tough, but now I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything!
#3 J’ai appris le français à l’école pour cinq ans, mais malheureusement, j’ai oublié presque tout… Je comprends encore pas mal et quelquefois, je lis des livres ou regarde des films en français, mais quand je dois parler ou écrire quelque chose, c’est une catastrophe 😅
#4 Я изучаю русский язык около года и, честно говоря, я ещё очень плохая. Но я нахожу язык очень интересным, и мне очень нравится его изучать! А в прошлом году я была в России – это был один из величайших переживаний, которые у меня когда-либо были! 😊
#5 Linguam Latinam in schola quinque anni didici. Sed non possum dicere eam, possum tantum interpretari. Ergo in hac sententia certe multi errores sunt. 🙈
Do you recognize any of these? (Also, if I butchered anything, please let me know! I’m always looking to improve!)
I also know a few phrases of Spanish and Italian, but those definitely don’t count as speaking competence. I want to properly learn Spanish eventually though!
What did you think of The 100 finale?
Can we please not talk about that?
Anyway, that’s it for today! If you have any more questions you’d like me to answer, feel free to leave them in the comments!
Also, I’d love to know your take on some of these questions! What kinds of posts do you like to read? What are some of your most-hated books? I’m all here for your unpopular opinions! 😁
A Book Owl's Corner 
I hope your exams went well! And whoa, so many languages!!
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Well, they could have gone better, but I’m just really glad they’re over! 🤗
And don’t be too impressed by all the languages – the only ones I’d say I’m completely fluent in are German and English 😉
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Ohkay
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I’m sure you nailed your exams! Enjoy your lazy time, you’ve earned it! I totally get what you mean by intriguing niche topics, they’re so interesting.
Languages are so beautiful, I’d love to learn a Slavic one someday. Apart from German and Russian (?), we have the rest in common. Seeing Latin on your list threw me back to high school, though I only know how to read and translate it not produce it (same with ancient Greek).
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Well, they definitely could have gone better, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t fail, so I’ll count it as a success 😂
And yes, learning a Slavic language is so interesting! I’m actually really surprised how many snippets of Czech I can understand now that I’m learning Russian 😉 And trust me: I can’t produce Latin either. It took me longer to write that one sentence than all the other ones combined because I’m not used to doing anything other than translating Latin. And plus, it’s been a while – I basically haven’t touched Latin since tenth grade 🙈😂
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I completely agree with what you said about Book Reviews! Even though I love writing them, I hardly ever read reviews on books I haven’t read before. I hate spoilers (so I’m always terrified of accidentally reading one) and I think they’re much more fun when I have some insight on the story ☺️
It’s so cool that you speak FIVE LANGUAGES! I know 3 but I really want to learn at least one more.
And The 100 finale… I don’t even know what to say. I didn’t think it was bad, but everything that happened was kind of weird. I’m glad about the decision they made towards the end, I thought it was very sweet.
I’m glad your exams went well and you get to relax! You deserve to be as lazy as you want now!! 😄😄
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Oh yes, accidentally being spoiled is the worst!! I try to avoid that at all costs, too 😅
And don’t be too impressed – I’m fluent in German and English and decent enough at French, but the rest of my language skills are mediocre at best. I definitely plan on improving them, though! Still, three languages is pretty impressive, too! Especially since there are so many people who only speak one 😉
And about The 100 – I just don’t know 😅 “Weird” does pretty much sum it up. I felt like everything was wrapped up way too quickly in an extremely strange way, so I just wasn’t a fan at all 🙈 Maybe I’ll just pretend it ended after Season 5… I did like 6 as well, but at least 5 provided a good alternative ending 😅😂
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Ahhh congrats on finally finishing your written exams!! I loved reading this post (as always) 💖 I agree so much about not liking blog posts with no personality. Reading those always makes me feel like “…so what” 😩😂
Five languages?!?! That’s so cool!!! 😮😮 I’m fluent in English and Korean, and I’m working on my Latin, but otherwise? I can’t even imagine 😅
Ahhh I hope you enjoy all of your anticipated 5-star reads now that you can finally relax!! That Garfield gif makes me want to go take a nap on my own bed 😂
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I’m so happy you liked it! Your comments honestly always brighten my day 😊
And well – I’m definitely not fluent in all of those languages, either 😉 So don’t be too impressed… But it’s so much fun learning them, and I do hope to be fluent in all of them (except maybe Latin) eventually! Plus, I think it’s really cool that you know Korean! I know next to nothing about Asian languages, so I really want to dabble in those eventually 😊
I know, right? When I saw that Garfield GIF, I just knew I had to use it – it sums up perfectly how I intend to spend the next few days 😂😂
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Ohkay
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I agree with you. I love a good post that combines weirdness and sarcasm 😄 I’m also very glad to know that you don’t like book reviews because same! I’m actually working on a post about that at the moment, so it’s good to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t like them.
And the languages… Yeah, I’m impressed. That Latin was a surprise because you really don’t see that very often. Do you have any use of it or is it just for fun? Also, I’m reading this Saturday morning so I feel excused for only understanding half of that German 😅
My most hated book is probably also The Cursed Child. That book doesn’t exist in my mind. It was that bad. I also technically DNF’d Golden Son because I stopped reading with 30 pages left of the book. I just couldn’t read another page of that. So many people seem to love that series, though.
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I’m so glad I’m not alone! I do love book reviews when I’ve read the book myself and the reviews include lots of spoilers (especially if I hated the book and I can find long rant reviews 😅😂), but I just don’t see the appeal in reading them when I’ve never heard of the book in question… I might spoil myself for something I’d want to read later on!
And I actually rarely use the Latin anymore 😅 I had to take five years of it at school, since Bavaria is pretty conservative when it comes to the curriculum, but since then I’ve forgotten a ton. I am very glad I learnt it, though! Translating all those myths, political, philosophical and historical texts was really interesting, and I learnt so much about Ancient Rome and Greece while doing it. Plus, I think it gave me a much better understanding of how grammar works 😉 And every once in a while, a classic I have to read for my English degree will include a Latin preface or something, and then I always feel extremely proud that I can understand it 😂 Because for some reason, those classics always include footnotes for everything except things written in other languages…
And I agree 100% about Cursed Child. I seriously debated whether I should even mention it here, since that book does not deserve to be talked about, but I just detest it so much that it was the most honest answer to this question. And I think you might possibly be the first person to agree with me on the Red Rising series! I did kind of enjoy the first one, but I HATED the rest of the series. It took me over three years to finish (and I only did that because I was dumb enough to have bought the boxed set without testing to see whether I would like the books first 🙈 And I didn’t just want to give books I’d bought away without reading them first)
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5 years of mandatory Latin?!? I’m sorry I just need to digest that… I only had it for 2 months when I went to school and we mostly learned those things relating to grammar (which I’ve forgotten now 😅). I’m glad you have a little use of it now at least. One probably has to be a language nerd like us to appreciate it 😂 I do wish I knew more of it simply because so many words originate from Latin. All those hidden meanings you know I love 😉
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Oh yes, the Latin is super helpful for guessing word meanings in other languages and discovering hidden meanings in fantasy books! 😁 Especially Harry Potter, which makes me even more frustrated that the German translator thought it would be a good idea to change some of the spells… I guess I’m glad I read the English versions and am able to educate my friends on what they missed out on 😂
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I loved reading this post! I also dislike spending so much time online! Most my hobbies are online based, plus I have online classes, and I always feel horrible for being at my laptop for so long haha. I do agree that connecting with other people is a huge plus! I love being able to talk with people who love books just as much as me 🙂
Congrats on finishing your exams and good luck with your oral!
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Haha, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who has issues with too much online time 😂 It seems like such a weird thing to say as a blogger; after all, we are doing this as a hobby and no one is forcing us 😁 But I agree, connecting with people more than makes up for it!
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