Three weeks ago I went to my first literary event ever. Sounds really fancy, doesn’t it? And it was. And then it wasn’t. It was mostly just a lot of fun.

Somewhere in December John Green announced he would be doing a tour of the UK & Ireland and I just bought two tickets right then and there. Luckily for me the lovely Amber wanted to go with me so on the third of February we set off for London bright and early. It takes only two hours to travel from Cardiff to London so the time passed really quickly.

We arrived at Cadogan Hall well in time, got our tickets from the box office and then joined the by then rather long line of people to get into the foyer. The reason the line was there was because every person attending the event got a pre-signed paperback copy of The Fault in Our Stars which was included in the ticket price. Can we say awesome?

Once we were seated the hall quickly filled up with awesome people of all kinds of ages. Most people were in the 16-21 age bracket but we also saw some more mature booklovers in the audience. I have to say that Cadogan Hall is such a nice venue, not too big but with still a pretty large capacity (900 people I think).

For the next hour we listened as John talked about his journey to TFIOS, we smiled and tried to sing along with Hank’s songs and nearly died laughing at the segment with Maureen Johnson asking the brothers audience questions.

Afterwards John and Hank were signing books and as I wanted to get my hardcover copy of TFIOS signed as well as my copy of An Abundance of Katherines, we got into the ENORMOUS line. We were the last people of the balcony to get into the line – after about half an hour of staying in our seats as the line wrapped itself around the balcony. The line moved quicker than I anticipated but even then it was fun to just chat with Amber. You could feel the buzzing all around the auditorium.

No, I did not freak out at John Green. The picture looks like I did but I did not – Amber can attest to that. I did give him some Belgian chocolate and he seemed genuinely taken aback by it. Kind and funny he took some time to chat as Hank tried to keep up with his signing speed. Drawing hanklerfish takes a bit more time than just signing I guess.

Once we got our books signed we were famished. The event had started at noon and by then it was nearly 3 pm. We sped off to Trafalgar Square to indulge in a burger at Byron Haymarket. Pictures were taken, good bloggers as we are, and I nearly inhaled their namesake Byron burger. Delicious. I think we may have found a new favourite. I’ll definitely be visiting again next time I’m in London.

The train ride back to Cardiff whizzed by and too soon I had to wave Amber goodbye and go back home. At least I have my TFIOS-tour shirt and a poster for my walls. I never said I wasn’t a bit of a fangirl.

I love books. No seriously, I really really do.

I’m an obsessive reader. The kind of obsessive reader that reads series multiple times (Harry Potter anyone?), who watches movies (Harry Potter again and a sprinkling of Hunger Games) and then buys nail polish tied in with those movies about books. Seriously, if there would be Harry Potter nail polish you could bet I would be all over that.

So when one of my favourite nail polish brands came out with Hunger Games polish… Well, do I really need to tell you what happened?

I got these two beauties delivered yesterday and they’re glorious.

Also: I am a nerd.

I spend a couple of minutes cleaning the windowsill so I can use what little day light there is available  to take pictures. Pictures of my Hunger Games books and the two nail polishes. Yes. And then people pass along the window as I’m taking a million pictures of said tower of books and look at me like I’m completely bonkers.

Looks good though.

And while I was at it I thought I might share a picture of my current reading obsession as well. I started George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series a couple of weeks ago and I’m onto the second volume A Clash of Kings. I’d been wanting to read it for ages and with tumblr exploding with Game of Thrones pictures I decided to read it now before I get spoiled on all plot points by the tv show.

I’m into reading very long books this year. The Crimson Petal and The White was 800+ and now this series. Very good for my reading muscle.

I have a confession to make.

Seriously though is there a better smell than that of a new book? I just cannot resist it.

Now that I’ve got this off my chest: it’s been a very slow day for me. I’ve got a massive cold so I stayed in pj’s all day, drinking tea and alternating between working for school and reading. I’m sure you can all guess which of those two pastimes I enjoyed the most.

I’m re-reading The Hunger Games at the moment and I’m also reading A Song of Ice and Fire. I finished the first part on Thursday and started A Clash of Kings yesterday. I seem to be reading quite a few 800+ novels this year: first The Crimson Petal and The White and now this series. Quite ambitious really as I’ve set my Goodreads Challenge to 25 this year.

What about you? Are you on Goodreads? You can find me here.

What are some of your favourite books you’ve read recently? Any you’re dying to get your hands on?

One of the things I love most with the weather softening and the sun shining more often is being able to spend more time outdoors without freezing off my fingers.

As I need to catch up with my 2012 reading challenge I think that reading out of doors will be one of my favourite activities this spring. I’m two books behind schedule but I blame the 800+ pages of The Crimson Petal and The White for that. Good book though. As of yesterday I’ve started on Eragon. It’s been highly recommended by my bestie so we’ll see what I think.

In the meantime I suggest that all you book-lovers check out Casee’s new book blog Literary Inklings. Great reviews in that fabulous writing voice of hers? Yes please!

Are there any books you’d like to read this spring? Any recommendations?

It all started with this first video. Sean Ohlenkamp and Lisa Blonder Ohlenkamp decided to organize their bookcase. Then things more or less got out of hand.

More recently they spent a few sleepless nights moving, stacking, animating, shelving and re-shelving books at Type Books in Toronto.

The result is a wonderful stop-motion animation that just makes you want to visit a bookstore and pick up a couple of books. Or is that just me?

I unexpectedly had to work at the bakery this afternoon. Let me guess, you guys didn’t see that coming with the title didn’t you? The thing is that I started reading Wuthering Heights two days ago and I took the book with me to work. Unlike how it is on Sunday mornings it was so quiet that now and then I could read a couple of pages.

Heathcliff surrounded by pastries. Sounds lovely, no?

Of course when I texted my bestie Julie about the book she immediately thought of Noel Fielding and his BRILLIANT interpretive dance for Comic Relief. After watching it for so many times it is still beyond hilarious.

This morning we had to clean out the entire bookcase. Thing is that our washing machine broke down the day before yesterday and the guys who will (hopefully) fix it are coming today and they might need to take it with them. The bookcase is just mildly in the way.

So I put all of the books on my bed and I suddenly realized: oh dear Lord I have a LOT of books. These are only all of my English language books though (with the exception of the pile furthest to the right) so that means that these are a maximum of 10 years old. Some of the Harry Potter ones might be slightly older.

Last year I set myself a reading challenge of 15 books on Goodreads. I finished just in time for the new year. This year I’m being quite ambitious with a challenge of 25 novels so I’m looking for lots and lots of suggestions. Feel free to post some here or at my Goodreads account!

What will you be reading this year?

The story of my life, Colin, the story of my life.

And it was especially so when I read all three Hunger Games novels in two weeks. That was one wild ride, I can assure you.

Right now I’m on the 15th (and finaly) book of my 2011 Goodreads challenge: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. It’s not as smooth a read as Hunger Games but it is very intriguing nonetheless.

What are you reading? Any books already on your must read-list for 2012?

What a wonderful and powerful quote.

I remember my visits to the library as a child. It was like visiting a huge candy-store of tales and stories, right there for me to discover. For years I went there every two to three weeks, coming home loaded with as many books as I could carry or my library card would allow.

As I was studying the limited library time I had was usually spent at the college’s resources center (yes, they like a fancypants name for their library) and I somehow didn’t visit the library anymore. I think it might be time for a re-visit soon.

I have always loved reading. Getting lost in other worlds fighting evil wizards or sailing the Atlantic to find a new life in Canada or trying to save time with Momo. As I was going through the youth books I’ve saved I came across the shelf in my bookcase with all my Harry Potter books. I couldn’t resist touching the spines of every single one I own (I have the complete series both in English and Dutch, one French volume and one Italian one). And it occurred to me once again: I totally and utterly love these books.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a library like this?

Then two days ago I came across the interview Oprah did with J.K. Rowling (you can watch it on youtube here). They talked about the books, Jo’s life and how she coped with the success. And suddenly Jo talked about this girl coming up to her and telling her: ‘You are my childhood.’

Suddenly it hit me that that’s exactly how I feel about Harry Potter. Now I wouldn’t necessarily say that the writer of the books I love so much is my childhood per sé but they do hold a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf. I started reading the books when I was eleven or twelve and Deathly Hallows came out right before I turned 20. That’s nearly a decade of my life.

I guess I can’t deny the effect these novels have had on me and the way I think about the world. I’m sure there are plenty of people who have bad intentions but I very strongly believe that love is indeed the strongest power in our lives. Apparently Jo shares this conviction and as she says in the interview it is the one thing that is woven throughout all seven novels.

Even Darth Vader is a fan. (Yes I am a Star Wars geek, they are cool!)

How about you? Are there novels that have made a big impression or have impacted your life?