A Bookish Christmas!

Jess over at 'Jess Hearts Books' had the brilliant idea of creating a Bookish Christmas Q&A for book bloggers to answer to get into the festive Christmas mood. Thanks so much for coming up with this survey, Jess!

1.) Advent Calendar: what's the next big book release you're counting down to? I think the next book release I'm counting down to is Lucy Diamond's 'The Year of Taking Chances.' The book will be released on the 1st of January 2015 and I'm sure it's going to be a great read, because Lucy's novels never disappoint. However, I also think it will be the perfect book to start the new year with; a year that will hopefully be filled with tons of amazing reads!
2.) Snow Day: which best friends from a book could keep you entertained all day long? Definitely Angela and Jenny from Lindsey Kelk's 'I Heart...' series. They are both such great characters and they always manage to crack me up with the things they say and go through together. The 'I Heart...' series consists of 6 parts and I am keeping my fingers crossed there will be at least 6 more, because I honestly don't think I will ever get enough of it.

3.) The Nativity: which book/series would you most like to see adapted into a movie, TV show, play etc? I think Ali McNamara's 'From Notting Hill with Love... Actually' would be an absolutely fantastic film which all chick flicks fans would fall in love with. And it could even be turned into a film series, because there are already 3 novels with the same groups of characters. Ah, I can easily imagine how amazing it would be!
4.) Carol Singing: which musical book character/s would you like to turn up on your doorstep caroling this Christmas?  I'd have to go with Elsie Maynard and the choir she belongs to from Miranda Dickinson's lovely novel 'When I Fall in Love'. I love this book and the choir consists of so many heartwarming characters; I'd love it if they appeared on my doorstep singing Christmas carols!
5.) The Perfect Gift: which book from your wish list would you most like to find under your tree on Christmas morning? I'm keeping my fingers crossed I will find a copy of 'Jane Austen: Cover to Cover - 200 Years of Classic Covers' under my Christmas tree this year. I'm a big Jane Austen fan and I need this collection of book covers; it sounds amazing! 

6.) Do You Want To Build a Snowman? What do you think are the key ingredients for a life like character? I think it's really important for a reader to be able to relate to a character in one way or another. Even if it's just something small, there has to be something that connects me with the character in a certain way, to make me feel something, whether it's love, envy, sympathy, or intense dislike. Next to that, good and detailed descriptions also help to bring characters to life in my head, even though they sometimes look nothing like the actual description, haha!
7.) Tree, Tinsel, Fairy Lights: most decorative book cover of 2014? I honestly can't just pick one 2014 book cover I loved the most, because there were so many amazing ones I fell in love with. A cover can do so much for a book and I can't get enough of pretty book covers like the ones below! <3

8.) Christmas Kisses: which book crush from this year would you most like to kiss underneath the mistletoe? Hmmm, this is a good question. I think I'd have to go with Ben from Giovanna Fletcher's 'You're the One That I Want'; I developed quite a crush on him while reading the book!
9.) Snow Ball Fight: a book that you thought would be a lot of fun but left you feeling cold. I finally got the chance to read Adele Parks' 'The State We're In' this year, a book which all bloggers seemed to be so incredibly excited about. The whole idea of this 'big secret' at the end of the book really intrigued me, but I think it prepared me for something so big, that in the end it could only disappoint. I had really high expectations and unfortunately the novel just didn't manage to live up to them, which was a shame.
10.) Christmas Traditions: a book that you read over and over again. There are several books which I will never get enough of. Of course there's the Harry Potter series, which most people can read over and over again; Jane Austen's novels; and Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Women.'

11.) The Night Before Christmas: a book that kept you up reading late into the night. I have to admit there are hardly any books that actually manage to keep me up late. I need my sleep, so I don't find it very difficult to put the book I'm reading down and just continue in the morning. The only books that actually managed to keep me up are the Harry Potter books; I REALLY didn't want to put those down.
12.) Rudolph: which book shone the brightest for you this year? I have to think about this because my top 10 of 2014 will be up on my blog within the next couple of weeks, and I am even having difficulty picking just 10 books. I did, however, really love Lisa Dickenson's 'You Had Me at Merlot', so that's definitely one of the books that's going to be part of my list!

The Book Blogger 'Get To Know Me' Tag!

Another book tag, yay! As I mentioned before, I love book tags, so I'm really happy the lovely Laura over at She Loves to Read tagged me to do this super fun book tag in order to get to know each other a bit better!

Tell us five random facts about you. 

• I’m ¾ Dutch and ¼ Welsh, and it’s particularly the ¼ Welsh which I’m incredibly proud of. My grandmother was Welsh, and since I’ve been a little girl I’ve been spending lots of time in Wales and other parts of the UK. I absolutely love it there and it feels like home, more than the Netherlands does.

• I went to university and have 1 Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Culture, 1 Master’s degree in Western Literature and Culture, and a Research Master’s degree in Literary Studies. I love books and I love researching literature, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a job within this particular field when the economic crisis hit. I now have a job doing something completely different, but I sincerely hope I will be able to do what I love with all my heart one day... Fingers crossed!

•     I’m quite a girly-girl when it comes to clothing: I almost always wear dresses, preferably ones with cute patterns, flowers, skirts I can twirl around in. I used to work in a supermarket where I was forced to wear jeans, so I’m glad I have a more formal job now where it’s okay to dress up!

•     I’m a true sucker for anything romantic. I adore love stories and I always want stories to have a happy ending in one way or another. That’s also how I picked the name for my blog: A Spoonful of Happy Endings (which is also a reference to Mary Poppins, one of my favourite films of all time!

•     I’m a really big Jane Austen fan. I love her six novels and collect almost anything that is in a way related to her or her work.

When is your birthday?

The 27^th of May. I’m not a big fan of birthdays, even though I love presents and cake, like most people, haha. I just never feel like really celebrating my birthday by having a party and I also never take the day off because it’s my birthday. It’s just another day!

What is your favourite colour?

I know this is supposed to be a simple question, but it’s a question I always answer differently or don’t answer at all! I guess I don’t really have one specific colour I love the most. I really like pink, but at the same time I also love royal blue, emerald green, ochre yellow... So, I honestly can’t pick just one!

What is your favourite memory?

All the memories I have of the holidays I spent at my grandparents’ house in the Gower, in the South of Wales. They used to have this amazing house, right next to the beach, and I had some of the best and happiest times of my life there: playing in the garden, waking up really early to watch CBBC, building sand castles on the beach, going shopping with my mum, taking walks with my dad, helping my nanna in the kitchen... I’d do anything to go back to those days.

Describe a day in your life.

Well, on an average weekday I get up at 6:15 and leave the house at about 6:45 to catch my train to work (I have a full-time job working as a policy officer within the field of education). It’s a 2-hour commute to get to my office building, which I always spent reading. You could say I have a typical desk job, so I spent most of my time sitting behind a computer. Occasionally I have meetings in other cities, which means I get to travel around the country a bit every now and again! At the end of my day, generally somewhere between 17:00 and 17:30, I get on the train again and I’m usually home around 19:00. My lovely boyfriend usually makes sure dinner is ready as soon as I get home, so then we have dinner together and spend the rest of the evening being lazy and watching telly, unless we have other things planned, such as dinner with friends.

Name five of your favourite songs.

Hmmmm, I have to pick 5 good ones! *rubs chin*

Phil Collins – Can’t Hurry Love

Busted – You Said No

The Beatles – Let It Be

Taylor Swift – Red

The Beach Boys – God Only Knows

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I think I’d have to go for Italian in general, because I couldn’t possibly choose between pizza or pasta. I love both, yummmm, SO good!

What is something you really dislike?

Spiders. I hate spiders, from the really tiny ones to the incredibly scary larger ones, and I’m really scared of them. Next to that, I really dislike conceited people and people who take credit for other people’s work.

Summer or winter?

I have to go with winter, because winter means Christmas, my favourite time of the year! I’m not a big fan of warm weather, so while I love a nice Spring day with lots of sunshine, I’m not really the summer type.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where you would live and why?

I’d like a lovely cottage or pretty country house somewhere in Wales or England, close to the beach, somewhere slightly in the middle of nowhere but not too far from a big city. I’ve always wanted to live in the UK, so having a beautiful house there would be a dream come true!

Name five of your favourite films.

Just five?! I love all romantic comedies and chick flicks, so it’s difficult to name just 5 favourite films. Alright, here we go: Love Actually, Mary Poppins, Notting Hill, The Wizard of Oz, Grease. 

If you won the lottery what would you buy?

I’d immediately give up my job and buy that amazing house in the UK (with a large library in it!) I just talked about! I’d also probably go on a nice, long holiday, just to get away from it all for a bit. Oh, and I’d definitely give a large part of the money to my parents, because they deserve it!

Favourite day of the week?

It has to be either Friday (because it’s the start of the weekend) or Sunday (because it’s always a lazy day I usually spent blogging and reading, which I love!).

What three things would you take to a desert island with you?

My favourite book, my boyfriend, and a lamp with a genie in it who can grant me three wishes, so I could get out of there if I really wanted to!

Sweet or savoury?

Savoury, even though I looooove home-made goods like cookies, cheesecake, brownies… But at the end of the day, I’d have to go for savoury!

Early bird or night owl?

Early bird, definitely. I love getting out of bed early and making something of my day. I can't stay up too late because I just get really sleepy. 

Name five of your favourite books. 
Once again, it's difficult to only name five!

Louisa May Alcott - 'Little Women'
J.K. Rowling - 'Harry Potter' series
Nicholas Sparks - 'A Walk to Remember'
Jane Austen - 'Pride and Prejudice'
Emily Giffin - 'Something Borrowed'

Favourite drink?

Chai Latte, yummm!

Favourite animal?
At the moment, I'm just a tiny bit in love with Boo the pomeranian. He's just the cutest dog EVER, and I'm not a big fan of dogs at all, but I just want to take this one and hug him all day long, I can't help it!

Who do you tag next?

Jo @ Cometbabesbooks
Isabell @ Dreaming With Open Eyes Reviews
Eve @ Eve's Chick Lit Reviews
Kim @ Kim the Bookworm