About Me

Hi everyone,

I'm Kat. I have been blogging since July 2004 and started reviewing books at Stacked'n'Painted (formerly known as Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic or Cozy Murders) in April 2006.

We are a German-American family, currently living in Germany. We, that is my significant other, our son (he was born in July 2013) and me.

Besides being a mommy and a ready, I'm a student (languages and literature, of course!) and a part-time librarian.

Occasionally, I also read and review manuscripts for a publisher before they buy them. I look at the plot, the possible target group and many other relevant aspects. In a way, it is really like writing a longer review. I really enjoy this, because it is a nice look inside the process of publishing a book, even though I don't see half of what happens.

And then, there is of course this blog. I can't remember not reading (with the exception of the occasional reading slumps), and my family on my Mom's side in general are all avid readers. We all have our preferences when it comes to genres and general reading material, but if you put us all in a room, you'd have almost every genre represented (probably with the exception of self-help books). With this blog, I can share a bit about my passion for books. I don't remember much about my first books, but I remember the first series I read very well. The first books I remember reading were Enid Blyton's Malory Towers, St. Clare's and another series that were published under Enid Blyton's name in Germany. A few years later I began reading Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot and from there on I venured out and soon read what was generally considered "adult literature" in various genres. Nowadays, I read a good mix of novels geared towards young adults, mysteries and thrillers, romance novels and classics. However, even if it's not part of any of these genres, I can easily be persuaded by a good plot.

So, that's me in a (not so small) nutshell *wink*