Hallvi

I'm a 26 years old art and archaeology student from Sweden with a love for penpalling, books, board gaming, knitting/crocheting and lot more.

I am living with my boyfriend in a overpriced undersized apartment in a city in which one third of the population is students.

I love old buildings and ruins, and my family is really tired of me begging them to stop by every church on our holiday trips.

My ultimate dream is to move into Neuschwanstein Castle, breed an army of dragon riding vampires and travel around the world excavation historical places. Yes, you heard me! I am a bit of a escapist and romantic (not the lovey-dovey kind, but the kind that like history, beauty and fantastic minds).

Besides from this I like budgies, old maps, ghost stories, art, Victorian whatever, cryptozoology, weird/odd objects and chocolate :) The list could go on forever!

I have so many books I love and treasure, but here are a few that left a strong impression, and a short note about them:

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I don't even know how to begin the praising of this book. It swirled me away to a magic romantic world that I haven't really yet been able to leave. Whenever I see a ruin I think of the Raven King, whenever I see a large mirror I want it to be a door to another world, and whenever I read a footnote in academic literature I want it to be about the history of magic.

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

This book made Lestat de Lioncourt the love of my life.

I love vampires in various forms: The scary flesh eating ones, the evil counts, the human ones, the mind-reading and manipulating ones, the ugly and the beautiful ones. (I have read the Twilight Saga and am moderately impressed with it, but it still has owned it place in vampire literature history.)

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

What a book! So down to earth but still so fantastic! Can't believe they wont give him the nobel prize already.

Blindness by José Saramago

Alternative post-apocalypse. No zombie virus, no nuking, but a wave of blindness! And it also made me think about how people react to great disasters. It's hopeless but full with hope!

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Wilde is the King of Wit, and this novel is gothic and funny, but is also a interesting comment on art theory.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

I loved Anne as a child and I still do! She has had a big part in forming my romantic mind and appreciation for beauty of all kinds.

Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky

The best thing about this book is, in my opinion, the cool post-apocalypse setting in the Moscow metro.

I like painting with acrylics on canvas. That's therapy for me! My apartment is full of stacks of paintings I don't know what to do with since I have a bunch of cool stuff on my walls already. I don't feel any need to show off my work, I just love playing with colours and expressing my thoughts and feelings to myself, what others think of it is an other story.

I watch a lot of TV-shows, and when I sit in front of my computer (where most TV-watching takes place ;) I like to have something in my hands, like a knitting or crocheting project. I'm no pro, I keep to the simpler stuff like mittens, shawls, socks, easy amigurumi figures, granny squares etc.

I also like putting stickers and deco/washi tape on random stuff.

...some might call them collections, but I usually move from one obsession to another rather quickly, and I don't hunt rare or valuable items, I just like to own things that appeals to me. I often refer to myself as borderline hoarder, pretending to joke but crying on the inside.

Stationery

I love penpalling! And from that interest sprung my devotion to kawaii letter sets, stickers and washi tapes. I would probably spend all my money on cute stationery if I didn't have to eat and have a roof over my head.

Books

My apartment is filled with bookshelves filled with books. I just like having books around. Especially those I like, or beautiful ones. I do judge books by their covers - that's what covers are for! (Ugly covers don't stop me for loving the content thought ;)

Games

I'm a nerd :3 I love playing board- card- and role playing games with my friends while having a beer or two. I think my boyfriend counted our games to 55 board/card games and 122 role playing books (modules included).

Postage stamps

I have a lot of stamps, but I particularly collect those that have anything to do with history, archaeology, religion and/or art.

Yarn

I start up new knitting/crocheting projects all the time, often before the last one is even half finished, so I have a bunch of colourful yarns scattered around in our home.

Anything made of paper

This is not something I collect really, the papers just heap up everywhere. It's like I am unable to throw anything made of paper away; we're talking everything from novels to old paid bills, recipes, post cards, magazines, school work etc. It's weird and out of control... Am I the only one with this problem?!

Manga

I really enjoy reading manga and have a collection of mangas in one of my bookshelves. ...Yet a paper related collection. A few favourites are: Blade of the Immortal, Angel Sanctuary, Skip Beat, Gravitation.

Dice

A gamer can never have too many dice. I unfortunately have too few, but still probably more than your average 24 year old Swede.

Time Team ~ Destination Truth ~ Top Model this or that country ~ Ghost Hunters ~ True Blood ~ The Borgias ~ My Name is Earl ~ Buffy the Vampire Slayer ~ Project Runway this or that country ~ Twin Peaks ~ Escape to the Country ~ Ancient Aliens ~ Black Books ~ How I Met Your Mother ~ The Big Bang Theory ~ Modern Family ~ Game of Thrones ~ Community ~ Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files ~ Oddities ~ Psych ~ The Walking Dead ~ Downton Abbey ~

I am super new to this site, but fear not - I am not here to flake on you guys. I will not join swaps I don't know if I can manage, and I will not send you scraps from my pile of paper garbage just to get it done with (unless you specifically would want me to for some reason ;)

I have noticed that many here use their profile as a wishlist, but I prefer to keep mine as a place to give you an idea of what kind of person I am and what my interests are. See it as inspiration, not a set of rules!

But if you have any comments or questions, feel free to message me.

Happy swapping!