Planet Germany as a university set text

I was alerted this week to a small ad on the Leipzig University notice board. It was from a Russian student and she was looking to buy a second hand copy of Planet Germany.

I emailed her and found out that she needed the book because it was a set text for her univerity English course. She was looking to buy it second hand (and for this she apologised to me profusely) because as a student without a grant or scholarship, she cannot afford all the course books she needs.

Of course I was delighted to learn that Planet Germany is being pored over now by students of English. I hope it turns out to be one of the course books which genuinely gives delight, rather than loathing and last-minute pre-exam panics (what was that quote about the cat and the enema again?)

Of course, I sent a copy to the Russian student – and I hope she manages to sail through her exam with a top grade now!

Oooh! Another exciting new book about Germany!

I see that Ich werde ein Berliner has published a book too! Sadly it’s not available in English yet… but for those who follow the highly entertaining blog, if you can manage the German it’s going to be a cracking read. I’m ordering my copy today! Can’t wait!

On the subject of ex pat blogs, today is the last chance to vote for your favourite... so if you’re an affectionado of expat musings in Germany, do pop along and click for one of the finalists….

 

Planet Germany is “Book of the Month”

Well that was a lovely surprise! I found out today that Planet Germany has been chosen as “Book of the Month” on Army Wives United.

Planet Germany is Book of the Month

Given the number of Army Wives who have had the experience of living in Germany, there must be quite a number who can empathise with the stories in the book. I can hear the chuckling all the way from JHQ….

Oooh! This is getting exciting! (Bear with me folks…)

Planet Germany seems to be on a roll at the moment. Expatwomen.com have just featured it on their front page with a full-length interview with yours truly.

I’m also very excited that Planet Germany is featured on the front page of Buch7.de – which is an online bookstore I would recommend to anyone living in Germany. They donate 50% of their profits to cultural and charitable causes – so not only can you buy your books there as cheaply as on Amazon, but you can also feel smug about yourself while you shop.

You can’t say fairer than that!

A shelf revealed…

G posted a meme asking me to reveal what’s on my shelves. I’ve never had one of these before… but I discover that a meme is a bit like a parlour game. G revealed her shelves in response to Slouching Mom‘s show and tell. Slouching Mom was acting under orders from Niobe. I guess nobody argues with Niobe, because her blog is called Dead Baby Jokes… which must make people treat her warily….

When I went for a browse of G’s shelves I was really excited to spot that she’s actually got a copy of Planet Germany sitting there in plain view, nestling between a recipe book and one of those impressive coffee table books with photos of Berlin. Having seen that, of course, I couldn’t refuse.

But then I realised… if G has read Planet Germany, then she already knows that my house is the most chaotic, untidy and undusted place in the whole of Germany. If I attempt to cheat, by dusting a couple of feet of the bookshelf and taking a snap of that…. G will rumble me. She’ll expose me as a fraud, a cheat, a scoundrel… she might distrust me so much, she’d even mistake me for a Member of Parliament.

No… I had to do this honestly. No cheating, no attempting to put books straight and absolutely no vacuuming.

Ladies, gentlemen and dead babies of the world… I bring you *drumroll* my bookshelf! (Well, a bit of one of them anyway…)

And a couple of close ups just so you can see some titles (I’m still trying to distract you all from the cobwebs…)

OK… that’s done. Now I have to nominate some other bloggers to show their shelves….

Umm… let me see… I pick…

Mausi and Maribeth (only if you want to of course)

I suppose we should all breathe a sigh of relief it was the bookshelves this time, not the deepest depths of the kitchen cupboards…. or the dark recesses of the fridge. I wonder what did happen to that Camembert…..