The Essential Books thread

[Lob]

Essential books for living and working in Switzerland?

Surely Living and Working in Switzerland has to be #1

The Fodors/Lonely Planet ones are worth a read every couple of years - plus to give to your visitors and say "what do you fancy?"

When you've been here a while, you might like this one:

	Quote:	smbuzby
	I quote (paraphrase) from the Xenophobe's Guide To the Swiss (great little book by the way).

who would write such tosh?? (yes, I have lined your pockets with a purchase, Paul)


Any other suggestions for books to prepare and/or accompany a stay here?

A crap and overly cynical book : "Living Among the Swiss"
Good but no pictures : "Rough Guide to Switzerland"

	Quote:	Lob Rockster
	Essential books for living and working in Switzerland?

[Principia Discordia]

I found "Living and Working in Switzerland" to be excellent and really helpful during our move. We too have a Lonely Planet and a Let's Go travel guide, but we don't use them too often, I'm pretty familiar with the country as it is and we got them as gifts when we moved. Everything else I've seen is either downright stupid, or tries way too hard to be funny at the expense of actually providing any useful information.

Cheese, chocolate and banking jokes never get old, right?

[Lob]

an interesting read could also be "Numbered Account" - begins at USB <snigger> in Zurich and ends up on a rollercoaster ride through parts of the country.

So definitely fiction then

[gooner]

A book I found quite good was 'Beyond Chocolate; understanding Swiss culture'

here

[Music Mole]

	Quote:	gooner
	A book I found quite good was 'Beyond Chocolate; understanding Swiss culture' here

In my opinion, this should be required reading for anyone planning to come to Switzerland. Heck, I think it should be required for anyone marrying a Swiss foreign national (as I did). I cannot say enough good things about this book. It's a great crash course on those subtle cultural things that are sometimes painful if learned the hard way. My Swiss mother-in-law (now living in the US) has even ordered it for my husband's younger brother's (American) girlfriend, to give her a better understanding of the family background.

[swissfi]

	Quote:	gooner
	A book I found quite good was 'Beyond Chocolate; understanding Swiss culture'

I agree, this book really gives a better understanding into living with the Swiss and is a must read. Another I found very helpful is 'Insight Guide Switzerland' which is full of information, travel tips and lovely photos.

[meloncollie]

Perhaps not quite the category you are looking for... but a delightful novel, especially when you need to laugh at yourself, at Switzerland, at the whole expat experience:

'A Visit From Voltaire', by Dinah Lee Küng

An American journalist, having put her career on hold to follow her Swiss husband back to his homeland, finds herself puzzled, amused, and rather unsettled by life in a small village in Suisse Romande. One day, a visitor appears - the ghost of Voltaire, perhaps Switzerland's most famous expat.

A wonderful story - and you may find some of the scenes hit just a little too close to home.

[cathy20]

I enjoyed "Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss". Explained a lot of things to me. It's funny but so true. Not insulting in any way.

[mark]

	Quote:	cathy20
	I enjoyed "Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss". Explained a lot of things to me. It's funny but so true. Not insulting in any way.

I enjoyed it to. But whether or not it is insulting depends on which passport you may happen to have and what your sense of humour is like if you catch my drift... I gave it to some of my Swiss friends to read who enjoyed it, but I didn't mention it others. Overall a very good book and a great laugh. I also like the Xenophobe's guide for the Aussies and the Japanese.

[Lob]

Xenophobe's is the modern name for "Laughing Along With The Swiss" IIRC, before someone says "oh yes, Laughing Along With The Swiss"

[AbFab]

	Quote:	mark
	<snip>I also like the Xenophobe's guide for the Aussies and the Japanese.

Keep on topic, please...

[mark]

AbFab - Sorry, that must've hurt

I read an excellent book once called "Ticking along with the Swiss", there's also a sequel "Ticking along too" (might have those titles slightly wrong, but anyway).

What was different about these books? Instead of one person's views (even though researched by talking to many people) these were nothing more than a collection of letters written by foreigners from all walks of life. Much like many of the people on this forum the letters were a mixed bag - there were the optimists with their rose-coloured glasses and the pessimists with their constant complaining. There were also those in between. Experiences ranged from people who had just arrived to those who had lived here almost all their life.

I found it beneficial because it's good to read about experiences from the other side of the optimist/pessimist fence and realise that people who are having a different experience to you may have valid points of view as well. At the time I was just about ready to pack it up and leave, so I found it inspirational.

[AbFab]

There also a 3rd edition to the Ticking along series "Ticking Along Free" - all available from Bergli Bookshop in Basel or online at www.bergli.ch

[KarenP.]

YES! YES! YES! I agree totally with Melon Collie. I loved A Visit From Voltaire SO MUCH. It is THE Swiss expat novel. I sent copies to my relatives back home for Christmas, so they could understand what I was going through my first year after moving to Switzerland. It's a very hard book to recommend to people who like their books to come in neat categories. Very wistful and then very wacky, especially Voltaire himself, but if you say "comedy" to people, they feel disappointed when it's not 100 per cent "lite." Parts of it are pretty serious and it is long in parts, but what an escape when I needed it!

[Deborah]

There is a book called "Why Switzerland" that was recommended to me. It looks at the country from a political/historical perspective and evaluates what works and why and what makes Switzerland different from other European countries. I read some of it on the Amazon site and plan on ordering it. It looks intersting and informative.

[JenniferD]

awesome!
I'm glad I opened this thread. Time for some new books and some of these sound like what I need right now!

[kryz]

	Quote:	AbFab
	There also a 3rd edition to the Ticking along series "Ticking Along Free" - all available from Bergli Bookshop in Basel or online at www.bergli.ch

Bergli also do a brilliant little book called "Hoi, your Swiss German Survival Guide" Its cool for anyone trying to learn Swiss German (although its all in Zuri dialect,) most of it is written phonetically with lots of tips and advice, its good fun and is keeping me going until I come back in January.

[KarenP.]

Re:

'A Visit From Voltaire', by Dinah Lee Küng

Dear Meloncollie:
I would also recommend Küng's second "Swiss" novel, Under Their Skin, for fireside reading this holiday time of year. She's got the "Geneva fog for Christmas" atmosphere and the lights blinking through the drizzle on shoppers along the rue de Marché down perfectly.

There's such a familiar (to me, anyway) scene where the WHO wife has to do her gift shopping during lunch hour at Globus and can't find anything but unimaginative luxury goods...and the rather wistful champagne the Geneva doctor finds himself drinking with one of his American patients in a featureless expat apartment...

It's a beautiful, thoughtful book. Definitely recommended!!! I got mine from Payot...

Is that like the "Little Book of Royal Air Force jokes ?" There is an equivelant book of Army jokes and Navy jokes: crammed full of anecdotes and hilarious stories.
The book of RAF jokes differs in that it contains just 150 blank pages....
Available from all good bookshops

dave

	Quote:	Lob Rockster
	Xenophobe's is the modern name for "Laughing Along With The Swiss" IIRC, before someone says "oh yes, Laughing Along With The Swiss"