Raising Global Nomads
Robin Pascoe
Expatriate Press: £12.95
Expats and their offspring enjoy gilded lives in many ways, and few would argue that growing up in a foreign country and experiencing life in other cultures brings with it enormous advantages that last a lifetime.
But there is a downside and anyone who’s moved overseas with a partner or parents will understand the intense psychological upheaval that is part of the package.
The Globalisation of Love
Wendy Williams
Summertime Publishing: £15.99
If you’re cohabiting with or married to a partner from a different country, race, religion or culture, then this book will appeal to you.
The Globalisation of Love, or 'GloLo' as it’s becoming known, shines a jovial light on the little, and not so little foibles afflicting mixed match romances in modern times.
Amsterdam... The Essence
David Beckett
DJB Pubs: £17.95
Glorious architecture, picturesque canals, a paradise for art and culture buffs, and possibly the most eclectic bunch of Europeans you’re likely to meet. That sums up Amsterdam for me.
I once saw Mini-Me’s twin wearing a bright yellow Panama hat smoking a big fat Cuban cigar while riding nonchalantly around Dam Square on a monkey bike and thought I was hallucinating - except I was stone cold sober. No one else seemed to bat an eyelid...
Man in a Mud Hut
Ian Mathie
Mosaïque Press: £12.99
Few Europeans could boast of going native in rural Africa but author Ian Mathie made a habit of living in remote tribal villages while spearheading water resource projects in the 1970s.
Living in what was then Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Mathie was tasked with chaperoning a Whitehall ferret being sent to audit another UK government-funded project in neighbouring Nigeria.
Sunshine Soup
Jo Parfitt
Summertime Publishing: £7.99
The life of an expat wife in a far-flung destination has all the classic ingredients for a jolly good chick-lit novel and who better to pen the story than someone who’s lived the life and turned it into an art form?
Sunshine Soup: Nourishing the Global Soul, is the first foray into fiction for renowned author, publisher and Expat Entrepreneur Jo Parfitt, and tells the story of a group of friends (and trailing spouses) living in Dubai in 2008.
Sammy's Next Move
Helen Maffini
Third Culture Kids Press: £6.89
Sammy the snail is none too chuffed when his parents announce they are moving to Japan.
He’s only just got used to living in Italy and he’s really going to miss his playmates, so the prospect of having to make new friends in yet another country is distressing and upsetting.
Love You So Much: a shared memoir
Victoria Zacheis Greve & Karen Greve Young
Summertime Publishing: £13.95
When Karen Greve Young’s mother was diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer in the spring of 1999, Karen and Vicki decided to write a memoir to help them focus on something other than just the disease.
Love You So Much is the newly published tribute to Vicki Greve seven years after she lost her battle for life, but not before she’d fought and won four and half ‘bonus years’ that saw her witness both her children get married.
Bride Price
Ian Mathie
Mosaique Press: £12.99
With exotic landscapes, indigenous people and ancient customs borne of tribal history, Africa can beguile and unnerve visitors in equal measure.
Spiritual beliefs passed down through generations can seem primitive to those of us unfamiliar with their way of life, but not to author Ian Mathie who spent part of the 1970s working on water resource projects and staying in remote villages in deepest Africa.
Why China Will Never Rule The World
Troy Parfitt
Western Hemisphere Press: £9.76
With a title like Why China Will Never Rule the World: Travels in the two Chinas, and a hefty 400 plus page girth, I turned the first page with the sort of trepidation usually reserved for a thick political memoir.
One man’s solitary campaign to dispel a fact the whole world believes to be true? Surely the author had his work cut out…
Dealing with the Dutch
Jacob Vossestein
KIT Publishers: €18.50
To order this book, click here
If you’re moving to the Netherlands then be warned, Lowlanders can be a bit blunt. In fact it’s fair to say that in business, as in daily life, brutal honesty and constructive criticism are dished out liberally as par for the course - which can be a bit of a shock to the system if you haven’t lived or worked alongside them before.
The Dutch are a self-confident, pragmatic, and exceedingly efficient race and these qualities combined with their shrewd nose for business can sometimes make for an off-putting combination.
Food Shopper's Guide to Holland
Ada Henne Koene with Connie Moser
Eburon: £9.47
Dutch cuisine as I’ve mentioned in a previous review (Dutch Cooking: The New Kitchen) is a tad underwhelming, and for foody expats grocery shopping in Holland can be a disappointing and stressful experience, especially if you can’t understand the lingo on the packaging.
But thanks to two American writers (of European extraction) and their somewhat biblical Food Shopper’s Guide to Holland, a maiden voyage to a Dutch supermarket need no longer result in you wanting to open a vein.
Doctor Lark
Bill Larkworthy
Mosaique Press: £12.99
I will admit to being a bit of a memoir junkie. I’ll read about anyone if it looks like they’ve led an interesting life, and Doctor Lark is one of those people.
Bill Larkworthy’s career as a Royal Air Force doctor and highly respected gastroenterologist spanned decades and took him all over the world, but most notably to the Middle East.
Whipped Cream Architecture
Niek Biegman
KIT Publishers: € 24.50
To order this book, click here
It might sound like an odd title, but once you read the first few paragraphs it makes perfect sense.
Whipped cream is a book of photography with a few pages of information about the origins of the white painted stone 'wigs' that grace the gables of the grachtenplanden (canal houses) in Amsterdam.
Emotional Resilience and the Expat Child
Julia Simens
Summertime Publishing: £20.00
Guilt inevitably afflicts all expat parents when they relocate their families around the world.
Despite the enormous advantages and privileges growing up as a global nomad, it’s sometimes hard to reconcile this with an unhappy child, distraught at the prospect of leaving friends behind and moving country yet again.
Expat Women: Confessions
Andrea Martins & Victoria Hepworth
Expat Women: £15.15
Expatriating to a new country is exciting, but it can also be daunting.
If you are about to embark on your first trip as a ‘trailing spouse’, then you could probably do with some reassurance from someone who knows the ropes.
Winnie
Winifred E. Bland
Mosaique Press: £8.95
Imagine if you will, being posted to the bleak Canadian prairies with no company support, no relocation package and having to stump up the fare and then make the arduous journey from England by boat and train…
Hardly the sort of assignment one would volunteer for, but more than 100 years ago Winifred Bland and her family did just that.
Confessions of a Dutch Reading Club
Patricia van Stratum
Troubador Publishing: £8.50
The title might not tickle your fancy; but don’t let that put you off.
Confessions of a Dutch Reading Club is the work of first time author Patricia van Stratum who has penned an unusual tale about a group of middle-aged Dutch folk and surprisingly, it works.
A Moveable Marriage
Robin Pascoe
Expatriate Press Ltd: £12.95
For the first time since before I had children, I’ve read a whole book in one day.
I didn’t intend to, I just got carried away. And although it meant neglecting the more trivial needs of my usually well cared for offspring, it was definitely worth it.
Walk & Eat Amsterdam
Cecily Layzell
Sunflower Books: £8.99
This dinky little guide book is perfect for anyone already familiar with Amsterdam who wants to see more, and feast as they go.
If you’ve seen the sights, visited the museums and experienced the delights of this fair city - and you enjoy troughing, then Walk & Eat Amsterdam is a bit of a treasure.
Release the book within
Jo Parfitt
Summertime Publishing: £10.00
Release the book within will appeal to anyone who’s ever said to themselves: ‘I could write a book about that,’ and really meant it.
Perhaps you have an idea for a novel? Do you yearn to write about your life experiences? Or maybe you’re an expert at something you would like to share with a wider audience.
The Guptas
Fred Gupta
AuthorHouse: £10.99
The Guptas is a story of three generations of Indian men and their journey from the subcontinent, to South Africa and finally ending up in America.
Fred Gupta begins his tale at the end of the 19th Century by introducing us to Gani, his hardworking and entrepreneurial Grandfather.
Write Your Life Stories
Jo Parfitt
Summertime Publishing: £80.00
If you’re living abroad or have recently returned to your native land after a stint overseas, then no doubt you will have a fair few stories to tell, and if you enjoy writing, why not turn them into a blog or a journal?
Jo Parfitt’s Write Your Life Stories is an easy to follow home study programme for anyone interested in writing a personal memoir to a professional standard.
The Singing Warrior
Niamh Ni Bhroin
Summertime Publishing: £13.99
The Singing Warrior is a personal memoir and journey of self-discovery that is often shocking but never hopeless.
Author Niamh Ni Bhroin documents her life growing up in an Irish Catholic family in Dublin as the daughter of a doting but largely absent father, and her loving but ever-present and controlling mother.
ABC Nederlands English
Alison O'Dornan
Diglot Books £5.99
To order this book, click here
ABC Nederlands English is a bilingual alphabet book for children.
Author Alison O’Dornan introduces children to the alphabet using words and objects that begin with the same letter in Dutch and English.
Definite Articles
Jo Parfitt
Summertime Publishing: £80.00
If you’re a ‘trailing spouse’ with a passion for writing, why not turn your hobby into a portable career? All you need is some raw talent, a bit of self-motivation and a very good book:
Definite Articles is essentially a self-study programme and information guide for amateur writers who want to learn how to structure articles, and more importantly, how to pitch them successfully, and get published.
Uit Kijk Punten/ Scenic Points Amsterdam
Eelco van Geene & Marijke Mooy
Gottmer €18,95
If you’ve ever stood on top of a building looking out over a big city and wondered what you can see in the distance then Uit Kijk Punten might tickle your fancy.
Eelco van Geene & Marijke Mooy have created an alternative guide book that instead of leading you around the city at ground level, it views Amsterdam from above and nicely presents it in photographs.
Dutch Cooking: The New Kitchen
Manon Sikkel & Michiel Klønhammer
Gottmer Uitgevers Groep €9,99
If the idea of authentic Dutch cuisine fills you with horror, then you’re not alone. Even the authors of The New Kitchen admit that, 'Dutch cooking does not, to say the least, have a very good international reputation.'
Amsterdam based writers Manon Sikkel and Michiel Klønhammer have penned numerous articles about their passion for traditional food and have enthusiastically updated some authentically rustic dishes in Dutch Cooking: The New Kitchen.
A Career in Your Suitcase
Jo Parfitt
Summertime Publishing: £15.00
How can you forge a fulfilling career overseas if you are the ‘trailing spouse’? What if your former occupation and credentials just aren’t recognized in your new country? And if you do find a job what happens to all your hard work when you have to move on again?
A Career in Your Suitcase describes itself as ‘the definitive expat career bible’ and this is no idle boast.
The UnDutchables:
Colin White & Laurie Boucke
£9.88
I felt drawn to The UnDutchables by its supposed notoriety and the conflicting reports I’d been given. Surprisingly my Dutch friend liked it (‘brilliantly accurate!’) but an English friend didn’t, 'It’s snide and spiteful,' she said.
It turned out that both were right. It’s all of the above, but I have to confess to spending a few hours of guilty pleasure sniggering out loud at some of the admittedly scathing, but highly amusing observations.
The Mission of Detective Mike: Moving Abroad
Simone T Costa Eriksson & Ana Serra
Summertime Publishing: £16.00
Although many people won’t remember their first day of school, somewhere in the depths of their minds they know it was terrifying.
Now imagine starting the first day of school again? Over and over again: but each time in a different country, and often in places where the local children don’t speak your language. Welcome to the life of a young expat…
The Mission of Detective Mike: Moving Abroad, helps parents with the difficult job of preparing youngsters for their new adventure, and considers the enormous emotional upheaval by telling a story through the eyes of a character children can relate to: Detective Mike.
Holland Handbook 2011
XPAT MEDIA: £22.24
To buy this book, click here
No matter how organised you are, moving to a new country is daunting. Admittedly there are more intimidating destinations than the Netherlands, but you still have to start living the moment you arrive and that’s where the Holland Handbook is worth it’s considerable weight.
You might already know some Dutch people and be familiar with their customs or maybe you have a basic grasp of the language, but where do you start with everything else?
If you’re moving here to work for a large company then you will probably have insider help to set things up, but if like some of us, you relocate independently then the most basic tasks can prove stressful, time-consuming, and expensive…
Friendship
Xpat Media/DutchNews.nl: €10
What does friendship really mean? How would you describe it? And if you had to write about it what would you say?
This is exactly what the winners and runners-up of the Young Writers Competition have done in this collection of short stories and poems submitted by international school children throughout the Netherlands.
Pupils from seven to seventeen documented their innermost feelings about the meaning of friendship, much-loved chums and absent friends in this touching compilation by talented young writers.
Bicycle Mania
Xpat Media €19.90
Author/Photographer: Shirley Agudo
To buy this book, click here
The title and cover picture promise an eccentric and lighthearted peek into the Dutch love affair with all things on two wheels.
What you get is a chunky little picture book with some nice photos and a few pages of bicycle facts and trivia.
If you’ve ever wanted to know how many bicycles there are in Holland (approximately 18 million), or that there are 29,000 kilometers of cycle paths throughout the country, then this might titillate.
Complete Dutch
Hodder Education
Teach Yourself: £29.99
If you can master a combination of some basic English, German and a guttural noise akin to clearing your throat, then you’ve taken your first steps to learning Dutch.
With this in mind, you will also need some patient tuition, but in the absence of that, you could do a lot worse than Complete Dutch and the two accompanying CDs.
It covers a range of topics that most people new to these shores will find useful and chapters are set out in an easy to read format that include a mixture of dialogue, grammar, vocabulary, short tests and useful information.
Dutch Ditz - Manners in the Netherlands
Reinildis van Ditzhuyzen
Bol.com €14.99
If you’re planning a move to the Netherlands or you’ve recently arrived then this compact little Dutch Ditz is just for you.
A swift and entertaining read, it cuts straight to the chase with everything you need to know about the Dutch family living next door and their weird and wonderful language, habits and customs.
If you think they can’t be that different to your old neighbours at home, then think again.
A Dictionary of Dutchness
DutchNews.nl €12.50
The Dutch language can puzzle at the best of times but throw in an acronym or abbreviation and you’re suddenly faced with a riddle, wrapped in a mystery and deep-fried in breadcrumbs. What hope have we uninitiated English speakers got if we can’t tell the difference between a BOB and a TSB? Enter A Dictionary of Dutchness.
All those quirky Dutchisms that have caught us off guard, drawn blank faces and LOL’d (laughed at loud) at our expense, have been meticulously rounded up by the editors at DutchNews.nl and compiled into a indispensable 400-word paperback that’s as entertaining as it is digestible. The Dutch language demystified, brilliant.