Last year I recommended Crossing the Sea: With Syrians on the Exodus to Europe by Wolfgang Bauer. As there, unfortunately, has been little positive change in the refugee crisis, it is still extremely topical, and I am suggesting two further titles to delve into this subject. The first one is called Stepping Stones: A Refugee… View more
According to the most recent data by UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, almost 60 million people around the world have been forced from their home. Almost 20 million of those are refugees, of which nearly 5 million are from Syria where a civil war between Bashar al-Bassad’s government, Sunni rebel groups, ISIL and various… View more
Ruta Sepetys’ most recent work Salt to Sea is a very well written historic novel– accurate in its description of time and place with mostly fictional characters that are based on real people’s lives and experiences. It illustrates the evacuation of East Prussia in January of 1945, a miserable winter towards the end of WWII when… View more
I highly recommend Erin Gleeson’s The Forest Feast, a collection of easy Vegetarian recipes. First of all, I like the background story: Erin Gleeson grew up on an orchard in Sonoma County, CA but moved to New York City as a young adult with an art major, initially drawn to food photography via a volunteering job at the… View more
A Man Called Ove is the first novel by Swedish blogger and author Fredrik Backman, and what a great uplifting read it is! Ove is a 59-year old grumpy, lonely man who thrives on routine and principles, and who gets extremely bent out of shape when he encounters people who don’t. Needless to say, he… View more
Growing up in Germany, I was unfamiliar with pie until I came to the U.S. Germany embraces sweets and desserts, boasts bakeries and confectionary shops, is home to many different cakes and cookies, tarts and tortes. But PIE is not to be found. Upon my move across the Atlantic I was quickly intrigued by the… View more
Born and raised on a different continent, I am always interested in reading about immigration stories , specifically what compelled them to come this far, did their preconceived notions hold true to reality and did “their” American dream become fulfilled. Americanah was a wonderful surprise as it is so much more than merely a tale… View more
