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Released while at Post Office

Voilà il est arrivé à destination. L'étiquette est en Italien le livre en Anglais et il arrive en France de Nouvelle Zélande. Quel mélange, c'est agréable d'appartenir au même monde...
MERCI

add a review from Amazon to boost this ray which seems funny :

"When English sheep shearer Chris Stewart (once a drummer for Genesis) bought an isolated farmhouse in the mountains outside of Granada, Spain, he was fully aware that it didn't have electricity, running water, or access to roads. But he had little idea of the headaches and hilarity that would follow (including scorpions, runaway sheep, and the former owner who won't budge). He also had no idea that his memoir about southern Spain would set a standard for literary travel writing.
This rip-roaringly funny book about seeking a place in an earthy community of peasants and shepherds gives a realistic sense of the hassles and rewards of foreign relocation. Part of its allure stems from the absence of rose-colored glasses, mainly Stewart's refusal to merely coo about the piece of heaven he's found or to portray all residents as angels. Stewart's hilarious and beautifully written passages are deep in their honest perceptions of the place and the sometimes xenophobic natives, whose reception of the newcomers ranges from warm to gruff.

After reading about struggles with dialects, animal husbandry, droughts, flooding, and such local rituals as pig slaughters and the rebuilding of bridges, you may not wish to live Chris Stewart's life. But you can't help but admire him and his wife, Ana, for digging out a niche in these far-flung mountains, for successfully befriending the denizens, and for so eloquently and comically telling the truth. The rich, vibrant, and unromanticized candor of Driving over Lemons makes it a laudable standout in a genre too often typified by laughable naiveté."

RAY: Lien au FORUM

1 - icila - FRANCE (EU) --> OK
2 - iiwi - THE NETHERLANDS (EU) --> OK
3 - storm0103 - SWITZERLAND (EU) --> OK
4 - Penelopewanders --> OK
5 - QuennSissi - PORTUGAL --> OK
6 - Fifna - ( Netherlands ) --> OK
7 - bootielootie - ( United Kingdom ) --> OK
8 - Miss_Sunshine ( EGYPTE ) --> HERE
9 - Chremajora ( ALLEMAGNE )
10 - Esme-Weatherwax ( IRLAND )
11 - ...
12 - ...
13 - ...
14 - ...
15 - ...
........

Le facteur te le livre - ra. BONNE LECTURE.

Merci Kate. La factrice me l'a bien livr-é. ;)
j'espère que je ne le garderai pas trop longtemps.

I really loved this book. I travelled many times in this region, although not on this very spot. But next time I sure w'll do. I was very interested in the irrigation system and another bits of genuine DIY.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

Thanks for sharing.

PMing the next.

On its way to The Netherlands.
Sorry I'm late. I didn't have time to mail before my tour in Austria.

I was a bit worried over time that the book had been MIM (Missing in mail), but I'm happy it's here.

'But Ana, how could I have been such a lousy judge of character?' I groaned.
'Because you don't much care to judge people's characters,' she awnsered after a moment's thought. 'It's a strength, you know, as well as a weakness.'

When I was in the Algarve on holiday, in a rented holiday house, the best thing, apart from sitting in the sun on a terrace eating an icecream on new years day, was waking up arround seven in the morning, walking into the garden picking lemons and almonds of the tree and having those for breakfast in the sun, under the investigating look of Ana, the neighbour dog. The mood of self-sufficiency I wanted to mimic at home, so I planted apple and lemontrees, next to the herbs in the garden. After all the work and a wet summer all I have to show for it is one lemon in the tree. So I'm not much further than eating homemade bread on my roofterrace while reading Driving over lemons.

Chris Steward was the drummer of the band, became sheepshearer and bought a remote farm in a valley in Andalusia. A dream of many. The simple life, self-sufficient, with sheep, a dog, a herb garden, orangetrees, a river and a guitar, is absolutely an unachievable dream of mine. Sadly, I'm totaly not suited for it. When while reading I got a do it yourself vibe and starting working on the bathroom, after one day my whole body cried out hiring people really is my thing. I can't even play the guitar.
So I live in the city. I have all kinds of substitutes for the simple landlife. I have a rented chicken, I get coupons from the farmcompany to buy eggs in the supermarked. I go shopping in the store next to the biological garden. But it is all a sad replacement for the real deal: driving over lemons.

Chris Stewart writes funny about his dream, and how complicated it really is. Building a bridge over the river, getting running water, renovating the farm, sheeptending in the mountains, handling the locals. I like the chapter about the construction of running water best. Next to running with the water, what I adore, I liked the way these acequias are managed, together with the whole community, connected with the trees, roots and nature. It is all the attraction of self sufficiency in one thing. Something we North Europeans are going to demolish once and for all during this economic crisis. The community stuff, that's not productive. There's no money in it. So we have to place it in a new earnings model and sell it to the highest bidder. Because, when you own the tubes, you own the water, and can sell the river by the cubic metre.

I will contact storm0103.

The book has happily reached my mailbox. Thanks a lot for sharing "Driving over Lemons" with me and many thanks to iiwi for sending it to me.

A great travel and an interesting story. I have been dreaming about travelling to Andalucia for years. It's about time I went there. In the meanwhile, I read this book and enjoyed it very much.

This book is staying in Switzerland, jumping from one mountain to another until it reaches Penelopewanders' house.

Jumping from one mountain to another for Penelopewanders.
Happy reading !

This has arrived on "my" Alp... where it's awfully cold for early September - snow just above us! Anyway, it will be nice to read about Spain soon, when I've worked my way through the other rings which rolled in while I was away on holiday. It looks like I'm at the end of this ray, so I may take my time... please alert me if there are more sign-ups and I should move this to the top of the pile. Thanks for making this available, and for sending.

Well, after all the Peter Mayle excitement it seemed this genre was fit to burst. I read one rather disappointing contribution about Mallorca (the title was something like Snow on Oranges)... not sure it ever sold off the island.
I hesitated to sign up for this ring for that reason, but in fact I'm glad to have read this. Reading the backcover it seems much is made of Stewart's connection to Genesis - but reading closely it seems he "retired" (?)from the band at the ripe old age of 17. Maybe a story there, maybe not.
At anyrate his voice here is much more as an itinerant sheep shearer than almost rock star. He tells his tale well, and got definite chuckles out of me. An interesting read.
I'm not sure what the fate of this book is to be, as it looks like I'm last in line for now.
Thanks for making this available.

Now headed down from the Swiss Alps, over (not too far from Andalucia, perhaps) to Portugal. Thanks for making available. Enjoy!

It is now nearer Spain - just 1hour and a half from it (not sunny southern Spain, though :)). Thanks!

Finished it last week but was only to come here today. It was a nice read and I can relate to some aspects though I do not live in Spain. Living in the countryside seems to have many common points :).

Thanks and will send it as soon as I get an address!

Arrived safely, thank you QueenSissi! It will be next up after my current read.

Very enjoyable read! Funny and also genuinely interesting stories. We could do with a bit of that Andalucian sunshine over here just now - it's awfully cold and dreary at the moment. This book has done a lot to cheer the day up though, thanks for sharing. Will PM the next reader for their address.

On its way to bootielootie!

Received in the post yesterday from Fifna. Will start as soon as I finish reading my present book. I'm looking forward to this!

Arrived!!! Will get started on this book this week. Thanks for sharing :)

I wasnt really sure why i signed up for this ray as its really not my kind of book but im glad i did as once i started reading it i couldnt actually put it down. Chris writes in a way that made me feel i was part of the journey and i loved his neighbors - what characters!

This part of Spain sounds so beautiful that it makes me want to head for the hills myself although im not sure id want to he herding sheep around in the dark!

Loved the last line - great ending!

I have sent the next reader a PM for a address and will post it off as soon as i have it.

Thanks for sharing - great book!

If you are interested in the sequel : A Parrot in the Pepper tree please register here :

http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/495744

I now have the address for Esme-Weatherwax and will post it to her in the next few days :)

.... and its now on its way to the next reader!

Due to the ongoing problems in Egypt, Sharm el Sheikh currently has no postal services, luckily i had a friend leaving Sharm for the UK and he has taken the book with him to post from there tomorrow morning.

Happy reading :)

I really look forward to this book. I have the other two and plan to pass on all thee together.