10 books to love about Switzerland

In honor of Valentine’s Day, The Frau would like to share ten books to love about Switzerland and expatriate life.

Beyond Chocolate: Understanding Swiss Culture

By Margaret Oertig-Davidson

Contrary to popular belief, there is more to life in Switzerland besides chocolate (even on Valentine’s Day), and this book helps outsiders understand how Switzerland and its people tick.

There are books to love about CH and then there's
this raspberry truffle from Vollenweider too...

A Moveable Marriage: Relocate Your Relationship without Breaking It

By Robin Pascoe

Are you a trailing spouse or about to become one? Here’s a book on how you and your marriage can survive your first­–or tenth–international move.

Swiss Watching: Inside the Land of Milk and Money

By Diccon Bewes

Want to go beyond the Swiss stereotypes and deep into Switzerland to find out what, exactly Swissness means? Then this book is for you.

Expat: Women’s True Tales of Life Abroad

By Christina Henry de Tessan

No matter where we live as expatriates, this anthology demonstrates that some things about expat life are universal.

The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Swiss

By Paul Bilton

The blurb says it all: This book is definitely “A Frank and Funny Look at what makes the Swiss Swiss.”

La Place de la Concorde Suisse

By John McPhee

The army in Switzerland can seem mysterious, but not if you read this journalistic study of the its role in Swiss society.

GenXPat: The Young Professional’s Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad

By Margaret Malewski

How can you survive (and thrive) when working in another country? This book has many answers.

Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures

By Brooks Peterson

If you work in Switzerland, you will be working with people from other cultures. This book is a great introduction to any diverse workplace.

Inside Outlandish: Essays about Feeling at Home (in Switzerland)

By Susan Tuttle

A collection of essays about life in Switzerland as an outsider looking in.

Living in Zurich Guide

By The American Women’s Club of Zurich

This book bills itself as “The Most Comprehensive Guidebook To Life In Zurich As An Expat” and The Frau can’t argue with that. Like everything in Switzerland, it’s quite expensive, but if you’re new to Zurich, it’s worth every franc.

Study Fiction or Travel Writing in Zurich

The Frau always gets a bit excited about writing workshops, especially when they’re in Zurich and she’s in charge of organizing them.

Anyone want to second my enthusiasm? Because for the third time in two years, there will actually be something in Zurich other than bankers, lawyers, and ladies who lunch. (All kidding aside, Zurich is a beautiful city and worth seeing--here's a Zurich travel article written by yours truly that proves it.)

Anyhow, this spring, the Zurich Writers Workshop will feature two British authors: award-winning novelist Sam North (The Old Country) and Switzerland’s bestselling English-language author, Diccon Bewes (Swiss Watching). The workshop will take place May 18-20, 2012.

The workshop will be divided into two sections, fiction and travel writing/non-fiction. Participants will receive nine hours of instruction in their chosen area, an author reading and apéro at Zurich’s English-language bookstore, Orell Füssli The Bookshop, as well as the option to participate in a literary dinner at Europe’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, Hiltl.

Registration opened today. Space is limited to 15 participants in each section and is filled on a first-come, first-served basis. You can register at www.zurichwritersworkshop.com. Click here to sign up for the mailing list.

Hope to see you in Zurich this spring. And please spread the word!