» A double celebration for Swiss Watching

A double celebration for Swiss Watching

December 9, 2011, 10 Comments

Two years old today. This blog, that is, not me. And with perfect timing the first translation of the book has been finished and is off to the printers. Ja, Swiss Watching kommt auf Deutsch! It’s called Der Schweizversteher – which translates roughly as ‘the man who understands Switzerland’. That’s me, apparently. Just to make that clear, there’s a subtitle Ein Engländer unter Eidgenossen, or An Englishman among the Swiss. That’s definitely me. As you can see, not only the title has changed but the cover as well – and of course, the publisher. I’m proud to say that the German edition is being published by Piper Verlag in Munich, under its Malik imprint. A wonderful home for my book. Working with the lovely translators and even lovelier editor has been quite an enlightening experience: fun but challenging to keep the distinct flavour of the original while giving it a German (-speaking) identity.

Der Schweizversteher will be published on 14 March 2012, Albert Einstein’s birthday. He was born German, lived in Munich, became Swiss in Bern (where he developed his theory of relativity), moved to America and learnt English, so is the ideal person to help us launch the book. There will be events around Switzerland, and some in Germany, throughout the spring and summer, with all the details posted on the Events page of this blog nearer the time. Feel free to come to one and say hello.

In the meantime, if you want to pre-order a copy you can already do so from any online bookshop Switzerland, Germany or Austria, and not just Amazon. Or you can always pop into your local bookshop and order it there: ISBN 978-3-89029-403-2

Switzerland: Stauffacher, Thalia, Orell Füssli, Bider & Tanner, Stocker
Germany: Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buch.de
Austria: Thalia, Morawa, Frick

As for the anniversary today, it’s been a great two years. 186 posts, 963 comments, 162,500 visits from 169 countries. And still counting. Here are a few highlights:

Busiest day – 13 April 2010 thanks to Heidi.
Busiest month – October 2011 thanks to an interview in Der Bund.
Most popular posts – A beginner’s guide to Swissness, Ten free things to do in Switzerland, Dead famous in Switzerland
Most commented post – Swiss election results: xenophobia 0 commonsense 1
First post – Who’s the mummy? which four people read on the first day

Not forgetting helping to make Swiss Watching a No1 bestseller and a Financial Times Book of the Year, giving me a chance to be interviewed on Persönlich (DRS1) and Excess Baggage (BBC Radio 4), and generally being great fun. So here’s to the next two years and next two books. At least. Hope you’ll come along for the ride.

10 Comments on "A double celebration for Swiss Watching"

corrie Friday December 9th, 2011 at 12:00 PM · Reply

Herzliche gluckwunsch !!!
Gabriela Friday December 9th, 2011 at 01:34 PM · Reply

Dear Diccon! Congratulations ! I still read every post and love it. I am exited to see what’s coming next (books, interviews etc.) and am looking forward to read your book in German as well.
Anne Friday December 9th, 2011 at 03:38 PM · Reply

Congratulations, Diccon! I’m very happy to see your well deserved success and the word spreading like wildfire.
Kerrin @ MyKugelhopf Saturday December 10th, 2011 at 10:51 AM · Reply

super ! congrats, diccon ! (i love that the german translation is coming out on einstein’s birthday, so cool.) it has certainly been an exciting and successful two years for you – educational and entertaining for us readers too. can’t wait for your next book… and our ice cream date in 2012 ! happy holidays & cheers from züri
Brigitte Eichenberger Saturday December 10th, 2011 at 10:01 PM · Reply

Love the cover photo of the new book. I used this toilet a couple of months ago!
- swisswatching Monday December 12th, 2011 at 05:23 PM · Reply
  
  Excellent news Brigitte. I was beginning to think it didn’t exist!
jofurniss Monday December 12th, 2011 at 08:31 PM · Reply

Great to see the book going from strength to strength. But it’s really the two-year-old blog I’d like to congratulate you on – can it really be so young?! Swisswatching.wordpress.com is a blogging masterclass – cheers!
- swisswatching Tuesday December 13th, 2011 at 09:48 AM · Reply
  
  Thanks Jo. I’m not sure I’m a blogging master quite yet (two years isn’t that long!) but glad to hear you like it.
Melanie Lutz Tuesday January 3rd, 2012 at 10:44 PM · Reply

I discovered your extremely entertaining job whilst searching for background info on translation homework – the news story about the Bündnerfleisch and the resulting demise of the Finance Minister. Since then, I’ve enjoyed reading along and poking back through your archives.
Congrats on both accomplishments!