Category: Books – Warning, spoilers!

Norman Glatzer und Vanessa Braun – Mittendrin im Draußen

Merula Turdus

 

 

Norman Glatzer und Vanessa Braun – Mittendrin im Draußen
Pilze, Pflanzen und Tiere direkt vor der Haustür
Allegria / Ullstein 2022
16,90 € (D)

Nature lovers, self-supporters, collectors and rangers have of course known and loved the fantastic “Buschfunkistan” YouTube channel for a long time, and so the excitement was great when the first book by the dynamic duo appeared shortly before the channel’s third birthday.
Will it be a textbook, a factbook, a funny book, or a d.i.y. book?
Well, all of those, of course!
With their own and typical warm-hearted and detail-oriented narrative style, peppered with humour that can also be very black at times, Vanessa and Norman report on believable and unbelievable matters from the local natural world in three large chapters (“Off into Nature”, “Wonderful Life Forms in the Bush and Mirror”, “Merging with the Outdoors”) and in many individual sections, spiced with anecdotes and pertinent references.
And something happened to me while reading these very accessibly written 250 pages:
It was a good seven years ago that I moved from the indescribably noisy hustle and bustle of core Berlin to the countryside, to a settlement with no more than a few houses, a solar field, a closed barbershop and several dogs and cats.
How great was my devotional love for Mother Nature back then! I used every free minute to slide across a meadow on my knees, nibbling edible stalks, drying willow bark, fermenting apples.
At no minute did I regret the move, and I love nature as much as the first day.
And yet, something has changed.
While our relationship (nature + me) used to be like “Oh honey, I’m at your feet and adore your glory!”, a certain “Morning, what’s for dinner today?” has crept in.
“Mittendrin im Draußen” has opened my eyes, ears, heart and all my senses again, it’s like it used to be.
Now that’s a book!

(merula)

NaturfreundInnen, Selbstversorgende, Sammler*innen und Waldläufer kennen und lieben natürlich schon lange den fantastischen „Buschfunkistan“ YouTube-Kanal, und so war die Spannung groß, als kurz vor dem 3. Geburtstag des Kanals das erste Buch des dynamischen Duos erschien.
Wird es ein Fach-, ein Sach-, ein Lach- oder ein Mach-Buch?
Na alles das, natürlich!
Mit ihrer eigenen und typischen, warmherzigen und detailverliebten Erzählweise, gespickt mit Humor, der auch mal sehr schwarz sein kann, berichten Vanessa und Norman in drei großen Kapiteln („Auf in die Natur“, „Wunderliche Lebensformen im Busch und Spiegel“, „Verschmelzung mit dem Draußen“) und in vielen einzelnen Abschnitten von glaubhaften und unglaublichen Angelegenheiten aus der heimischen Naturwelt, gewürzt mit Anekdoten und sachdienlichen Hinweisen.
Und etwas geschah mit mir beim Lesen dieser sehr zugänglich verfassten 250 Seiten:
Es ist gut sieben Jahre her, dass ich aus dem unbeschreiblich lautstarken Gewusel Kern-Berlins auf‘s Land zog, in eine Siedlung mit nicht mehr als ein paar Häusern, einem Solarfeld, einem geschlossenen Friseurladen sowie mehreren Hunden und Katzen.
Wie groß war damals meine hingebungsvolle Liebe zu Mutter Natur! Jede freie Minute nutzte ich, um auf Knien über eine Wiese zu rutschen, essbare Hälmchen zu knabbern, Weidenrinde zu trocknen, Äpfel zu vergären.
Zu keiner Minute bereute ich den Umzug, und ich liebe die Natur wie am ersten Tag.
Und doch, es hat sich was verändert.
War unsere Beziehung (Natur + ich) früher so ein „Oh Schatz, ich liege dir zu Füßen und bete deine Herrlichkeit an!“ schlich sich mittlerweile doch so ein gewisses „Morjen, watt jibt‘s n heute zu essen?“ ein.
„Mittendrin im Draußen“ hat mir wieder Augen, Ohren, Herz und überhaupt alle Sinne geöffnet, es ist wieder wie früher.
Das ist mal ein Buch!

(merula)

Abo Alsleben – MAYHEM LIVE IN LEIPZIG. Wie ich den Black Metal nach Ostdeutschland brachte.

Merula Turdus

 

 

Abo Alsleben – MAYHEM LIVE IN LEIPZIG. Wie ich den Black Metal nach Ostdeutschland brachte.
bookra Verlag 2020

The likeable scene veteran Abo Alsleben, known to most of you from his cool “Cadaver, Corpse & Bowels” zine, brought Mayhem to East Germany in 1990 and describes in this wonderful book a piece of life from that time, as many GDR metalheads surely still know it well.
The first contacts with Euronymous, then the concerts in the just vanished GDR, finally the disaster.
While reading, I was for a short time back in that time in that place myself, a very loving, amusing, political, thoughtful, interesting Metal journey through time.
The exciting reports, adventures and episodes are peppered with adorable photographs and copies of letters.
Costs 20 Euro and is worth every penny!

P.S. An English-language edition is said not to be out of the question, so keep your eyes peeled!

(merula)

Jiri Brabenec / Zdenek Vesely – Gestrandet bei der Sonne Epsilon

Merula Turdus

 

 

 

Jiri Brabenec / Zdenek Vesely – Gestrandet bei der Sonne Epsilon
Utopian novel, 1961

I read quite a lot of books, but in order to create a personal speciality for myself, some time ago I discovered the field of “Eastern European (incl. GDR) science fiction literature up to 1990”, an interesting and rich subject.
One of the most exquisite publications of this subgenre is undoubtedly “Stranded by the Sun Epsilon”, a Czechoslovak book from 1961.

Actually, the group of space travellers is supposed to search for the traces of a lost expedition on a still nameless planet of that sun, eleven light years away from Earth – but then gets into trouble themselves and has a serious accident.
The only way to survive is to break away from the doomed mother ship in a small space glider and land on the planet.
Due to the limited carrying capacity, only the bare necessities can be taken along, and when this vehicle is also wrecked and the rescue chutes have to be used, everyone only has what he/she is wearing.
In addition, the community is divided into a larger group of about 20 people and a smaller one of only three, who end up far behind the next mountain range.
Whether they survive at all is not known.
The larger group, as we soon learn, makes an emergency landing on the planet’s surface, halfway safe and sound, and, since this celestial body has quite Earth-like conditions, is also confronted with a fauna and flora similar to the Earth’s primeval period (Tertiary / Quaternary).
There are two sides to this paradise, namely an overflowing, untouched and food-giving nature, but also powerful and dangerous animals.
The very earth-like biology may seem a little exaggerated, but it doesn’t carry any weight, and in itself I find the concept of convergent evolution absolutely coherent.
What is particularly interesting is the evolution of the technology of the settlers, who fortunately all enjoyed an above-average education.
Thus the path from the pointed stick to the forge is described in a rousing and comprehensibly realistic way, with a dash of dry humour.
The situation is quite different for the remaining space travellers – one woman, two men – who land far away on the backside of the mountain range.
Only three of them, without anything and close to the end, they are confronted with an approaching winter in the mountains, which they apparently have to spend in a cave without a fire.
How will it all end?
Finding out won’t be cheap, because the book is rare and usually costs between 30 € for a somewhat damaged or slightly soiled edition and almost 100 € for a first-class one.
The damaged one will do, of course, and is absoutely worth every penny.
An interesting feature: everyone I know who has read this book and (unlike me) has owned it since childhood reads it over and over again, often regularly every few years.
Quite understandable.
My thanks to Frank for this recommendation!

(merula)