Not happy with Sicher German textbooks

I am relieved that the latest German class ended as I was running out of steam with it. We used a book that is, in my opinion, very poorly organized and difficult to follow; I was also very displeased with the same company's B2 book, both of which are in the Sicher! series. One learns the grammar that's spread out in tiny, nonsensical bits and bobs throughout the chapter then it's repeated all over the place in the back of the book in no particular order. At the end of the chapter, there's a short description of the grammar but it wasn't that clear.

It's the kind of grammar learning where the grammar is presented in use and the learner is just supposed to "get it"on one's own, to an extent. Yes, I realize that we were using the upper intermediate and advanced books and have higher skills at this point, but still...with some of these nebulous constructions, one needs much more.

I was so frustrated with the book and didn't feel that I learned the material well that I bought Erkundungen, the C1 book from the previous series we'd used before we were stuck with Sicher. With those books from Schubert Verlag, I felt that I learned the content well; chapters are laid out in a manner that makes sense and there are clear reviews at the end of the chapter that explain the grammar clearly. The book has a good flow and it's easy to thumb through it and find the particular thing one learned. Plus it includes an answer key, which Sicher doesn't. I don't like putting all the work into exercises without being able to check immediately if I completed them correctly in order to avoid burning the wrong answer into my brain.

I am either going to go over the Erkundungen chapters myself or see if I can find a teacher on my own before the Uni offers the next level of class in the fall. It's my goal to take/pass the C1 exam sometime next year or so and I doubt that'll happen if we keep using the Sicher books. It seems really difficult to retain any information from those books, and I'm certainly not the only student in the class who felt that way. It's ironic that we felt insecure after using Sicher.

The bane of my German-learning experience

Have you used the Sicher books? What is your opinion of them?

My summary of Far from the Madding Crowd

If I were to sum up the novel Far from the Madding Crowd: dog-shooting, a very confused form of feminism, courting by literally waving a sword in someone's face, melodrama galore, and sheep, lots of sheep.

Book Review: Shocked, by David Casarett

Casarett, David. Shocked:  Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead. New York: Penguin, 2014.

I was having a grumpy day last week. I must have sighed in exasperation about 50 times by 11:00; it was that kind of day. That night, I picked up a book by David Casarett, M.D. and my mood changed.

I never thought I'd laugh while reading about resuscitation techniques in 18th century Amsterdam, but I found myself giggling wildly when reading the first chapter of Casarett's book, Shocked: Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead. From then on, my funk of a mood passed and I continued to laugh throughout parts of the book.

For the record, I'm not an excessively morbid person. Casarett, both a doctor and an excellent writer, covers a morbid topic: dead people, almost dead people, and people mistaken for dead. He traces the history of medicine and science and their ability to bring back people who are near death, whether it's from drowning or from heart issues. He explores CPR, cryogenics, hibernating mice, and a whole other host of discoveries.

The book was packed with scientific and medical information in a (mostly) accessible format. His writing is hilarious and his pursuit of research for the book is incredibly in-depth; his ridiculous episode of being tied, face-down, on a moving horse certainly highlights his willingness to test early resuscitation techniques!

This isn't necessarily a book for all to read. There are a few squeamish bits and I'll admit that even I checked out a bit on some of his descriptions of cell biology. However, for those interested in reading more about medical discoveries in keeping people alive from a book that has some hilarious moments and jaunty writing, it's a good one to pick up.

Book Review: The Urban Hermit by Sam MacDonald

MacDonald, Sam. The urban hermit : a memoir. St. Martin's Press, 2008.


I originally read Sam MacDonald's The Urban Hermit when it came out in 2008.  Recently, I decided to read it again. It is a memoir of how MacDonald found himself extremely overweight and deep in debt after living the high life with food, drugs, and alcohol. Even his Ivy League education and string of random jobs couldn't help him. What finally did was a strange journey of cutting expenses and food to the point of eating 800 calories a day worth of lentils and tuna fish. He picked up additional jobs, including manual labor with a shipping company and more writing gigs. That journey led MacDonald to writing assignments in Bosnia to cover American troops and then into the midst of a hippie campout.

MacDonald takes full responsibility for his shortcomings and gives a candid exploration of his journey. He's that huge Everyman that those at the kegger party pat on the back but don't want to be. In the end, though, will austerity measures and lentils save him?

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As I was re-reading the book, a few references to Kaiserslautern and Ramstein registered with me. They make sense, as MacDonald traveled with the US military to Bosnia to write about the troops there. He stayed at Ramstein Air Base and even visited Kaiserslautern to have a meal. The city didn't particularly stand out to him but the references did to me!

I laughed a bit when I read about the retirees on the Space-Available flights (if there's space on military flights, including cargo planes, various military-affiliated people can hop flights for free or cheap under certain situations). I can totally envision the elderly couples: the husband, all puffed up and excitedly bragging about the countries he's visited while his wife, dressed in floral print and a fanny pack, listens.