Not Drinking with Daniel Schreiber

Ta-daa! The last ever Going Dutch with German Writers is online at the terrific top Tagesspiegel! I'd like to thank everyone there, especially brand new daddy Johannes Schneider, who made it all possible. And all my readers, and my mum and dad, and my sister, and my daughter, and Daniel Schreiber for being the perfect partner to round it all off, and my liver for putting up with me.

Johannes assures me that all twenty episodes will be online until the end of the internet, or the end of the Tagesspiegel server, whichever comes first.

Last Going Dutch with German Writers Coming Soon

Last night I went on my last night on the tiles with a German writer, for the time being at least. I went out bar-hopping with Daniel Schreiber, the charming, intelligent and good-looking author of the forthcoming Nüchtern, a non-fiction book about going sober. The book comes out in a week or so, after which my text will be available online at the Tagesspiegel website. It's scary and informative and personal, and a little bit like taking the red pill – prompting me to examine my drinking habits and other people's in a possibly life-changing way. You can read an advance extract here.

But that's not main the reason why I'm putting Going Dutch to bed. My favourite reason is that I want to concentrate on something else – more on that tomorrow – which I hope will occupy about the same amount of time every month or so. The last piece will be my twentieth, which is a beautiful round number and feels like the perfect cut-off point. Also, the switch to the newspaper meant more readers, I assume, but less feedback. As far as I know, no one has ever commented beneath one of the Tagesspiegel pieces, and I can't check the statistics like I obsessively do with my blogs. It turns out I am much more of a blogger than a journalist, not only because I can't take photos for toffee but also because I love the sense of community, if I can call it that, which you just don't get when you contribute the occasional article to a newspaper.

There are content-related reasons, too. Most importantly, I began to feel like I was repeating myself. The pieces are based on conversations between myself and German writers, so inevitably my own concerns surface. How many times do people want to read about shared parenting, time management issues and gentrification? Presumably not another twenty times. And then there were the reactions. After the Tagesspiegel ran a double-page spread in its Saturday print issue, made up of a best-of translated into German, I was briefly famous in certain circles. My daughter's teacher read it. My ex-step-mother-in-law read it. My favourite DJ read it. A lot of literary people read it. Some of the reactions were entirely positive – about fifty percent, to go by the sample above. Others were more complicated. People project their ideas onto other people, of course, and I'm no exception. But ideas about women who write about drinking are pretty dank and dark. I'm not sure how much people think they know about my drinking habits, which are none of their business, but a lot of people thought they knew a hell of a lot. Some people also drew conclusions, from the fact that I was writing about drinking, as to my sexual habits. Which are equally none of their business. More than one person semi-jokingly suggested I could go a step further than merely drinking with German writers. I hope they felt as awkward after saying that as I did after they said it, but I suspect they didn't.

Plus, of course – and I almost didn't write this because I don't want to start moralizing – there's my liver to think of.

So, the end is nigh. I've hugely enjoyed all my evenings and mornings and afternoons out drinking, walking and talking with German writers. I will miss them – when will I ever get another chance to legitimately invite semi-strangers out for stimulating conversation? Oh, wait – there's dating. I'd like to thank all the German writers with whom I've gone Dutch over the past year and a half, or whatever it is. I feel like I've made some wonderful new friends in many cases, and every occasion was a treat. You can find all the pieces here. And if you happen to run an English-language publication and would like to commission biased and unprofessional interviews with German writers, do get in touch.

Drinking with Kirsten Fuchs

For my Tagesspiegel column (savouring writing that), I went out drinking with one of Berlin's funniest writers, Kirsten Fuchs.

In which I go out drinking with Jan Skudlarek

Yes, I am still going out drinking with German writers once a month. My latest victim was the poet Jan Skudlarek, now online at the Tagesspiegel.

In which I go out drinking with Deniz Utlu

Apologies; I'm still very busy. I managed to squeeze in some margaritas with Deniz Utlu though, which you can read about at the Tagesspiegel.

In which I go out drinking with Felicitas Hoppe and get in the newspaper

I went out drinking with the fantabulous German writer Felicitas Hoppe. Also, before you click the link and get a big shock, Going Dutch with German Writers has moved house to the Berliner Tagesspiegel newspaper. It's a very good newspaper, as you can tell by the fact that they are letting me write a monthly piece about going out drinking with German writers. In fact it's so good that there's a special page all about Going Dutch with German Writers in tomorrow's print edition.

Apart from the new address and snazzier surroundings, the series itself will stay the same. I will probably be more motivated to take photos though, because otherwise I'll get in trouble. I'm very pleased indeed.

Drinking with... Thomas Meinecke

Last week I went out drinking with the unconventional German writer Thomas Meinecke, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Read about it here.

Drinking with... Annett Gröschner

No, I haven't stopped going out drinking with German writers. In fact, just the other night I went out drinking with the wonderful Annett Gröschner. You can also read my ecstatic review of her Berlin novel Walpurgistag.

Drinking with Jacinta Nandi and Jakob Hein

I've been hiding, a little bit, due to the school holidays. But last night I went out drinking with Jacinta Nandi and Jakob Hein.

Meyer and Me

Why yes, I did go out drinking with Clemens Meyer. He plays the trumpet and likes Benedict Cumberbatch and James Joyce and single malt whisky from Islay. He is also an outstanding writer.

I went out drinking with Eugen Ruge

I did. It was a very good evening out. He's terribly famous, you know. Read all about it on my other blog, Going Dutch with German writers.

Drinking with... Teresa Präauer

I went out drinking with the Austrian writer Teresa Präauer, whose book I loved so much.

Walking with David Wagner

I'm really enjoying my side project, Going Dutch with German Writers. This time I went out drinking walking with David Wagner. The poor guy must get tired of going on walks with people who want to write about the experience, as he's one of those great walker-writers everybody loves. But he didn't let it show.

I went out drinking with Julya Rabinowich

I went to Switzerland (more on which later) and found an Austrian writer to go drinking with.

Drinking with Anna Blumbach

I went drinking with Anna Blumbach.

More Drinking... with Olga Grjasnowa

I went out drinking with fabulous German writer Olga Grjasnowa. It was good.

Drinking with Jo Lendle

I went out drinking with Jo Lendle. My head hurts. No more drinking with German writers until April.

Richter, Brandt, Flensburger, Tempranillo

I have been out drinking with German writers again, this time Nikola Richter and Jan Brandt, possibly predictably so. I'm going out drinking with another German writer tomorrow, and then I shall give myself a rest.

What (German)(Indie) Publishers Do (and German Wine)

The lovely people at Mairisch Verlag have a blog, which is in German. And they've now started a regular feature about what publishers do. The first episode is about manuscripts and editing - why they don't take unsolicited manuscripts any more, what writers can do instead, and what their work as editors entails. Fun.

Also, if you have £80 to spare and live in London - and let's face it, you can probably only afford to live in London if you're the kind of person with £80 to spare - and you like wine, why not sign up for a course on German wines at the Goethe Institut? Apparently you get to take the glasses home with you - but the wine itself you have to transport inside your stomach, I suspect.

Drinking with Francis Nenik

I have started a new blog project, a little sideline. It's called Going Dutch with German writers. Basically, it's a transparent attempt to jazz up my social life by going out drinking with German writers. Anyway, one reason why I didn't go to certain parties in Leipzig was because I was out drinking with Francis Nenik. I have a few more dates lined up in March and April, so watch this space.