Banana In The Briefcase

This book is delightful and I warmed to the author's narrative voice immediately as in casual, candid and friendly style she covered the early lessons learned as she traveled Europe on business. As one who has not been in Europe (and hoping to visit) I found this so charming from the scratchy toilet paper to the pepper and those little receptacles she inadvertently used for brewing tea. What I consider such a fascinating lifestyle is presented like a talk with a friend. The manuscript flows beautifully and I found nothing out of place. This, for me, would be a definitive book to take along on a vacation, or the book to read for one just dreaming of doing so. I feel I've just been in a conversation with the author, and this intimacy will earn a wide readership.

Lizzi
(Out of Sync)

A very concisely written and entertaining book. The prose is as edgy as a box of new steak knives, and the subject
is utterly timeless. Backed with pleasure and will be returning for further helpings.

Bill

You have a wonderful way of looking at life, your outlook is great. This is witty, wry and wonderful.
I found you while perusing another person's page and was delighted by the cover and the title.
I read the first couple chapters and enjoyed the stories within. Your writing is strong. And this was highly entertaining. I am pleased to have found it.
Backed
T.L Tyson-Seeking Eleanor

This is one of the best stories on Authonomy! Well crafted and polished! BACKed without hesiation!

Liz
The Cheech Room

'Defenceless Taglatelle?' Classic. And this book is full of them. What a brilliantly written book this is - witty, outright hilarious at times, informed and very intelligent, I can't actually find anything to fault. So I won't.
Backed with utter joy
Carl
The Time hunters

Lovely! I'd love this published for the exhausting short haul flights when nothing else but a nice laugh will do.

The narrative is warm and funny. Very easy to read as it's polished and well written. I would recommend for anyone who does any business traveling at all. So many recognized situations and a way to laugh at them!

Will back when the next space on my list opens.

Imelda
Jumble of Emotions

Funny stuff, lots of amusing episodes - and you keep them short, which makes for a very quick read.

But, I must be honest, I wanted to know more about you, and about your job. These things could have happened to any business traveller in any profession. The up side of that is that the stories feel universal and will have broad appeal but, as a publisher, I would want more of a narrative arc (cliche but true).

Good fun but I'd love to see more of your personal career story in there.

"It takes all sorts." This chapter could be boring, but you made it fun. Consistently, a good read. More later.
JBC

"When I was spectacularly thrown off." Just love the voice in this fun book. Stars and WL for this.
John Campbell

This is a very fluently written, amusing book. I really enjoyed the several chapters I read at random. I don't know if you can somehow draw the whole together to form some sort of narrative; if not (and why should you?) it's still a jolly good read.
Backed with pleasure.

Timothy F.J. (the Umbrella Men, coming soon...)

This is an amusing book on the professional, travelling. I've had it on my WL since before the Changes. For my taste, Ch 3 comes over best because it puts us directly in the author's shoes in the midst of action, rather than after-the-event reporting. Stars.
Lara
Good for Him

Thanks, Lara - I have moved Ch 3 to Ch 2 to open the book with more of a bang. I do have some other chapters - which I had not uploaded in the selection you saw - which have more of the immediacy to the Hurricane story. Strictly speaking, all the chapters involve "after-the-event reporting", but the one you liked focuses on a single "episode" rather than a collection of anecdotes with the same theme, but drawn from a number of trips. I have mixed things up a bit in terms of pace by adding one or two of these back in - eg Ch 7.

This is an amusing book on the professional, travelling. I've had it on my WL since before the Changes. For my taste, Ch 3 comes over best because it puts us directly in the author's shoes in the midst of action, rather than after-the-event reporting. Stars.
Lara
Good for Him

This book is delightful and I warmed to the author's narrative voice immediately as in casual, candid and friendly style she covered the early lessons learned as she traveled Europe on business. As one who has not been in Europe (and hoping to visit) I found this so charming from the scratchy toilet paper to the pepper and those little receptacles she inadvertently used for brewing tea. What I consider such a fascinating lifestyle is presented like a talk with a friend. The manuscript flows beautifully and I found nothing out of place. This, for me, would be a definitive book to take along on a vacation, or the book to read for one just dreaming of doing so. I feel I've just been in a conversation with the author, and this intimacy will earn a wide readership.

Lizzi
(Out of Sync)

Thanks for the memories. Having also spent much of my life travelling the world, you have reawoken much of the stuff that has been tucked away in the recesses somewhere. Each nation's traits really are amusing when you stand back from them. You record your experiences in a fluent and amusing manner and I look forward to reading more.
Katy Christie
No Man No Cry

Hi Vanessa

A wry and amusing look at life, covering a range of topics that will be familiar to any business traveller. I can see this doing well at airport bookshops! Backed (should appear tomorrow - new system and all that).

Nicole
Chosen

A very concisely written and entertaining book. The prose is as edgy as a box of new steak knives, and the subject
is utterly timeless. Backed with pleasure and will be returning for further helpings.

Bill

This is very funny. I was a little leary reading the pitch just because it could have been a story that just droned on with minutia that nobody wants to read about. This did not do that and read easily and kept my attention.

Be thankful you didn't go through the eye of the storm in Florida. I was in Florida during Andrew in '92, the eye of Andrew, and it did sound like freight trains were passing just yards from the house; it was terrifying! I can't believe the hotel wanted you to supply your own emergency rations, incredible.

Happily Backed
Denise

Would you mind taking a peek at my story "Road to Redemption: From Cop's Daughter to Convicted Felon?"

Vanessa-

Your "Banana In The Briefcase" is truely amazing and one of a kind in this site. Your book's title really creates that interesting and power underlying message of life's reality. You are very good at capturing the idea that what is inside the briefcase is not always the impression of a prestigious job or a high paid paperworks. I admire your simple structures but with very realistic narration and direct words. Your work certainly does not seem out of place on Authomony, and I can easily imagine it finding its way into print some day. I have backed your book as I felt that your efforts deserved my support. Best of luck with your writing.
Take care.


FLETCH

I love this book!

Comparing the level of service you recieve on your travels had me in stitches....'the floating gold fish'
Backed

Brilliant!

Tony
Travelfreaks:The Great Adventure

This is excellent stuff! I'm enjoying every bit of it!

Backed with pleasure!

I. Soldatos
Bad Bishop

Vanessa, this is really good work and I am so happy to back it. A very deserved backing indeed.
Backed with pleasure
Helen
The Last Dream

oh and all the arrows are red and pointing down so i can only assume this book of yours is destined for the top 5
Denise

Dear Vanessa
what a darling of a book. just love this original journey. funny, real, and looking through a window into anyone's life is always a plus. and then there is looking into yours. you paint a vivid picture with your words...I will carry on reading and comment further on as I would like to get this book of yours backed to assist it on the climb to the top.
Backed for sure my me. ..I would really appreciate it if your would look at my book, COMMENT , and back it. If not that is OK also
The VERY best of luck with your book

Denise
The Letter

Hi Vanessa,

I have backed your book because I was hooked by the pitch, loved the introduction and read on. Ilove work like this as it is so off the wall and quirky. Great stuff.

How much more I read depends on time and commitment.

Enjoy everything and good luck.

Rusty Bernard
Psychiatric Evaluation

Banana in the briefcase. Enjoyable. Witty. Humour travels through out. Friction free non fiction. So smooth.
Backed.
TMN
"NEVER LOSE..."

I traveled 40 of 52 weeks this past year. Been there done that. Makes me want to write a book about 'Dah' awards in IT.

What a great insider's look into international travel. Just the right voice for such a work. Very well done, and I'm happy to back it.
Please consider taking a look at my book, The Job.
Craig

Vanessa
I really enjoyed reading this quirky book - weird stuff really does happen to you, doesn't it? The writing style is warm and draws the reader straight in, which makes the humour particularly effective. I'm more than happy to back this and hope you do well with it.
Best wishes,
Brian

Vanessa, I enjoy reading books like yours which pick up the humour in real-life situations. I like the way this is written and the places you describe. Best of luck, Backed. Ann Mynard (Windshadow)

Well written and very funny. You definotely have the tone of someone who speaks from experience and the tidbits of information you offer are at once unbelievable and completely ring true (not sure how you managed that). Very happy to back.
regards
mood
(sorry I forgot you'd backed me, you'd think I'd at least remember the hat)

My kind of book- entertaining, full of amusing anecdotes and you walk away with more knowledge. Nicely written and ver refreshing. Backed earlier and I read more so that I can happily comment.
Rakhi (Sir William...)

Really entertaining, with the perfect blend of outre fact and humour, showing the nitty gritty of life in the Frequent Flyer world as well as the perils of bus and tractor travel.
I expect this to be a big seller in the near future, long before anything us poor fiction writers could hope for.

A searingly funny dissection of the beurocratic aimlessless of our lives, all bought together in mouthwateringly tasty, bite-sized morcels that make for a fun, enlivening read. Thanks for putting your life to paper,

Ms Darkniss - The Sequinned Begonia

Hi Julie

I really appreciated the constructive suggestions you and a few others made earlier, and am glad you like the alterations I have made in the light of them. The best thing about Authonomy is precisely this kind of interactive process!

Read the first chapter several weeks ago and made some suggestions, as have other people on this site. Wow! I can't believe the difference. You pulled me in at the get go, and with this start, what you do for a living is not the point. Instead, you've started with the universal experience: inexplicable customs, food and plumbing. Anyone who has traveled will nod and smile with their own memories.
There is a good market for humorous travel/work books. I've read quite a few myself.

Good luck. You've got great stories here.

Julie Farkas
Morning Call

Read the first chapter several weeks ago and made some suggestions, as have other people on this site. Wow! I can't believe the difference. You pulled me in at the get go, and with this start, what you do for a living is not the point. Instead, you've started with the universal experience: inexplicable customs, food and plumbing. Anyone who has traveled will nod and smile with their own memories.
There is a good market for humorous travel/work books. I've read quite a few myself.

Good luck. You've got great stories here.

Julie Farkas
Morning Call

Thank you for your description of your job in Chapter 17; It is helpful to set the context of the book.
A Zoomer
Going Out in Style

Chapter 13

You say things go wrong, so I picked this chapter to see how unlucky things can be.
I never send on chain letters and when I got the list one, I mildly rebuked the sender and no longer receive the 50 jokes/ clips/ power point files each week Am I upset??? NO. I didn’t open most of them anyway.
I can’t offer any useful advice however this is well written and does cover the essentials of life. Happy to back.

Anthony
Aqua Omega

This is not my genre, and I don't travel, but you show things well. It gives the reader a sense of location without being boring and sounding like a scorecard on the area. You've made it fun, so that even those who aren't traveling can enjoy it. Also fair to note, aside from the great voice, great pace, and enjoyable content, you've polished this well in terms of punctuation and grammar. Fresh insights. Backed.
xBeccaX
The Forever Girl

This is very cleverly written, the short chapters gave me the incentive to "just read one more" and before I knew it, I'd read up to chapter nine. That leaves less to read left than I've already read, so I might as well read them all…because I'm enjoying them, I should add, and not because I have some form of O.C.D. that compels me to finish what I have started for fear of being struck down by a mysterious fatal illness.

This book deserves bookshop shelf space alongside the likes of Bill Bryson and Jeremy Clarkson. Happily Backed.

Patrick
Trinity

Sorry, can't offer any helpful insights or tweaks - I just sat back and read it, all. What a joy, even the headings are brilliant! I tittered and smirked and laughed out loud, wonderful stuff; drinking water and writing with a pencil, perfect, sums up such events perfectly! Your style suits the content very well and offering us vignettes makes for a quick read and a swift lift - particularly ideal travel/holiday book? Surely one for the Ed's desk, Carolyn.

That is a good way of putting it. I envisaged that this might be what my partner rather crudely calls a "bog book", and another member has dubbed it a "Sunday afternoon" book, ie a casual read you could dip into - possibly even an impulse purchase at an airport to while away the journey.

The individual articles have already been published, but only in a business magazine, so Authonomy is helping me gauge whether they could work in collected form, and also to whom such a collection might appeal.

I do have about twice as much material as is uploaded here, but perhaps you meant I need even more than that to warrant even a slim volume?

This reads like a book you might buy someone as a present. Vignettes to make you smile. It might work well, but I am putting it on my watchlist rather than backing it as I think it needs a bit more thought and a bit more material before going to the ED.
Regards,
Alison

Honestly, this is great. Your dry humor gives life to an already interesting tale. You had me smiling with the simplest of details.

Good read.

Lockjaw

This reads like a book you might buy someone as a present. Vignettes to make you smile. It might work well, but I am putting it on my watchlist rather than backing it as I think it needs a bit more thought and a bit more material before going to the ED.
Regards,
Alison

'Defenceless Taglatelle?' Classic. And this book is full of them. What a brilliantly written book this is - witty, outright hilarious at times, informed and very intelligent, I can't actually find anything to fault. So I won't.
Backed with utter joy
Carl
The Time hunters

This is not only witty and fun, but educational! I feel as if I should be taking notes...

Backed with pleasure!

Amy
Love Match

Vanessa - Banana in the Briefcase has everything, wit, originality and good writing, Shelved with enthusiasm. Balepy (Freckles the Fawn)

Thanks for this - I trust I have addressed this now with the inclusion of some background information on what my job entails.

Your book starts off "When I'm asked what I do for a living . . ." then, there is no explanation of what you do. "Market research" could be anything. Without the pitch you won't even have that clue until the last sentence. And "respondent" is either a British term or industry term. It meant nothing to me.
One idea would be to start off the the last incident. "I knock on the door and . . .. This is what can happen when you are a Market Researcher for blah, blah blah, doing a blah, blah, blah, blah." I know I would read some more with that hook!

Julie Farkas
Morning Call

Vanessa,

A nice change of direction from a lot of things on this site. I like your style of writing, and the humour that shines through here - which I think a lot of people will relate to. Happy to put you on my shelf.

Regards

NA 'A Red Sky in Morning' & 'Tales of Ordinay Sadness'

Vanessa, this different but good, I think it will get into print, well written and flows , backed John Warren Lasting Images, please review jw

very interesting premise! Backed

Done!

A lovely quirky novel peice of writing and backed with pleasure. My one piece of advice would be to re-work the first chapter. It is a list and as such I found it hard to digest with each paragrpah starting "Another..." It could put people off before they get to the main course (like that German fat on bread starter). I may even suggest you move it later - perhaps slot it in around about chapter 4 or 5 so as to get the reader fully hooked in before too much character analysis.
That aside, very well done and good luck. Gabe

This was an enjoyable read. If someone thinks that business travel is glamorous, you correct that with humor.
Thank you for writing Banana In The briefcase.

Your book starts off "When I'm asked what I do for a living . . ." then, there is no explanation of what you do. "Market research" could be anything. Without the pitch you won't even have that clue until the last sentence. And "respondent" is either a British term or industry term. It meant nothing to me.
One idea would be to start off the the last incident. "I knock on the door and . . .. This is what can happen when you are a Market Researcher for blah, blah blah, doing a blah, blah, blah, blah." I know I would read some more with that hook!

Julie Farkas
Morning Call

You had me smiling and chuckling within your first two paragraphs. I never stopped after that and you never let up. A finely crafted and well written piece of work. You brought back many fond and not so fond memories. I related to most of what you wrote so I thoroughly enjoyed your work. Business travrelling is seldom glamourous. Backed with a great deal of pleasure.

Andrew Burans
The Reluctant Warrior: THe Beginning

You are so fantastic, Vanessa. :) How can I ever thank you for backing & commenting on my 2 books? I came to your "comment" page because that is what advances our books. I will put your book on my "watchlist" too to hopefully help. God bless you. :) Love, Susie :)