Your Memberships and Subscriptions
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Audible sample
Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds 2: Still Living the Dream in Rural Ireland Kindle Edition
Foreigners in a foreign land, they set about making new friends, learning the culture and expanding their collection of chickens and unruly dogs. But their dream home was in desperate need of renovation, a mammoth task they attacked with the aid of a DIY manual, dwindling funds and incompetent enthusiasm. With defunct diggers, collapsing ladders, and shocking electrics, what could possibly go wrong?
Will their new life live up to expectations, or will the Irish weather, dangerous roads, and a cruel twist of fate turn this dream into a nightmare?
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication date11 Jun. 2018
- File size4105 KB
Customers who read this book also read
Product details
- ASIN : B07DFNF3K4
- Publisher : Ant Press (11 Jun. 2018)
- Language : English
- File size : 4105 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 290 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 94,170 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 1,312 in Memoirs
- 39,491 in Whispersync for Voice
- Customer reviews:
About the author
Nick Albert was born in England and raised in a Royal Air Force family. After leaving College he worked in retail management for several years before moving into financial services where he quickly progressed through the ranks to become a training consultant. As a very passionate and reasonably talented sportsman, Nick had always wanted to use his training skills towards creating a parallel career, so in the mid 1980's he qualified and began coaching sport professionally. After a health scare in 2003 and in search of a simpler life, he and his wife Lesley, cashed in their investments, sold their home and bought a rundown farmhouse in the rural west of Ireland - a country they had never before even visited. With little money or experience and armed only with a do-it-yourself manual, they set about renovating their new home, where they now live happily alongside a flock of chickens, two ducks and several unruly, but delightful dogs.
In 2017 Nick was signed to Ant Press to write a series of humorous memoirs about his life in rural Ireland. Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds (book one) was published in September 2017 and soon became an Amazon bestseller. Book two in the series was published on 1st June 2018 and book 3 in August 2019 and book 4 arrived in April 2021. All four books have received multiple five-star reviews.
www.nickalbertauthor.com
www.facebook.com/author.nick.albert
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book easy to read and enjoy. They appreciate the author's witty sense of humor and richly descriptive writing style that draws them into his world. The book is described as funny, heartwarming, and poignant at the same time. Readers enjoy the stories about dogs, local wildlife, and local characters.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it entertaining and engaging, with humorous vignettes and Irish blarney. The story portrays the challenges of living in a new country.
"...you enjoy a highly entertaining, gentle read, filled with humour, great vignettes and a touch of Irish blarney thrown in for good measure, then this..." Read more
"Brilliant you read the book you can pictures what the wrigter is saying." Read more
"...home and its environs take you right to the heart of this beautiful country...." Read more
"...Nick's 20 rules of DIY are worth reading. I like Nick's lists which are essential to life. Does anyone remember the 4 candles joke?!..." Read more
Customers enjoy the humor in the book. They find it witty and hilarious, making them laugh out loud. The book is well-written with a richly descriptive style that draws readers into the author's world.
"...The author’s richly descriptive style immediately drew me into his world of gorgeous Irish countryside, and life in a remote location with his wife..." Read more
"...the highlight was poor Nick’s visit to A&E - hysterically, laugh-out-loud funny, if only for the reader!" Read more
"More tales of living in rural Ireland: good, bad and mostly humorous. One of the nicest books I have read in a long time...." Read more
"...This book made me laugh in many places, Nick has got a quick, witty and ridiculous sense of humour...." Read more
Customers find the book humorous and heartfelt at the same time.
"...Beautifully written, they were sometimes heart-rendingly sad, often hilarious...." Read more
"...The dogs are very entertaining too, although also a heart rending tale. Nick's 20 rules of DIY are worth reading...." Read more
"...and Dogs Beds book 1 and 2 are imaginative, hilarious and above all heartwarming. Hoping for book 3 to appear very soon." Read more
"Great book, funny and poignant at the same time. Highly recommended, I loved it an wish there was another one." Read more
Customers enjoy the stories about dogs and local wildlife. They appreciate the descriptions of weather, power cuts, and leaks. There are many local characters and tales.
"...I particularly enjoyed the stories about his dogs. Beautifully written, they were sometimes heart-rendingly sad, often hilarious...." Read more
"...Savour his descriptions of the local wildlife, the weather, numerous power-cuts and leaks...." Read more
"...Lots of local characters and tales. A lovely selection of wildlife. The dogs are very entertaining too, although also a heart rending tale...." Read more
"...I love the stories about the dogs,chickens, ducks and wild birds...." Read more
Customers enjoy the storyline. They find it engaging and a good follow-up from book one.
"...A truly lovely story. I feel that Nick is now my friend." Read more
"A wonderful follow up from book 1!..." Read more
"Wonderful storyline..." Read more
"A great storyteller..." Read more
Top reviews from United Kingdom
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2018Imagine yourself having a chinwag with a good pal over a cup of tea, that’s what reading Fresh Eggs and Dogs Beds 2 is like.
The author’s richly descriptive style immediately drew me into his world of gorgeous Irish countryside, and life in a remote location with his wife and a steadily growing band of animals.
I particularly enjoyed the stories about his dogs. Beautifully written, they were sometimes heart-rendingly sad, often hilarious. I so admired his wife for battling with health problems, the latter of which Nick describes with great poignancy. As for the renovations on their rural farmhouse, which form the major part of the book’s tale – just wow! I was incredibly impressed by Nick’s abilities as a builder.
If you enjoy a highly entertaining, gentle read, filled with humour, great vignettes and a touch of Irish blarney thrown in for good measure, then this is the one for you. I loved it and look forward to reading about Nick and Lesley’s continued adventures in Ireland.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2018Brilliant you read the book you can pictures what the wrigter is saying.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 July 2018if you’ve ever visited Ireland then this book is for you and if you’ve NEVER visited Ireland then it is most certainly for you! The descriptions of Nick’s remote home and its environs take you right to the heart of this beautiful country. Ramble through the woods with him and his dogs, meet his kindly but eccentric countrymen and soak up a bit of Ireland’s history too, as you visit historic landmarks reached by narrow, winding country roads. Savour his descriptions of the local wildlife, the weather, numerous power-cuts and leaks. But for me, as a nurse, the highlight was poor Nick’s visit to A&E - hysterically, laugh-out-loud funny, if only for the reader!
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 May 2019More tales of living in rural Ireland: good, bad and mostly humorous. One of the nicest books I have read in a long time. Lots of local characters and tales. A lovely selection of wildlife. The dogs are very entertaining too, although also a heart rending tale. Nick's 20 rules of DIY are worth reading. I like Nick's lists which are essential to life. Does anyone remember the 4 candles joke?! Then there are the dreadful consequences of using a phone while driving (I was in tears by the end of that saga). Waiting eagerly for book 3!
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 April 2019Nick Albert 's book has made me cry, the bit about the rescue centre and Lesley's illness, oh and the bit when he looks at his girls with their heads together and he knows just how precious they and his life in Ireland is. This book made me laugh in many places, Nick has got a quick, witty and ridiculous sense of humour. I love the stories about the dogs,chickens, ducks and wild birds. The tale tells how he and Lesley came to sell up, leave all their troubles behind and relocate to a new life. A truly lovely story. I feel that Nick is now my friend.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 July 20204☆ Laugh out Loud Funny, Relatable and Highly Entertaining!
Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds 2 – Still living the dream in rural Ireland is the second book in the series. Although it can be read as a standalone. I highly recommend reading the first book as it really sets the scene and is a fantastic book.
This time round Nick and Lesley have moved to Ireland and found their perfect new home.
Which unfortunately needs a whole lot of renovating and a huge task ahead.
Oh and not to forget its home to their ever growing family of adorable animals they have acquired.
Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds 2 is such a fantastic read, it's laugh out loud Funny, Relatable, Highly Entertaining and will leave you wanting to read more!
This book is a Memoir and Nick Albert is such a talented Author he makes you feel like you are living every high and low, trail and tribulations Nick and Lesley face when making their dream house a home and fitting in with the locals.
So if you are looking for a charming, witty fun read that has adorably cute fur babies then this is the book for you!
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 May 2021I get the feeling that this is just an enhanced diary. I don’t think I will be buying book 3 and any further diary entries.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2022A wonderful follow up from book 1! Nick and his wife Lesley continue to get to know Ireland and the Irish, as they renovate their old stone house and turn an overgrown garden into a garden fit to grow fruit and vegetables in and to enjoy being in it. There are sad times and good times but most of all, they love their new lifestyle and Ireland. This is my second time reading this book. I may even read it again !
Top reviews from other countries
- CathieReviewed in Canada on 31 January 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars LAUGH OUT LOUD
I really love Nick Albert's writing about life and love and old Irish farmhouses. I feel like I am right there with him at Glenmadrie. He doesn't use an extraneous words and his sentences read like the spoken word. This is book two for me in as many weeks, and I am well and truly hooked!
- S. RaymondReviewed in the United States on 14 June 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved the first and adored this, the second
This book is a continuation of the story of Nick and Lesley's move to Ireland to a fixer-upper and a new life In Ireland away from the stresses of the old one in England. I loved the first book and the second was even more enjoyable. The search for a new home was amusing but getting into the nuts and bolts of the renovation and actually living in (and dealing with the foibles of) a new place was fascinating to read about. There were poignant moments but moments so funny that I was laughing out loud in bed and keeping my poor husband awake while on vacation—in Ireland! The antics of the animals, the quirky workmen, and the moments of old life expectations meeting new life realities kept me reading and I couldn't put it down. Do you like to laugh and cry while reading about a new start in life? Then I highly recommend this book.
- kathy flanneryReviewed in the United States on 15 July 2018
4.0 out of 5 stars fun and light book
fun and light book....wife seems kind of cranky through much of it but other than that it was a good read
- VmpReviewed in the United States on 15 February 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Country life, country people, animal, DIY and humour: it's got it all
This is the second of Nick Albert's books and while I enjoyed the first one very much, I absolutely loved this one. It has so much more of everything I really like reading about. Firstly, Nick is a self-confessed newbie to the whole DIY renovation game, and I could relate to his labours so well. I loved all the descriptions of his renovations and could have done with even more of the 'how I went about it' descriptions. I should also say I admire him hugely for taking on such mammoth tasks as rebuilding a complete wing/barn and moving a floor upwards. Goodness me, what courage he had. But let's not forget Lesley, Nick Albert's wife, too. She is one brave lady and hard-working, given the personal challenges she was faced with – as any reader will testify.
Secondly, I enjoyed and laughed along with the author's self-deprecating humour. I had several good chuckles, but my favourite line in the book has to be this one about buying a new car: "Owning the most expensive, shiny, new, super-fast status symbol in County Clare is akin to putting lipstick on a pig. No." That one really caught my funny bone big time.
Thirdly, I loved all the animal and dog parts, but especially his tales of their chickens and ducks. I could just see it all. I have a great fondness for the daftness of chickens and being a boat dweller, I am constantly delighted by duck behaviour, but Nick's birds are different. Lovely, funny tales that had me roaring with laughter.
Lastly, the book is imbued with the flavour of Ireland in its country characters, the descriptions of the scenery and the liberal dashes of Irish history and culture. There are also some personal challenges for the couple that give poignancy and anxiety to an otherwise wonderful new life. Altogether, this book has everything that makes it the perfectly mixed cocktail of ingredients for a terrific read. Thank you, Mr Albert. I shall now look forward to reading Book 3!
- LindaReviewed in Canada on 7 June 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars just as good as book 1
A wonderful read - hope there is more to come.