Nonfiction

You've Got To Be Kidding: a shedload of wine & a farm full of goats

You've Got To Be Kidding: a shedload of wine & a farm full of goats

  • Downloads：7482
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-18 08:51:45
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Todd Alexander
  • ISBN：1460759281
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

The steep-climb highs and free-fall lows of my rollercoaster rural life

They say it takes 10，000 hours to master a new skill。 Well， seven years （60，000 hours） since former city boys Todd and Jeff moved to the country they should have nailed this whole farming gig， right？ Yes， they make lovely wine and have built beautiful accommodation， and they've even learnt how to look after their rescued farm animals。 But they didn't really count on Mother Nature getting involved。

Drought， bushfires， sick animals， failed crops， heatwaves， enormous changes in the two industries they rely on to make a living， snakes， the unstoppable breeding of peafowl， insurmountable debts and broken machinery 。。。

Just when they think they're on top of things， the land throws another few hurdles their way。 But with fierce determination to succeed， willingness to evolve and their ever-present senses of humour， these boys might be down for the count but they aren't quite ready to throw in the towel just yet。

PRAISE FOR Thirty Thousand Bottles of Wine and a Pig Called Helga

'Never before have I felt the responsibility for someone's tree change 。。。 Todd and Jeff's ups and downs made me laugh out loud， and "verjuice schmerjuice" says it all' Maggie Beer

'This joyously honest account will make you laugh till it hurts， and you'll shed more than a few tears 。 。 。 it's The Birdcage meets A Country Practice' Bradley Trevor Greive AM， internationally bestselling author of The Blue Day Book and Penguin Bloom

'Every man， woman and child on earth has toyed with this fantasy。 Todd and Jeff are living the dream。 And have not murdered each other 。 。 。 yet' Stephan Elliott， writer and director of The Adventures of Priscilla， Queen of the Desert

'This book has it all - humour， heart， wine and crazy animals 。 。 。 A rollicking read for anyone looking to shake things up a little in their lives' Rachael Johns， internationally bestselling author

'If you're looking for a book that will make you chuckle， while challenging you and making you think differently about your life and your goals， then look no further - this is the book for you' Better Reading

LONGLISTINGS

2020 Indie Non-fiction Book Award

2020 Booksellers' Choice Adult Non-Fiction Book of the Year

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Reviews

Steve Castley ，

It's another fun read by Todd Alexander。 Sequels are difficult and Alexander nearly succeeded 。but his previous book about Block 8 and Helga， his pig， was an impossible act to follow。 That said， it is still worth a read。 It's another fun read by Todd Alexander。 Sequels are difficult and Alexander nearly succeeded 。but his previous book about Block 8 and Helga， his pig， was an impossible act to follow。 That said， it is still worth a read。 。。。more

Dale ，

It's a wrap， folks。 But I hope we hear more from Todd Alexander。 I didn't love the sequel as much as Thirty Thousand Bottles of Wine and a Pig Called Helga -I got a bit lost amidst the farm animal rescues and dead kangaroo recoveries- but it's still worthy of 5 stars。 As well as tracking their Block Eight journey， Todd writes well-framed thoughtful and thought-provoking observations which are woven through and pertinent to the narrative。。。 the whys of the wherefores。 It's a wrap， folks。 But I hope we hear more from Todd Alexander。 I didn't love the sequel as much as Thirty Thousand Bottles of Wine and a Pig Called Helga -I got a bit lost amidst the farm animal rescues and dead kangaroo recoveries- but it's still worthy of 5 stars。 As well as tracking their Block Eight journey， Todd writes well-framed thoughtful and thought-provoking observations which are woven through and pertinent to the narrative。。。 the whys of the wherefores。 。。。more

Shereen Lang ，

The first book was fantastic， but the second book did not quiet hit the mark as much as the first one， but there are some great recipes at the back and thank you have tried them all， which made up for it。 Still give it five stars。 I like the enthusiasm and resilience of the author and his partner and friends （human and animal） which helped make Block Eight a success。 again x

Suzie Bull ，

I hadn’t read Todd’s first book， but found I could easily fall into the continuation of his humorous anecdotes about life on the land。 Very witty， entertaining and informative。。 makes me think I am happy to visit a farm but will never have the patience to run one！

Debra ，

His follow up book to 30，000 bottles of wine and a pig called Helga。 Was equally as good as his first book。 Great reading。 It had it all。 Humour， drama， the works。 Loved it。

Dee-Ann ，

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and basically went straight to the next one。 I did not quite like it as much as the first one， but there are some cool recipes at the back， which made up for it。 Still give it five stars。 I like the enthusiasm and resilience of the author and his partner and friends （human and animal） which helped make Block Eight a success。

Deb ，

Another fab book from Tod Alexander and his animals at Block Eight。

Nicolette ，

Made me laugh out loud， made me cry， and overall was a rollicking ride through the ups and downs of Todd and Jeff’s tree change！

Shelleyrae at Book'd Out ，

In 2019， Todd Alexander published the story of his and his partner’s mid life tree change where they abandoned inner city living and their highly paid careers， and purchased a hundred acre farm in the Hunter Valley， to grow grapes， olives， and run a five star B&B。 Thirty Thousand Bottles of Wine and a Pig Named Helga was longlisted for both the 2020 Indie Non-fiction Book Award and 2020 Booksellers' Choice Adult Non-Fiction Book of the Year， and captured the imagination of a public who dream of In 2019， Todd Alexander published the story of his and his partner’s mid life tree change where they abandoned inner city living and their highly paid careers， and purchased a hundred acre farm in the Hunter Valley， to grow grapes， olives， and run a five star B&B。 Thirty Thousand Bottles of Wine and a Pig Named Helga was longlisted for both the 2020 Indie Non-fiction Book Award and 2020 Booksellers' Choice Adult Non-Fiction Book of the Year， and captured the imagination of a public who dream of escaping to the country。It’s been seven years since Todd and Jeff took possession of Block Eight and they have created a successful business， but it has not been an easy process and in You’ve Got to Be Kidding: A shed load of wine & a farm full of goats， Todd again attempts to answer his own rhetorical question。。。how hard can it be？It turns out， it can be very hard at times。 If the men aren’t battling with broken machinery， sick or dead animals， or predatory business practices， then they are contending with drought， heatwaves， bushfires， and the pandemic。 Todd and Jeff are forced to reinvent their plans several times to stay afloat， including culling vines， purchasing a tour bus， and altering their marketing strategy。 But then there are the moments when the couple can’t imagine being anywhere else as they share a glass of their own wine on their deck， or take a stroll around the property with their ever-growing menagerie of rescued farm animals which still includes （the now teenage） Helga the pig， as well as several more goats， sheep， peafowl， and ducks， each with distinct personalities that keeps them both amused and exasperated。Related with honesty and self-deprecating humour， You’ve Got To Be Kidding is a sincere， funny， warts-and-all expose of country living， a sequel， of sorts， though it’s not necessary to have read Thirty Thousand Bottles before picking this up。 I again enjoyed Todd’s anecdotes about both the highs and lows of farm life， and his relationship with his partner， the nominated snake wrangler and cushion obsessed， Jeff。 I liked that this time photographs have been included in the book， though most feature their goats。 Todd， a self identified ‘foodie’， also provides some more of his favourite vegan recipes， which sound tasty。While Todd and Jeff remain convinced they did the right thing in following their dream， and are deservedly proud of all they have achieved with Block Eight， the book ends with them deciding it’s time to move on， and it seems they soon will be， since the property is now listed as sold。 I look forward to Todd regaling us with the stories of their next adventure。 。。。more

Mel Prosser ，

I absolutely adored A Pig Called Helga And 30，000 Bottles Of Wine （it is still on my Staff Picks shelf at work） so was overjoyed to see its sequel arrive。 You've Got To Be Kidding follows on the adventures of Todd， Jeff and Helga plus their ever-growing menagerie and is just as delightful to read as Helga。 I'm not so sure I want to move to the country anymore though。。。 I absolutely adored A Pig Called Helga And 30，000 Bottles Of Wine （it is still on my Staff Picks shelf at work） so was overjoyed to see its sequel arrive。 You've Got To Be Kidding follows on the adventures of Todd， Jeff and Helga plus their ever-growing menagerie and is just as delightful to read as Helga。 I'm not so sure I want to move to the country anymore though。。。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=You've Got To Be Kidding: a shedload of wine & a farm full of goats

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=You've Got To Be Kidding: a shedload of wine & a farm full of goats&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,You've Got To Be Kidding: a shedload of wine & a farm full of goats&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0