The characters in Joseph’s thrillers enjoy lifestyles from modest to extravagant. Modest lifestyles, too, have their luxuries: great quality in simple things and great experiences with great people. Following the footsteps of Ian Fleming’s iconic James Bond, Joseph’s writing hints at these luxuries in all sorts of lifestyles. Here is a selection of favorite products to enjoy life on every kind of budget.
Travel
Explore Europe by air in great accommodations. Once you’re over the pond Easyjet and Ryanair take you to the most interesting places on the old continent. Look for flights to Warsaw, Poznań, Berlin, and Brussels to relive Mark’s, Ofelia’s, and Svetlana’s adventures on location. Booking.com is a great source for finding the right hotel and apartments in real neighborhoods with real people.
Food & Drink
Everybody needs their daily bread. Great ingredients combined with love and attention to detail enjoyed consciously will turn the simplest dishes into gourmet food. It is no coincidence that all over the world ‘peasant foods’ have become the most popular recipes.
Borsht
Explore borsht. Tasting is believing, this slavic ‘peasant-food’ is great. Mark prefers the Polish variant Barszcz in its clear (czysty) version or the Ukrainian (ukrainski) while Shashka gets his serving of Russian borsht from the mess.
Spaghetti Bolognese
The best. Especially when cooked slow with fresh garlic. Mark has his own recipe with small carrot cubes. His roomy Jacek infected him with the love for this Italian ‘peasant food’. He will share his recipe when the time is right.
Pizza with Bresaola, Rocket, and Parmesan cheese
Explore making it here or go to Trattoria Felice in Berlin.
Reading
The characters in Joseph’s books are educated but hardly find the time to read. Joseph himself is a huge fan of the classic espionage novels and thrillers of the 20th and 21st century. Joseph will share his favorites with time on the blog.
James Bond Series by Ian Lancaster Fleming
You may know the films, but it’s more than worth it to explore the original James Bond novels and shorts.
Jack Reacher by Lee Child
Don’t judge a book by its film adaptation. The mediocre movies with Tom Cruise do not keep up with the awesome novels. Jack Reacher is a man’s man, a unique character, who redefined the genre of action filled thrillers.
Communications
Apple products, from iPhone to MacBook
Explore Apple products directly from Apple, or for the thrifty character refurbished from Frankfurt-on-Oder-based asgoodasnew.com (shipping to European countries only). Svetlana swears by her MacBook Pro, as a hacker she needs the power and mobility. Mark is a business guy and project manager, so the ultra-mobile MacBook Air and iPad are his ‘weapons of choice’.
Mobility
DriveNow
Explore DriveNow. Svetlana’s favorite Carsharing service (Berlin, Vienna, London, and other cities in Europe). Drive a BMW 1-Series or Mini by the minute.
Car2Go
Explore Car2Go. A great alternative that Mark uses every now and then when the weather isn’t right for taking the bike. Car2Go operates worldwide (e.g. NYC, Chicago, Washington D.C., Chongqing, Vancouver). Vehicles range from Smart to Mercedes C-Class.