Reading German Books in 2020 discussion
Kaffeeklatsch
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Introduce yourself


Erst mal Guten Rutsch und happy reading

I am Melanie, one of the hosts. German native, now living in the UK. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone is reading.

I am Britta, one of the hosts. Like Mel, I am a German native. After having lived abroad for the last two decades (mostly in the US and in Amsterdam), I now live in Cologne.
Looking forward to talking German books with you all!





Guten tag!

I do feel as though I have a deficit of understanding of German Lit and look forward to the opportunity to rectify this next year with this lovely group.
Thanks, Mel and Britta for kicking this off.



I find Stamm quite dull. And my German is very good ;)



I concur with Mel, I find Stamm incredibly dull.

Melanie wrote: "Marian wrote: "Hi all, I'm an American living in Berlin and still woefully under-read in German authors, so I'm super glad to have this challenge to shepherd me along. I'm starting with the 1 -5 ch..."

I have no connection with Germany but I did take two years of the language in high school and went completely blank on the final, could not answer anything, terrifying at the time but makes me laugh looking back.
I have many German books on my TBR including The River so I'm going to shoot for level 2.



The next book I plan to read is The Artificial Silk Girl.

I've had a strong interest in German literature for many years, mostly in fiction, and almost all read in English. I studied German in school, but I'm far from being fluent.
I'm going to aim for at least Level 1: Neuendorf-Sachsenbande, but can hopefully manage more as I go. I just started reading Berlin Finale by Heinz Rein, so it will likely be my first finish for 2020.
Hello! I’m Regina from New Orleans. I had already decided to read more classics in translation in 2020, including some originally written in German, so this challenge comes at just the right time for me. I plan to read some Mann, Stefan Zweig, Christa Wolf, and Irmgard Keun, among others.

I'm Sanne from the Netherlands, and I'd love to familiarize myself more with interesting new authors from the eastern neighbors :)
My goal is to find more authors that interest me and try out their books. Also, I really hope Saša Stanišić's book Herkunft will get a translation next year. I loved his Before the Feast and I can't wait to get my hands on his latest one!

So I am delighted to get to discuss with all of you about german books :) .

Thanks, Mel and Britta for this great idea and organisation.



I am not an avid reader of contemporary literature, rather a "genre"/history reader, but I am interested in the discussions and will also try to read more German books apart from non-fiction.

Looking forward to discovering some new books and authors through this group.






Apart from books, I do adult colouring and diamond painting. once the snow goes I spend more time outdoors with my horses and poultry. I have 5 redbone coonhounds who live in the house with me so are my family.



I'm Katka :) I would like to read more German books than last year in which I've read ZERO German books. Anything above this level will be a victory!
Wishing you all an amazing 2020 and awesome german reads!

I’m third generation German and I usually read German classics.
I joined because I’m excited to see everyone’s opinion (especially when coming from a different point of view) and moreover discuss the books, the authors and the time.
I especially enjoy the work of Max Frisch and Stefan Zweig.
Happy Reading and einen guten Start ins neue Jahr! 🙆♀️👯♀️🕺

I'm Ulya. I'm from Crimea. I can't say that German literature is a complete blank for me. Thinking of it I probably read a fair amount of books originally written in german (in translation, obviously) during my reading life, but it was rather accidental. So I'm very excited and grateful to all involved for the invitation to read works of German literature more purposefully and thoughtfully this year.
I start 2020, unoriginally, with Remarque (he, probably, the most beloved foreign writer in Russia). In my defense, he did make a big impression on me years ago in my school days and I want to read more of his works. Also, I already saw quite a number of interesting suggestions here which promise quite a colorful reading year for me. Ура!
My best wishes! Have a wonderful year!

I just joined this group, danke Britta & Mel for creating it!
I'm a German native, living 20 mins away from Bonn. There are a lot of English books on my tbr, classics mostly, but I'll try to read some books by German-speaking authors as well this year, esp. historical fiction.
I'm looking forward to see what everyone reads.

I won't create a TBR list, because usually borrow from the library and decide according to mood.



As I mentioned elsewhere, I long, long ago studied a bit of German in high school and college, but I've forgotten more than I ever knew. I was a theater major in college and it was always my desire to read Bertolt Brecht untranslated, a goal which I never achieved.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I long, long ago studied a bit of German in high school and college, but have forgotten more than I ever knew. I was a theater major and had hoped to read Bertolt Brecht untranslated, something which I never accomplished. I look forward to hearing about everyone's reading.

German represents my favourite author (Kafka) and two hugely influential artists in my own 'experimental' style of writing - Bertolt Brecht and his Verfremdungseffekt (alienation or estrangement theory) and the lyrics of Blixa Bargeld, lead singer with German industrial band Einsturzende Neubauten.
My 2020 German lit list contains a lot of modern classics, but I seem to be lacking for contemporary titles, so hoping I can pick up a few recommendations here.

I'm Sanne from the Netherlands, and I'd love to familiarize myself more with interesting new authors from the eastern neighbors :)
..."
Ah yes forgot that though he is from Bosnia, he writes in German. I loved How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone, so like you, hope his other books get translated in English and can add them to this challenge. Thanks for reminding me
Books mentioned in this topic
Die Wand (other topics)Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions (other topics)
How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone (other topics)
Herkunft (other topics)
Add your introduction here!