🇩🇪 Beginner Book Club 📚 Next: Die kleine Hexe

Actually, it’s available through my US library via Hoopla. :sparkles:

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Something funny about getting a German book through your US library hoopla account :rofl:

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Title: Die kleine Hexe: Die kleine Hexe: Kinderbuch-Klassiker ab 6, bunt illustriert | L20??
Book type: Children’s book
Available formats: physical / ebook / audiobook

Summary - German

Die kleine Hexe ist mit ihren 127 Jahren viel zu jung, um mit den großen Hexen in der Walpurgisnacht auf dem Blocksberg zu tanzen. Doch das ist ihr egal: Sie springt auf ihren Besen und feiert den Hexentanz mit. Dass sie dabei erwischt werden könnte, damit hat sie allerdings nicht gerechnet. Zur Strafe muss sie alle Zaubersprüche auswendig lernen und versprechen, eine gute Hexe zu werden. Aber wie soll sie das nur schaffen? Zum Glück hilft ihr der Rabe Abraxas, ihr bester Freund.

Summary - English

At 127 years old, the little witch is far too young to dance with the big witches on Walpurgis Night on the Blocksberg. But she doesn’t care: she jumps on her broom and joins in the witches’ dance. However, she didn’t expect to be caught. As punishment, she has to memorize all the spells and promise to become a good witch. But how is she supposed to do that? Fortunately, her best friend Abraxas the raven helps her.

Content Warnings

None known.

Reason(s) for nominating: This seems to be a well-known children’s book, and having an audiobook available is a big plus. There’s also a simplified version: Die kleine Hexe: Deutsch - leichter lesen | L15??

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Nostalgie :face_holding_back_tears:

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There are actually a lot of German audiobooks on Spotify for free. Weirdly.

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510zk4ActsL.SY1000

Title: https://learnnatively.com/book/0335fc5777/
Book type: Graded reader
Available formats: physical / ebook

Summary - German

N/A

Summary - English

Anton just moved to Berlin. He is new in school and doesn’t know anyone. He has a problem. Who can help him? He sees Heidi – a girl from biology class. He is nervous, but he walks over and asks her for help.
With Heidi’s help and friendship, Anton adjusts to his new school. As he meets new classmates, he is befriended by Felix and Lena – but what are their true intentions? As their relationships grow and change, Anton and his new friends face new realities and challenging decisions…

Content Warnings

None

Reason(s) for nominating: I read this series a while back. They’re very well done and definitely worth reading as a beginner. The only read downside is that there’s no audiobook.

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I will join especially if a kids book is chosen, I’m not a beginner but I enjoy kids books. I’d like to recommend some but most from my childhood don’t seem to be easily available…

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I think I’ll leave the nominations open for a couple of weeks so people that don’t visit the forum as often get a chance to add their suggestions, and we can start voting at the end of the month. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Would Die Verwandlung | L29 (learnnatively.com) not be a valid nomination then? What do you think?

I’m also thinking of maybe nominating Momo | L27 (learnnatively.com) or Emil und die Detektive | L22?? (learnnatively.com), but what I’m more interested in reading is Krimis and contemporary fiction, which would probably be more of an advanced club? Of course I have no idea if we have enough German learners (we do native speakers, I think) for two book clubs, nor whether I should even be considering this on top of my multiple Japanese book clubs, but here I am :sweat_smile:

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If it’s indeed a L29, then it’s a bit difficult for a beginners. If the level isn’t accurate (since German is still in beta and lacks enough gradings), then it’s fine to nominate if it seems to really be L26 or below. :slightly_smiling_face:

I’d probably attempt higher level books if you are planning to make an intermediate/advanced club. More book clubs are always good! :rofl:

ETA: I think Momo and Emil are probably fine to nominate, since they’re children’s books.

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I read Die Verwandlung a few years ago and found it to be surprisingly simple language wise, I feel like it’s current 29 is a bit too high. But as I am not a traditional learner I hesitate to say for sure, especially without a reread

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I have no idea what consitutes a L26 in German to be honest, neither whether Die Verwandlung would be a 26 or higher (I’ve read it and didn’t find it hard, but this was ages ago). However it’s free and short. It’s also been widely translated, and there are even editions of parallel text I think.

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I’ll leave it up to your discretion. :smile:

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Title: Emil und die Detektive | L22?? (learnnatively.com)
Book type: Children’s book
Available formats: physical / ebook / audiobook? (amazon has an audio cd, and there may be youtube readings)

Summary - German

Zum ersten Mal darf Emil allein nach Berlin fahren. Seine Großmutter und die Kusine Pony Hütchen erwarten ihn am Blumenstand im Bahnhof Friedrichstraße. Aber Emil kommt nicht. Während die Großmutter und Pony Hütchen noch überlegen, was sie tun sollen, hat Emil sich schon in eine aufregende Verfolgungsjagd gestürzt. Quer durch die große fremde Stadt, immer hinter dem Dieb her, der ihm im Zug sein ganzes Geld gestohlen hat. Zum Glück bekommt Emil bald Unterstützung: von Gustav mit der Hupe und seinen Jungs.

Summary - English

Young Emil is robbed on his first real railway journey of money entrusted to him by his hard-working mother for the relatives he is to stay with in Berlin. A gang of boys about his own age come to his aid, and a thrilling adventure full of surprises ensues as they use their wits to devise a wonderfully simple but practical trick to capture the thief.

With every detail clearly drawn - from the tiresome business of getting into best clothes for the journey, down to the final anxiety as to what shall be done with a gloriously unexpected reward - this is a story all young readers will enjoy.

Content Warnings

None that I know of.

Reason(s) for nominating: It’s a classic and very famous children’s book. Widely translated too, and relatively short.

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Tentative nomination, feel free to remove if not appropriate for this club, or even if each person is allowed one nomination only :eyes:

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Title: Die Verwandlung | L29 (learnnatively.com)
Book type: novella
Available formats: physical / ebook / audiobook

Summary - German

“Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.” Schon der erste Satz aus Kafkas berühmter Erzählung vermittelt schlagartig die Irritation, die sich in das Verhältnis zur empirischen Wirklichkeit eingeschlichen hat, die die problematische Schnittstelle äußerer und innerer Realitäten bestimmt.

Summary - English

One morning, ordinary salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself transformed into a giant cockroach. Metamorphosis, Kafka’s masterpiece of unease and black humour, is one of the twentieth century’s most influential works of fiction, and is accompanied here by two more classic stories.

Content Warnings

Bugs.

Reason(s) for nominating: One of Kafka’s best-known works, it is widely translated and there are even dual-language editions out there. It is available for free, and it’s quite short. I don’t remember it being particularly difficult when I read it many, many years ago. There is also a simplified edition available on Amazon, not sure how good it is or whether it’s needed.

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I guess when people vote they can decide. I read it as a beginner long ago, so here are some thoughts if it’s helpful for beginners, alongside what others have already said.
Pros

  • simple language
  • ability to read a classic in German, which is cool at that level

Cons

  • the concept is so abstract, you don’t really know what to expect, and that might be what has earned it a higher difficulty rating. Expectations and following standard story arcs can make fiction a lot easier to read, or harder if it bucks every trend, which is what Kafka does!

lol your content warning is great, it does go into explicit detail about bugs

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Something occurred to me, it’s possible Die Verwandlung was used as a reference book for Natively ratings in the German language. Somewhere there is a thread where Brandon was asking for suggestions and in that case it’s rating would be fixed.

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Just having a look over the nominations and adding a bit of extra info. :slightly_smiling_face:

  • I’ve added the original Tschick | L30?? novel to Natively (the one linked in the nomination is the easier version) - there’s an audiobook for this version, but not the simplified version.
  • There’s an audiobook CD for Emil und die Detektive | L22??, but it doesn’t seem to be on audible (although the Italian and Czech translations are available… :sweat_smile:).
  • Here’s the simplified version: Die Verwandlung: in Einfacher Sprache | L30??. There are free audiobooks of the original version on youtube and spotify.

Thanks for the insight into Die Verwandlung, @mitrac! I’ve found the bit you’re talking about regarding the rating:

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Kafka?! :thinking: I am not sure, the language might not be too difficult (I only read Der Prozess so far :flushed: so judging from that) but the wording will be old-fashioned and the setting as well, thus probably adding to the complexity. But then again, this will hold true for Erich Kästner as well :thinking:

(oh but the Reclam cover, so nostalgic :heart_eyes_cat::heart_eyes_cat:)

We can do that! Incidentally I recently discussed this with @Myria as I wanted to give a book to a language partner. She advised Arno Strobel (and to somewhat lesser extent Sebastian Fitzek) who both write in an easy-to-read fashion. I got a Strobel book and read it before giving it away - it was a real page turner and in parts also quite scary :+1: Can recommend :grin:

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If I remember correctly - and it’s likely I don’t, it’s been so long - there’s a noticeable difficulty difference between Die Verwandlung and Der Prozess (<-this sentence looks grammatically wrong :sweat_smile:). I tried to start the latter but gave up, whereas the former was more or less a breeze.

In that case, have you seen this? :grin:
Krimi book club? :mag_right: :hocho: - Reading / Book Clubs - Natively Forums (learnnatively.com)

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