The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Been looking for 2 days, can't seem to find a book that clicks,

the reader and the book thief don't interest me at all : (

Not really into reading about Hilter, WW 2 or anything else in that era

any other suggestions thanks

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi is a fabulous book and is set in Germany before and during WW II.

If you like fantasy type books... 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. I'm planning on re-reading it for that task. Another German author is Cornelia Funke who wrote the Inkheart books.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum is an excellent book.

W.G. Sebald
Bertolt Brecht
Franz Kafka
Hermann Hesse

Perfume by Patrick Süskind
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Or you can look at books shelved as German on goodreads. But double-check what you find there (The Little Prince is classified as German???)

Andreas Eschbach is a German author, best known for his novel The Carpet Makers.

Kafka wrote in the German language, but he was Bohemian, not German.

Yep, I've slotted "Those Who Save Us" for this task.

I've penciled in Snowleg by Nicholas Shakespeare for this task. It looks like it would fit, and the plot sounds pretty interesting.

Stephanie wrote: "Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi is a fabulous book and is set in Germany before and during WW II."

I second Stones From The River. It's a wonderful book.
For this Task, I'm thinking of reading Buddenbrooks The Decline of a Family, which sounds like a Family saga, which is usually enjoyable.

I chose A Small Town in Germany by John le Carre, which takes place in Germany, but doesn't seem to take place in war time.

I picked Schindler's List for this task.

thanks for the suggestions, none of these seem to click with me : (

I am of german heritage (1/4) and don't get why this is so hard

There's always ol' Friedrich Nietzsche
Or Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Rora wrote: "If you like fantasy type books... 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. I'm planning on re-reading it for that task. Another German author is [author:Cornelia Funke|15873..."

Awesome! I was planning on reading Inkheart and had no idea where to put it!

Here are the books that reside on my Germany shelf, with notes on the time period:

Skeletons at the Feast - Chris Bohjalian (WWII)
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold - John Le Carre (Cold War)
The Glimmer Palace - Beatrice Colin (Weimar Republic)
Zoo Station and Silesian Station - David Downing (WWII)
City of Shadows - Arianna Franklin (between the wars)
The Berlin Conspiracy - Tom Gabbay (Cold War)
The Quiller Memorandum - Adam Hall (Cold War)
The Sinner - Petra Hammersfahr (present day)
The Good German - Joseph Kanon (immediately post-WWII)
Berlin Noir, March Violets, The Pale Criminal - Philip Kerr (1930s-1950s)
Rosa - Jonathan Rabb (between the wars)
Death and the Devil - Frank Schatzing (medieval)
Who is Conrad Hirst - Kevin Wignall (present day)
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (WWII)

I'm probably going to use Andrei Cherney's The Candy Bombers, which is non-fiction about the Berlin airlift.

Greyweather wrote: "Kafka wrote in the German language, but he was Bohemian, not German."


Ooops! Thanks for the correction. I was sorting books by language, not nationality.

I'm having more luck with the Germany shelf, as the German shelf could have any book that people read in German... which is why so many Harry Potters are showing up! ;)

Does anyone know if Night takes place in Germany?

You could try to find the English version of Baron Munchhausen. He's a very popular character in German. However, I am not sure if it'll fulfill the German task since the original novel was published in London BUT was based on a German Baron. I will say by living in Germany, he's a prominent childhood tale.

Sara, I'd ask Cynthia if Night is accepted.

Also, you could read the entire works of the Brothers Grimm (Germans).

And here's an Amazon.com list! http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/sylt...

Sara wrote: "Does anyone know if Night takes place in Germany?"

I'm pretty sure this takes place in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, which were German concentration camps. Buchenwald was the first camp on German soil, so that should qualify.

Yes, Night does take place in Germany.

Tanja wrote: "You could try to find the English version of Baron Munchhausen. He's a very popular character in German. However, I am not sure if it'll fulfill the German task since the original novel was publish..."
Ooh I hadn't thought about the brother's Grimm I think I'll be changing my choice...:)!

Aha! Perfume it is for me! Thank you Sophie! (G is my initial too so am using Germany for that task as well and needed another book!)

Going to do Book Thief for this task and put Brothers Grimm for children's stories ^.^ Unless Grimm isn't considered as children's?

Lindsey wrote: "Yes, Night does take place in Germany."

Cynthia OK'd it, as well.

Jessica wrote: "Here are the books that reside on my Germany shelf, with notes on the time period:

Skeletons at the Feast - Chris Bohjalian (WWII)
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold"

I forgot about Le Carre's book. Thanks for the reminder, I think I'll be going with that one.

I second the suggestion of Walter Moers. I recently read The City of Dreaming Books and The Alchemaster's Apprentice A Novel and I loved those.
I can also recommend Momo by Michael Ende.

If you're looking for something more recent, you could read Three Bags Full A Sheep Detective Story or Measuring the World A Novel.

Nicole wrote: "Awesome! I was planning on reading Inkheart and had no idea where to put it!"

I read this one (well, listened on audio) for the Summer Challenge and really enjoyed it. Hope you do, too!

Would The Boy in the Striped Pajamas work? I thought it was set in Berlin..but I don't know much about it.

Jamie wrote: "Would The Boy in the Striped Pajamas work? I thought it was set in Berlin..but I don't know much about it."

Sounds like it would work from the description. I don't know much about it either. The average rating is 3.97, so it's probably pretty good... *shrugs*

Sara wrote: "Jamie wrote: "Would The Boy in the Striped Pajamas work? I thought it was set in Berlin..but I don't know much about it."

Sounds like it would work from the description. I don't know..."

Actually, from the description,it sounds like the first major event is the narrator's family moving from Berlin to Poland:

"When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that....the family must move from their home to a new house far far away,...." and "the author describes a visit from the Fury and the family's sudden move from Berlin to a place called Out-With in Poland."

I found another book that would work for this task while purusing the library catalog for another book. It looks like a mystery/suspense novel that also works for the Alternative History task.

Fatherland

Liz wrote: "Sara wrote: "Jamie wrote: "Would The Boy in the Striped Pajamas work? I thought it was set in Berlin..but I don't know much about it."

Actually, from the description,it sounds like the first major event is the narrator's family moving from Berlin to Poland:

"When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that....the family must move from their home to a new house far far away,...." and "the author describes a visit from the Fury and the family's sudden move from Berlin to a place called Out-With in Poland.". ..."

I just finished reading this for the Summer Challenge. The book begins in Berlin but takes place mainly in Poland.

Loot does this one work?

I am strugling with this one,

I do NOT want a book set during the 1940's, the WW2, hilter, nazi etc, I don't like the reader or book thief descriptions,

any mysteries in Germany that are current ( 90's or newer)

Teresa,

I can't tell from the description if Loot is set primarily in Germany. Cynthia will have to weigh in. Meanwhile, you could look at these mysteries:

A Cold Rain in Berlin by Julian Jay Savarin
One Death to Die A Kayankaya Mystery by Jakob Arjouni
The Russian Passenger by Gunter Ohnemus
Blood Eagle by Craig Russell
Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters
Accidents Will Happen by Julian Rathbone
The Cold War Swap by Ross Thomas

Here's another list of mysteries set in Germany:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/Loc...

I'm fairly positive Cornelia Funke is German, and I absolutely love Inkheart. Also, Lili Thal's Mimus is a favorite. They're both YA fantasies, which I know isn't for everyone. But both have a lot to offer outside of genre concerns. Mimus is dark and clever and I haven't found a single person I know who's read it. So...ummm...read it, people.

Krista wrote: "I found another book that would work for this task while purusing the library catalog for another book. It looks like a mystery/suspense novel that also works for the Alternative History task.

..."

This is the book I am reading for this task. It is set in 1964 Germany after the Nazi's have won the war. I have read the first few chapters and it is pretty good so far.