Monday, April 30, 2012

A German Reading List

In celebration of our fifth wedding anniversary, my husband and I recently traveled to the Rhine Valley and Berlin. Of course I was on the lookout for interesting books to bring back with me, and I succeeded in finding a few and have some recommendations from others. In honor of this recent trip to Germany, I've compiled a list of German reading material. I'm looking forward to blogging about some of these books going forward. And, I'm open to more suggestions if you have them.

Read
The Reader by Bernard Schlink*
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada* (I'm reading this right now. Cannot put it down.)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak*
The Violin of Auschwitz by Maria Angels Angalda* (OK, so this takes place in Poland, Germany's next door neighbor. It relates and it was a great read, so I included it.)
Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends who Resisted Hitler by Anne Nelson
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
Berlin on the Brink: The Blockade, the Airlift, and the Early Cold War by Daniel F. Harrington
A Good American by Alex George
The Beauty of Transgression: A Berlin Memoir by Danielle De Picciotto

The Good German* by Joseph Kanon (Don't watch the movie. It's terrible even with George Clooney.)
The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood
A Woman in Berlin by an anonymous author
The Berlin Wall: 13 August 1961 - 9 November 1989 by Frederick Taylor
Dearest Vicky, Darling Fritz: Queen Victoria's Eldest Daughter and the German Emperor by John Van der Kiste
Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947 by Christopher Clark
After the Wall: Confessions from an East German Childhood and the Life that Came Next by Jana Hensel
Hiding Edith: A True Story by Kathy Kacer
Berlin Diaries 1940-1945 by Maria Vassittchikov
The Blind Side of the Heart by Julia Franck

Watch
The Lives of Others
Run Lola Run

Listen
Berlin Stories - Anna Winger's NPR radio series on life in Berlin(These are ready to go on my iPod.)

**Indicates that I've read and enjoyed these books already. No * means it came recommended to me by someone else, or I bought the book in Germany and will soon be reading it.

1 comment:

  1. This is a great list! I'm glad you found some good Germany books to go with your trip, and I look forward to reading or hearing what you thought of them!

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