Which Books Do Germans Read? | Easy German 645

Hi everyone we're currently in front of a library and will soon also visit a bookstore to ask people what they're currently reading Janusz are you ready I'm ready and I'm looking forward to it Let's go What book are you reading right now I'm currently reading End of Loneliness I think that's the title by Benedict Wells Yes exactly What are you reading right now I'm just reading a book called Leo Berlin Leo Berlin That's right What's it about It's about a police inspector in 1920s Berlin precisely that and he's trying Solving cases and there are various incidents that might be connected though exactly how remains unclear Is it a crime thriller Yes it's a crime novel I'm currently reading a lot of comics and graphic novels and I'm reading let me think for a moment I'm currently reading How to Blow Up a Pipeline which explores activism and radicalism in connection with the climate crisis Very interesting Do you like reading comics Absolutely yes Ever since I was a kid and yes I'm currently trying to read a book but that's not going quite successfully Albion in English a book about several generations colonialism and wealth in England Wow a hefty book isn't it Yeah it's not exactly thin What book are you reading right now Well I'm currently reading Gresa and Lenz the Dreadful It's such a large anthology from these two cartoonists at the Faz who always ranslate current topics into drawings and then publish them over the years in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and there is a collected volume by and of The war was so intense I couldn't resist Yes I'm reading a biography about Genghis Khan and also a book on Qigong Okay that's interesting Do you practice Qigong yourself or are you just starting out Yes I've been doing Qigong for about a year now Did you just buy something a book A gift voucher Ah a gift voucher Okay What are you reading right now Oh Alexandra David-Neal her travel narratives What are they about She was the first woman to walk across Tibet to Lhasa at the beginning of the 20th century The first woman a Frenchwoman That sounds very impressive What book did you just buy I haven’t bought any book at all right now Okay then what book are you currently reading or what was the last one I'm currently reading a crime novel by Schley It's about murder and detectives It's about murder and detectives So a crime thriller yes Crime thriller nicely summarized Do you like reading crime novels Yes very much so Did you just buy a book Yes Which one A2 2 German course for the lady who has been in Germany for half a year Very good What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read As for me I'm studying sheet music right now Sheet music Yes yes Which instrument Guitar Did you just buy a book Yes I just bought a book Which one Thomas Mann's *Royal Highness* Is this for you or as a gift It's for me And what was the last book you read Or perhaps you'reading another one right now I don’t just read one book—I always read three or four books at the same time Moreover it's somewhat tricky in that regard and might exceed the scope of the list But there are always novels as well as nonfiction books including current ones Something completely different once in a while like in another language or something Really vibrant and diverse Right now there are actually four or five books stacked on my nightstand Ironically I just read Robin Alexander's final chance at Dussmann and skimmed through a bit I'm currently reading two books by Aristotle—Politics and the Nicomachean Ethics—though that's more due to university requirements Not necessarily what I'd actually read on my own time but that's what I'm currently leaning toward What are you studying Philosophy and history Okay that makes perfect sense then Have you just bought a book No What book are you currently reading or was it the last one you finished Willing Hunter on Contemplation I'm also reading The Wave Is the Sea right now Did you just buy a book Yes I did What kind I bought Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho It sounds a bit depressing but I've read The Alchemist and yes I really appreciate his writing style for that reason Veronika decides to die is actually one of my favorite books of his So yes you can look forward to it Oh wonderful Yes yes I'm looking forward to it Well I'm in a book club like that so let's see Exactly it's also very thin That's why we should hopefully get it done within a month Yes of course it does so I think it's still very profound and goes quite deep into the subject Pauline what are you reading right now I'm currently reading Café Leo by Angelika Bohn This is a book specifically for those learning German and you can read it together with us On February 16th our Easy German Book Club kicks off again and we’ll read two chapters every week There are tasks to complete We're discussing it and there's even a Friday call where we'll talk about the book again Janusz to what extent has reading helped you with learning German Absolutely in a sense yes That means there was no computer yet or even the internet And I learned German exclusively through books and a dictionary where I looked up every single word individually That's a good point as Angelika Bohn's books are precisely designed for German language learners And there are vocabulary words in the book if you'd like to join in All additional information can be found below in the infobox February 16th is here We can't wait to see you And what does reading mean to you in your everyday life I read a lot and very gladly Generally what does reading mean to you in everyday life Just calm down and let go of the rush so your mind can settle and stop spinning with a thousand worries Reading means to me clearing my mind Even having some say in setting the pace determining how quickly one absorbs information And it's also simply a chance for me to relax and dedicate some time to something I can then sit with for longer When I open my book I'm completely immersed in the story I somehow manage to block out everything else I'm a childcare worker so my daily life is incredibly loud And my friends always say how can you possibly read when someone’s talking on the phone next to you or when you're in a noisy café But I say I open the book and I'm instantly immersed able to shut out everything else How important is reading to you at your age Very important I'm not a native German speaker but I also try reading in a language because it helps me I must also admit that since smartphones came along I don’t read aloud as often anymore You’re quickly absorbed in your phone almost constantly Yes I enjoy using the time on the train or during travel to read And yes I actually find it very enriching Reading undoubtedly opens up new worlds and sparks the imagination You discover things through experience and you can truly perceive them in a way that differs from simply looking at an image How important is reading in your life Actually it's quite important which is why I'm currently frustrated that I read so little I studied literature so it's already quite important in my life Yes I just read a lot—three to four hours a day Extensive field experience I don’t always have to travel I can handle everything from Freiburg That's true—it's convenient and sometimes a bit cheaper than flying That's correct Reading is an incredibly important trait for me as well I learned to read while in the hospital I could already connect letters back then but only into short words And I did that in the hospital at the time of my surgery for blindness And then another kidney issue came up And then I truly learned how to read because back then were in a six-bed room And then one of my fellow patients—she was ten years old—looked at me and said “Hey what are you reading ” I said “Heidi ” She said ” She says you don't need to come at all you don't even need to look—there are no pictures inside And then she went off for an examination and I quickly scrambled onto the bed and grabbed the book And so I began learning to read Wow what a beautiful story Is there a book that has changed your life or had a significant influence on you Not really The older you get the more you find yourself remembering those old children's books For example we used to say and play "Cat House " "Aunt Koschka " forward and backward or Elizabeth Shaw—things like that you know You can tell it's coming up now Which after all has always had a bit to do with morals and advice Otherwise I can't really say much about the adult books right now What is her absolute favorite book in her life Or perhaps it's two or three It might be a bit of a cliché but The Little Prince Yes it's a very special book Yes but it holds a particular significance for me Is there a book that has influenced your life I would say Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther because I find the book deeply moving and compelling despite its age and occasional difficulty in reading And in many ways I also recognized myself once again there I always find that incredibly exciting That's a difficult question Very difficult There's this art book by Robert Cumming that gave me a gentle entry point into the world of art Or rather a way of approaching things—just like the one I myself have—a very practical very straightforward one Historical books and historical novels such as those by Leon Feuchtwanger were important to me Then Michael Ende’s Momo for example That’s the kind of book I think that I always end up pulling out again every year I don't read it all the way through but I flip through it now and then And in youth I think from Steven Sporsky—this is my life in English It was also adapted into a film starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson And now I think last year it was "Hello you beautiful one " I truly truly found that lovely Yes and I think Momo is truly a creation of Michael Ende That character deeply influenced me as a child and still resonates with me as an adult Far too many to count But if I had to narrow it down to just one book it would be Master and Margarita by Bulgakov Yes an absolutely wonderful book Which book has had the greatest impact on your life Share it with us in the comments below and join our Book Club The event starts on February 16th You can register and find all the other details below in the info box See you next time Bye Hello