EthanH wrote:Hello everyone! I've been studying German now for about a month and thought I'd drop by and join the club. At the moment I am using Assimil and Anki but in need of another book to pair with it but am a little lost on what to choose, I guess I'll browse and ask around the forum. Cheers!
Hi Ethan, for reading I really like the Dino Lernt Deutsch series by André Klein. Here's what I wrote about them in a log entry:
The protagonist is a young man from Sicily who kind of improvises his way around Germany. The series is lighthearted and entertaining and full of quirky details that feel authentic. For example, when you first meet Dino, he's in Berlin, sharing a flat with fellow international students. Everyone gets along well, but the place is a mess. No one cooks, but the sink is somehow always full of dirty dishes, and people swipe from each other's shelves in the fridge rather than go grocery shopping. I feel like I've lived in that flat.
I find the stories so much more interesting than the usual beginner reader fare. And there are audiobook versions, well narrated by the author at what for me is a good speed. The production quality is good, and there are even sound effects.
It really makes a difference to have this whole series of (audio)books with engaging characters and storylines that's accessible almost as soon as you pick up the language.
I would say the first few books are A1, and gradually the series ramps up to A2. Harder vocabulary is all defined at the end of each chapter. I was very much a beginner when I started the series (pairing it with Assimil and Anki, same as you), and I found it very motivating to find I was able to understand and enjoy stories that held my interest.