About a month ago Speakeasy posted a long list of intermediate and advanced books for
improving German reading skills, which I’m extremely grateful for. I ordered four of them and thought to give my first impression after skimming them.
A Reader in German Literature
Deutsche Denker und Forscher
Deutsche Literatur von Heute
Der Spiegel: Aktuelle Themen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
I received
A Reader in German Literature first and immediately remembered how spoiled I’ve become thanks to modern technology such as LWT and Kindle. It includes authentic texts by 10 authors with idioms as footnotes, a two page commentary on each author and a long vocabulary list at the back. I estimate the list to include about 800 words.
It’s a bit silly to comment on but the only drawback is the fact that it’s a regular book. Authors such as Hoffmann, Mann and Kafka are in public domain so you can just import their texts into any modern reading device and get the benefits of quick lookup. It does include a vocabulary list, which I’m grateful for, but I have the feeling that the back will be ruined long before I finish the book. As I said, it’s a bit silly to mention. I ordered a book and got a book.
Deutsche Denker und Forscher is a bit more helpful. It consists of eight original essays on important Germans such as Grimm, Goethe, Mozart, Röntgen and a few others. Each chapter includes the essay (some vocabulary as footnotes), a handful of questions to see if you understood it, a vocabulary review (no translations) and a few ”practice sentences”. At the far back of the book, there are ten pages titled ”Translation Aids”. It’s basically a mix of important grammar and idiom explanations. You also have a vocabulary list of 500 important words.
I like that it includes some translations in the footnotes, so there’s a lot less going back and forth to the vocabulary list. The content is also unique and I look forward to learn more about them. I wish the vocabulary review would include translations as well.
Deutsche Literatur von Heute is a lot different by being divided into two halves. The second half includes 150 pages of grammar (verb tenses, strong verbs, etc) with exercises and a long vocabulary list. The first half consists of 22 texts. Each chapter has a brief author bio, a short list of active vocabulary (with translation), idioms, questions to think about when reading, grammar references (only page numbers), the text with translations in the margin, questions about the text and finally topic suggestions for class discussions.
As you probably have guessed by now, I love the fact that there are plenty of translations in the margin. I can’t comment on the quality but there seem to be a lot of content if you have the energy to make use of it. Grammar references for each text would probably benefit from a classroom environment though. I’m not sure how to make the most of it and I can’t seem to find any keys for the exercises which kinda makes them meaningless.
Der Spiegel: Aktuelle Themen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland reminds me a bit more about a traditional textbook (might be the format). It’s completely in German and includes audio if you somehow manage to find it. There are 40 authentic articles. Each chapter consists of an article (1-2 pages), questions to think about when reading, a list of cultural vocabulary (Boris Becker), a monolingual vocabulary list, questions about the text and three assignments divided into speaking, group assignment and writing.
My impression is that it’s a bit heavier to read in comparison with the other books. With this said, it seems great and the audio is a major bonus.
