November 2012 Wrap-Up – German Literature Month

Well, it’s been another great month of German literature in the blogosphere.  Once again, thanks are due to Lizzy and Caroline for organising the event – there’s a lot of hard work involved behind the scenes, and we appreciate all the effort 🙂

What was I up to this month?  Glad you asked…

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Total Books Read: 10
Year-to-Date: 111

New: 10

Rereads: 0

From the Shelves: 5
Review Copies: 4

From the Library: 0
On the Kindle: 1

Novels: 3
Novellas: 2

Short Stories: 3
Non-Fiction: 2

Non-English Language: 9 (6 Germany, Romania, Netherlands, Japan)
In Original Language: 6 (6 German)

Murakami Challenge: 0 (0/3)

Aussie Author Challenge: 0 (6/12)
Australian Women Writers Challenge: 0 (5/10)

Japanese Literature Challenge 6: 1 (6/1) 

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Books reviewed in November were:

1) Brigitta by Adalbert Stifter
2) Bergkristall (Mountain Crystal) by Adalbert Stifter
3) Kabale und Liebe (Love and Intrigue) by Friedrich von Schiller
4) Hermann und Dorothea by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
5) Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen (Germany. A Winter’s Tale) by Heinrich Heine
6) Ungefähre Landschaft (Unformed Landscape) by Peter Stamm
7) L’Adultera by Theodor Fontane
8) Herztier (The Land of the Green Plums) by Herta Müller
Tony’s Turkey for November is:
– Goethe’s Hermann und Dorothea

Oh dear.  Goethe is undoubtedly a genius, but I have a habit of picking his weak stuff.  Turkey number three for the year it is…

Tony’s Recommendation for November is:
– Alfred Döblin’s Berlin Alexanderplatz


Although I read a lot of good books for German Literature Month, at times I was a little concerned that nothing was really standing out for me.  Luckily, my last minute ring-in, Berlin Alexanderplatz, saved the day – an excellent novel well worthy of its reputation 🙂

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So, German Literature Month is done and dusted – time to start planning for the next event.  December should be quiet, but January in Japan is not far away.  It’s time to brush up on my J-Lit…

12 thoughts on “November 2012 Wrap-Up – German Literature Month”

  4. I'm way behind on my blog visiting these days, Tony, but the nice thing about that is that I have a ton of German Lit Month reviews to catch up on soon (here and elsewhere). Of course, it kinda kills me to hear that Berlin Alexanderplatz was your best book of the month as that was an early GLM II candidate for me that ended up getting dropped by the wayside for a later date (speaking of dates, I suspect that my dated English xlation won't be anywhere near as fluid as the original German text that you read either). Anyway, well done!

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  9. Richard – It was a last-minute addition for me, something that turned out to be a great decision 🙂 And I agree that the translation just wouldn't be the same…

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  11. You managed to get through a lot in the end – puts my grand total of 4 to shame. Thanks for persuading me to take part, you were right, I have really enjoyed it and found lots of new books, writers blogs to dip into. Looking forward to next month and lots of exciting Japanese books!
    Sarah

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  12. Sarah – Good to hear you enjoyed it Sarah (and four is a lot more than many people managed!). You're not the only one looking forward to January… 😉

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