It is November and it is the start of my favourite reading event of the year – the German Literature Month hosted by Caroline from Beauty is a Sleeping Cat and Lizzy from Lizzy’s Literary Life. The event runs through the whole of November and I am really excited. I have been making reading lists through the whole year in preparation for my favourite reading event and have been collecting books on and off. Now it is time finally to get all the books together, make a reading plan and get started.
For more information on German Literature Month, do check out the introductory post where you can signup for the event and the review page where you can check out the reviews of other participants.
Now, more about my reading list. As I did last year, I put together all the German books that I would like to read and then arranged them in ascending order with respect to the number of pages. Then I separated them into two piles – the ‘To Be Read’ list and the ‘Wishlist’. The thinner ones made it into the ‘To be read’ list while the thicker ones made it into the ‘Wishlist. I know this way of categorizing and organizing is not the best way and is totally arbitrary and we can even argue that it is inappropriate because it favours a thin book over a thick one and all these conclusions are true. But my own defence to that is that all the books I want to read are wonderful and I want to read the maximum number of books within the space of a month and so I am going to follow this plan. If I can read one of the thicker books this month, I will be happy. So, these are my lists.
To Be Read List
The Ladies
Caroline recommended Ingeborg Bachmann highly and as I haven’t read any of her books yet, I went and got a whole collection of her works.
(1) The Thirtieth Year by Ingeborg Bachmann
(2) Three Paths to the Lake by Ingeborg Bachmann
(3) War Diary by Ingeborg Bachmann
(4) The Taste of Apple Seeds by Katharina Hagena – I discovered this book through Lizzy’s post on potential readalong choices. The plot captivated me and I wanted to read it.
(5) The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek – I haven’t read a Jelinek book yet, though I have seen the movie version of this book. So I thought it is time to read my first Jelinek.
(6) Nowhere Ending Sky by Marlen Haushofer – I fell in love with Marlen Haushofer after reading ‘The Wall’ earlier this year. My love for her became stronger and deeper after I read ‘The Loft’. I have been saving up ‘Nowhere Ending Sky’ for German Literature Month and now I can’t wait to read this book by one of my favourite writers. This is the third and last Haushofer book available in English. I hope the publishers decide to translate more. If they don’t, it is time for me to learn German.
(7) Rain by Karen Duve – I discovered this through Caroline’s post on new German women authors. I loved the plot and now can’t wait to read it.
(8) The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke – I have been reading reviews of this slim gem in many of my favourite blogs, especially reviews by Andrew and Claire. Now I think it is time to read the book myself.
The Gentlemen
(1) Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe – I have read just one Goethe book ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’. I think it is time to read a second one.
(2) Little Man, What Now? By Hans Fallada – I won this in a giveaway hosted during the first German Literature Month a couple of years back. I can’t believe that I have waited so long to read it. I read half of this book last year during GLM, but got distracted by something else after that. I can’t wait to read the second half now.
(3) A Little History of the World by E.H.Gombrich – I know that this is German Literature Month and this book is a history book, but it was originally written in German when Gombrich was still living in Vienna and I loved it when I read it for the first time a few years back. I want to read it again and I think German Literature Month is the perfect occasion to do that 🙂
Wishlist
(1) Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann – This is Bachmann’s only fully completed novel and I hope I get to read it this month.
(2) Lust by Elfriede Jelinek – Jelinek’s controversial novel which probably made her name and which people either love or hate. I want to know what the fuss is all about.
(3) The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse – I have wanted to read this for years and I put it on my list everytime German Literature Month arrives. I don’t know whether I will be able to read it this time, but one can always dream.
(4) Perlman’s Silence by Pascal Mercier – I loved Pascal Mercier’s ‘Night Train to Lisbon’ when I read it. It is one of my favourite books. Mercier’s prose is exquisite and beautifully contemplative. I can’t wait to read ‘Perlman’s Silence’ his first ever novel, but which has only recently been translated into English.
(5) Suspicion by Friedriech Dürrenmatt – I read this book a couple of years back when I first discovered Dürrenmatt, in a collection called ‘The Inspector Barlach Mysteries’. I loved it. There is a nurse who works in a private clinic under a suspected Nazi doctor who speaks some powerful lines and I want to read those lines again. I hope I can do that this month.
When I do some simple counting of the above books from different perspectives, this is what I find out – that there are 10 books by women writers and 6 books by men writers. More interestingly, there are 7 books by Austrian writers, 6 books by German writers, 2 books by a Swiss writers and 1 book by an Austrian writer who became a British citizen. If I manage to read all these books, it will look more like an Austrian women literature month for me 🙂 Well, let us see how it goes.
Though it looks a bit ambitious, I hope I can read all the books on my TBR list and atleast one book from my wishlist. I will be delighted if I am able to do that.
Now, I am going to pick up Ingeborg Bachmann’s ‘The Thirtieth Year’ and get started on the first story in it.
Are you participating in German Literature Month? What books are you planning to read? Have you read any of the above books?
Wow! I saw that you were adding to your Books To Read on Goodreads and hadn’t made the connection that they are all German authors, it’s a fabulous list Vishy, and an excellent resource.
I must try and hunt down my Jenny Erpenbeck book Visitation which I started and never got back to in my pre-blog days. Thanks for reminding me and good luck with the reading challenge, I’ll be cheering you on.
Thanks Claire. Hope you are able to find the Jenny Erpenbeck book and enjoy reading it. German Literature Month is so much fun.
Looks like a busy month for you, Vishy, but busy in a very good way 🙂 Lots of great books on there. I think you’ll enjoy The Mussel Feast. Just read Stu’s review of The Taste of Apple Seeds and it sounds excellent too. I’m off on a meditation retreat for most of November and banned from reading, let alone blogging, so I can’t take part this year, but I’m enjoying reading the early posts. Will be interesting to see how many of these you read, and what your responses are. Great list!
Thanks Andrew! Looking forward to reading ‘The Mussel Feast’ soon. I liked your review of the book very much. Nice to know that Stu has already reviewed ‘The Taste of Apple Seeds’. Looking forward to reading it.
Wonderful to know that you are going to a meditation retreat in November. We will miss you at German Literature Month, but hope you have a wonderful, quiet and tranquil time at the retreat and come back refreshed and re-energized.
great choices we have a few similar on our list Vishy look forward to your reviews ,all the best stu
Wonderful to know that, Stu! Can’t wait to read about your choices and your thoughts on the books you read this month. Happy reading!
Hoping to read Elective Affinities myself, Vishy. Look forward to comparing notes.
Wonderful to know that you are also planning to read ‘Elective Affinities’, Lizzy! Looking forward to comparing notes with you. Happy reading!
Wow, what a fantastic list! Elective Affinities is wonderful, The Taste of Appleseeds is very enjoyable, and Dürrenmatt’s Barlach mysteries are just fantastic (you know I have a very soft spot for all things Dürrenmatt… so glad you chose to put him on your list!). Enjoy reading 🙂
Thanks Bettina. Glad to know that you liked ‘Elective Affinities’ and ‘The Taste of Apple Seeds’. Wonderful to know that you like Dürrenmatt very much. I am looking forward to re-reading ‘Suspicion’. I also want to read some of his plays one day – especially ‘The Physicists’ and ‘The Visit’.
I agree with the others, a great list. i would say that, wouldn’t I seeing as I have influneced it a bit. 🙂 I’m very keen on hearing your thoughts on Ingeborg Bachmann. Jelinek is very disturbing. But good.
I’ve still n ot read Hagena myself, nor The Glass Bead Game.
Happy reading, Vishy.
Ha, ha, ha 🙂 Thanks for inspiring me to read Ingeborg Bachmann, Caroline. Just read the introduction to ‘The Thirtieth Year’. It is wonderful. Looking forward to reading the first story now. I am a little bit worried about Jelinek, but hope that I will like her books. Happy reading to you too!
Vishy, this is absolutely wonderful. I didn’t know about this particular month. What a wonderful post.
Thanks Valorie. Glad to know that you liked the post. German Literature Month is hosted every year in November and it is a wonderful fun event. Maybe if you have time you can think of participating later this month.
I’ve only read one from your list, Little Man, What Now. I read it years ago, but I remember really liking it. I overbooked myself this November, but I’m hoping to read at least one book for this event. Happy reading!
Thanks TBM. Nice to know that you liked ‘Little Man, What Now?’ I am looking forward to reading it. Glad to know that you are participating in German Literature Month. Looking forward to finding out which book you choose to read. Happy reading!
I hope you enjoy your German Lit Month reading Vishy. You have some great reads planned here. I am keen to read more by Fallada so I look forward to your thoughts on that one if you get to it, and also The Taste of Apple Seeds. I read The Mussel Feast this year though I haven’t managed to review it yet. Enjoy your reading.
Thanks Lindsay. I am looking forward to reading that Fallada book. ‘The Taste of Apple Seeds’ looks wonderful and I can’t wait to get to it. Hope you enjoy reading it too. I remember reading in your blog about ‘The Mussel Feast’ but I couldn’t find your review when I was writing this post. Hope you get to review it. I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Are you participating in German Literature Month?