2015 Summer Blogger Promo Tour
Posted by The YA Book Traveler , Saturday, July 25, 2015 12:00 AM
The Summer Blogger Promo Tour is hosted by The Book Bratz. I was asked by my friend Kim to buddy up with her as her partner because her partner was unable to participate.
Today I have a guest post from my super awesome German friend, Kim from Dreaming in Libraries. She talks about her favorite German authors! How exciting!
Check it out!
Hey Everyone!
I’m Kim blogging over at Dreaming in Libraries.
So this post was originally planned for another blog during the Summer Blogger Promo Tour taking place right now. But when one of the blogger from my group was removed from the tour I had to find a solution. I knew right away that I’d love to feature Sarah on my blog instead of the one planned, because Sarah is one of the nicest people out there on twitter and really one of my favorite bloggers :-)! I was even happier when she agreed on introducing my blog on hers, too!
Thank you SO MUCH, Sarah, for jumping in and having me on your blog today!!
Sarah liked the idea of me talking about my favorite German authors, so I did. I hope you enjoy this post!
Reasons why I mainly prefer reading in English
Before I dive head first into talking about my favorite authors, I might need to explain why there are so few. I generally prefer reading in English, even though the reading itself is so much slower than when I read German books to be honest. But the thing is: The English language contains so much more words than the German language (about twice as much, if I recall right). And I really think this affects the way a book is written. I honestly feel the lack of words while reading German books. English authors have a lot more possibilities to describe the same thing with a huge choice of words which German authors don’t really have. That’s as well one reason why I often don’t like translations too much.
I just recently read an article by a German translator about translating sex scenes. She said that you couldn’t just translate a sex scene word by word, because in the German language you simply wouldn’t use specific words English authors use as they would create a completely wrong image in the reader’s head. It’s no problem at all in English books, because in the English language you can get it out of the context, but in German you just don’t use certain words in that exact same way. Also, in German books the translator leaves a lot of imagination to the reader instead of translating exactly how the sex scene had been described in English.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that in English there are more possibilities for authors to create a vivid picture. At least that’s my opinion about it and it can very well be that other readers feel differently about it ;-)!
But now onto my favorite German authors who aren’t translated into English:
Bettina Belitz and Sandra Regnier
Bettina Belitz and Sandra Regnier are my two favorite German authors by far. They are even amongst my favorite authors of all time (including Susan Dennard and Sarah J. Maas). The reason why I love their books so much isn’t just about their stories, but it’s about their writing style and their use of the German language, as well.
Bettina Belitz for instance has a magical writing style. She’s able to create such a vivid picture in your head - it’s unreal! You’re able to dip into her world and shut out the real world completely. She’s also a master at phrasing things. It’s hard to explain, though, if you haven’t experienced it yourself.
Sandra Regnier has an awesome writing style, too. It’s different than Bettina Belitz’, but very vivid nonetheless. Her strength is writing humorously. You’re reading her stories and have to laugh out loud, because her characters are hilarious and it’s just fantastic the way she writes her books.
Sadly, neither Bettina Belitz’ nor Sandra Regnier’s books have been translated into English yet (at least as far as I know), but I really hope that one day a foreign publisher will discover these two amazing authors, too!
If you’re able to read in German, though, you really should check out “Linna singt” and “Vor uns die Nacht” by Bettina Belitz and the “Pan” series by Sandra Regnier!
The following are German authors I really like, as well, and which you might also know, since their books have been translated into English:
Cornelia Funke, Kerstin Gier and Kai Meyer
I loved the books of these three German authors, too, but they didn’t stick with me the way Bettina Belitz’ and Sandra Regnier’s did. Nonetheless these are great authors (obviously, since they have been translated), too, and I highly recommend their books. I’ve devoured the “Inkheart” series by Cornelia Funke just as fast as the “Ruby Red” series by Kerstin Gier. Those two series are amazing and I’ll reread them at some point – that’s for sure! I didn’t like all of Kai Meyer’s books (and guys, he has A LOT), though, but one series I particularly enjoyed was “The Wave Runners” series. Also, I’ve met him twice during readings and he’s such a talented narrator, too. If you’re ever able to go to a reading with him, it’s absolutely worth it!
So, these are my few favorite German authors, but I know there are probably a lot more amazing German authors which I simply don’t know yet.
I hope you enjoyed my post!
Thanks again to Sarah for having me!
Yours, Kim
About Kim
Kim is a book-obsessed girl from Germany studying Physics of Earth. When not struggling with mathematic formulas, she’s busy fangirling over her latest favorite book. She loves to do everything concerning books: reading, blogging, writing, making bookish pendants,… Kim started her book blog “Dreaming in Libraries” in 2014 and thereby discovered a new hobby. You can find her blog at dreaminginlibraries.blogspot.com and she’s more than happy to talk to you on Twitter (@DreamingLibrary)!
I usually don't like translated books from English to Spanish myself either... but if it's a language that I don't speak, I don't have a preference between reading the translation in English or Spanish...