Recently I put forward my list of the Ten Greatest German Novels. I almost never pay for books since I am quite fortunate in having access to three college libraries (Colby, Bates and Bowdoin), each with excellent collection of German titles (both fiction and non-fiction). I only have to resort to buying from Amazon when I want to read a recently-released book (such as the winner of the Deutscher Buchpreis), and then I can usually resell these in the US for a profit.
But lovers of great literature in German living in the US and Canada have another very inexpensive option: Amazon's Kindle Store. I just discovered that FIVE of the books on my Ten Greatest list are available for FREE download from the Kindle Store in North America: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, Frau Jenny Treibel, Buddenbrooks, Der Prozess, and Radetzkymarsch. That's a lot of great reading for no cost! But the free content is available only in the original German. English-only readers must pay for translated version.
Another Kindle deal: you can purchase the collected works (sämtliche Werke) of Kafka, Heine, and Heinrich von Kleist for only $2.99 apiece. Happy Reading!
Oh, and you don't need a Kindle or other Amazon device. The Kindle App is available at no cost for iPhone, iPad, and Android tablet or phone users.
There's plenty of literature, which is not only worth reading, but which also is cheap. Maybe that's a problem, when people value cheap things low. Once i went to a bookstore to buy as much 'reclam issues' of classic books as possible for 30 Deutsche Mark (15€). I bought 10 books worth publishing since 1000 years or more.
Posted by: koogleschreiber | October 14, 2012 at 11:24 PM
There are many options also like lovers of great literature in German living in the US and Canada have another very inexpensive option..So if one think for it deeply than he"ll surely get the solution..
Posted by: German translator | October 23, 2012 at 05:01 AM