The new one appears every week star with current bestsellers: We also present the books reviewed in the print edition online to you once a month.
It is somewhat surprising that so many people still buy “real” reading material despite increasing digitalization. On the other hand, it is also a good sign that so many readers still appreciate a good book. This is why you find the star-Those who order the print editions, which are published every Thursday, can now also do so online. Here are the fiction and non-fiction bestsellers from the February 2024.
“By the Sea” by Elizabeth Strout
This novel takes us back to a time that we tend to suppress: the beginning of the corona pandemic. But it’s not just about loneliness in lockdown. Rather, Strout uses the pandemic to illustrate the conflict between city and country. The main character, Lucy Barton, a writer and mother, flees her New York city apartment to the countryside, to Maine, to a house on the coast. The people there treat the townswoman with suspicion and rejection, some even with “Get out” signs. Barton meets Trump supporters. Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout also describes these empathetically – in order to understand them better, not to trivialize them. She succeeded. The book is available here.
“The Magic of Silence” by Florian Illies
Please look at the titles of the books in the top ten of the stern issue 10/2024 (page 98). Do you see it too? They want to tell us something about us Germans in 2024. We long for peace and quiet (1) in the din of war (2). We seek relief in humor and cheerfulness (3) and in nostalgia and the past (4). But no matter what we do: we get fat alone on the couch (5), we get burned out in the hell of our relationships (6). We can’t go on like this, we have to change (7)! And not just a little, but completely (8)! Finally we see: Life is an imposition (9), and all the bells are ringing the alarm (10). Next time: How we calculate our date of death from the top ten. Nice week! The book is available here.
“The Castle” by Ursula Poznanski
Alice wanders through the Queen of Hearts’ labyrinth in the Disney classic and learns that the smallest mistake can quickly cost you your head. The yellow character “Pac Man” has been hunting for points in digital walls with his mouth wide open since 1980 and is pursued by ghosts. And recently the final scandal occurred in a hedge maze in the scandal film “Saltburn”. Pop culture has always been fascinated by the mysticism of mazes, whose modern interpretation is today’s escape rooms. The Austrian writer Ursula Poznanski has recognized the hype surrounding the confusion. In their new thriller, an old castle with secret passages, dungeons and crypts becomes an escape world paired with AI. Doubly scary. The book is available here.
“The precautionary set” from Stiftung Warentest
A successful life always includes a fair amount of repression. The fact that one day we will definitely grow old and frail or become seriously ill: it seems annoying to think about it every day. Nevertheless, there is no point in pushing it all away and later, as an old person, mercifully shouting: “Someone could have told me how shitty everything here is now!” Better to take precautions. The Germans apparently do that. A precautionary set on the bestseller list! Living will, will, care directive, health care power of attorney. No edifying topics. But it’s better to take care of it in time and then suppress it. Saves a lot of heartache. The book is available here.
“Half an eternity” by Ildikó von Kürthy
Ildikó von Kürthy has sold two million copies of her first novel “Moonlight Tariff”, in which a woman named Cora Hübsch is eagerly waiting for her crush to call. This book changed her life, made her a sought-after columnist and author, other novels followed, non-fiction books, one for children. 25 years after her big hit, she is now continuing the story of her heroine Cora Hübsch. What happened with her and the guy? What happened to the dreams of yesteryear? Whether you pick up the book is a question of type. There are people who are hungry for sequels. Others prefer to let a happy ending be a happy ending because they know: it will never get better. The book is available here.
“Optimize your Sugar” by Barbara Becker
The title is of course a bit askew and in meaningless English. The aim here is not to “optimise sugar”, but rather the blood sugar level, so if anything, then “blood sugar level”. But the ex-wife of ex-prisoner Boris Becker, who now lives in Italy, likes English. She also called a book about “fake fasting”, whatever that may be, “five days only”, but we’ll stay on the topic for now. Blood sugar, i.e. the amount of glucose in the blood, says nothing about whether we are sweet people, but simply about how powerful or weak we are. You can, aha, optimize this with “simple tricks and delicious recipes”. Next book: “Manage your salt”. The book is available here.
“Bride – The Unfathomable Supernaturality of Love” by Ali Hazelwood
Let’s forget about this Twilight rip-off. So much has been written about the struggles between vampires and werewolves that one would rather fall into a thousand-year sleep than read another line of it. Even if there seems to be a twist, because the heroine doesn’t play with the Pale Ones, but rather on Team Dog. Be that as it may… The US author, whose name is not really Ali Hazelwood, is a professor of neuroscience and also writes not-unsuccessful romance novels with female scientists in the lead roles. Why is she now straying into the universe of fangs? Maybe because love is not just about chemistry, but even more about fantasy. The book is available here.
“Because Something’s Missing” by Michael Nast
The single pope holds an audience: As if his short videos on Instagram weren’t enough, the self-proclaimed relationship expert and long-term single Michael Nast has now published them in column form as a book. In sentences like wall tattoos he gushes about what’s wrong in this life. His sources: his own experience and ex-girlfriends. Guaranteed without any scientific basis, but with even more opinion. And quotes from philosophers for the lack of depth. Instead, buy yourself a pack of fortune cookies. Or a tear-off calendar. The input should be about the same. The book is available here.
“Coldheart – Strong & Weak” by Lena Kiefer
Why not re-release this bestseller in a jewelry edition? Looks nice on the bookshelf, increases the overall sales figure a little and triggers the hunters and collectors in us. What in the area of music (premium box with CD, vinyl, MC, 50-page booklet and poster!, gold edition with scrappy demo recordings and creative murmuring in the background) and DVD (director’s cut, collector’s edition, extended version in a steelbook with film strips and a The director’s Locke) has been increasing sales for years, but now, we feel, maybe we’re wrong, who knows, it’s increasingly happening in the book sector. Soon, perhaps: “Parents’ evening – principal’s edition in a leather knapsack with a copy of Fitzek’s certificate from the 3rd grade.” The book is available here.
“Anti-belly fat formula” by Ingo Froböse
Behold: a new weight loss book. Even with the very scientific word “formula” in the title. That’s where the reader grabs it. And the reader too. At least those who feel like a living bouncy castle in their nightmares. Prof. Dr. Ingo Froböse is a serious man, acts as an advisor to the German Bundestag on prevention issues and runs a YouTube channel with the humorous title “Formula Froböse”. But honestly: he hasn’t reinvented the wheel or the advice here. Everyone knows: the fat aprons disappear when we exercise more and eat sensibly. So easy. So hard. The book is available here.
Tip: You can find further book recommendations from the editorial team on our topic page.
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