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 bestsellersr from the November 2023.
“The Santa Claus Killer. A winter crime story from East Frisia” by Klaus-Peter Wolf
Klaus-Peter Wolf has long been the “King of the Paperback” (“Börsenblatt” of the German book trade). His 17 East Frisian crime novels all went straight to number one on the bestseller lists. Now he’s making his way into the hardcover charts with his cuddly, creepy “Santa Claus Killer.” This takes place in his adopted home of Northern Germany during the traditional puzzles on December 5th. Confusions? The participants roll the dice at various locations for baked goods, Mettwurst, Christmas ducks and sweets. Incidentally, Wolf managed to print five copies of his hardcover debut in five days. Comment: “I didn’t even expect the novel to appear in the top 20.” Well, happy holidays then. And we’re now puzzling over things in the editorial department. The book is available here.
“The Magic of Silence” by Florian Illies
There may be people who have never been to a museum, who think of paintings as something hanging on the wall at their dentist, and who have no idea who Caspar David Friedrich was. Second tutoring: an artist who could paint skies, fog and trees as if they had more soul and life than humans. “Oh the people, he thinks, they are so strange to me. And the women first. If they were trees, then he would know how they feel,” writes Florian Illies in his beautiful book, which reads like a painting. But be careful, it’s better not to take the sentence with you and say to the woman: “If you were a tree, I would know how you feel.” Could end up unpicturesque. The book is available here.
“Steckerlfischfiasco” by Rita Falk
Rita Falk’s provincial crime series about the growling village policeman Franz Eberhofer is entering its twelfth round. With titles like “Leberkäsjunkie”, “Guglhupfgeschwader” and “Kaiserschmarrndrama” the author soon seems to have sausaged every dish in her title that is served in Bavarian restaurants. Was that it now? Even for the most loyal readers, the buffet seems to have slowly been grazed. “For me, the Eberhofer series loses humor, tension and typical character with each volume,” writes someone online. “Disaster. I think it’s such a shame that this great figure is ruined like this,” it says elsewhere. Alternatively, Rita Falk could revive her Eberhofer in the neighboring country. Then it continued with a ratatouille frenzy, a crepe collapse and bouillabaisse blasting. The book is available here.
“The Woman in Me” by Britney Spears
No, you read that right, not a misprint. Britney Spears’ memoirs are actually included in this list twice, once in German, once in English, you know. The fact that English is understood better here than we thought is good news. According to surveys, 30 percent of young Germans say that they can follow English very well. It remains unclear whether this is also due to public foreign language teaching, such as the “sänk ju for träveling wiss Deutsche Bahn”. It’s entirely possible that Spears readers simply wanted to read a sentence like “I loved sex, and I loved food” again in English. The book is available here.
“Real Age” by Tonio Schachinger
In the microcosm of school, seemingly banal situations can develop into existential problems. How does the despotic German teacher react when you forget your Reclam magazine again? What do you do when others find a note from mom that says “I love you, you are the best”? 15-year-old Till is at the center of these questions, attending an elite boarding school in Vienna. What no one knows: In his free time he obsessively plays the real-time strategy game “Age of Empires 2” and is one of the top players in the world. Tonio Schachinger absolutely deserved to be awarded the German Book Prize 2023 for his novel because his clever book appeals to everyone who had to go to school (and didn’t want to) and felt exactly what the author formulated so precisely. The book is available here.
“Sowing Days 2024” Maria Thun by Matthias K. Thun
We are moving here in the area of horticultural esotericism. The Thun family plants according to the moon and other “circumferential forces”. The question of what effects tea treatments have on plant growth is also important. In addition, precise weather observations, the recording of global weather disasters and earthquake measurements. A connection between star constellations and the ideal time for sowing has also been recorded by the Thuns. Is this all serious? Only the man in the moon knows that. The book is available here.
“Monster” by Nele Neuhaus
What do books and sausage have in common? They are part of the success story of crime writer Nele Neuhaus, who worked in her husband’s meat factory during the day for many years and sat down at her desk in the evenings to realize her dream of writing her own novel. In 2005 she self-published her first work and sold copies in the factory office “right next to the canned sausage,” as she once said. Soon the customers came mainly for the books, which her husband didn’t like at all. The marriage fell apart. Neuhaus has now sold eleven million of her Taunus crime novels about the investigative duo Bodenstein-Kirchhoff in Germany alone; The latest volume “Monster” will definitely be a success again. The book is available here.
“Bomb Head” by Phia Quantius
The right title is important for a book. It has to attract attention, sell itself and – yes – ideally fit the content well. Anyone who has ever written a book knows that publishers and authors don’t always agree. For example, we don’t know whether “intestines with charm” was the author Giulia Enders’ wish at the time. In this case both sides should be satisfied. “Bombenkopf” hits home, attracts attention and even fits the theme. Phia Quantius tells us very clearly, knowledgeably and entertainingly about her fight against chronic migraines. The book is available here.
“The third heart of the octopus” by Dirk Rossmann, Ralf Hoppe
It’s not that surprising that the eco-thrillers by Dirk Rossmann (and co-author Ralf Hoppe) are bestsellers; after all, multi-billionaire Rossmann has a few bucks left over to praise his works; In addition, 2,260 branches across Germany are ideal advertising spaces for his books. In addition to liquid soap and vegan chocolate bars, an octopus novel sometimes ends up in the basket. Volume three was published in October and is also about the climate catastrophe that concerns the 77-year-old entrepreneur. “He strives intensively for climate protection,” says his author biography. Fiction and reality seem to have merged in this statement like the plot of a novel, because many drugstore products are simply tomorrow’s garbage mountains, no matter how sustainably they are supposedly produced. The book is available here.
“The Time of Loss” by Daniel Schreiber
You can tell from this list that winter is coming soon. It’s primarily thoughtful and sometimes sad. Daniel Schreiber deals urgently with the loss of certainties that have long seemed irrefutable. Britney Spears talks about her difficult life. Stefanie Stahl comforts our injured inner child. Denise and Hendrik Verst talk about a treacherous illness. Ewald Frie mourns the end of farming life. Luckily Steffen Henssler is still there and cooks us classics like stuffed cabbage. So there is still hope. Have a good meal! The book is available here.
Tip: You can find further book recommendations from the editorial team on our topic page.
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