The year in books #1: Das große Heinz Erhardt Buch

Hark, readers, as I throw down my gauntlet and take up the Fifty Book Challenge. I know not where the concept was born, for da Google has failed me, but the premise is simple: Complete fifty books over the course of one year, and blog about them. The benefits of the exercise are many: it spreads the word about good books, it encourages a blogger to read, and it also lends a blogger a seeming of erudition while simultaneously making it look like he knows stuff.*

Vom Alten Fritz, dem Preußenkönig
Weiß man zwar viel, doch viel zu wenig.

So ist es zum Beispiel nicht bekannt,
daß er die Bratkartoffeln erfand!

Drum heißen sie auch - das ist kein Witz -
Pommes Fritz!

The first book I completed this year, with my apologies to my English-reading audience, was Das große Heinz Erhardt Buch. If a translation were available, I'd offer a link, but this is a collection of pun-filled poetry. Even if a translation were available, you'd not likely care to read it:

One knows much about old King Fritz of Prussia,
But not enough.

For example, many do not know
That he invented fried potatoes!

This is why they're called - no joke -
French fries.

Many of you, though, are either German speakers or are interested in learning the language, and to you I cannot recommend this book enough. I read the first half on the train ride back from visiting my in-laws for Christmas, and I spent the entire trip helpless with laughter at Erhardt's wordplay and the dream-like logic of his storytelling. His whimsical approach, often masking very serious intent, reminds me of Shel Silverstein, as does the feeling of welcome and camaraderie that seems to flow from his work:

Nicht immer war ich schon so alt -
das machten erst die Jahre.
Die Stirne wuchs mit dem Verstand
im Laufe meiner Haare.
Nun wünsch ich mir, daß, was ich schrieb,
auch frohe Leser findet,
dann möge dieser Band das Band
sein, welches uns verbindet.

I think that learners of German especially will find a lot to enjoy in this book, which seems to employ every grammatical construct the language offers. I find catchy, short form poetry like this especially convenient for learning new words and grammatical forms, because it lends itself to rote memorization. Be prepared not to understand all of the jokes, though - ideally, I recommend reading this book with a German native speaker in the room and pestering her to explain everything that goes over your head.

My verdict: A+. Buy it. Read it. Memorize it. Recite it to your friends. Recite it to strangers on the street. Make constant Erhardt-inspired puns until your friends threaten to throw you out the window. Das große Heinz Erhardt Buch will have a place of honor on my bedside table for a very long time to come.

*See what I did there?