'New Year, New Happiness'
A relatable story about a young man living in Berlin for a year, and his experiences trying to learn the language. He shares an apartment with roommates. And, the chapters follow each of the seasons. (The title of my review is a direct quote from the story.) This is the first level in one of Andre Klein's series of readers for German Language learners. Like most of its type, it is a chapter book with simple vocabulary, which gets progressively more challenging throughout the series. The reader has the benefit of reading adult interest level material while practicing already familiar vocabulary.
In the paperback readers I have used in the past learning Spanish and Greek, less familiar words were in bold and could be found in the glossary as needed. But, with the Kindle in recent decades it is really so much easier, since you can long press these unfamiliar words to get the definition immediately onscreen. Learning is much faster this way. I read this in Kindle, and reread each chapter following along with the Audible, to reinforce correct pronunciation. There are comprehension questions in German at the end of each chapter. And, Klein provides a link for free bonus materials online, like flashcards, and print-ables for phone and pc.
Just remember that now you can even download dual language dictionaries on the app on your smartphone. (In the past this was only available on the Kindle devices.) I suggest selecting a German/English dictionary that will present an English translation for German words when needed. Of course, the alternative is to go with German/ German... and a bit more frustrating. But, when you buy your first Kindle book in any foreign language (even if its a free book) the appropriate dictionary is downloaded automatically free. For example in this case you would get the German/German dictionary automatically free, because you have some Kindle books in German. But, getting a different dictionary, like the German/English, is a separate purchase. Whichever dictionary you download will work with all of your German language Kindle books. Keep in mind this works the same with any language you are learning.
I have the whole series of these readers, and am looking forward to moving on to the second one in the series now. I think it is helpful to reread these books a few times for practice before moving on, because you have a better command of the vocabulary before getting yourself in too deep. Either way, I highly recommend Andre Klein's series.