Last month (most of) my family popped over to Germany to visit my oldest son, a history/German double major who spent the spring semester of his junior year of college studying abroad at Leuphana University of Lüneburg, near Hamburg in the northern part of the country. Every trip has its own reasons, and our primary purpose for this trip was to spend time with our kid, hanging out in his smallish town and seeing what his life was like there.
But we also wanted to experience a bit of Europe with him, so we tacked on a long weekend in Copenhagen on the front end and took day trips to Hamburg (where I hadn’t been since I visited with my parents when I was 14) and Celle (which was unfamiliar to me before this trip). We also spent a delightful not-quite-24 hours in Frankfurt before our flight home.
When I’m traveling with my family, I (really do, seriously, I promise) exercise some restraint in the book and related literary-minded browsing department. (Case in point: I didn’t drag everyone to see Goethe’s house, even though our hotel was right around the corner.) But we did wander through a whole lot of bookstores on our travels, and I enjoyed snapping pics of titles I recognized … even though their covers were not the covers I was used to and their titles were in German, Danish, or French.
I can really nerd out about things like cover design and international marketing, and thought you might also enjoy the experience of checking out these familiar U.S. titles alongside their international counterparts.
In Copenhagen we had a lovely last breakfast at Granola, an adorable little French café in Fredericksberg. Will had scoped out a nearby plant store and book shop in advance, and after brunch we popped into Thiemers Magasin, a snug and wonderfully curated little bookstore that offered an interesting range of titles in Danish and English.
I was struck by the U.K. cover of Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma, which I read last year just after we wrapped the Summer Reading Guide and loved (and still think about all the time). The British cover (left) captures what the book is about, but in a very different way than the U.S. cover (right).
At the time of our trip, I had just finished reading Lottie Hazell’s Piglet, whose U.S. cover (right) bears a beautiful oil painting of a cheeseburger by Noah Verrier; the cheeseburger gets swapped out for a tower of over-iced donuts for the U.K. edition. (Want to see something really interesting? Check out the entirely different direction they took for the Australian edition!)
I adored Louise Kennedy’s 2022 release Trespasses (featured in our Fall Book Preview that year); I’ve been thinking about it often lately because it makes a wonderful companion to one of our new 2024 Summer Reading Guide selections. The British and U.S. hardback covers are the same (pictured right); the U.S. publisher kept the same cover for the paperback, but the British paperback edition got a makeover (pictured left). Which would you be more likely to reach for?
Next stop … Lüneburg! We spent many happy hours wandering its Innenstadt (basically, the pedestrian-only city center), including several visits to the excellent bookstore Lünebuch. (Is that not the best name for a bookstore?) Cheerful and large, with an excellent selection, helpful staff, and so many enticing mugs and puzzles that I couldn’t fit in my carry-on.
Lünebuch is where I saw my first German copy of one of my favorites, Maggie O. Farrell’s This Must Be the Place. I’m not sure if that painting on the German edition captures the story (and is Claudette a redhead? I don’t think so …) but it sure is pretty. I was also struck by how physically HUGE the German edition was, which was why I didn’t buy it in Lüneburg. (But stay tuned!)
Lüneburg is also home to several used bookstores: I spied this German edition of the 2023 Summer Reading selection The Road to Roswell on an evening stroll. Similar vibes; different execution. I loved this book—and yet as someone who doesn’t reach for many alien novels, I think I’d be more likely to pick up the U.S. edition. But I don’t know, I do love the subtitle on the German edition, which translated to “a crazy road trip novel.” What do you think?
I loved checking out the international versions of books I especially loved in English, like Ask Again, Yes, from Mary Beth Keane. The German edition of this tale of the intertwined lives of two neighboring families feels completely true to the story, while being quite different from the U.S. version (right). I was also struck by the altered title, which translates to “If you asked me again today.”
It felt like books were everywhere in Europe: we were constantly moving through train station, and these stations often had book kiosks or full-fledged bookstores. (You know what browsing all these little train station kiosks made me realize I missed? MAGAZINES. We encountered so many displays of endless magazines available for purchase in Germany!)
Here’s something I wondered about: I spied so many U.S. bestsellers available in translation in Europe, like this German edition of The Soulmate Equation snapped at the Lüneburg train station. Frequently, the title would appear in English, but every other word on the cover and in the book would be in German (or Danish, French, etc.) Why? (Serious question!)
I also enjoyed browsing the thousands of German books that I knew would never be translated into English, simply because only 3% or so of books in the U.S. are sold in translation. I may not be able to read them (unless I seriously brush up on my German), but I enjoyed looking.
Simply because of the way our day unfolded, we spent the most time at Frankfurt’s excellent and enormous bookstore Hugendubel. We were there the last night of our trip, so we exercised less restraint with our purchases (ahem) than we had up to this point.
We were grabbed right when we walked in by the impressive selection of staff picks. (Above left, plus more are pictured later in this post.)
Once again, my eye was drawn to books I read and loved in English: how would publishers choose to present the title to German readers? You can see one answer above, with the German edition of Elizabeth Strout’s book Lucy by the Sea; the German title transliterates to simply “By the sea.”
I loved this British cover of Romantic Comedy. Does the British edition capture the story? Well, maybe not. But I would pick up this book in a heartbeat!
I was struck by the small but significant differences between the U.K. cover (left) and the U.S. cover (right) of Percival Everett’s James.
And the French paperback of last year’s Minimalist Summer Reading Guide pick The Postcard, which I loved and adored and almost bought in the original French, even though I can’t read it.
Finally, after gazing longingly at the German edition of This Must Be the Place in four different German cities, Will decided I NEEDED a copy. I still didn’t want to add a nearly 600-page book to my suitcase … so he added it to his. Bless him.
Finally, I didn’t spy this book on my travels; it doesn’t publish in the U.S. until June 18, 2024. But I laughed out loud when I saw the U.K. cover (below right) for one of my certain best books of the year, Catherine Newman’s Sandwich. This is the very first book I added to the 2024 Minimalist Summer Reading Guide: I love it so.
The U.K. cover CRACKS ME UP. I would reach for that in a bookstore, would you? But I will say, the U.S. cover (left) is completely gorgeous, and (in my opinion) far better captures the tone of this wistful novel. Is it also a little zany, per the bikini cover? Sure is, but the pervasive mood is more the softly lit Adirondack vibe of my U.S. version. At least I think so. How about you?
I hope you enjoyed this vicarious little trip to the bookstores of Europe. I would love to hear your thoughts, musings, and inclinations in comments: which covers do you prefer? How do the different covers influence your perception of the book itself? Why do European publishers often keep the English title? We’d love to hear all about it.
30 comments
I use storygraph and often the cover shown is unfamiliar to me, but I see now that it’s because they use the UK version.
What a fun post! I love the side by sides! I’m a children’s librarian, and I must have taken a bazillion pictures of all the books in the gift shops, bookstores and libraries we passed by. Interestingly, all the children’s books had translated titles. I tried to come home to see what we could order for our library that was popular over there, but it was too hard with the translated titles. And many of the European publications weren’t available with our American distributors.
My appreciation for Hugendubel goes deep, the result of living in Munich for 3 years. This post was fun, Anne. Thanks!
I really enjoyed this post, Anne! We are kindred spirits in what we enjoy when travelling.
What a fun post! I prefer the UK cover of “Romantic Comedy” – I felt the US version was pretty, but it didn’t speak to me. I love the UK “Sandwich” cover! It’s so fun. I agree with you – definitely much different vibes than the US version.
I love how we’re all different – I think I hate the UK cover of Sandwich and am finding it a stumbling block to buying it! 🤣
Sarah, UK reader
Love this! It’s always so cool to see how different countries adapt their book covers.
I travel to London a couple times a year and come home with so many books because I really like the art direction of their covers so much more than the current US ones 😳
I love the UK cover of Sandwich. It took me a moment of staring before I saw it (it’s early) but it made me laugh. I do prefer the US cover, though.
I saw Lessons in Chemistry in Germany (in December 2022) and the cover was very different! Most people don’t like the cartoon-ish cover in the US.
This is such a fun post! I love the peak outside of the US centric world
Maybe they went with a literal sandwich so people didn’t think it was about Sandwich UK vs Sandwich MA? The Brits also use the sandwich generation metaphor; the literal interpretation is perplexing otherwise.
So fun that you visited so close to where I live (in the South of Hamburg) 🙂
When I was younger, book titles never were left not translated, every book got a German title, sometimes leaving me wondering for ever (up to this date) if the person who chose the title even read the book. Some mysteries remain unsolved
(One of my favorite childhood books was titled “Cathy de Navajo” what became “ein Pferd für mich”. (A horse for me) in German. The book was about a girl who lived with the Navajo)
What I know is that the title is not chosen by the author nor the translator, but by the distribution department – the book has to sell.
My best guess as to why titles are not translates anymore is the internet and especially social media. German book lovers follow American authors, booktok and instareading and the titles are easier to find and to recognize with their original English titles. Also, this English title with German everything is especially popular with booktok books – not so much with more substantial literature.
The turnaround time might also be shorter if the publisher only translates what is really necessary and keeps the original cover design. This might be important because if a book goes through the roof, people will want to read it ASAP. If it doesn’t get published quick enough, avid readers will start to read it in English. The amount of books available in every book store as gone up substantially, and as reading in English gets more popular, the publishing company might lose money on titles bought if the translation doesn’t hit the market fast enough.
(We still had to wait about 6 months to read the newest Harry Potters in German. Nowerdays the German edition of a book hits the market around the same time as the American original – if the author is well known for writing smash hits, like Emily Henry).
Did you notice the German trend for books with enhanced design? This is a new marketing strategy… and it sells like wonder bread
So happy to have found you and your blog and podcast while I lived in California, greetings from my second home (Bay Area)
Tina
I think Tina’s comment is spot on. I used to travel to Sweden frequently when I was a child to visit relatives, and one of the things I always found amusing was how movie titles were changed for the Swedish release. “Heathers,” for instance, became “Häxor, läxor och dödliga lektioner” (Witches, Homework and Deadly Classes). Nowadays the only movies where the title is translated are ones that are aimed at very small children; everything else keeps the English-language title, and I’m sure it’s because of the social media/internet factor.
Thank you, Anne!
Another fun comparison with different tone – My Murder by Katie Williams. The UK cover is really cute and gives me Finlay Donovan, comedy murder romp vibes. The US edition is much better matched to the book in my opinion!
That was fun!!
We were in Belgium over thanksgiving to visit our daughter studying abroad in Brussels and so wish I had bought a Lessons in Chemistry copy when we traveled there as I like the European cover better than the N. American version!!
One of my favourite things about our little bookstore in Bermuda is that we get books from the US and the UK and there is often great debate amongst staff and customers about which is more appealing and/or best represents the books. I’m always fascinated by the differences but the difference between a hardcover and paperback cover from the same country can be the most jarring. The Violin Conspiracy anyone?? Hard to believe they’re the same book. Such totally different vibes.
I would never pick up “Sandwich” with the English cover!
Oh, the memories you ignited of hopping through Europe! No, not as a young person, but WITH a young person! My son was stationed in Germany for 13 years, minus 4 years of deployments to the Middle East in the fight against terror. When he wasn’t deployed, he always invited me, his mom, to fly over for a European road trip (both before and after he was married). I saw much of Europe, guided by my multi-lingual son, who knew how to drive there, handle the currency, speak many of the languages and keep me safe. We had the best time, and I saw the most amazing sights! I always had my trusty Kindle with me. He retires this summer after 22 years of service. In all the places I traveled, Germany remained my favorite…this is the most beautiful country, with amazing food, Italy a close second (my grandparents immigrated from Italy). It sounds like you had an amazing trip, I hope your son is enjoying Germany!!
This was such a fun post! I love seeing the various covers from different geographies. As a book cover judger, I will absolutely pick up (or not) a book with a cover that I love (often the UK versions are my preference –like The Marriage Portrait — though in this case, I saw that the US paperback version adopted the UK hard cover version. Is this common?). Thanks, Anne, for sharing your bookish findings! We are headed to Japan next week and I am excited to see books I might/might not recognize!
I loved reading about your adventures in Europe! I’m currently in Germany (I was born and raised here), and your post made me realize that I frequently underappreciate the gift that is being able to read and appreciate literature in three languages. (Similar to your experience with German, I could likely do it in a few more, but it would be _work_, and I’m very bad at being okay with getting the general gist a paragraph without understanding every last word. So I frequently end up going down dictionary rabbit holes.) I generally read exclusively in German while I’m here (usually about six weeks a year), and it has made me realize how much language is tied to context and identity. I _am_ a different person while I’m here. The stories I’m able to immerse myself in here vs. in the U.S. are really different. But I also work as an editor and an interpreter, so I’m very used to compartmentalizing languages, which might be part of the issue. My child is growing up fully trilingual, going back and forth between languages and cultures multiple times a day and traveling at least once a year. He’s only starting to learn how to read (in both his minority languages), and I’m curious to see how all of this will play out for him when he gets older and (hopefully!) begins reading for entertainment.
I absolutely love seeing the covers of familiar books from other countries. I have a particular interest in UK covers. It’s so cool to see the differences!
I have also recently decided I would like to read more translated literature from German authors. Do you have any suggestions for good German books that are available in English? I am working on my German but definitely no where near close to being able to read a book in German!
Without knowing what kinds of books you enjoy, one of my favorite German authors is Dörte Hansen. So far, one of her books has been translated into English: Altes Land (This House Is Mine). Oh, and Clemens Meyer’s and Jenny Erpenbeck’s work! I really enjoyed Jenny Erpenbeck’s Gehen, ging, gegangen (Go, Went, Gone), and her latest book, Kairos, just won the International Booker. (Meyer’s Als wir träumten (While We Were Dreaming) was longlisted in 2023.) Both authors were born in East Germany (as I was I), and I really appreciate that perspective (even though their writing is very different).
This was so much fun seeing the covers side by side and wondering if a different cover would have sparked me to pick it up! Thanks for sharing !
I agree with the British cover for Romantic Comedy! I didn’t like the US cover at all so I had preordered the British cover (I believe they had a signed version at the time), but was so sad to give this book up after I decided to DNF at around the first 100 pages in. It was one of my most anticipated because I really loved Eligible as a modern take on P&P but alas, this wasn’t for me at all. For fun, I went back to my Goodreads review to see what I said exactly: “DNF. It took me a while to decide because of how much I liked Eligible but I am lying to myself if I said every page didn’t feel like death by a thousand cuts.”
Such a great post, Anne! Thank you for all those fun photos and your notes. I am becoming a book cover nerd, thanks to you 🙂 I live in Germany, and I 100% agree with what Tina said about the non-translated titles – this only happens for pop-hit books. In Hungary (where I was born), they always translate the title but often print the original title on the front page for recognition. I do prefer reading original versions if in any way possible (currently four languages) because cultural and linguistic nuances inevitably get lost in translation, but I also very much enjoy looking at the books´ adventurous lives in other languages and cultures 🙂
As a non-US reader, what necessitates the need to put ‘a novel’ on the US covers? Are your bookshops and libraries not generally organised by fiction/non-fiction, or is it for some type of tax break?
This is such an interesting question! I am a US reader and I have no idea! Our bookstores and libraries are organized by fiction/non-fiction so it should already be clear. And I don’t know of any tax break. I think it might be a little bit of pretention – perhaps “A Novel” sounds like serious literature vs. maybe a more fun or fluffy fiction book? But I have never noticed how many of our books do that – how strange!
I found this https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2/14/18223954/a-novel-book-cover-reading-line which elaborates some.
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