Most of the time, a book is the best gift you can give people. If that person loves Berlin, then we have something special for you. If you are looking for the best Berlin books, this article is for you.
Below, we’ll be pointing out some of the best books we bought in the last couple of years.
Notmsparker’s Berlin Companion
Among all the books we read about Berlin, one of our favorites is The Berlin Companion by the fantastic Beata Gontarczyk-Krampe, aka Notmsparker. We have been following her online for a long time, so we knew how much she knew about the city, but her book proves that she loves Berlin as much as she knows everything.
If you like to learn about curiosities and oddities in a city, the Berlin Companion is for you. Do you know the rules for naming the streets in Berlin? Do you know why the size of the buildings in Berlin is related to the width of the road where they stand? Do you want to see where you can ride a paternoster lift and what those are? These are some of the many things you will learn in this book.
We bought the book from one of the many books stores that sell it around Berlin. But if you’re not in Berlin, you can get this fantastic book about Berlin online at this link.
Verlassene Orte / Abandoned Berlin Book
If you’re interested in urban exploration and Berlin, you probably know about Abandoned Berlin. This website is the best online reference for learning about all the abandoned places around Berlin. But if you want an offline guidebook, you must get the Abandoned Berlin book.
You will see even more pictures of all the abandoned places around the German capital. But this is not just a picture book; Ciaran Fahey writes about all the places he visited with a language that explains and teaches in a way we almost envy. His text is deep and filled with information for those who enjoy this decaying beauty like us.
You can get your book straight from the Abandoned Berlin webshop and read the interview we did with Ciaran when the book was out.
38 Hours in Berlin or Lost in Berlin
We bought 38 Hours in Berlin a couple of years ago as a research item for an idea we didn’t implement. We bought the book because it had a lot of exciting information about Berlin and because its design is so cool. Sometimes, we buy books just because of their design.
Time passed and 38 Hours in Berlin is now called Lost in Berlin, but the content and design are still, pretty much, the same. There, you can see pictures from the Berlin Club scene in the 1990s in the same place where you will be reading about the West Berlin revival and how life is in Neukölln.
Unlike the other books in this Christmas gift guide, which has the best Berlin books we can think of, 38 Hours in Berlin feels more like a book for new Berliners. But even if you have been in Berlin for a while now, seeing places from a different perspective is always interesting.
The link below lets you get the new version of 38 Hours in Berlin.
Carl goes Berlin
Carl says Berlin is more than another city guide. Its goal is to be your creative travel companion to the city of Berlin, and they do this well.
One of our favorite things about this book is that it wants to help you become a citizen of Berlin for three days, 3 weeks, or 3 months. With this in mind, the book shows how different the city can be the longer you stay. You’ll have more time to enjoy the small things and see everything in a slower way.
This guide is focused on living in Berlin and not just seeing the main sights; this is why we like it so much. There are also interviews with locals like techno-entrepreneur Dimitri Hegemann, violin maker Thilde van Norel, and entrepreneur Aydo Schosswald, which gives a different perspective on Berlin.
You can get your Carl Goes Berlin book on the link below.
Stories From The City: A Slow Travel Berlin Anthology
One of our favorite blogs about Berlin is the impressive Slow Travel Berlin. They have been feeding the internet with high-quality content about the city since 2010, and their goal was always to go beyond the hype. This is why we read them and love this buch, calling it one of the best Berlin books.
Published in 2015, Stories From The City: A Slow Travel Berlin Anthology is a real celebration of everything the blog stands for. There, you will read about neglected Berlin suburbs and forgotten architects with many great pictures that will make you love Berlin even more.
You can get your copy of Stories From The City: A Slow Travel Berlin Anthology at their website.
These are the few books that have been sold in the last couple of years. We hope that this small list of the best Berlin books can help you choose Christmas gifts for that Berlin lover in your life.
5 of the Best Berlin Books for your Christmas Gift Guide!
But, if you still need more books, we have a bonus for you: We Will Forget Soon. This book talks about Berlin, but it focuses on the Red Army in Germany and the trails left. It wasn’t added on top since it’s not fully about Berlin, but it’s such an amazing book you need to look at.
