Is there anything like Hoopla in Germany?

[4KookieKids]

I'm not sure why it took me so long to realize, but I FINALLY realized that if US libraries will let non-residents pay for a library card, and access their online resources, maybe (just maybe!) other places do that as well. Does anyone know of any German libraries that have services like hoopla where you can get ebook access (even if it's paid), rather than just buying every book we want to read? 

[Matryoshka]

2 minutes ago, 4KookieKids said:

I'm not sure why it took me so long to realize, but I FINALLY realized that if US libraries will let non-residents pay for a library card, and access their online resources, maybe (just maybe!) other places do that as well. Does anyone know of any German libraries that have services like hoopla where you can get ebook access (even if it's paid), rather than just buying every book we want to read? 

What a good question!  I've been spending a fortune buying German books!

[El...]

I haven't used Hoopla, so I'm not sure if my idea is on track, but have you considered getting Amazon prime  for the amazon.de site, and using unlimited reading? It would cost some, but maybe you could get a free trial to make sure they had what you wanted. 

Amazon.de has a separate prime fee from the .com, but it's cheaper than the US version. 

[4KookieKids]

2 hours ago, elroisees said:

I haven't used Hoopla, so I'm not sure if my idea is on track, but have you considered getting Amazon prime  for the amazon.de site, and using unlimited reading? It would cost some, but maybe you could get a free trial to make sure they had what you wanted. 

Amazon.de has a separate prime fee from the .com, but it's cheaper than the US version. 

Hmmm, this is an interesting thought, though our experience with Amazon unlimited is that the selection is far smaller than even a small library collection. But, I've never even thought to check the .de site, so I'll definitely check it out!

[Matryoshka]

2 hours ago, elroisees said:

I haven't used Hoopla, so I'm not sure if my idea is on track, but have you considered getting Amazon prime  for the amazon.de site, and using unlimited reading? It would cost some, but maybe you could get a free trial to make sure they had what you wanted. 

Amazon.de has a separate prime fee from the .com, but it's cheaper than the US version. 

Huh, I hadn't thought of that.  I'd have to figure out how to download the Kindle app!  Or buy a Kindle...  I read all my US ebooks in epub format on Overdrive on my phone...  I read about 10 German books a year - I can get most used through Amazon US 3rd-party (usually Momox) for about $15-25 incl. shipping - I do have a backlog of hardcopy ones sitting here for me to work through...  and every now and then I luck out and find a book I'm looking for through my library consortium (almost always hardcopy - there seems to be nothing on Overdrive in German except for Harry Potter...)

Edited May 1, 2020 by Matryoshka

[4KookieKids]

2 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

 I read about 10 German books a year - I can get most used through Amazon US 3rd-party (usually Momox) for about $15-25 incl. shipping - I do have a backlog of hardcopy ones sitting here for me to work through...  and every now and then I luck out and find a book I'm looking for through my library consortium (almost always hardcopy - there seems to be nothing on Overdrive in German except for Harry Potter...)

Yes, this is where I was thinking that a library subscription would pay for itself in just a few short months. I know that (state-side) I've found that even the more expensive ones aren't much more than $50/year, and those are to major libraries. Here's a list of some I found, but I know that last time I looked this up, there were far more places near me (like neighboring states) that offered e-library-cards than are listed on this site.

https://www.aworldadventurebybook.com/blog/libraries-with-non-resident-borrowing-privileges

[4KookieKids]

I found this, but I'm still trying to figure out if I can sign up with a participating library from a different continent. lol. They have a place to sign up outside of Germany, but the participating countries list is pretty small.

https://www.onleihe.net

Edited May 2, 2020 by 4KookieKids

[4KookieKids]

It also turns out that amazon.com's kindle unlimited does have a good number of German ebooks as well. (Far more than hoopla or overdrive, at least.)

https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&bbn=9074047011&rh=n%3A133140011%2Cn%3A9069934011%2Cn%3A9074044011%2Cn%3A9074047011%2Cn%3A10727696011&dc&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1588426857&rnid=9074047011&ref=sr_nr_n_5

 

Amazon is confusing because some of their content is shared (you can migrate it from one marketplace to another) while other content is not shared (e.g., audible books do not play as nicely when migrating between marketplaces).

Edited May 2, 2020 by 4KookieKids

[Matryoshka]

9 minutes ago, 4KookieKids said:

It also turns out that amazon.com's kindle unlimited does have a good number of German ebooks as well. (Far more than hoopla or overdrive, at least.)

https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&bbn=9074047011&rh=n%3A133140011%2Cn%3A9069934011%2Cn%3A9074044011%2Cn%3A9074047011%2Cn%3A10727696011&dc&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1588426857&rnid=9074047011&ref=sr_nr_n_5

 

Amazon is confusing because some of their content is shared (you can migrate it from one marketplace to another) while other content is not shared (e.g., audible books do not play as nicely when migrating between marketplaces).

I have noticed when looking for German books on Amazon US that a lot more is available on Kindle, but it's still usually cheaper to get a used book.  How much is Kindle unlimited?  

Edited May 2, 2020 by Matryoshka

[4KookieKids]

10 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

I have noticed when looking for German books on Amazon US that a lot more is available on Kindle, but it's still usually cheaper to get a used book.  How much is Kindle unlimited?  

It is $10/month, with no limit on the number of books you can get each month (only limit is 10 at any one point in time). So for us, it might be perfect for letting my children and I read more books (if we each had 2 going, we'd hit the 10 limit. lol. And kids books are shorter and quicker, which is a problem sometimes with hoopla (where there are monthly limits), but wouldn't be such a problem if you could get another as soon as you returned the one you're finished with. 

It *says* there are 9000 hits just in the ebooks for kids in German category, and some of them look pretty cute. It definitely seems like it'd be less about "finding a specific one we want" and more about just "finding something we can use to homeschool kids in two languages."

[Matryoshka]

19 minutes ago, 4KookieKids said:

It is $10/month, with no limit on the number of books you can get each month (only limit is 10 at any one point in time). So for us, it might be perfect for letting my children and I read more books (if we each had 2 going, we'd hit the 10 limit. lol. And kids books are shorter and quicker, which is a problem sometimes with hoopla (where there are monthly limits), but wouldn't be such a problem if you could get another as soon as you returned the one you're finished with. 

It *says* there are 9000 hits just in the ebooks for kids in German category, and some of them look pretty cute. It definitely seems like it'd be less about "finding a specific one we want" and more about just "finding something we can use to homeschool kids in two languages."

That would make a lot of sense for kids, where they whip through the books. 

When my kids were young, they went to German Saturday School, where they had a huge lending library.  I was spoiled. Now that it's just me, $10 a month is already about what I'm spending on the hardcopies...

[Miss Tick]

I have three dc interested in learning German, two of whom have started to move beyond hobby-interest level. However, I don't know any German beyond what I've been picking up working with my youngest. This conversation had been great for thinking about resources to help them move into the language in a wider sense. Up until now I have made some fairly random Amazon purchases. Thanks for the ideas!