Is there any source to find German books categorised in terms of reading ease?

Question

There are numerous readability measures like Flesch Readability test, Wiener Sachtextformel, etc. But is there someplace I could actually find common books listed with their respective reading ease scores? This source could be based on any of the major readability measures (Lesbarkeitsindex), The list would ideally be clearly categorized in terms of type (fiction, non-fiction, specialist texts, etc.).

I am an intermediate learner of German, and I am looking for books that are readable for someone like me. I can imagine such a source of scientifically measured readability would be helpful for all learners, so it would be wonderful if someone can suggest such an information source.

Answer 1

When I was at a similar point in learning english, I thought childrens books are quite good, so I read Harry Potter. Also, when I read Charles Dickens, there may be many words I've never heard before, but the meaning is pretty obvious from the context. So in my opinion, this was quite a good choice.

I also watch comedy (big bang theory) or read comics (manga), because they use quite a narrow group of words and if you've seen them all, it get's very easy.

So similar stuff in german would be books aimed at a younger audience, german tv-soaps or comics.

I personally like Andreas Eschbach. He does not only write "normal" books for everyone, but also such for teenagers and his style in writing is quite good. Also, those books don't really have that kind of childrens plot you may expect, but a serious one.

Good luck with you progress!