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In short, I'm looking for german reading material that is more diverse than the newspapers I currently read.

I do quite a bit of reading online and listening in German, but most of the resources I use are news based. As I've tried to improve my listening comprehension through watching youtube videos or shows through Netflix, I have found that the biggest issue I have is that there are still many vocabulary words or expressions that are used informally or in conversation that I have had no previous exposure. If there aren't captions it's often difficult to go back and parse what was said to search in a dictionary.

I am wondering if someone has reading suggestions for German resources or publications written in a conversational or informal style that would expose me to such vocabulary and phrases? Is there something analogous to the Onion in german? Alternatively, could you suggest several non-news focused publications or sites directed toward a younger, urban audience?

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  • How is The Onion informal? Quoting from the first article I saw: A deep appreciation dawning upon him as he came to understand the sheer wonder radiated by such a rare occurrence, conversation-starved man Ryan Kennedy reportedly finally treated bumping into his coworker as the exquisite treasure it is, sources confirmed Wednesday.
    – David Vogt
    May 20, 2020 at 16:49
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    Thomas, check out the magazine "Deutsch Perfekt" (there are articles according to a certain level of knowledge ("leicht - mittel - schwer")
    – Serena
    May 22, 2020 at 11:45

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Der Postillon is a satirical news site, if youre looking for something like a German version of the Onion. But the Onion isn't exactly informal or conversational; it mimics a news style.

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Go to the tabloids' web pages and read the user comments to the news instead of the news themselves ;-) But be aware that the language there will not only be informal but often also local (colloquial speech is often close to dialects) and quite frequently also offending.

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When focusing on "vocabulary words or expressions that are used informally or in conversation", I would recommend German comics. An obvious example would be Lustiges Taschenbuch.

https://www.lustiges-taschenbuch.de/ausgaben/alle-ausgaben/ltb-564#preview

I found that the expressions range from simple every-day phrases to quite complicated ones, which do not appear directly in a grammar or text book.

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