But now I'm taking it a step further. I've got started going through my books, a few at a day, more or less as they turn up, and not only working out what the title would be in German, but actually turning to the title page or whatever you call it and writing in down, right there under the English title. I'm doing it in Welsh as well, but that's a different story.
When I'm dead and/or gone, my partner in life has made it clear that all of my books are going in a big truck down to the local charity shops, bar none. So I have the happy thought that in a few years/months/weeks/days, however it turns out, someone will buy them and open them up to find , beneath the "real" title, a bit of German ... (and Welsh) .A bit of mystery will creep into their lives. They might even ....... but let's not get above ourselves.
Naturally, I would dare to suggest that you might do the same. As you can see, I got started with a book I was reading anyway, The Jenguin Pennings .... and I mentioned "using your brain flexibly" earlier ... and that title certainly makes you think, translation-wise. I looked up the gender for the German version of a penguin ( Der Pinguin) and went with that. It's a lot trickier with Welsh because a "p" at the front turns to a "b" after "Y" (= the) if it's a feminine noun. So the possibility of "Y Bengwin Jennings" looms its peculiar head. But that's my broblem.
It's a ridiculously clever and funny book, and there's quite a bit of food in it for future posts .... he uses quite a bit of German in it, for a start. And some Welsh.
But never mind about that ... it's music time, so here's Klee .."Nimm dein Leben in die Hand"