What case to use when saying "The book is called..."?

Question

I want to tell a person the name of a book. It is my thinking that I am to use the Nominative Case when doing this because I am describing the subject of the sentence. In English the sentence would read "The book is called 'A Roadside Picnic".

Am I right in saying this in Russian "Книга называется 'Пикник на обочине'"

Also I've seen in my text books the names of movies and hotels encased like <<Пикник на обочине>> so would saying "Книга называется <<Пикник на обочине>>" be more accurate?

Sorry for the simple question but Google failed me, or I failed Google.

Answer 1

You are absolutely right, you are to use the Nominative Case when doing that.

As for the quotation marks in Russian, using the English-style both-at-the-top quotation marks ( “like this” ) is not correct. Russian uses two kinds of quotation marks:

«ёлочки» - French-style - that is the typical and traditional quotation marks used in printed books.

„лапки“ - German-style - that is used in printed books to mark a quotation inside a quotation, and also that is used in handwriting:

«„Цыганы“ мои не продаются вовсе», — сетовал Пушкин.

To type those Russian quotation marks on a computer with Windows, you have to switch the Num Lock on, hold the Alt key, and type a code on the numpad, on the right of the keyboard. Here are the codes:

« Alt+0171

» Alt+0187

„ Alt+0132

“ Alt+0147

Alternatively, you can download and install Ilya Birman's Typography Layout, it is free and has lots of useful symbols which are easy to enter.

Answer 2

You are correct, Nominative Case is used in this situation. And correct Russian quotes are actually «» and „“ (latter is used in handwritten texts or when quotes are nested).