Recommendations Needed for French Books

Laridae · 06-02-2012, 11:09 PM

I'd like to practice my French on some easier books. Can someone recommend where to start on this?
In English I like to read biographies and bestsellers mostly (Grisham, Dragon Tattoos)
My level is very rusty beginner-intermediate. (Took several years of french in high school but never really used it)

So should I start with Youth books?
And what do they mean by Simplified Books, anyways?

My public library has a bunch I can borrow but where do I start?

Is there a list of popular French-language books anywhere sorted by difficulty level?

Merci

ATDrake · 06-02-2012, 11:47 PM

Children's books are good to start with and work your way up from. Especially popular or older ones which are available in translation that you can compare against. You can also try finding French translations of English books you have read and enjoyed once you think your vocabulary is up to it.

You might want to give a try to this temporarily freebie offer (DRM-free ePub & Mobi): French Masters by Delphi Classics is a collection of public domain works which includes both the English and French versions so you can check your understanding of the story.

Hope this helps.

morantis · 06-03-2012, 01:04 AM

I will have to find it, it was an old and buried Android app that never went all the way to market. It showed both a Native language and a translated language together. One was in sub line of the other and smaller. After a certain period of time you switched the languages and your native language became the smaller one.

EowynCarter · 06-03-2012, 04:29 AM

One thing I do is read books i've already read in French (or english).

What kind of books do you like ? Polar ? SF ? Fantasy ?

The first harry potter usually are an easy read.

Yack · 06-03-2012, 06:37 AM

Sometimes youth books are not necessarily the easiest to read. My daughter could tell you...

Anyway, prefer general topics, to avoid too specific vocabulary (from this point of view, I do not think Harry Potter is a good idea). Although a little outdated, Jules Vernes is a good starting point. He has enchanted generations of french boys since decades.

You may also google for [please do not name pirate sites - moderator], but this is another story...

Insalata · 06-03-2012, 06:45 AM

I think the best thing is to pick something that you find very interesting. I really started reading French books because there were some books I really wanted to read that were only available in French. Reading easier books that didn't quite grip me never really worked for me.

Laridae · 06-03-2012, 03:47 PM

OK, thanks everyone for your fast responses.
I think I'll start with the Jules Verne, which I can remember enjoying as a kid.
And I just dl'd it from Delphi, so I'm all ready to go!

Bon voyage!

Yack · 06-03-2012, 05:56 PM

Bonne lecture !

06-02-2012, 11:09 PM	#1
Laridae Addict Posts: 208 Karma: 1203096 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Nexus 7, Blackberry PlayBook, Nexus 4, ChromeBook	Recommendations Needed for French Books I'd like to practice my French on some easier books. Can someone recommend where to start on this? In English I like to read biographies and bestsellers mostly (Grisham, Dragon Tattoos) My level is very rusty beginner-intermediate. (Took several years of french in high school but never really used it) So should I start with Youth books? And what do they mean by Simplified Books, anyways? My public library has a bunch I can borrow but where do I start? Is there a list of popular French-language books anywhere sorted by difficulty level? Merci

06-03-2012, 06:37 AM	#5
Yack Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Paris, France Device: KT/Kobo/iPad/iPhone	Sometimes youth books are not necessarily the easiest to read. My daughter could tell you... Anyway, prefer general topics, to avoid too specific vocabulary (from this point of view, I do not think Harry Potter is a good idea). Although a little outdated, Jules Vernes is a good starting point. He has enchanted generations of french boys since decades. You may also google for [please do not name pirate sites - moderator], but this is another story... Last edited by dreams; 06-04-2012 at 12:09 AM. Reason: [please do not name pirate sites - moderator]

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06-02-2012, 11:47 PM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Children's books are good to start with and work your way up from. Especially popular or older ones which are available in translation that you can compare against. You can also try finding French translations of English books you have read and enjoyed once you think your vocabulary is up to it. You might want to give a try to this temporarily freebie offer (DRM-free ePub & Mobi): French Masters by Delphi Classics is a collection of public domain works which includes both the English and French versions so you can check your understanding of the story. Hope this helps.

06-03-2012, 01:04 AM	#3
morantis Zealot Posts: 125 Karma: 769546 Join Date: May 2012 Device: none	I will have to find it, it was an old and buried Android app that never went all the way to market. It showed both a Native language and a translated language together. One was in sub line of the other and smaller. After a certain period of time you switched the languages and your native language became the smaller one.

06-03-2012, 04:29 AM	#4
EowynCarter Wizard Posts: 4,332 Karma: 4000000 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Paris Device: Cybooks; Sony PRS-T1	One thing I do is read books i've already read in French (or english). What kind of books do you like ? Polar ? SF ? Fantasy ? The first harry potter usually are an easy read.

06-03-2012, 06:45 AM	#6
Insalata Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 2092 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: UK Device: Kobo Sage, iPad	I think the best thing is to pick something that you find very interesting. I really started reading French books because there were some books I really wanted to read that were only available in French. Reading easier books that didn't quite grip me never really worked for me.

06-03-2012, 03:47 PM	#7
Laridae Addict Posts: 208 Karma: 1203096 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Nexus 7, Blackberry PlayBook, Nexus 4, ChromeBook	OK, thanks everyone for your fast responses. I think I'll start with the Jules Verne, which I can remember enjoying as a kid. And I just dl'd it from Delphi, so I'm all ready to go! Bon voyage!

06-03-2012, 05:56 PM	#8
Yack Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Paris, France Device: KT/Kobo/iPad/iPhone	Bonne lecture !

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