The “Heaving Breasts and Alabaster Thighs” CEFR A2-B1 Reading Program

[Speakeasy]

I must give credit to the “Heaving Breasts and Alabaster Thighs” appellation to my older sister who, at somewhere around the age of thirteen, began characterizing the ever-popular genre of romantic novels in this summary, but rather revealing, manner.

It might be just the effects of aging; however, yesterday, my wife and I were reminiscing on how we had learned each other’s language. She recalled having been given a large selection of “Harlequin Romance” novels by her Québécoise roommate, when the two of them were working in Toronto, as an easy, agreeable, low-intensity, and very affordable means of broaching the written form of the English language. Coincidentally, during my first year in Québec, I adopted an identical strategy for improving my understanding of written French. I would estimate, in retrospect, that the level of language deployed in the “Harlequin Romance” novels falls somewhere within the CEFR A2-B1 range. This series is available in numerous languages around the world.

Has anyone else used this series, or a similar device or materials, to improve their reading skills? What were your experiences?

[LunaMoonsilver]

I've recently started reading romance novels (specifically, LGBT+) in German to improve my reading but also because, well, I really like them. I'll start in Spanish soon, too. One of the good things I've found is, aside from my interest and the general language level, that if you're reading contemporary romance then there's a lot of vocabulary that's useful, which is a far cry from the fantasy I tend to also read. (Also, there are lot of these kinds of books in the Kindle Unlimited program, so I've got soooooo many books to get through )

[Lawyer&Mom]

I’ve found romance novels to be fantastically accessible in terms of language level, but kind of boring? If I’m going to read a mass market novel I prefer Chick-Lit.

Wikipedia tells us: “Chick lit is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly. The genre became popular in the late 1990s, with chick lit titles topping bestseller lists and the creation of imprints devoted entirely to chick lit. Although it sometimes includes romantic elements, chick lit is generally not considered a direct subcategory of the romance novel genre, because the heroine’s relationship with her family or friends is often just as important as her romantic relationships.”

[garyb]

I've not read any true romance or chick-lit, but one of my guilty pleasures in Italian has been Fabio Volo, who writes material just like what Lawyer&Mom describes but from male characters' perspectives. Maybe the humorous term "dick-lit" would cover this, but I've also heard it being used for anything that stereotypically appeals to a male audience like adventure and spy novels so it's probably not the right description, and Volo seems to be most successful with the typical chick-lit audience even if his protagonists are men. He's the kind of author that my Italian friends would consider trashy and laugh at me for reading, directing me instead to higher-quality literature, but his books are light and full of everyday language which is perfect at intermediate level and beyond.

I've also watched my share of romantic comedy films in target languages, for similar reasons. The ones that don't stick too rigidly to the Hollywood template can be enjoyable enough.

[zenmonkey]

A different genre but the same effect -- my father learned Portuguese primarily from reading Agatha Christie translations - I picked up a few from his house and they are here somewhere ... wait ... no ... yeah, I'll get to them someday.

Any mass market writing is probably easily accessible. I probably need to "dumb down" further my reading list.

[avalon]

Came here for the heaving breasts.

Left disappointed.

[Lawyer&Mom]

A different genre but the same effect -- my father learned Portuguese primarily from reading Agatha Christie translations - I picked up a few from his house and they are here somewhere ... wait ... no ... yeah, I'll get to them someday.

Any mass market writing is probably easily accessible. I probably need to "dumb down" further my reading list.

I just started reading a Marc Levy book. It’s magic. It *feels* like “serious literature” (young adults in England finding their way after the War), but it’s so freaking easy to read (compared to “serious literature.”) It’s a wonderful way to pretend I’m much better in French than I really am. So yes, go straight to the best seller list. If they sold millions upon millions of copies, it’s probably easier to read, regardless of genre.

[IronMike]

Nope, not gonna do it. Nope...

My opinion may change as my Italian reaches the A2 level...

[zenmonkey]

A different genre but the same effect -- my father learned Portuguese primarily from reading Agatha Christie translations - I picked up a few from his house and they are here somewhere ... wait ... no ... yeah, I'll get to them someday.

Any mass market writing is probably easily accessible. I probably need to "dumb down" further my reading list.

I just started reading a Marc Levy book. It’s magic. It *feels* like “serious literature” (young adults in England finding their way after the War), but it’s so freaking easy to read (compared to “serious literature.”) It’s a wonderful way to pretend I’m much better in French than I really am. So yes, go straight to the best seller list. If they sold millions upon millions of copies, it’s probably easier to read, regardless of genre.

You might consider Didier Daeninckx.

[Lawyer&Mom]

A different genre but the same effect -- my father learned Portuguese primarily from reading Agatha Christie translations - I picked up a few from his house and they are here somewhere ... wait ... no ... yeah, I'll get to them someday.

Any mass market writing is probably easily accessible. I probably need to "dumb down" further my reading list.

I just started reading a Marc Levy book. It’s magic. It *feels* like “serious literature” (young adults in England finding their way after the War), but it’s so freaking easy to read (compared to “serious literature.”) It’s a wonderful way to pretend I’m much better in French than I really am. So yes, go straight to the best seller list. If they sold millions upon millions of copies, it’s probably easier to read, regardless of genre.

You might consider Didier Daeninckx.

Ooh! I’ve been wanting a good yet accessible French Detective series! Thanks!