A French Book Reading Resource

All about language programs, courses, websites and other learning resources
User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:32 pm

Interesting info on France and Amazon

France
Bookshops thrive as France moves to protect sellers from Amazon

France and Amazon
Last edited by Carmody on Mon Nov 01, 2021 8:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1 x

DaveAgain
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1968
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:26 am
Languages: English (native), French & German (learning).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... &start=200
x 4050

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby DaveAgain » Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:54 pm

Carmody wrote:
It seems good but if anyone knows of some paperback that is better, I am eager to learn of it.
I think Larousse and Le Robert dominate the French domestic dictionary market.

I use a Le Robert micro (1,600 page paperback), the more comprehensive Le Petit Robert (3,000 pages) is not one you'd want to hold on your lap :-). I believe they market the Le Robert illustre (2,100 pages) as a household dictionary.
2 x

DaveAgain
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1968
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:26 am
Languages: English (native), French & German (learning).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... &start=200
x 4050

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby DaveAgain » Mon Nov 01, 2021 4:05 pm

Carmody wrote:Interesting info on France and Amazon

France and Amazon
I've been trying to buy from non-Amazon (UK) bookshops for a while, just because I think a monopoly is a bad thing. Prices aside, Amazon compare very well on speed of delivery and range of stock.

I believe Amazon has a more dominant position in the eBook market than the physical book market.
2 x

User avatar
MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2113
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
x 4823

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Mon Nov 01, 2021 5:02 pm

Carmody wrote:
MorkTheFiddle
For me, my Kindle is merely a convenient space-saver, though I do also like the built-in dictionary.

Could you tell me how many words there are in the built-in dictionary?

There is no count of the number of words in the built-in dictionary that I can find. From time to time I have to refer to my simple pocket dictionary, Merriam-Webster, though most of the time I can't be bothered. The Merrian-Webster claims to have more than 100,000 translations and over 80,000 entry words and phrases, but who is going to check them on that?
I also have Webster's New World Concise French Dictionary with "over 115,000 references and 160,000 translations. This is Amazon's page, though the copyright on my copy is 2004: French English Dictionary. Note that it is a French-English, English-French dictionary. It is more comprehensive than the Meriam-Webster and the Amazon built-in, but slightly larger and more unwieldy. Unwieldy enough that I broke it in half to keep separate the French-English from the English-French part.
I have a couple of hardbacks, too, but that is straying from the topic.
3 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Mon Nov 01, 2021 7:38 pm

DaveAgain and MorkTheFiddle

Many thanks.
2 x

User avatar
Amandine
Orange Belt
Posts: 177
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2021 8:45 am
Location: Sydney, Australia
Languages: English (N), French (B1/B2), Russian (B1), Romanian (A1, casual playing on Duolingo), Yiddish (ditto)
x 893

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Amandine » Tue Nov 02, 2021 9:45 am

Bonjour tout le monde. Weighing in a bit late on the Napoleon book issue. You might be interested in reading a relatively recent travelogue Berezina by Sylvain Tesson in which the author and some friends retrace (by soviet era motorbike and sidecar) the route of Napoleon's retreat from Russia from Moscow to Paris and along the way retells the story and talks a lot about the man and the myth. I bought the English version and then saw iBooks had the French original so I read that. It was, in fact, the first and so far only proper native-level book in French I've read from beginning to end. I'm not a big fan of Tesson's swaggering persona I must confess but I found it pretty interesting, and its not that long.
2 x

User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Tue Nov 02, 2021 1:42 pm

Amandine
Thanks so much.
0 x

User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Mon Nov 15, 2021 7:58 pm

Two book items:

Item One:
Just reread Je l'aimais by Anna Gavalda which I first read a couple of years ago, at which time I gave it a 2/10. My recent reading would suggest a 4/10 rating. I guess some things improve with age. My reason for the second reading is of course for maintenance on my vocabulary and she does have a very large amount of words that I need to learn. My problem with her is that she just drones on in this book; the plot never goes anywhere.

I am fascinated that some authors have a broad vocabulary while others like M. Duras and A. Nothomb have a more narrow vocabulary or at least more words that I know when reading.

Item Two:
I would very much like to read a one volume history of 20th century France but I can't find a good one out there in French. If anyone has ideas, please do feel free to suggest. And I have looked extensively. French history authors love to write about the World Wars, Napoleon, Charles de Gaulle, the Resistance, and seem to forget that there are other histories that can be written.

My recent copy of Bien Dire has arrived so that is as always a welcome break:

https://biendire.com/en/blog/post/206-lieux-insolites-en-france.html
4 x

guyome
Blue Belt
Posts: 601
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2020 1:41 pm
Languages: French (N)
x 2424

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby guyome » Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:13 pm

Carmody wrote:I would very much like to read a one volume history of 20th century France but I can't find a good one out there in French. If anyone has ideas, please do feel free to suggest. And I have looked extensively. French history authors love to write about the World Wars, Napoleon, Charles de Gaulle, the Resistance, and seem to forget that there are other histories that can be written.
I'm a bit surprised by your assessment of French historical writing. There seems to be no shortage of books on topics other than the ones you mentioned.

One series that seems quite popular (can be found in every bookshop) is the one published by Belin : https://www.belin-editeur.com/histoire-de-france. But maybe you disregarded it because the 20th c. part is spread over two volumes. If so, bear with me :D The volumes are very richly illustrated, with many pictures and maps (check the "extrait feuilletable" on the publisher's website). I've only read the first volumes but I think the whole series is of a similar quality.
Each volume can be bought in two sizes ("brochée" and "compacte"), the content being the same. There is also a pocket edition being published as we speak by Folio (http://www.folio-lesite.fr/Catalogue/Fo ... de-France#). It's of course less expensive but gone are the illustrations, apart from a dozen ones tucked in the middle of the book. It may be a matter of personal preferences but I'd say that the illustrations, the maps especially, make reading the books a lot more enjoyable, well worth paying around 25/30€ (for a Belin "compacte" volume) rather than 13€ for a Folio pocket one. It's possible though that some people may find the "compacte" volumes less convenient because of the size of the font.

If you're dead set on getting a one-volume history, I've heard good things about the puf series, Histoire personnelle de la France (link to the 20th c. part).

If you want something more detailed (and drier) than the two series above, check Points and their Nouvelle histoire de la France contemporaine series, 20 volumes covering the years 1787-1995. Points-Histoire has a great catalogue overall, not just this series.
7 x

User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Tue Nov 16, 2021 2:16 am

guyome

Thank you very much for your comprehensive answer. I am extremely interested in the books you suggested and will be buying them shortly.

Gratefully.
0 x


Return to “Language Programs and Resources”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests