Le groupe français 2016 - 2023 Les Voyageurs

[ThebigAmateur]

Thank you so much for your detailed response. What I meant by beginner-friendly was books for learners who want to start reading real native novels, not books for beginner learners. I think I know about 5,000 French words, and although it's not that much for reading books, I believe it's not that bad for starting to read simpler novels either.

[emk]

Thank you so much for your detailed response. What I meant by beginner-friendly was books for learners who want to start reading real native novels, not books for beginner learners. I think I know about 5,000 French words, and although it's not that much for reading books, I believe it's not that bad for starting to read simpler novels either.

Yeah, then definitely check out the SensCritique FLE lists, which have a nice selection of books commonly used to teach French students integrating into French society.

Beyond that, please let us know what kind of books you like! Science? History? Mysteries? Science fiction? Romance? World culture?

With a vocabulary around 5,000 words, you should be able to read lots of stuff. The first couple of books might be a little bumpy but you should adapt fast.

[ThebigAmateur]

Beyond that, please let us know what kind of books you like! Science? History? Mysteries? Science fiction? Romance? World culture?

I'm not an avid reader. I don't read in my native language at all. But I like reading in foreign languages. My English isn't that advanced so I haven't read many books in English either, but I would love to read the lord of the rings trilogy.
I also like to read classics like The Great Gatsby.
Besides fiction, I like history and philosophy. I haven't read anything realated to those subjects but I like listening to history podcasts. So if you have suggestions for nonfiction history or philosophy books that are not complicated let me know!
Thanks again.

[emk]

I'm not an avid reader. I don't read in my native language at all. But I like reading in foreign languages. My English isn't that advanced so I haven't read many books in English either, but I would love to read the lord of the rings trilogy.

If you like fantasy, there are some options on my SensCritique SF & fantasy list.

Also consider Le Tour du Monde. It is a classic, and very easy to find. It's older, but not in a way that should cause major problems. Definitely consider using an ereader with a built-in dictionary, because there's a a bit of descriptive vocabulary.

La Nuit des temps (1968) is a more recent French science fiction classic. Might be a little too hard as a first book, depending on your level?

And since you like classics, also check out L'Étranger. It's one of the most popular "first books" for French students in school, and it's not too hard.

Besides fiction, I like history and philosophy. I haven't read anything realated to those subjects but I like listening to history podcasts. So if you have suggestions for nonfiction history or philosophy books that are not complicated let me know!
Thanks again.

Hmm, it isn't history or philosophy, but you might enjoy Persepolis. It's the autobiography of a young girl growing up in Iran who emigrated to France. It's funny, it has tons of interesting cultural details, and it contains plenty of text. I recommend this mostly because it has been a Super Challenge favorite for many people.

Izneo has a a bunch of historical BDs available in digital format, and a lot of titles like this are actually quite interesting in my experience. On a more advanced level, Moi René Tardi, prisonnier de guerre au Stalag IIB is an excellent historical biography.

I have a bunch of other interesting history books, but most of them I bought well into the Challenge, and so I have no way to judge their difficulty. And some of them are probably out of print, or hard to track down.

[DaveAgain]

Besides fiction, I like history and philosophy. I haven't read anything realated to those subjects but I like listening to history podcasts. So if you have suggestions for nonfiction history or philosophy books that are not complicated let me know!
Thanks again.

Henriette Walter's Honni soit qui mal y pense gives an overview of French history and language, and compares it to English history and language, highlighting the similarities between the two.

Jostein Gaarder's books are all a blend of philosophy and fiction, and the vocabulary is not too demanding.

If you can accept the archaic spelling in Numelyo's copy, Pope Gregory's pastoral care is very readable.

[MorkTheFiddle]

In deference to Ilya Frank, what kind of stuff does the OP like to read? They say they want to read a ton of books, so maybe they should tell us what some of the titles are, and we can go from there.
Edit: Er, sorry. Maybe Mork should read ALL the thread before making a post as dumb as this.

So. If you liked The Great Gatsby, some of the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American contemporaries might be to your liking. Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Betty Smith, etc. These authors wrote many a book, but Hemingway's most famous book is probably For Whom the Bell Tolls, Steinbeck's is The Grapes of Wrath, Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

In French, there is La Condition Humain by André Malraux, who wrote in a simple style similar to Hemingway's. It was the first book I read once out of French classes. I would also endorse L'Étranger by Camus as being fairly easy. His La Chute might make more sense. Anything by Colette probably--Cheri is famous and easy, and maybe also anything by Marguerite Duras (though beware that The North China Lover is about pedophilia).

I dunno. Others have made fine suggestions, I think..

[ThebigAmateur]

In deference to Ilya Frank, what kind of stuff does the OP like to read? They say they want to read a ton of books, so maybe they should tell us what some of the titles are, and we can go from there.

As I mentioned, I'm not an avid reader. There aren't many interesting novels written in my native language (Farsi). I'm learning French mostly for French literature. Writers like Céline and Proust are famous in my country, and I'd like to one day read their works in the original French.
There is also "Les Thibault," which seems not to be as famous in other countries, but it's one of the most famous French novels in my country. It has more than 2000 pages, and I can't wait to read it. However, I think that until I know around 10,000 words, it's not reasonable to approach those titles.

What do you guys think about Romain Gary? Did he write his books in a straightforward way?

Thanks to emk and DaveAgain for their suggestions. I'm going to check some of them out. I'm not a huge fan of comic books, but other suggestions might be suitable for me.

[jeffers]

Thank you so much for your detailed response. What I meant by beginner-friendly was books for learners who want to start reading real native novels, not books for beginner learners. I think I know about 5,000 French words, and although it's not that much for reading books, I believe it's not that bad for starting to read simpler novels either.

You mentioned that you have Le Petit Nicolas? How difficult have you found that to read? That would probably give us a better benchmark of what you can access than a vocabulary number (although 5000 words is pretty high for an A2). If you don't find them too difficult, the whole series is there for you. Incidentally, the author is the same man who originally wrote the stories for the Asterix BDs.

Pierre Gripari has a couple wonderful collection of stories which look like children's stories but are really aimed at adults: La sorciere de la rue Mouffetard and Le gentil petit diable. The narratives are clear and interesting, and the audiobooks read by the author are delightful to listen to.

The other thing you could try is simply see how a grown up novel goes for you. The problem I have had with adult novels in French is that one will be completely clear to me, and another will be very difficult. One example that I found relatively easy to read, but still very engaging, was Le chapeau de Mitterand by Antoine Laurain.

Finally, consider the standard recommendation for almost any language these days: Harry Potter. If you like fantasy at all, they're a no-brainer for language learning.

[DaveAgain]

What do you guys think about Romain Gary? Did he write his books in a straightforward way?

I've not read any of his fiction, but I did read and enjoy the autobiographical la promesse de l'aube. I don't remember the vocabulary being too hard, but it's a long time since I read it.

[ThebigAmateur]

You mentioned that you have Le Petit Nicolas? How difficult have you found that to read? That would probably give us a better benchmark of what you can access than a vocabulary number (although 5000 words is pretty high for an A2).

Thanks for your suggestions, La Sorcière de la Rue Mouffetard seems interesting.
Yes I've read the two first books in le petit Nicolas series. I'd say I can handle slightly more challenging books than those. And A2 is because I haven't taken any test and I'm terrible at producing the language, but my reading and listening skills are much better since I only practice them.
I haven't read Harry Potter, so I might as well read them in the original English.
I tried percy Jackson's french translation which bored me to death so dropped it after 4-5 chapters. I know adults enjoy reading it as well but it wasn't interesting to me.


have you guys read anything by Joel Dicker?