The expression 'bookworm' means someone who enjoys reading. Are you a bookworm? Have you read any books that are not in your native language?
Sometimes we focus too much on perfecting our conversational skills and getting bogged down with the nuances of grammar that often reading is neglected. Reading books can also help shape the way we think and speak in our second language.
Many of my teen students don’t enjoy reading but there are some who do and it delights me when they share their favourite books or show interest when I ask them "so... who's your favourite author?" When their eyes light up it warms my heart.
Reading needn’t be solitary you can also read aloud with others.
If you haven’t yet, have you considered joining a book club? Whether it’s online, in a Zoom call, a What’s App group or in a public space like a cafe, library or the park (when the warmer weather allows it). Joining a bookclub is like a small community and can be added to extra curricular language learning activities, right alongside watching your favourite Netflix show. By becoming part of a book club you get to read a book with people from different backgrounds and you’re sharing a common goal together, to improve your language skills through a love of books and languages.
A book club is proven to be a fun experience, it can improve your vocabulary, pronunciation, and comprehension. Reading a book in it's original language can sometimes help us understand the language and culture better and you may discover books you’d never heard of before.
Below is a list of some of my recommendations in English, French and Spanish in no particular order of preference. I find it difficult to choose one specific favourite book. What I love about reading is that it’s a form of escapism, whether fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, a classic, it’s different worlds you can inhabit for a hundred or so pages. We can learn so much about the world thru reading.
A selection of some of my favourites:
The Summer Book and Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson creator of the Moomins captured much of her own life and spirit in The Summer Book, which was her favourite of her adult novels. It’s an island adventure in the Finnish archipelago full of small joys and mischief.
In Moominland Midwinter Moomintroll accidentally awakes and finds himself stranded and alone in a mysterious world blanketed with snow and begins to explore this glittering new landscape.
The Moomins, in case you didn’t know, are kind, philosophical creatures with velvety fur and smooth round snouts, who live in a tall blue house in a beautiful woodland valley, beside the sea. They love the sunshine and sleep all through the winter months, waking up when spring arrives. Read by children and adults alike.
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico
The Snow Goose is a simple, but haunting novella on friendship and love, set against a backdrop of the horror of war. It documents the growth of a friendship between Philip Rhayader, a solitary artist who lives in an abandoned lighthouse in the marshlands of Essex and a young local girl, Fritha.
La sombra del viento / The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The novel opens in the 1940s with the protagonist, Daniel, a boy whose father owns a bookshop in Barcelona. One day, his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten books—a secret labyrinthine library that houses rare and banned books.
I have only read the English translation but I would love to understand Spanish well enough to experience the original. If you have visited the beautiful city of Barcelona Ruiz Zafon’s series will transport you to its labyrinth streets. It is so evocative of my time there.
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
Strangers on a train is also a great film adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock. Highsmith also wrote the Ripley works - The Talented Mr. Ripley is also a film, personally I prefer the French film version Plein Soleil.
Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Expery
Le Petit Prince is intended for native French readers. It’s a classic story written for children (but loved by adults too!) about a boy from a tiny planet, whose rocket has been forced down to Earth.
Mozart Letters
What was Mozart really like? Wild? Sublime? Responsible? Fun-loving? Bright? Foul-mouthed? Reading these new translations of Mozart's letters, the composer at his most intimate and unguarded, expressing his feelings about life, love, music and the world around him.
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
His Dark Materials is an epic trilogy of fantasy novels It follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes.
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller by Italo Calvino
is a 1979 novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino. The postmodernist narrative, in the form of a frame story, is about the reader trying to read a book called If on a winter's night a traveler.
The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov
An enchanting collection of tales which showcase Anton Chekhov at the height of his power as a writer.
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
This is the author's memoir of his days as a young writer in Paris. He describes the struggle he had to sell his stories.
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Just Kids is a memoir by Patti Smith, documenting her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe. "I didn't write it to be cathartic," she noted. "I wrote it because Robert asked me to”.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. A devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
A bewitching account of a rare and magical childhood on the island of Corfu by British conservationist Gerald Durrell. Escaping the bad British climate, the Durrell family – take off for the island of Corfu. The Durrells find that they must share their villa with a menagerie of local fauna – among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies. It's a wonderful account of a rare, magical childhood.
Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
After relocating to Weimar-era Berlin to work on a novel, an English writer explores the decadent nightlife of the city and becomes entangled in the colourful lives of a diverse array of Berlin denizens.
Circe by Madeleine Miller
Circe is set during the Greek Heroic Age, it is an adaptation of various Greek myths, most notably the Odyssey, as told from the perspective of the witch Circe. The novel explores Circe's origin story and narrates Circe's encounters with mythological figures such as Hermes, the Minotaur, Jason, and Medea, and ultimately her romance with Odysseus and his son, Telemachus.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott’s most popular and enduring novel. There’s talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy, united in their devotion to each other and their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War. Alcott based Little Women on her own early life.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
First published in 1847 a Victorian novel with its realistic portrayal of the inner life of a woman, noting her struggles with her natural desires and social condition.
Paris Stories - Everyman’s Pocket Classics, Short Stories on Paris
If you're a francophile like me this is a perfect read to transport you to the City of Light - strolling the streets and parks like a flaneur, enjoying cafe life to people watch or write just like the philosophers Simone De Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre once did in the infamous Cafe de Flore.
Other books I recommend for English reading especially for intermediate levels are The Harry Potter series and Agatha Christie Books.
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
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photography by Sarah L Shaw ©