Hey everyone.
Let's talk about reading.
As a kid, I used to read a lot of books. When I was 12 years old, I started to read one of my favorites childhood series: Harry Potter. Then, I was introduced to Percy Jackson's series. I've spent hours reading those books, and it became a passion for a long time. I was able to read hundreds of pages in one day. However, as the years passed by, I lost this habit. I'm certain I lost it because of high school. I had to study a lot in order to maintain my scholarship.
Then, I went to University. In there, I had to read a lot of scientific papers, and by the time I got free time, I didn't want to spend it reading other things. Gradually, I stopped reading for my own pleasure once and for all. Sometimes I read one or the other books, but it's hard to hold consistency.
By the time I was a very good reader, my favorite genres were fantasy and fiction.
I really want to create the habit of reading again, but this time in a foreign language. I was thinking in read the series I used to like, this time in English. Maybe, by knowing the background of the story, it would be easier to read it. Also, it would be extremely good for improving the language, because I would be expanding my vocabulary for informal and daily conversations. The problem is that I don't enjoy that much the things I liked in the past. So, I need to get good book recommendations for adults.
Maybe if I read a book every week or two weeks I'll improve my English quickly.
Do you have any recommendations?
What's your relationship with reading? I would like to know.
I'll see you in my next post.
I would choose books that have easy sentences, to start with. I think Hemingway would be easy to start with.
I read every day. I try to read at least 50 pages. I would like to read German books, too, but I haven't found the motivation, yet.
Good luck!
You should absolutely read the Harry Potter series in English, or even the first book! If you know the story well it will make figuring out the grammar and vocabulary much easier. The His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman ("The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife," and "The Amber Spyglass") is also very good if you like Harry Potter, as is The Lost Years of Merlin series by T.A. Barron if you like the idea of King Arthur and Merlin stories
I also used to read a lot when I was a teenager, but lost the habit during University.
I think trying to read fantasy and science-fiction can be quite difficult in any language, so I would aim at young adult novels like you suggested (Harry Potter). I really liked Tamora Pierce as a teenager, she writes a lot of books in the same universe, and her way of writing is very simple, so perhaps this will be easier to tackle.
I also really liked C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, The Wardrobe growing up (and the whole series). You can also watch the movies they made from some of the books in English as well!
The first books I ever read in English were the Harry Potter series. Nowadays I actually read more in English than in Portuguese! I especially like high fantasy books like The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, and The Wheel of Time. I was like you until a few years ago since I used to read a lot when I was a teenager but then fell out of the habit. In late 2018, though, I decided I wanted to go back to reading. I set out to find books I was sure I'd like, looked up youtubers who talked about books (aka booktubers) so I'd get even more recommendations and also for the inspiration they provided. Since then, I've read over 120 books and counting :D. I'd suggest you find booktubers who like the same types of books you like and start from their recs. From then on, well... My current TBR (to be read books) has hundreds of books, more than I'd get to read in a couple of lifetimes. But I wouldn't change it one bit hahaha
thank you all so much for helping me
Wow, Eduardo. That's really inspiring. I'll follow your tips
I think many of us fall into the same reading slump that you've experienced. I tore through books at a blinding pace when I was younger and now it's tough for me to devote time to finishing a book I've started. My roommate is a writer and his strategy to keep up on reading is to set a yearly goal for the number of books he wants to read. This may not work for everyone but I think having goals can be helpful. My goal for the year is to read all (or most) of the books on my shelf that I have not actually read (there are many).
I think for reading in a new language the suggestions to start with young adult books are spot on. Books for young readers are intentionally uncomplicated in the language that they use because young readers, like non-native readers, are not yet fluent in English. Good luck!
Learning through reading is so powerful. I want to continue the same with Portuguese and Spanish. Any book recommendations?
Thank you so much for your corrections, Halibut. I've learned a lot of things.
Arik_Abraham, I can recommend two youtube channels: Pam Gonçalves and BelRodrigues. They're Brazilian booktubers and can give you tons of book recommendations. I really like them. Also, you can practice your Portuguese by watching it.
Adult fantasy? Don't pass up Deborah Harkness' trilogy that begins with "A Discovery of Witches" - it is great, and she is actually a history professor at Berkeleys (or was the last time I checked). Also, I sometimes read along with an audiobook or a recording on YouTube because it makes me read faster. I do not always stop to look up words because I just want to enjoy the stories.