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| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5206 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 401 of 668 30 March 2014 at 2:53pm | IP Logged |
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I don't have any suggestions for children's novels because I jumped straight into the real thing. Instead of "children's" books, "young adult" novels might be more appropriate. Have you had a look at the guides to Spanish literature Core Spanish Collection for Children and Young Adults 2011 & Librarian's 500 Top Picks: The Core Spanish Collection and also The New Essential Guide to Spanish Reading (2012) from americareadsspanish.org? These are written (with a short synopsis of each book, in English) to encourage more reading in Spanish in the US. The "children and young adults" guide has "appropriate age group" descriptions in the synopsis. I'm sure you'll be able to find something without wizards/fantasy.
Edited by iguanamon on 30 March 2014 at 9:56pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5809 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 402 of 668 31 March 2014 at 6:48am | IP Logged |
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I read a couple translations that i found at the library and jumped straight to the "real thing", too. I'd recommend doing the same, perhaps there's something by Isabel Allende or Gabriel García Márquez you might like. I really enjoyed reading "Relato de un náufrago", it's short but a pretty captivating story. Most of the books i've read ended up just being what i found for 1-2€ in used bookshops in Spain without paying much attention to who wrote it. Later i started to be a bit more selective and hitting up the library more (and actually buying new books) and now i've got so many books lined up i think it'll take me years to get through them all, but i can't help but add new books to the waiting list.
I think you're far beyond the point where it makes sense to use translations, it's time to start enjoying some original Spanish literature! 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5319 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 403 of 668 31 March 2014 at 12:43pm | IP Logged |
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Wow, I am amazed by the suggestions. It is funny how at the beginning of my study of Spanish I had a hard time finding resources and now I just get overwhelmed. Thank you for your suggestions. I certainly won't have a shortage of reading material with iguanamon's links.
I am quite a finicky person and the thing I fear with Spanish is that I will just quit someday and move on to something else. Trying to look at the big picture I know that reading things that actually interest me and keep me using the language is far more important to me than reading native written material. I don't mind slowing my progress a bit if it means that I am going to continue progressing for several more years. The reason I read translations is what I think of as the "risk" factor. I know that if I read a John Grisham book I will not hate it and quit. I will probably like reading it and look forward to reading it every day. I know this sounds somewhat silly, but it is true. I hardly ever read fiction in English because it seems like somewhat of a waste of time to me. I know I can always quit a bad book and move to another, but something else that keeps me going is the sense of accomplishment of finishing something I start. I believe investing time and effort into what I am actually going to do with my time is going to yield better results. I do this in all phases of my life because I think it results in better decisions. I put time, effort, energy and money into my decisions before I make them and I committ to them with confidence and I have seen that makes for better results (because it results in better decisions). Anyway, that being said, one book I have been eyeing for a long time to read is Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. I definitely want to read that book at sometime in the future. I am sure it will be on my short list as soon as I get to a good enough level to read it without too much difficulty. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5809 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 404 of 668 31 March 2014 at 2:41pm | IP Logged |
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It's funny you mention that book, i just finished it no more than a week ago. I also don't read a lot of fiction anymore, so i can understand that especially as i also feel like it is a bit of a waste of time, especially if i don't really get any sort of meaning out of it. But i guess sometimes you can write 'cuz you've got something to say and sometimes just to entertain. I can appreciate (almost) all kinds of writing, i suppose some just have more meaning and interest to me personally.
And do what you gotta do, but i do think being able to speak Spanish opens the doors to an amazing amount of new literature that is really incredible. It might take a little while before you find something you really like, but there's a lot of great stuff out there that i had no idea about when i first decided to study Spanish. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5319 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 405 of 668 06 April 2014 at 3:00pm | IP Logged |
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Yes, my Spanish opens up a ton of doors to literature for me to explore... so does my English :)
Spanish is going well. I am slowly working through Man, Economy and State. I have also been watching episodes of My Name is Earl. The last few days I have been listening/reading the Spanishpodcast.org lessons because I am on a multi-day road trip for work and I forgot my books (except I do have my computer and my Cassell's book). I did a nice meetup this week. There was a new woman who was not native but was what she described as "above C2." I sat next to her and simply listened most of the time and was able to understand quite well when she had a lengthy conversation with someone who was probably a solid C1+. I am quite pleased that my listening/understanding is definitely improving. I have put exercising on hold so I have not made much progress on Cassell's. Today, however, I have ton's of free time so I plan to sit down and read from it for a couple hours. I have noticed I definitely have a preference for Latino Spanish over Spain Spanish. I see this when I surf for movies or TV series. I look to see which type of Spanish it is and if it is Latino I notice a bit more pleasure in the thought of watching it. I'm not really sure why, perhaps, because being here in the US Latino Spanish simply seems more useful. I also note that I am not enjoying the Spain Spanish Earl episodes nearly as much as the Latino Earl. He was absolutely hilarious in Latino Spanish and I understood things MUCH better. I do seem to like women's voices in Spain Spanish... I love listening to Mercedes on Spanishpodcast.org. It has such a soothing effect. I only have two more episodes in the first season of Earl. I'll watch those two and then either move back to the Simpsons or something else. I really like the 30 minute TV shows for my Spanish. It is just so nice and easy to sit down for 22 minutes and get some Spanish in. I am starting to seriously think about expanding my business in ways to appeal more to Spanish speakers. There is definitely a market out there that needs to be filled. The problem is that it costs money to do things. I may start just trying to do "free" (things that only require my effort and not my money) to reach out to Spanish speakers. I need to make them know that my services are available and that typically costs money that I need for other business endeavors. I have been thinking of simply working on the Spanish web pages I made about a year ago and really creating a separate website that would be out there and maybe market it a bit when I have it done. I figure that if I spent my 30-60 minutes of "Spanish time" every morning working on the website and Spanish business development I'd really be able to get a ton of stuff done after a month or two. It's just a matter of doing it. It makes me realize that I am starting to regret neglecting my writing skills. This was the month I set aside for a trip. I have, by default, decided not to travel. I guess a Spanish trip will be out of the question until November-ish. Oh well. That's it for now. I may update some more things later, but I am short for time on something I have to do right now. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5319 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 406 of 668 07 April 2014 at 2:03am | IP Logged |
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I've had much of the day free today because I am away from home. I did a lot of Spanish. I watched Episode 2 of Star Wars and seemed to understand it quite easily (I had never seen it in English so it was all new). If the dubbing of a show or movie is done clearly I can understand it almost perfectly. I also read quite a bit from the Cassell's book. I surfed the internet quite a bit for movies and series. There is tons of stuff out there.
I'll now update my goals for 2014: Read any 15 books in Spanish. -> 4.5 done (Anthem, Joven Abogado #1 and #2, Narnia #1 and more than half of Man, Economy and State) Watch any 100 30 minute TV episodes in Spanish -> more than 95+ done Re-read Cassell's Colloquial Spanish -> finished the "G" section. Re-read Practice Makes Perfect "Subjunctive Up Close." -> No progress yet. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5809 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 407 of 668 07 April 2014 at 2:12am | IP Logged |
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I used to prefer the Latin American Spanish versions of movies and shows, too, but after living in Spain i don't really care that much either way. I find for movie dubs, Spain Spanish dubs tend to be a bit better quality but i'll take whatever i can get. It's a bit odd being back in the states now and having to readjust to the accents here.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5319 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 408 of 668 13 April 2014 at 4:33pm | IP Logged |
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My goals for 2014:
Read any 15 books in Spanish. -> 4.75 done (Anthem, Joven Abogado #1 and #2, Narnia #1 and more than three quarters of Man, Economy and State) Watch any 100 30 minute TV episodes in Spanish -> COMPLETE (100+ done) Re-read Cassell's Colloquial Spanish -> finished the "G" section. Re-read Practice Makes Perfect "Subjunctive Up Close." -> No progress yet. Discussion: I finished the first half of the second volume of ME&S this week. I do like the book, but my mind starts to wander after about 45 minutes. I rarely need to look up any words. I started the second Harry Potter book. This morning I read chapter 6. I am listening to the audio and following along with the text. The narrator is great. I love his voice. I am somewhat disappointed in my Spanish. I am able to follow the story but I miss much of the details. I read a short chapter summary in English after each chapter and I realize how much I miss. I don't seem to be missing anything that is critically important, but it is quite discouraging. There are quite a few words (usually descriptive or wizard words) that I don't know. Finally, I just don't think I can get excited about Harry Potter. It just does not interest me that much. That being said, this book seems better than the first. I note that Harry Potter is very significantly harder than the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham. Boone is also a very interesting story. If anyone is looking for a good entry level series in Spanish I'd highly recommend Boone. I did not do too much else this week. I did a meetup. I am not really into meetups anymore. I am usually exhausted by the end of the day and I just don't feel like talking too much in Spanish. Also, there are rarely any native speakers and not too often are there any speakers even very advanced. I'd really like to move on to adult books. I am wondering if some adult books are actually easier than Harry Potter and Narnia. How hard an adult Grisham book could be. Or, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I did not think the DaVinci Code was that hard and the audio is pretty slow. Or, biographies cannot be that hard. I'll do some thinking because my plan to go through Harry Potter, Hobbitt, Narnia, Lord of the Rings just is not going to work. It does not excite me. I am thinking of maybe just doing a challenging book and listening in Spanish while following along in English. I may do that with a Follett book. I'd like to read Pillars of the Earth. Anyway, I am also realizing that I need more work on my grammar. I can easily get by, but I make a lot of small mistakes with articles and prepositions and gender. Edit: I forgot to add that I have been doing well watching TV in the evenings. I finished the first season of My Name is Earl and I watched the first six episodes of the sixth season of the Simpsons. Watching the Simpsons sees quite easy and enjoyable. That does not mean I am getting all the details (I miss quite a bit), but it does mean it does not feel at all like "studying" Spanish. Edited by James29 on 13 April 2014 at 4:38pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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