Our Favorite French Books
Salut tout le monde!
Here are some French books you might be interested in. We also have some books in English that you might find interesting as well. If you want to check out a book, just click the link we’ve provided below the title.
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Children’s Books
Children’s books can be great if you’re just starting your French language journey. They can also be good for those of you with young children learning French and it’s something you can spend time doing together as a family.
We tried to pick books that would teach you vocabulary and sentence structures that could be useful in real life situations like going to the supermarket, riding a bike, going camping, etc…
Petit Ours Brun
Comic Books
If you’ve studied French a bit, I think comic books can be a really good way to work on your French! The dialogue between characters is often much more conversational and a lot of times you’ll see French slang and vocabulary you wouldn’t normally see in French literature. There are also pictures which can make understanding what’s going on in the story much easier.
Tintin
Superman: Monstres et merveilles
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More Advanced French
These books can be more challenging, but if you feel up to it you should definitely give it a try. Even if you had to look up every word and only read a page a day, at least you’re making some progress! This is a great way to grow your vocabulary while doing something you enjoy.
I always encourage French students to start reading books that were written for native speakers as soon as they can, even if they don’t feel quite ready. It can be daunting at first, but once you start you’ll often find you’re much better at reading in French than you think.
The Little Prince:
A French/English Bilingual Reader
(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
This book is great because it has both English and French side by side, which can really give you a unique perspective on constructing French sentences.
L’étranger
(Albert Camus)
This is one of my favorite books and I find it a good place to start getting into French literature.
Les Fleurs du Mal: The Flowers of Evil: the complete dual language edition
(Charles Baudelaire)
I really like Baudelaire and I personally prefer reading French poetry over novels. Poems are shorter, so it can be easier to read and you feel a sense of accomplishment when you get through one. It’s also a lot of fun to figure out the meaning behind the poem.
Huis Clos
(Jean-Paul Sartre)
I quite enjoyed studying Jean Paul Sartre when I was a student and this is a great read. It’s a theatre piece, so it can be really helpful for French students to see how the characters converse and interact with each other.
Paris est une fête
(Ernest Hemingway)
This is the French version of Earnest Hemingway’s classic A Moveable Feast. It’s also a bit easier and can be a great place for you to start reading in French.
L'Instinct De Mort
(Jacques Mesrine)
This is the autobiography of Jacques Mesrine, a French criminal. It’s a really interesting read, though a lot more challenging. I also recommend watching the 2 films based on his life
French “Textbooks”
If you’re looking for some books to help you learn French, have a look at 2 of the books we’ve released over the past few years.
Learn French the Way It's Really Spoken!
(Charlie Whitesides, Maïa Pierre)
In this book I go over just about everything you need to get started speaking French. It’s available as an e-Book and there’s also a Kindle version.
Swearing Like a Parisian: Common French Expressions, Vocabulary, and Slang
(Charlie Whitesides, Maïa Pierre)
In this book I go over French expressions and sentence structures you need to be able to speak French effectively, as well as important vocabulary and slang you would probably never learn in a textbook or classroom. It’s available as an e-Book and there’s a physical version as well.
Books about Paris
I’ve lived in Paris for the past 5 years and I absolutely love this city, so I’m always on the hunt for books about Paris.
French
Paris mythique (bilingual French and English)
English
Paris in Stride: An Insider's Walking Guide
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Paris
Final Thoughts
Reading can be a great way to improve your French skills, but it’s important to experiment and find the right books for your taste. Maybe you don’t like reading novels, but you love comic books. Or maybe you enjoy poetry, but your level isn’t quite there yet, so you try reading children’s books for a few months to work your way up. Constantly experiment and find what works best for you!
I also encourage you to look up words you don’t know on a site like www.wordreference.com and to try to practice reading daily and consistently to see the progress you want. Reading in French can be slow at first, but it’s very rewarding if you stick with it and try to enjoy the process.
à bientôt!
-Charlie
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