Learn with Spanish books your level, your interests
Reading a book of your interest its the best way to learn Spanish but the books have to be comprensible and easy to read.
I am a book lover, you already know that, and I think that learning Spanish is easier with books and with stories. In this article I recommend some books for real beginner level students. In some articles I have seen some recommendations from people who may not have read the books they recommend or have little idea about how learning works. For example, they recommend books by Gabriel García Márquez. Well, he’s my favorite author, and I love him, but it’s not easy, it’s not easy at all to read any of his novels. It is better to start with something simpler, otherwise you will get frustrated and stop trying.
Before I start with the list, I am going to explain why reading is the best method of learning a language, and this thoughts are not mine. Dr. Stephen Krashen and other linguists who have dedicated their lives to researching this area have made some very interesting conclussions.
To acquire the language we need to receive understandable input, in this case through reading books, it is important to receive the largest amount of input and that it is understandable to us. These two conditions promote natural learning.
In addition, according to numerous investigations, voluntary reading, that is, reading books that you like, will help you learn Spanish faster, but remember, you have to receive a large amount of comprehensible input, that is, they have to be readings from your level.
And this my friend, is very difficult.
Finding books in Spanish for beginners is really difficult, I tell you that I am a Spanish teacher and it is very difficult for me. Spanish teaching books have readings, yes, but they are terribly boring, examples of conversations, small stories without imagination. I like stories, they interest us, it is in human nature. With interest comes understanding and learning.
In this article I am going to give you a list of books that I have read, written and tested with my students, used in classes, they have a lot of vocabulary of repeated common use, which will help you remember it and use it in common real situations and you will remember it much better. and use simple structures.
Soy yo, la mosca by Adriana Ramírez
I like Adriana Ramírez’s books.
They are very simple. I have the flies collection.
This collection is interesting for children from 8 or 9 years old and adults. Uses very simple words and phrases and repeats them, over and over again. You sure learn.
You can find his books on Amazon.
La chica del bar Estefanía Lusbi’s
Felipe is a normal guy with a normal job. He goes every day to the bar “El unicornio azul”. His friend Pablo works at the bar. One day he sees a beautiful girl sitting at the bar. She doesn’t talk much, doesn’t drink alcohol and doesn’t use a mobile phone. Who is that mystery girl? What is she looking for?
On the page shortstoriesinspanish.com you can find this and other stories in Spanish of different levels.
Ojalá que te vaya bonito by Dolores Soler- Espiauba (Diffusion)
Hernán, a descendant of Spanish exiles in Mexico, decides to visit the country that welcomed his great-grandfather at the end of the Spanish Civil War. His meeting with Malinche, Catrina and Chavela will be a beautiful adventure.
This book is very interesting to learn more about Mexican culture.
You can find it in the Difusión.es store
Un día en MAdrid by Ernesto Rodríguez Pérez
It is the first time that Diane is in Madrid and she wants to go to the Rastro, but Tomás, her boyfriend, has other plans. They are going to live an unforgettable Sunday.
If you want to take a walk through Madrid while reading a good story, this is a good place.
It is an A1 level. You can find it in the Difusión.es store
The Un día en… de Difusión collection is interesting if you want to get to know some other cities through reading: Salamanca, Barcelona, Bogotá, Buenos Aires…
Juan Nadie by Monica Bernabe
It is the story of a man who sells his soul in the bank of souls. In a moment of desperation he sells his soul to get a miracle, but miracles come at too high a price.
I started writing this novel in the middle of the pandemic, in March 2020 when the world went crazy and the only thing that made sense to me was to tell stories. This is my first novel in Spanish but there are others.
This is a book for a complete beginner.
In this book you will find more than 200 common words repeated. You have links to my Spanish booklet to grammar short explanations and exercises. You have a complete glosary with all the words, so you can start learning Spanish from scracht with this book.
Pesadilla de Navidad en Madrid by Monica Bernabe
It is the story of an alien who travels to Madrid at Christmas to gather information about humans. She takes the physical appearance of Tamará Falcó, a very famous celebrity in Spain, sister of Enrique Iglesias. Her appearance and the strange customs of Spaniards at Christmas will cause very funny and surprising situations.
Available at Christmas 2022 for my students. Do you want to enter my membership? Here
Un zombi en Madrid by Monica Bernabe
One day you’re a normal person and the next day you’re a zombie and you’re a social bug, with a bulging eye and working for the police as a bloodhound. A very crazy story that talks about a dystopian future in Madrid.
This is a post-pandemic novel and it reflects the normal life of the people of Madrid, their energy, desire to live and party after the pandemic that cruelly affected its population.
It is a book for advanced beginner level (A1- A2)
Available in February 2023 for my students. Do you want to enter my membership? Here
Martha speaks
It is a bilingual collection in Spanish-English for children from 5 to 7 years old. It is a short and entertaining story. You can start there if you don’t want to read a longer book. I like, I read this book to my daughter and my son is starting to read more and more Spanish thanks to these books.
And if you want you can receive my stories in your email every day, sign up here
