Better at English - Learn English - EFL ESL podcast! » Your favorite English books

English book recommendations from Better at English readers

Lori — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:29:50 +0000

Thanks to everyone who’s responded to my question about your favorite books in English. Reading books in English about topics that interest you is a wonderful way to improve your English and have fun at the same time. Your suggestions are listed below. There is no deadline for making suggestions, so if there is an English book that you love, please let me know so that I can add it to the list.

Readers’ recommendations: Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Lori — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:28:53 +0000

Matteo wrote in to recommend Dracula by Bram Stoker.

I guess it’s the best book I’ve read
in English. It displays different writing styles in a very unique
narrative structure, built by assembling diary entries, paper articles,
letters and more. Everything is written in an old but most fascinating
manner and the story is so deep! The characters are, if possible, even
deeper. I mean, this book is DEEP!

If your students are “frightened” of reading a whole book in English I
think you could also suggest some “faster stuff”, like good magazines.
My favorite one is National Geographic Magazine.

Matteo (ITALY)

Crime novels and detective stories for learning English

Lori — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:27:28 +0000

B@E listener Christiane enjoys reading detective novels in English, and recommended the following authors:

Elisabeth George

Colin Dexter

Ian Rankin

Harry Potter – enjoyable and fun reading for learning English

Lori — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:27:20 +0000

The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling are a favorite with learners of English. For instance, B@E listener Christiane wrote in to say:

I have read a lot of books in English already, but I have to admit: it was the whole Harry Potter series I liked best! The witch-and-wizard-vocabulary is quite easy to learn from the context, even without a dictionary. Apart from that the language is easy to understand and the story is thrilling and enjoyable.

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Lori — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:23:35 +0000

Alfredo, a listener from Miami Florida, called in to recommend Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx,a short (64-page) romantic story with an unusual twist, set in the mountains of Wyoming. I read the reviews on Amazon and ordered it myself; thanks for the tip, Alfredo!

Thrillers and comedy – a nice combination!

Lori — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:04:35 +0000

Paul wrote in to suggest the following:
Thrillers written by Richard North Patterson, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, and Jonathan Kellerman. He finds that the tension in these books holds his interest and keeps him reading until the end; he freely admitted that sometimes he skips the long descriptive passages (e.g., the descriptions of weapons in Tom Clancy’s books) and focuses on reading the parts that move the story forward. This is perfectly OK when reading for pleasure!

Paul found it difficult to choose a favorite book, but did come up with the following recommendations:

Sein Language by Jerry Seinfeld, which he says is “short and very funny.”

He also recommended the the more poetic books by Sam Shepard, which are short and enjoyable but more difficult to read.