Recommended Reading in Spanish

The difficult thing about reading in a second language is finding books that are both interesting and yet don't require you to continually consult the dictionary because of the extended vocabulary. I lose interest really quickly otherwise.
 
I highly recommend reading the translated Sherlock Holmes stories. They are short, use a relatively simple vocabulary and are moderately interesting (although simplistic by today's standards). It's just the right combination where I'm doing something enjoyable which (incrementally) contributes to developing my vocabulary in Spanish.
 

I think that reading a book that you have previously read in English so that you know the storyline is helpful. One of my personal favorites is "El Viejo Y El Mar" por Papa Hemingway.

I would also like to read "El Alquimista" por Paulo Coelho.

Había pensado que un libro escrito por un tal autor como Ernest Hemingway habría sido demasiado difícil de leer in español (para mí por lo menos). ¿Pudiste leer El Viejo y El Mar sin grandes problemas? ¿Cuáles son los libros que ya habías leído en inglés que leíste en español? Siempre estoy buscando nuevos títulos. Me gusta bastante bien Sherlock Holmes pero preferiría una literatura más alta si no fuera demasiado difícil.

I'm presently reading harry potter-- you can read the books side by side since you can easily have both translations open at the same time. 

Ayer encontré una libro en Barnes Y Noble se llama Historias de México. Tiene  16 historias bajos con inglés en una pagina y español opuesto. Las historias abarcar la historia de México desde antes Colón hasta el época colonial. Lo me gusta mucho.

Ahora, leo la Isla del Tesoro ​por Robert Louis Stevenson.  Sin embargo, no adelanto rápidamente.  El vocabulario es de España y pienso que trata de escribir en un estilo más antiguo como R.L. Stevenson.  Opino que es mejor si tiene interés en el sujeto, también.  Estoy buscando un libro que trata de los básicos de fotografía en español a fin de que puedo hablar inteligente sobre mis cámaras y mi pasatiempo favorito.

Jeff: Tengo un intercambio con un mujer en españa, y su esposo le gusta fotografía. Mandaré una mensaje y pedir una recomendación para ti.

Dan

Muchas gracias Dan.  Sería una ayuda.  He buscado una página web que tenga esta información, pero sin éxito.

​Un comentario gramática; la frase y su esposo  debería ser ​y a su esposo.​  Muchas veces cuando converse, olvido de esta regla.  Ciertamente en tu caso fue la culpa de la tecla y no tuya.  :)

Jeff: muchas gracias por la corrección en mi gramática. Lo aprecio mucho.
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\nMi amigo de España me enviaste versiones PDF de varios libros sobre fotografía. Me envias un correo electrónico y voy a enviarlos de ti. Mi dirección es:
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¡Gracias! Te lo envié.

Here is a link to a site with some stories in Spanish :
https://muchoscuentos.jimdo.com/cuentos-cl%C3%A1sicos/la-ratita-presumida/

Otro sitio bueno para leer en español:  tripadvisor.com, reveiw section.  You can look up reviews from all over the world, including the tourist sites in your own region, and with one click, see only the reviews written in Spanish.  Most of the time, the country of origin of the reviewer is included under their name, which I also find helpful and interesting.   

Thank you for your suggestions, as a newbie I am interested in learning from those who have done this before me and learn from you what works.  I hope to be in  a place where I can begin reading in a few months at least some easier books.  Thanks

Los libros son muy bueno, ¡muchas gracias!

To Dan-
When you wrote: "Jeff: Tengo un intercambio con un mujer en españa, y su esposo le gusta fotografía. Mandaré una mensaje y pedir una recomendación para ti."

and then "the hefay" responded:
​"Un comentario gramática; la frase y su esposo  debería ser ​y a su esposo.​  Muchas veces cuando converse, olvido de esta regla.  Ciertamente en tu caso fue la culpa de la tecla y no tuya."

You are actually correct, Dan.  If you want to quote grammar rules, the rule for using the personal "a" is when the person or pet animal is the Direct Object of a verb- such as:
Ella ve a su esposo. Ella oye a su esposo. Ella despierta a su esposo.
You do NOT use the personal "a" when the person (beloved pet) is not a direct object of an ACTION.  For instance:
Ella y su esposo. Yo y mi amigo. La maestra y su alumno...

Hola! Gracias Jolietil por el story link. It looks like I can use it to further practice my Spanish, because I have been lacking reading material except for a bilingual biblia and a bilingual 'Berestain Bears' book on GOD's love.

One book I really recommend is La Casa en Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.  It uses simple language but displays complex themes, and it's quite an intriguing read.  Ironically I first read it in English class (in the English version) before realizing that it was published in Spanish as well.  A PDF can be located here: https://d3jc3ahdjad7x7.cloudfront.net/V9g5DOTiUkQKXkGH638qzz8YfIcQOWkdRaotBwp47cu5cQvA.pdf  However, this story contains some violence and implied rape, so if you get triggered by that sort of thing, maybe stay away.

 Hi All, 
Thanks for sharing what you’ve been reading! House on Mango Street is probably still above my reading level, but eventually. 
I just finished  Me llamo María Isabel by Alma Flor Ada.  It’s written originally in Spanish and is available in both English and Spanish by the original author. My friend in  bilingual education recommended it. In her schools it’s a 3rd grade level book. It’s sweet book with 10 short chapters. 
I’m currently reading James and the Giant Peach. It came up as suggested reading after finishing Me llamo María Isabel.   I remembered reading in school and enjoying it then so I thought I’d give it a try. So far I realize I barely remember the book at all, but I am still enjoying it. The translation is listed as being also for third graders.  
Personally, I’m finding that reading books that are just slightly too hard, particularly ones and students, is being very helpful because unfamiliar words often get used repeatedly.  My friends in education tell me that’s an intentional thing some authors do as a way to help kids learn harder and harder words. It feels like it works for me, I don’t have to look up nearly as many words in the dictionary since I can’t understand what they are from the context even though I don’t know the word… At least most of the time.
I started, but haven’t finished,  Alcatraz contra los Bibliotecarios Malvados by  Brandon Sanderson.  They seem like they might be good. It’s a fantasy/comedy series for 7th graders. Currently it’s a book I can struggle through, but hard enough that it isn’t enjoyable to read. I hope to go back to it once learn some more vocabulary and grammar.  It does have the confusing problem that some of the things that happen to characters are absurd And there are some made up words. I feel like I was getting better at figuring out which words were made up and not Spanish… But I’m still going to save the book for later.

I’m going to ask my friend for more recommendations of books written originally  in Spanish.  I’ll try to remember and post the titles here. 
 

 Hi All, 
Thanks for sharing what you’ve been reading! House on Mango Street is probably still above my reading level, but eventually. 
I just finished  Me llamo María Isabel by Alma Flor Ada.  It’s written originally in Spanish and is available in both English and Spanish by the original author. My friend in  bilingual education recommended it. In her schools it’s a 3rd grade level book. It’s sweet book with 10 short chapters. 
I’m currently reading James and the Giant Peach. It came up as suggested reading after finishing Me llamo María Isabel.   I remembered reading in school and enjoying it then so I thought I’d give it a try. So far I realize I barely remember the book at all, but I am still enjoying it. The translation is listed as being also for third graders.  
Personally, I’m finding that reading books that are just slightly too hard, particularly ones and students, is being very helpful because unfamiliar words often get used repeatedly.  My friends in education tell me that’s an intentional thing some authors do as a way to help kids learn harder and harder words. It feels like it works for me, I don’t have to look up nearly as many words in the dictionary since I can’t understand what they are from the context even though I don’t know the word… At least most of the time.
I started, but haven’t finished,  Alcatraz contra los Bibliotecarios Malvados by  Brandon Sanderson.  They seem like they might be good. It’s a fantasy/comedy series for 7th graders. Currently it’s a book I can struggle through, but hard enough that it isn’t enjoyable to read. I hope to go back to it once learn some more vocabulary and grammar.  It does have the confusing problem that some of the things that happen to characters are absurd And there are some made up words. I feel like I was getting better at figuring out which words were made up and not Spanish… But I’m still going to save the book for later.

I’m going to ask my friend for more recommendations of books written originally  in Spanish.  I’ll try to remember and post the titles here.