Reading to learn Spanish

Who doesn’t like to read? fantasy, romance, mystery and even scary books? Being able to go to another world and forget about what is around you is one of the best feelings we can have. 

So why not learn Spanish by reading? Here’s how you can learn by going to another world.

Reading and writing in Spanish

You may think that reading and writing is complicated and even more so in Spanish when we have the accents, but don’t worry, I will help you become an expert. 

Reading is an incredible feeling, getting lost in a book, in its story. Lying down, lighting a candle and immersing yourself, doesn’t it sound great? Well, imagine it while you learn Spanish by reading. Come on, don’t you feel like it?  

Classic stories to learn Spanish with will help you with reading comprehension, improving your vocabulary. Besides, don’t you want to learn how much Spain has changed?

As you know at Club Handyspanish every week we have a worksheet with a different topic to read in Spanish and learn new vocabulary. Having a reading routine is very useful to be able to expand our lexicon.

Here are some of the most popular books in Spain.

Learn Spanish with the book «El príncipe de la niebla».

Meet a very important writer in Spain, Carlos Ruíz Zafón. «El príncipe de la niebla» is a juvenile novel, with which you will travel to 1943, to a village on the shore of the Atlantic while the second world war is going on. Doesn’t it sound incredible? It is not an easy book and I don’t recommend it for people who have low levels. From B2 and up.

Learn Spanish with a love novel

Do you like love stories? Well, with the book Como agua para chocolate, by Laura Esquivel you will immerse yourself in one of these stories. Meet Tita and Pedro, they love each other, but Tita is doomed to be single, because she has to take care of her mother. In order to be together, Pedro marries Tita’s sister. This book is a bittersweet comedy of love and misunderstandings. 

I know how complicated it is to stand in front of a text in a language that is not your own and read the words without understanding them, but don’t worry, don’t look up every word you don’t understand or you will get overwhelmed and stop enjoying the reading. It is important to unlock key words, but not all the ones you don’t understand, you have to know how to begin to differentiate one from another.

Illustrated books to learn Spanish

Do you like comics? If so, you will surely love this book.

The truth is that a picture book and a comic book have things in common, but they are not the same. In this case I want to recommend a discovery I made not long ago of a picture book that tells the story of a father with an autistic daughter.

The book is called María y yo, it is worth reading because it is very interesting. It is also very fast to read and it is not very long. Perfect for intermediate levels.

What books have you read in Spanish? Tell me in the comments, which one is your favorite?

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