The Hopefuls discussion

I’m a 16-year-old girl of Dutch origin, but I love to read English books. However, I find it quite difficult to find books that aren’t too hard to read.

I’ve read books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower (-Stephen Chbosky), The Fault in Our Stars (- John Green) and Girl in Translation (-Jean Kwok) before.

I would love to improve my English vocabulary by reading English books and hopefully I can -one day- fill shelves with my favourite books just like Carrie does. If you could recommend some books, that would be lovely.

Thank you in advance!

I'm Belgian! I started reading English books a couple of years ago. The Hunger Games is a very easy read! Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell as well. Other books like Harry Potter are amazing to extend your vocabulary. Wait I'll have a look at my book shelf and keep you updated on more books ;)

Fem wrote: "I'm Belgian! I started reading English books a couple of years ago. The Hunger Games is a very easy read! Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell as well. Other books like Harry Potter are amazing to extend your..."

Thank you so much! I just purchased Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and I've heard great things about The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, so I'll definitely check those out!

i'm austrian and i read my first english book outside of school when i was 14 i think - it was harry potter and the deathly hallows because i just couldn't wait for the german translation ;)
paper towns and looking for alaska by john green should be pretty easy to read and also let it snow, a collection of three christmassy stories. i definitely agree on harry potter and the hunger games :)
some other ones that i think are pretty easy to read are:
stargirl by jerry spinelli, shadow web by n. m. browne (although i'm not too fond of that one), the carrie diaries by candace bushnell (if you like that kind of thing), the tiny wife by andrew kaufman, dash and lily's book of dares by david levithan and the silver linings playbook by matthew quick.
another thing that has helped me improve my vocabulary a lot (besides reading excessive amounts^^) are the lyrics of the band panic at the disco. so if you're into that kind of music, look up their lyrics :)

Wow you're totally right about Panic! At The Disco!!! That's such amazing advise! (I love them sososo much!!!!)

Have you tried watching films in English? If listening to music helps that might as well! I used to do that when I learned French at school xx :)

Angela wrote: "i'm austrian and i read my first english book outside of school when i was 14 i think - it was harry potter and the deathly hallows because i just couldn't wait for the german translation ;)
paper ..."

Thanks! I'll definitely take a look at those. And I've listened to Panic! At The Disco...and I love it!

Ailish wrote: "Have you tried watching films in English? If listening to music helps that might as well! I used to do that when I learned French at school xx :)"

Yeah I watch English films all the time and I only listen to English music. I just prefer English things over anything Dutch. I don't know what it is, but I simply do...

It's not that my English is that bad, but improving it would be great. So thank you for the tips! I know I make many grammatical mistakes and I'm sure there are better words I could use to phrase things. That's basically what I would love to learn; expand my vocabulary and use words that aren't that common.

I have the same thing! Especially because I'm writing an English book so it's quite important I know the language ;)

Fem wrote: "I have the same thing! Especially because I'm writing an English book so it's quite important I know the language ;)"

Yeah I would love to write an English book! I've many ideas, but I'm too scared that I make mistakes as well as that I just don't have the time. It's a shame really...

But please let me know where and when I can read it! I would love to take a look. :)

I really loved Forrest Gump by Winston Groom... A real feel good movie and easy to read.

Charlotte's Web/Stuart Little Slipcase Gift Set

This is a book all English speakers have read at least once. :) It's our nostalgic classic, but you best bring your tissues. (I'm talking about 'Charlotte's Web')

Stuart Little by E.B White

I'm Australian, so English is my first language, and our school curriculums aren't very good and unfortunately I haven't been able to learn another language fluently, aside from some AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language). So I honestly applaud you for being able to transition with languages, one day I hope to have that skill. :)

I would definitely look into books that have films as well, just so you can affirm what you've read with what you see afterwards as that might help.

A lot of the generic popular fiction like Hunger Games, Rainbow Rowell books recommended are ones I'd definitely recommend also, because they're fairly straightforward and don't have many complex ideas or storylines which I feel would be easier to deal with as a second language reader.

I'd also love to recommend;

C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" series, because they're very simple as far as I've read (just the first one so far!) and also incredibly creative.

Always pitching my Australian reads, the "Tomorrow" series by John Marsden. They've got great characters and it's one of my favourite series'. There might be some Australian slang used, but they're a great read.

Also, possibly when you feel more advanced in reading, and mature yourself, some of the Jodi Picoult books are very good. They can be quite intense in content though, but very intelligently written. But definitely be prepared for content there.

Best of luck! x

I would recommend "All my friends are superheroes" by Andrew Kaufman (I think Carrie actually talked about it in one of her vlogs). It's a short book, but amazing :)

Since it seems you like YA, I would go for more John Green books, The Hunger Games series, Percy Jackson etc. Not hard to read but entertaining.

Also, reading something where you already now the story can make it easier to read :)

I mean, depending on how you felt about the fault in our stars I would say read some more John green books, they're all pretty much the same level

Charlotte's Web by E.B White

Lisanne wrote: "Yeah I watch English films all the..."

I totally get what you mean! I am Austrian and although I love my country I somehow enjoy everything English a little more... ;)

If you like reading YA novels, I would recommend all books by Paige Toon (I like Johnny Be Good best). They are easy to read and mostly light-hearted stories.
I really liked the Slammed and Hopeless books by Colleen Hoover, too. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is also recommendable.

The one book I just can't not recommend is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak... This one might be a little bit harder but it's definitely worth trying.