Reading is a powerful tool for English learners. While there are different types of materials learners can use, reading books are one of the best types of materials. This article gives some advice on how to improve your English by reading books, and also gives a list of some good books for learners of different levels.
- Read what you love:
Motivation is essential for learning. Choose books with topics and stories
that are interesting to you.
- Get the book in your native language: If possible, get the book in your native language as
well. This allows you to more easily check words and parts, which you don’t
understand.
- Listen and read:
Many books have audio versions. Reading the text while listening to the
audiobook is an excellent way to get reading and listening practice
together. Listening as you read also helps with pronunciation, rhythm, and
intonation.
- Shadowing:
You can also get some speaking practice though reading. Practice
"shadowing" – repeating what you hear immediately after the
speaker. This builds fluency and natural speech patterns.
- Discuss what you read: Talk about the book with a teacher or language
partner. This helps your understanding and provides valuable speaking
practice.
- Something is better than nothing: Don't feel the need to read large amounts at one time.
On days with more time, read more. On busy days, even just a page or a
paragraph is better than nothing. The main goal is consistency.
- Free online resources: Remember, many classic books are available for free
online. Most classic books are in the public domain (anyone has the right
to copy and read them), and there are some good online libraries for works
in the public domain. Three of the best are Wikisource, Project Gutenberg and Open Library.
- Prepare
before reading the book: For
some more challenging books, it can be helpful to prepare before reading
the book. You can do this by reading a summary of the story and the main
characters.
- Watch
the movie: After you read the book, you
can watch the movie adaption of the book. This can be good listening
practice and can provide a topic for speaking practice. For example, what are the differences
between the movie and the book? If the book is more challenging, it might
be useful to watch the movie even before you read the book, to help you
get a better idea of the story and characters.
Book Recommendations
To help you get started, here's a
list of suitable books for English learners at different levels, from the easiest
levels (A0-A1) to more difficult and challenging levels (B2 to C2).
This list also highlights excellent graded
reader series specifically designed for English language learners, which
are highly recommended for structured progress.
I. Beginner (A0 - A1):
Dedicated
Graded Reader Series: These are excellent resources for
beginners. They are specifically written with vocabulary and grammar for each
level.
Penguin Readers: Easystarts (A0) & Level 1 (A1)
Oxford Bookworms Library: Starter (A1) & Stage 1 (A1)
Cambridge English Readers: Starter (A1) & Level 1 (A1)
Macmillan Readers: Starter (A1) & Beginner (A1)
Very
Simple Children's Books/Picture Books:
The
Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss) - Simple, repetitive
language, rhyming.
The
Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric
Carle)
Brown
Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
(Bill Martin Jr.)
Aesop's
Fables - Short, clear moral stories (often
adapted for A1).
"I Can
Read" Books (various authors/series) - Leveled readers for native-speaking
children, perfect for ESL beginners.
Simple
Non-Fiction Picture Books (focus on basic concepts).
Simple
Fables from Around the World.
Others:
The
Happy Prince and other stories
(Oscar Wilde - often adapted for A2).
II. Elementary to Low Intermediate
(A2 - B1):
Dedicated
Graded Reader Series:
Penguin Readers: Level 2 (A2) & Level 3 (B1)
Oxford Bookworms Library: Stage 2 (A2) & Stage 3 (B1)
Cambridge English Readers: Level 2 (A2) & Level 3 (B1)
Macmillan Readers: Elementary (A2) & Pre-intermediate/Intermediate
(B1)
Classic
Children's Novels (often adapted for this level):
The
Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
Peter
Pan (J.M. Barrie)
Charlotte's
Web (E.B. White)
The
Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)
Just
So Stories (Rudyard Kipling)
The
Adventures of Pinocchio (Carlo
Collodi)
Winnie
the Pooh (A.A. Milne)
The
Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
James
and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)
Young
Adult Series (generally lighter language):
Goosebumps (R.L. Stine)
The
Giver (Lois Lowry)
The
Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
My
Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George)
A
Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)
Others:
Adapted
short story collections for Learners (Hans Christian Anderson, Anton Chekhov,
Leo Tolstoy, O Henry, Jack London)
Simple Biographies
of Famous People
The Arrival (Shaun Tan)
III. Intermediate to Upper
Intermediate (B1 - B2):
Dedicated
Graded Reader Series: Move up to the more advanced levels
of these series, tackling more complex vocabulary and longer sentences:
Penguin Readers: Level 4 (B2)
Oxford Bookworms Library: Stage 4 (B2) & Stage 5 (B2+)
Cambridge English Readers: Level 4 (B2)
Macmillan Readers: Upper Intermediate (B2)
Popular
Novels with Accessible Language (original versions):
The
Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
Animal
Farm (George Orwell)
The Pearl
(John Steinbeck)
Of Mice and Men
(John Steinbeck)
Jonathan
Livingston Seagull
(Richard Bach)
Selected stories by Anton Chekhov (Joy, The Lottery Ticket, The Boys, Fat and Thin, The Doctor’s Visit, The Bet)
Selected stories by Leo Tolstoy (21 Tales, God Sees the Truth but Waits, What Men Live By, How Much Land does a Man Need?)
Selected stories of O Henry (often adapted)
White Fang (Jack London)
The Call of the Wild (Jack London)
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The
Witches, BFG, and other Roald Dahl
books (original versions) B1 to B2
The
Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
Graphic Novels (e.g., Persepolis, Maus).
IV. Upper Intermediate (B2 - C1):
Dedicated Graded Reader
Series: For those pushing towards advanced
fluency:
Penguin Readers: Level 5 (B2+) & Level 6 (C1)
Oxford Bookworms Library: Stage 6 (C1)
Cambridge English Readers: Level 5 (B2+) & Level 6 (C1)
Macmillan Readers: Advanced (C1)
Classic Novels with more complex
language/themes:
Pride
and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
1984 (George Orwell)
Fahrenheit
451 (Ray Bradbury)
The
Lord of the Rings (JRR
Tolkien)
Works of Ernest Hemingway (In Our Time, The Sun also Rises, For Whom
the Bell Tolls, A Farewell to Arms, Men Without Women,
The Snows of the Kilimanjaro and Other Stories)
Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)
Candide (Voltaire)
The
Prophet (Kahlil Gibran)
The
Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The
Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
Lord
of the Flies (William Golding)
The
Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
Black
Boy (Richard
Wright)
Narrative
of the Life of Fredrick Douglass (Fredrick Douglass)
Little
Women (Louisa
May Alcott)
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)
American Born Chinese (Gene Luen Yang)
House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
Short Stories of Jack London (To Build a Fire, Love of Life)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
The Bible (New International Version)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens - consider adapted version if original is too hard).
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aurelius)
The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)
The War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells)
Dracula (Bram Stoker - often adapted).
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley - often adapted).
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Our
Town (Thornton Wilder)
Other Short stories
"The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin
"The Lottery" Shirley Jackson
"The
Umbrella Man" and "Lamb to the Slaughter" Roald Dahl
More Challenging Short Stories:
Isaac Asimov
(Science Fiction)
Going
to Meet the Man (James Baldwin)
Dubliners (James Joyce)
Short stories of Leo Tolstoy
“The Sound of Thunder” (Ray
Bradbury)
Works of H.P.
Lovecraft "The Cats of Ulthar", "The Music of Erich Zann", "The
Terrible Old Man", "From Beyond"
Works of Edgar
Allan Poe "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Cask of Amontillado, "The
Black Cat"
Works of Philip
K. Dick "Beyond Lies the Wub" "The Defenders" "Second
Variety" “Adjustment Team”
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