As for me, reading is the best way to increase English vocabulary naturally, without cramming.
Last month Newsweek (an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City) announced The Top 100 Books of All Time . I really love reading so I can’t ignore that fact.
It was nice to see that the first book in the list is a great novel called “War and Peace” by Russian classical author Lev Tolstoy. Of course I, like every other Russian, read this book at school. Frankly speaking, I passed almost every episode with war :) I read “War and Peace” in Russian language, but you can read this one in English!
“War and Peace” by Lev Tolstoy and some more great e-books available to download for free at Project Gutenberg! I guess Project Gutenberg has the largest collection of free electronic books.
I just downloaded another book from The Top 100: “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. I liked to read this book in my childhood. Nowadays I plan to reread Mark Twain’s book in English
So… what is your favorite book from The Top 100 Books of All Time?
I've read these.
ReplyDelete12."Gulliver's Travels"(Jonathan Swift )
35."The Lord of the Rings"(J. R. R. Tolkien)
37."The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"(C. S. Lewis)
I'm a big fun of SiFi and Fantasy. "Gulliver's Travels" was the first SiFi for me. I read it when I was a junior high school student. It was 23 yeas ago indeed.
And I read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in English language 3 years ago. This is the book for elementary school students in US. But there were many words I didn't know. Although it was very fun.
I also read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" after I saw the movie. I like reading books in English. The more I read the more words I understand, even through I almost don't use dictionary. It's so exciting, when you can understand the meaning of words naturally during the reading!
ReplyDeleteI had not read these.I must download and read it.
ReplyDeleteAre the "War and Peace" well?
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to say. I don't know what kind of literature you prefer. When I read it Iliked it. But I passed episods with war...
ReplyDeleteOK! I think I must read it. Because it can increase my English reading.
ReplyDeleteIf it will be too hard for you to read "War and Peace", try something more simple."The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is great book for children and english learners:)
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for a great bookmark! Today I am without any book to read in metro so I downloaded and printed "Aunt Jane's nieces" by Baum, L. Frank - hope it will be nice and not too difficult reading.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Svetlana
No problem:) I hope you'll enjoy "Aunt Jane's nieces" by Baum, L. Frank:) Please, write your impressions about this book!
ReplyDeleteHi, Anna!
ReplyDeleteIt was a very interesting book, written in good English. I had great time reading it. Now I printed the second part of the series "Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad" - can not wait to read it. Really, there are 10 books in the series! And there are all of them in Project Gutenberg.
So thank you again!
Svetlana
Thank you, Svetlana for your impressions about this book! I'll think about reading this one:)
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed not to see Japanese books on the list. Some of my favorite authors are now Japanese since I started reading these a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteHaruki Murakami is only Japanese author I know. He was really popular in Russia nearly 2-3 years ago. One of my favorite books written by Haruki Murakame is Norwegian Wood
ReplyDeleteun, Murakami is very popular. But some of the older authors have written amazing works of art. Comparable to anything I have read, novel-wise. See Soseki for starters. Kawabata is great too, very simple and probably good for an ESL student.
ReplyDeleteDo you mean Yasunari Kawabata? I just read his short novel "Heart". It is really strange and sad story... Are all stories written by Yasunari Kawabata so strange and sad?
ReplyDeleteHrmm, I never thought strange before, but maybe yeah. He pays attention to detail very beautifully and subtly, maybe that's what makes then strange. Did you enjoy Heart? Not all are sad. Some are melancholy :)
ReplyDelete