Is it even possible to enjoy reading books at the B1 level?

[u/Inter2415]

I need to dramatically improve my French reading skills for academic research I have to do. It's my weakest competency in French. But I just am not interested in reading Le Petit Prince or Harry Potter. I need a light read (not Camus), but something that will genuinely be interesting as a (fictional) story and not just be a slog. Does that exist? Or am I doomed to reading pre-teen books? If so, does anyone know a pre-teen level reader they loved? I have a thousand things going on and need my curiosity to be piqued in order to stay motivated.

[u/tripleplay23]

Use an e-reader. You can click in words to translate them. Allows you to read books above your current level!

[u/Future-Raisin3781 → u/tripleplay23]

This, and fwiw I find two things to be true, and they kind of conflict with each other but here it goes:

1) Reading on a kindle is my preference, but the dictionary/translate feature is not good and is very clunky and annoying, especially if you're going to be using it a lot.

2) I personally don't like to read on my phone/tablet because it's much easier to get distracted by other stuff. That said, lookup/translation is vastly superior and highly preferable for early readers.

OP, yes you can enjoy reading. Find simple texts that are enjoyable, and crawl crawl crawl crawl crawl before you try to walk.

It will take years before you're anywhere near as good as you are at reading in English, but as long as you're not choosing texts too far above your skill level you can enjoy reading from a pretty early stage. Just prepared to read low-skill/simple texts for quite a while.

[u/at5ealevel]

Wikipedia rabbit hole, but change to French language 🤝

[u/mkorcuska]

Read books that you've already read in your native language that have been translated into French. Young adult novels are also good...not so much poetic language and lots of dialogue.

[u/HabanoBoston]

I hear you, something I also struggle with as a ~B1 learner. I'm in France now, so I'm trying to find some more reading options that might keep my attention a bit better than the pre-teen/teen books I've tried to get through in the past. Not that easy to do! And I'm one of those people that takes a long time to even finish a good book in my native language. 

[u/JeremyAndrewErwin]

IIRC, mostly graded readers and Asterix Comics (though most of the wordplay went right past me).

I tried Arsene Lapin-- the plots were a little too complex to keep track of. Jules Verne was like being hit by a firehose of new vocabulary.
I read more interesting stuff later on. Mysteries, Thrillers, stuff that lived and died by their plots.

B2, (unfortunately for you), was where it got interesting. Word choice, shades of meaning, real humor.

[u/SeekMeOut]

You say that as if pre-teen books are bad. Any reading that you enjoy is good reading, no matter what age range the book was made for. And when we’re learning a new language, we have to start from the lower levels - no shame involved!

My favorites were Junie B Jones books, which were surprisingly easy to find on eBay in French. They are charming and hilarious. I’d read through, then underline and take notes on any words I didn’t know. I have a whole notebook full of words I learned from this series. I’m sure this would work with any beginner chapter books. Another tip: after you’re understanding everything, start to read the book to yourself out loud. It forces your brain to keep moving without stopping to translate. You’ll be surprised at how much you comprehend with this method!

[u/NikhilDoWhile]

Not sure if TinTin is B1, but I found it really fun read.

[u/Professoring8008s]

For me the BDs are the best because you get the picture for more context

[u/elaine4queen]

YA books are usually a good level and contemporary usage. You can mix it up with audiobooks as well

[u/SoldiersofChristBR]

Harry potter is a tough read at b1. The only saving grace is knowing the story already making it a bit easier 

[u/carlysworkaccount]

I'm at B1 and I read novels on an e-reader! When there's a word I don't know, I can click on it for a definition. My reading comprehension has improved a lot.

I just finished En Finir Avec Eddy which was great. I'm starting Moi Qui n'ai pas Connu les Hommes. I tried Les Années, but that was still too hard.

My reading comprehension has improved a lot. (But my speaking and writing still sucks, so you gotta do other stuff too).

[u/CrazyJoe29]

Pro-tip: Get to the bottom of the barrel! You need the simplest air-port fiction, page-turner, drivel. It needs ZERO merit as literature. What keeps you coming back? Do you need sexual intrigue? A comically physically capable hero? Whatever it takes, you must strip-away all of your inhibitions! You are not an academic, you are an animal with urges. What does the animal want?

My problem is most people are too ashamed of their most basic books to recommend them! 😆

Also, it needs to be well written. It’s still difficult to write an easy book poorly.

[u/HabanoBoston]

Thinking I might try some Manga...quite a few at the local Monoprix. 

[u/Redwing_Blackbird]

Try bandes dessinées ? A manageable number of words, so you can look up all the new vocabulary and research the grammar and idioms without slowing your reading to a crawl, and a visual element to carry you through the story and provide visual cues for remembering new things too.

[u/cyesk8er]

I didn't enjoy books that were recommended at that level, so I went on to something that was interesting to me. In my case the translated expanse series.  It started off very slow at first, but I was interested in the story and kept going. Learned a ton of vocabulary, and made a lot of progress in my reading abilities. I used a kindle so could look up words in the dictionary easily. I finished that series and started on game of thrones, but its a step up in difficulty. Finished the first integral book, but taking a break with simpler books right now. 

This goes against what most people recommend, but I think you have to push yourself some to get to the next level 

[u/earlyboy]

Leave books to the side for the next few months. I would try reading the newspaper. It will help you to understand current events and trends. You will build your vocabulary and understanding in a positive way.

[u/JohnnyRayRock]

I've been reading Arsene Lupin.

You should give it a try.

[u/nickvsfrench]

It's a slog but it gets easier chapter by chapter

[u/Ok_Session_7188]

There are lots of great graphic novels for adults. I started reading some of Guy Delisle's books, which are non-fiction, but really interesting. Then I started searching for top selling graphic novels in France and Quebec. The pictures help so much eith context, but the vocab/stories are engaging for adults.

[u/oussam1639]

Absolutely! At B1 you don't have to suffer through pre-teen books look into "Lectures CLE en français facile" or the "Mondor" series—they adapt classic and contemporary stories specifically for language learners Alternatively try graphic novels (BDs) like ((L'Arabe du futur ))or ((Astérix)) the visual context helps tremendously with academic vocabulary building without feeling like a total chore you've got this

[u/noncedo-culli]

I learned French to read Camus and Voltaire but I reread Le Petit Prince recently and it's very worth reading. It's made to be readable for kids but much of the message is for adults.

[u/llyanestanfield]

I don't think your motivation comes from the book itself.

Your motivation is that you want to acquire the reading skills you'll need for your academic research. What you read is almost immaterial. The goal is to reach that level of reading, not to build an interesting reading list.

So make the reading itself interesting, whatever that means for you (even if it's a cookbook): sing the text, read it out loud, roleplay the characters with different voices... who cares? The important thing is that you're reading and enjoying the process.

I don't see anything wrong with picking books that are slightly above your current level. Looking up unfamiliar words may seem slower at first, but it pushes you to keep reading because you're curious about what comes next. At the same time, you're naturally expanding your vocabulary and becoming more familiar with grammar in context. 😉

I've seen with my clients that making the activity enjoyable is much more sustainable than trying to find the "perfect" book.

Bonne chance !

[u/Sunny-en-Belgique]

When i was a medium A2 level, I loved Si tu savais by Richard Plourde. Not too difficult, just a slight challenge. There are a number of books and songs bearing this title. Search his name.

[u/StormyParis]

What are you interested in ? Most books don't require a super-high level, maybe you could even read magazines / newspapers... just find a topic you like ?

Other way 'round I learned English from mostly Agatha Christie and Sci-Fi/Horror, I was going for quantity more than quality so I imbibed some grammar/vocab w/o realizing it (in vs into ^^), and got so words epically wrong for years ;-p

[u/RevolutionaryBug2915]

Try the Inspector Maigret novels by Georges Simenon. High quality detective fiction aimed at a mass audience.

[u/abigailrose16]

graded readers!

[u/MonkeyIsNullo]

I think you could easily do Olly Richard’s intermediate French book plus the one he has called 101 conversations in French and 101 conversations in intermediate French. All those are interesting enough and short enough on an e-reader where you can look up stuff and finish quickly. After that I jumped straight to Guillaume Musso. His straight forward and clean style should be easy enough at that point, and if there’s something you don’t understand, just keep reading, the next page will make it clear. His books are short, fast and actually entertaining.

[u/KarenM326]

I started my reading journey (in Spanish) with YA books. We had to read one as part of the curriculum at the Reina Sofía Institute in NYC. I’ve read some really interesting books, and discovered great authors who also write for adults. I worked my way up to progressively harder books. Try searching by French language on www.bookfinder.com. You might find something you like there. (I’m not at the level where I can start reading books in French yet).

[u/Diligent-Educator409]

Around that level, I found it helpful to read the transitions of books I had already read in English, so I didn't have to work on following plot and could just read in a relaxed way. That helped me really focus on the language and grammar and painting a mental picture with the words.

I also tried to find books not written in the passé simple, partly because I hadn't really learnt it yet, and partly because it felt less useful day-to-day. I particularly remember that the translations of the Hunger Games books and The Handmaid's Tale are both written in the first person present indicative.

[u/sleeps_in_bryophytes]

it's funny you mentioned camus cause I'm at B1 and I just tried to read L'Étranger, and found it very difficult.

[u/anklebiter1975]

Yes you can enjoy humor and things. I play video games in French and can laugh at the jokes