Let us know what you are reading in French today!
2 Likes
Kicking this off but not expecting too many replies as it will take awhile for French learners to find this site + the forums.
Iām currently paused on La Passe-miroir: Les Disparus du Clairdelune | L30?? until my test is over because I want to dive in and read it with no distractions. Iām lazily reading through J'Ć©tais un autre et vous ne le saviez pas | L30?? as I figure itās decent test prep (first person semi-formal writing) but honestly shocked by how boring a book about spies is turning out to be.
I think I burned myself out a bit with test prep though and found myself fleeing to easy material which is why Iām partially through the manga/BD Le chĆ¢teau solitaire dans le miroir T02 | L24?? and just started Korea Monster Agency | L28?? last night.
Iām planning a giant binge read (in three languages) once my test is over next week and I canāt wait 
10 Likes
Trying to get back into French reading. I read 2M words, and then stopped because I wanted to increase my CI hours and improve my French subvocalization before I continued. Well that was two years and 500 hours of French agoā¦ I keep picking up books, reading the first chapter and dropping them.
Hopefully now is the time to finish Annie Ernaux, La Place. She only won the Nobel Prize in literature since I last attempted it! And itās literally only 103 pages. I can do this!
11 Likes
Ooh, Iāve never heard of that series, but it sounds nice! I donāt know if Iāll ever have the time to get to it, but Iām going to put it on my wishlist.
Edit: also volumes 1 and 2 are available at a local library, in French too! Currently being rented though, but that still makes it much more realistic for me to read the first book at least.
4 Likes
Hello!
I use Natively for Japanese content but I read a lot in French, my second language.
Iām a big fan of Guy de Maupassant. In my opinion, his works are more learner-friendly and I found them to be quite fun as I was learning French (as opposed to a writer such as Balzac who gives me a headache). Une vie is probably my favorite.
Currently Iām reading Fort comme la mort.
5 Likes
Iāve decided to dabble in BDs again and found La Princesse des glaces | L26?? which Iām just under 40% done with. Itās an adaptation of a Nordic noir novel and a very easy read so far. Itās a smidge gory (so far one very explicit panel of an autopsy) so not for everyone, but Iām enjoying it a lot and think the level would make it a good choice for ~B1 learners.
I also bought some BDs adapting Agatha Christie works which Iāll try next.
Also, while Iām listening and not reading, I started ACOTAR T1: Un Palais d'Ć©pines et de roses | L28?? because I can ācheatā a bit and look up information if I donāt understand something. Iāve never read the book in any language but the massive popularity of it helps for comprension checks. Iād love to unlock regular audiobooks in French without worrying about missing things so this (and other translated works) are a bit of bridge for me to get there.
3 Likes
Tonight Iāve begun reading India, La FĆ©e Des Pierres de Lune (L16 ??), from the Rainbow Magic series I read a ton of as a kid (though I donāt believe I had previously read the gemstone fairies). Iāve read a handful of these so far this year, and most of them took me some time to get from cover to cover, but after rereading Le Petit Prince (L24) I suddenly feel like I can just blow through my fairy books, which I must say, absolutely rules. My reading skills have returned form the war and itās exciting to simply fly through the first 40% or so at once, and be able to see what the girls are up to with relative ease compared to a couple of months ago. 
4 Likes
Now that Iāve read all of the jewel fairy books that I own, Iām moving on to the flower fairies (which is the first sub-series that Iāve managed to get my hands on in full so far ), beginning with #1: TĆ©a, la fĆ©e des tulipes (L16 ??). This is one that I specifically remember reading repeatedly as a child, but I honestly remember more about TĆ©aās outfit than I do about the plot. Maybe more will come to me as I get further through it. 
4 Likes
Hereās a question Iād never thought to ask myself: do you know lots of boating vocabulary? I am discovering that I do not. Today I started reading NoĆ©mie la FĆ©e des NĆ©nuphars (L16 ??), which is #3 from the flower fairies, and it appears that we will be spending most or all of this one with Rachel and Karine in a rowboat. I mean, it makes sense, since water lilies tend to beā¦ yāknowā¦ on the water, I just managed to feel surprised anyway.
Another element of surprise for me: Iād never read volumes 3-7 of this series as a child, so I have no idea what will happen in this one! My predictions are that the girls will save the day, and that I will be making lots of new cards in Anki. 
6 Likes
Since @callaazz probably needs someone else to comment before they can update us on the fairies and since Iām reading a French book for the first time in maybe years (BD excluded), hereās my current read:
Iāve read the first part out of 3.
So far Iām really liking it, but Iām surprised that the premise of the book was explained so late in the story. It is making me wonder if itās a spoiler or not, the blurb on Natively doesnāt mention it but Iām fairly sure Iāve seen a summary elsewhere that stated it plainly (though I canāt find it anywhere but on wikipedia nowā¦). Iām sure the reading experience would be wildly different for someone who didnāt know anything going in, and I donāt know which would be more interesting 
But enough teasing. Here is the spoiler, consider yourself warned:
In March 2021, a plane from Paris lands in New York, after going through a heavy turbulence. The passengers disembark and go about their lives. A hundred-and-so days later, the same plane, with the same passengers aboard, lands again. And now there are 2 versions of everyone.
Iām curious if anyone has read it without knowing this, how the reading was.
3 Likes
Iām back! and @monace Iām intrigued by your read! How are you liking it?
Today Iām beginning #4 of the flower fairies, Talia, la fĆ©e des tournesols! To be honest Iāve hardly cracked it yet but her outfit is so cute that Iām certain we will get along (so long as those nasty goblins donāt interfere too much!). As book 4/7, Talia marks the halfway point in this subseries, and Iām really enjoying being able to follow Rachel and Karine through an entire week (as opposed to jumping from series to series, as a consequence of finding the physical copies at random).
I have that tiny glimmer of pride that tournesols is a sight word for me now, after I read HĆ©lĆØne, la fĆ©e des hamsters this winter, and the girls tried to lure one of the hamsters by shaking a bowl of sunflower seeds. I love the connections that these books help me make to one another! 
5 Likes
I had this experience in Japanese and then again in French with the answer both times being ānoā. I make flashcards for the words but I donāt expect myself to understand them any better than I do the English word so sometimes I just accept that a word is āa type of boatā even if in English definitions itās specified as a type of river barge or whatever.
3 Likes
Today, I came across volume 5 of La quĆŖte de lāoiseau du temps (I requested the series on Natively, but got hit with the ādelayed additionā). I remember back in the days when volume 5 came out (āa couple of years agoā was my impressionā¦ but it was 1998). It was nearly 10 years after volume 4 and I was wondering back in the days what it could be about, since volume 4 was closing the series. Turned out it was a prequel and I just didnāt care. Even 30 years ago, I couldnāt stand prequels.
Well, itās mostly nostalgia talking, but it was a fun read! Itās interesting (in a self introspective kind of way) that I donāt mind the spicy drawing, but I think that has to do with the fact that women with a (somewhat) wide variety of body types are shown as sexy, they are not all typically attractive (although those are present too).
In terms of plot, the end felt pretty rushed. We get 85% slow progress just getting to know the characters, and then everything happens in the remaining few pages. I was kinda wondering about it too, since I thought volume 5 was the only extra volume publishedā¦ but no, publication is still going on and volume 12 came out 2 years ago. It seems that the next volume may be the last though (according to Wikipedia).
Iām considering reading more of that series if I find it, but Iāve honestly never seen volume 6 anywhere so that might be challenging. Maybe when I go back to France?
Anyway, I really enjoyed the original 4 volumes as a teen, so I may try to re-read them as an adult and see what I think now.
5 Likes
If anyone wants a shorter French read between novels, Perrault could be an option. I like https://www.openclassics.org which has several of his tales, with the original wording available alongside optional modernizations. Iād start with a story whose plot you already know, then see how comfortable the language feels. These are literary texts rather than graded readers.
2 Likes
Good morning! Iām taking a quick break from the Flower Fairies to read a Halloween classic: Sandrine, la fĆ©e d'Halloween | L16?? !!! Of all of these fairy books, THIS ONE was my absolute favorite in English as a child (Trixie the Halloween Fairy was my ride or die). After months and months of looking for any copy of the French edition in any condition, I managed to find one, in perfect condition, seemingly never even read! So now Iām feeling like a kid with their prize after visiting the Scholastic book fair.
If youāre looking for a Halloween read, I recommend joining me reading this one! I am of course (say it with me now) wildly nostalgic for this book, and though Iām not yet far into it, Iām enjoying it greatly and Iām so glad I found a copy in time for the spooky season. 
4 Likes
Excellent, we need some more Halloween love this month. 
2 Likes
Today I am still reading Sandrine, but since I am capable of multitasking and have been enjoying trying to grade and fill out the picture book catalogue some more, I put a bunch of books on hold online to pick up at the library.
It was only after I arrived to pick my books up that it occurred to me that I may have overindulged. So if youāre looking for me, I will be digging myself out from under my giant pile of childrenās books, likely more or less in order of what populates fastest in the catalogue 
(so far I see Les fĆ©es Ć©ternelles : N Ģ 1 - Lulu virevoltante | L22?? , Le loup qui voulait ĆŖtre heureux | L22?? , MĆ©chant Minou Et Le BĆ©bĆ© | L16 , and Le MĆŖme Cauchemar | L22?? .) (oh god.)
4 Likes
Thanks for doing all this work! Itās so important for there to be lots of options in the lower levels for me whenever I return to French beginners to choose and work up from, and Iāve been seeing a ton of your contributions lately 
Good luck with the mountain!
3 Likes
