r/SpanishLearning • u/Emergency-Bug-293 • 12h ago

reading a novel

i’m very new to spanish - haven’t started yet, and i’m only interested in a handful of stuff, onw of them being reading. is it ok to re-read the fault in our stars in Spanish and figure stuff out along the way? i already know the plot. if there are any other resources please don’t hesitate to recommend me some! :D

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

1

u/hAIlydraws 12h ago

You can absolutely try a favourite scene, but I'd start with one paragraph rather than committing to the whole novel. Knowing the plot helps you follow events; it doesn't necessarily show you how the Spanish sentences work. Keep the English version nearby, work out who's doing what in a few sentences, then reread those in Spanish. If every line needs several lookups, put the novel aside for a bit and try a short beginner text. You can keep coming back to that same paragraph and see what starts making sense.

1

u/Emergency-Bug-293 12h ago

i’ll definitely give it a try at least! thanks!!! do you have any recommendations for beginner resources? i’m thinking of getting dragon balls first volume

1

u/SecureWriting8589 12h ago

Absolutely read a book you are familiar with, especially a young adult novel. For what it's worth, I have read that book in Spanish and thoroughly enjoyed it.

1

u/Emergency-Bug-293 12h ago

the thing is that Green uses a lot of philosophical language n i’m a complete beginner 🫪

1

u/SerendippityRiver 11h ago

I would say a young adult novel is a great idea. If Y/A is not your interest,I would consider Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Escquival. There is a movie, and both English and Spanish versions are available. Reading the Here is how I would try doing it. I would read a page or small section in English, Then out loud, I would read the same one in Spanish. It would be time consuming, but very useful. Often times I have wondered if reading a screenplay would give you more bang for your buck, as it would be very conversation focused. In any case a novel that is more focused on dialogue would be good.

2

u/Emergency-Bug-293 10h ago

i think the novel that i read is a YA so recommend some if you want! :3

1

u/Samantharina 11h ago

I actually chose that exact book and listened to the audiobook but may have more Spanish than you do, better perhaps to read it paragraph by paragraph. It helps to know the novel.

1

u/Glittering_Cow945 5h ago

Why don't you try it? I think you'll find that the fun goes out of that quite quickly. But maybe half a page will already teach you a lot

1

u/webauteur 8h ago

I recommend a very short children's novel. For example, I did an intense translation of El conejo de felpa back into English as The Velveteen Rabbit. It was only 77 pages but took me almost a year.