What good book would you suggest me?

[Italian83]

Hello there, it's still me, the Italian guy who is learning English, hanging around on these wonderful forums :wave:

As it's said in the title... what book should I start from?
I am reading Pride and Prejudice at the moment, which I think it's giving me a lot from a linguistic point of view, sometimes I even unconsciously find myself using some of its expressions... I find it a very refined English and it's giving me a lot of hints about how the language should be used...
I'm almost done with that, so I am looking for a new one...
The reason why I'm asking you for some advice is that I'm not fully able to choose appropriately yet, and there still exists the risk I inadvertently pick some readings which may be not suitable for me... In particular, I am concerned about the risk of picking up out of date expressions, as I am not fully able to discern yet... I would love to read something which value is out of any doublt, which can be defined as a classic, though isn't too old from a linguistic point of view... (I don't want to hang around in Texas this summer talking in Middle English...)

Consider these factors:
- I would describe my English level as upper-intermediate so far, and I definitely can read better than I write.
- I'm learning English exclusively for my own "amusement"... I'm not one of those business-men looking forward to pass those tests such as toefl, ielts etc... I'm just interested in the language itself and in its literature... My learning style may be described as "English for English's sake".

Thank you very much indeed!!
Cheers!:wave:

[Dark Muse]

Maybe Wilkie Collins would be a good choice. Particularly I would recommend either The Woman in White of The Moonstone.

He does have an almost modern feel to his writing so I do not think it will prove to be too anarchic linguistically. And though it is hard for me to judge what would be accessible for one who is still learning English, I would not think he would be any more difficult to read than Jane Austen is.

[kiki1982]

hmm, I have The Moonstone on my bookshelf. Indeed, it wasn't too bad language-wise.

Trollope isn't too bad either. The Pictoure of Dorian Gray has some interesting vocabulary in it, but on the whole it reads quite nicely.

Daniel Defoe, although from the 17th century, is suprisingly modern in feel.

Actually I am more or less in your position... I read old books and then tend to use their expressions (sometimes). However, English is never so dated as other languages may be. So using an expression you read in an 18th century novel is likely to sound quite sophisticated instead of daft.

My husband who is English would joke that Texas is not the most fantastic measure for English...

[irinmisfit92]

If you do not want something too complex, read books by John Ajvide Lindqvist. He's a Swedish author most renowned for his novel Let The Right One In, which was later on made into a 2008 Swedish movie. It was then remade by Hollywood, and the movie was titled Let Me In; so perhaps you are more familiar with that.

His books are recent, however they are pretty powerful such that you do feel that it is almost tantamount to literature.

If you want to find classics that are easier to read, go read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Stevenson and Dracula by Bram Stoker. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is also really good.

[dysfunctional-h]

Hmmm. For very entertaining, if troubling, examples of fantastic but easy-on-the-eyes prose style, I'd suggest Nabokov's Lolita and David Sedaris's memoirs. But really you're entering a wide, wide world, with English lit. I'd definitely work my way up before attempting something like Dickens or Faulkner, both wonderful authors, albeit startlingly difficult to read.

[Charles Darnay]

sometimes I even unconsciously find myself using some of its expressions...

I am terrible in regards to that. I try to catch myself, but it doesn't help.

I am currently reading "For Whom The Bell Tolls" by Hemingway and "que va" has become part of my everyday speech.

[PeterL]

I strongly urge you to read recent popular fiction. Trollope, Defoe, etc. wrote in earlier times, so their language is a bit much for a bar in Texas. Defoe usd forms that no one uses any more. Those are easily understood by a native speaker of English, but they aren't what people use. The classics are not up-to-date, but Nabokov is. You might see what new books are coming out and randomly buy some. They may not be good, but life is a gamble.

[hawthorns]

Can you tell us more about your interests, genres you prefer, etc?

[mal4mac]

"Room with a View" by E.M. Forster is very straightforward, and you might like the Italian connection.

But as you are going to Texas, shouldn't you be reading some American classics?

Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain.

Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck

[hawthorns]

Yeah I'd second Steinbeck. He's great.

[Italian83]

Can you tell us more about your interests, genres you prefer, etc?

You're right...I didn't even tell you guys what genres I normally read... Well, I mostly like psychological novels, where characters are deep into their existential problems :-), I hate all those silly bestsellers with their colorful covers...
I love the countryside, the wild, I like it when it's cloudy and rainy outside, I like walking alone in winter all wrapped in my trench coat because I feel a particular atmosphere.
I graduated in Classics, majored in Greek literature, my preferred Italian author is Italo Calvino, I read Oscar Wilde, Emily Bronte, James Joyce, I've recently fallen in love with Kafka's works...
Plus, I have a cat with whom I like to talk to better then to people.
I'm learning English just because one day I woke up and thought that would be nice and I've never stopped since then.

p.s. The Texas thing was just a joke... I'm not going to visit the U.S. in the near future, unless I win a bunch of money at some national lottery.

Thanks everybody for your precious hints!! I've been writing down all of your suggestions and I will surely read many of the books you suggested me to try!!

[LitNetIsGreat]

I love the fact that you woke up one day and decided to learn a language for language's sake, great stuff! I'll just offer you a few suggestions as you are likely to be inundated with books.

Two English novels that's not been mentioned yet, that are solid classic works and very readable that I'd definitely have on your list are:

* Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure
* Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

Thinking about your love of the countryside, especially if you like poetic prose, I would suggest you try the lovely Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee, and also perhaps it's follow up with As I Walked out one Midsummer Morning. These two are not as obvious as the above two and are a bit of a personal suggestion but are lovely books all the same. I wrote out a few passages in the review here:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59290

Also you can listen to the first part of it here as read by Kenneth Branagh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4xLtYKwjs

Also what about some poetry? Perhaps Wordsworth and Keats would fit the bill?

[hawthorns]

You're probably way ahead of me as a graduate in the Classics, but here's a few I've read and loved: Invisible Cities, Calvino; East of Eden, Steinbeck; Brideshead Revisited, Waugh The Worst Journey In the World, Scott (esp if you like the cold); South, Shakleton; The Trial, Kafka. Also, if you enjoyed the Brontes I'd highly recommend Villette. For psychological thrillers No Night is Too Long, Master of the Moor, and A Dark-Adapted Eye, Ruth Rendell

[hawthorns]

By the way, what part of Italy are you from? My great grandparents were from Tuscany (somewhere), but we unfortunately can't trace it. I was in Rome two years ago and seeing the history I've only read about for so many years was like a dream come true. That city is like Disneyland for history enthusiasts. Wish I could go back...

[dfloyd]

in the English translation: The Leopard by Lampedusa. I read the novel and saw the movie with Burt Lancaster dubbed in Italian and enjoed both immensly.

[Italian83]

By the way, what part of Italy are you from? My great grandparents were from Tuscany (somewhere), but we unfortunately can't trace it. I was in Rome two years ago and seeing the history I've only read about for so many years was like a dream come true. That city is like Disneyland for history enthusiasts. Wish I could go back...

I'm from northen Italy, I live in the countryside east of Milan, near the famous Garda Lake... I can say I'm quite used to stunning landscapes... (The great latin poet Vergilius used to own a house by the Garda lake too, and many poets after him... maybe that's a sign hahahah, maybe I'm destined to become a poet).

In regards to Rome, you're absolutely right, Rome is... it is so much everything that I cannot find a proper adjective... For me in particular it has a special meaning, for when I walk around among those ancient remains, I feel like all the things I studied come to life, and you can suddenly fill the gap between unanimated textbooks and real life... When you study the Colosseum you think that's great, but when you stand right in front of it, it looks like you can touch the Romans who build it stone by stone...
Besides, ancient Rome aside, the town is full of churches and Christian buildings, expression of its leading role for Christianity through the centiuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, then, which I also like, the wonderful elegance of the Reinassance buildings, then the actual Rome, with all of the things that normally belong to great capitals everywhere, plus its famous "Cinecittà" which is our own Holliwood, where most Italian films are shot...
I do believe that the two famous descriptions of Rome are both perfectly appropriate: "The eternal city" "The navel of the world"...
I really whish you to manage to come back visit again soon, as Rome is surely worth a second visit... By the way, did you throw a coin in the Trevi fountain? The legend says that whoever throws a coin in the Trevi fountain, is destined to come back to Rome again...but pay attention, you must throw it backwards, you must be your back to the fountain, not with the fountain right in front of your sight... (I know...we Italians and our superstitions ;-) )

p.s. I really thank you and all of the people who suggested me all those interesting books. I would really like to thank everybody together and each one in particular!!:wave:

[hawthorns]

I'm from northen Italy, I live in the countryside east of Milan, near the famous Garda Lake... I can say I'm quite used to stunning landscapes... (The great latin poet Vergilius used to own a house by the Garda lake too, and many poets after him... maybe that's a sign hahahah, maybe I'm destined to become a poet).

In regards to Rome, you're absolutely right, Rome is... it is so much everything that I cannot find a proper adjective... For me in particular it has a special meaning, for when I walk around among those ancient remains, I feel like all the things I studied come to life, and you can suddenly fill the gap between unanimated textbooks and real life... When you study the Colosseum you think that's great, but when you stand right in front of it, it looks like you can touch the Romans who build it stone by stone...
Besides, ancient Rome aside, the town is full of churches and Christian buildings, expression of its leading role for Christianity through the centiuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, then, which I also like, the wonderful elegance of the Reinassance buildings, then the actual Rome, with all of the things that normally belong to great capitals everywhere, plus its famous "Cinecittà" which is our own Holliwood, where most Italian films are shot...
I do believe that the two famous descriptions of Rome are both perfectly appropriate: "The eternal city" "The navel of the world"...
I really whish you to manage to come back visit again soon, as Rome is surely worth a second visit... By the way, did you throw a coin in the Trevi fountain? The legend says that whoever throws a coin in the Trevi fountain, is destined to come back to Rome again...but pay attention, you must throw it backwards, you must be your back to the fountain, not with the fountain right in front of your sight... (I know...we Italians and our superstitions ;-) )

p.s. I really thank you and all of the people who suggested me all those interesting books. I would really like to thank everybody together and each one in particular!!:wave:

Exactly. I've been all around the world, but never a city that made me feel as if I'd just stepped back in time quite like Rome. Walk down a narrow avenue, BOOM there's Trevi Fountain. Turn a corner, BOOM Spanish Steps. Round another alleyway, BOOM Castel St. Angelo, Trajan's Column, and on and on. Throw in some of the best eateries, markets, restaurants of today and you have one AWESOME place.

The Churches! They were unbelievable. They were like miniature Metropolitan Museums.

Yeah, we did the backwards coin toss at Trevi. Beautiful beyond words.

My only regret was not being able to see the remains of Nero's Golden House. It was under renovation at the time and has since collapsed :frown5: (2010?)

[kiki1982]

Without wanting to take anything away from Rome...

Have you been to Florence and Venice? Venice has more churches than any Italian city I believe and all of their patrons tried to outdo each other. You also have more than one Louvre there. And the sound! It is the sound of back when there were no cars. You can hear people talking two, three streets away, distinctly. In the evening you kind of realise what 'sound wafting' means.

Florence is a busy city, but it has its fair share of Renaissance architecture, churches (again, showing how very rich and powerful the family was, mainly the De Medicis) and artwork.

Of course, that's not antique history and the collosseum is downright amazing. I guess my obnoxious history teacher ruined antiques for me...

[hawthorns]

Without wanting to take anything away from Rome...

Have you been to Florence and Venice? Venice has more churches than any Italian city I believe and all of their patrons tried to outdo each other. You also have more than one Louvre there. And the sound! It is the sound of back when there were no cars. You can hear people talking two, three streets away, distinctly. In the evening you kind of realise what 'sound wafting' means.

Florence is a busy city, but it has its fair share of Renaissance architecture, churches (again, showing how very rich and powerful the family was, mainly the De Medicis) and artwork.

Of course, that's not antique history and the collosseum is downright amazing. I guess my obnoxious history teacher ruined antiques for me...

I haven't been to Florence but I have been to Venice. The Frari (Titian's) is amazing.

Venice has more churches than any Italian city I believe and all of their patrons tried to outdo each other. You also have more than one Louvre there

By my count there are 149 in Venice and 900+ in Rome. Are you referring to the dell'Academia? What's the other?

[OrphanPip]

If you're reading to pick up contemporary language you might consider Ian McEwan (British) or John Irving (American), they're relatively light reading without being empty of meaning.

[kiki1982]

I haven't been to Florence but I have been to Venice. The Frari (Titian's) is amazing.

Venice has more churches than any Italian city I believe and all of their patrons tried to outdo each other. You also have more than one Louvre there

By my count there are 149 in Venice and 900+ in Rome. Are you referring to the dell'Academia? What's the other?

I think it must be the rate of churches per square kilometre or per head of population. Come to think of it, that was a bit of a daft claim ;).

In terms of museums, I was referring to the contents of all: churches, museums, palazzi etc. There is the Academia museum, but also the Venice city museum at San Marco, the 18th century museum, and a number of convents. Venice was the place to be for artists and rich families paid them to paint their palaces and churches. It is a bit scattered because most of those works are frescos or paintings made to size like in the Doge's Palace, but it's definitely worth to spend some time.

[mal4mac]

If you're reading to pick up contemporary language you might consider Ian McEwan (British)...

Yes! Try his latest "Solar" - should start some interesting debates in oil country :nod:

[mal4mac]

You're right...I didn't even tell you guys what genres I normally read... Well, I mostly like psychological novels, where characters are deep into their existential problems :-), I hate all those silly bestsellers with their colorful covers...Calvino...

I've read him in translation, a very interesting writer. An equivalent in the US might be Kurt Vonnegut? In England, perhaps J.G. Ballard - though he is darker - he is *very* psychological/existential, very close to Kafka. I read "Concrete Island" recently, it would be a good one to start with, though he is very consistent so you can't go wrong.

[RicMisc]

I'd suggest reading the obvious ones like George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 or The Catcher in the Rye. These are 'contemporary' and are definitely must-reads. As for Ian McEwan, I am not familiar with much of his work but I know he is known to be quite macabre (hence his nickname Ian Macabre).