To be honest, I haven’t expected many participants at the meeting about reading in English. You know, nowadays not so many people like to read. The majority prefer to watch or listen.
And you know what? We had 15 people (me included) during our meeting on Friday. And it’s quite many for our newly born community of About-English readers.
I want to thank everyone who joined the meeting. Thank you for joining me and creating a friendly and encouraging atmosphere.
Here’re my insights:
– When we split into the groups it turned out that in some group people have different tastes and preferences. But it didn’t spoil their conversations. On the opposite, they enjoyed the communication, learned new things and some of them even got inspired.
– We got some cool advice from Olga, who’s a seasoned reader and reads several books at a time in English. She says, “the more you read the more you will understand English words in the context and you will be able to understand even complex words without a dictionary.”
Her advice to learners who want to read in English is to be consistent: read 1-2 pages or 10-30 min but every day. That will help to bit a habit. This is how the compound effect works.
– Another participant, Aung shared techniques he uses to expand his vocabulary while reading. He uses different markers to underline new words and expressions he sees in the text. And he also put them in a google document.
He also suggested choosing the book that is interesting for you (you really want to read it). It shouldn’t be too easy or too difficult to read, so you’re likely to quit.
The level of English in a book should a little higher when your current level of English, so it will keep you in a good shape and allow you to develop.
These are great suggestions. Analyze your habits and preferences and create a routine that will work for you.
And finally, here’s a list of books you should read in English, according to the participants. If you want to share a mind-blowing book we have to read please do it in the comments and I will add it to the list of our common knowledge base.
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- I have your number by Sophie Kinsella
- Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
- Mindset: Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential by Dr Carol Dweck
- Limitless by Jim Kwik
- Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
- A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- A long Petal of the sea by Isabel Allende
- This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
- Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury
- Into the wild by Jon Krakauer
- Thinks by David Lodge
- Virgin River by Robyn Carr
For those who’re reading it and want to be a part of our Speaking Club here’s the link to join (don’t forget to put your name and email address, so I can send you updates about upcoming meetings.
P.S. by the way guys, are you on Good Reads? I’m there. Let’s connect!
