I plan to read my first book - any suggestions?

[fredrik_w]

So far, I have learned about 2000+ characters and I really feel a desire to read my first Chinese book. Sure, it will be a stryggle but I really want to give it a try. What Im looking for:

- simple language but not a book written for education / learners.

- Very good if an audio version also is available

- Content: History or novel.

- Available at Xinhua or similar bookstores

Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

[skylee]

Consider reading the Chinese version of The Little Prince. You already know the story, and the writing is simple enough. It is so popular that you should be able to get the book from most bookstores.

But do note that there are different translated versions. This is the audio version based on the one published by the Tianjin Education Publishing Company -> http://www.verycd.com/groups/@g2380444/305945.topic

[yonglin]

I kind of like 余华.

[roddy]

余华's 活着 has been recommended before I think - it's not too long, quite simple language.

[katyjo]

World's Classics for youths are pretty easy. We have The Old Man and the Sea, Little Women, and Jane Eyre. They have pinyin or zhuyin to help learners.

Many bilingual childrens books have an accompanying CD.

[leeyah]

Yes, for the beginning, translated novels with familiar content, written in simple language are good, but also & definitely all Chinese books for children and I mean elementary school level, because there are different levels. It would be almost as difficult as the original version, if you bought an abridged version of a novel from 'mingjia tuijian xueshengbiducongshu' series which is for teenagers who have mastered elementary wenyan and more than a couple of thousand characters.

On the other hand, books for under-teens children are written in simple language, all have pinyin & usually accompanying CDs. Just think about it: even Tang poetry is easy when you can read it with pinyin under each character & translation in plain Mandarin! There are also kids' versions of historical novels like 三国演义 or adventure novels like 西游记 & these are much more fun to read than any translated versions of the stories available in English.

[wushijiao]

余华's 活着 has been recommended before I think - it's not too long, quite simple language.

That was the first book I read, and it was very good. You can also watch the movie too, which is loosely based on the novel.

[Lu]

I've recommended 活着 in the past, good pick for a first book I think. My first book was 张系国's 棋王, not difficult, and has a good story. Now reading 巴金's 家 and it's also good, a little 白话 here and there, but mostly easy enough.

Also check out the other book recommendation threads.

[wushijiao]

Also check out the other book recommendation thread

Like this one that I started (five years ago):

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/1626-chinese-novels-for-laowais&highlight=novels+laowais

[phyrex]

Related, does anybody maybe has a recommendation for some fantasy/sci-fi/horror novel? I've yet to read my first "real" book too, but I know that my main trouble won't be the level, but interest/motivation. And I start to yawn already when reading the synopsis of 活着 or LuXuns stuff.. So, any ideas? Anybody with similar taste but more experience?

[renzhe]

I can second the recommendation of 巴金's 家. Of all the books and stories I've read, this one is almost certainly the easiest as a first book, and it's historical from today's perspective and offers great insight into the life of nobility during the early Republic / before the war.

I recommend having a look at this thread to see if it might be interesting for you.

I'd also heartily recommend 张爱玲 and 金庸, but you'd probably want to read something easier first.

Related, does anybody maybe has a recommendation for some fantasy/sci-fi/horror novel?

I haven't read it, but there was this book of the month and people seemed to enjoy it.

[roddy]

You could see here for some Chinese science fiction ideas. For a first-time reader 中国式青春 might be worth a look - it's a short story, pretty straightforward. I had a look at 飞向人马座 recently after a recommendation, but didn't get very far - too many teenage characters. 球状闪电 as linked is also quite readable.

Edited August 15, 2009 at 01:06 PM by roddy

[imron]

it's a short story,

actually a novel.

[roddy]

Gargh, significant typo. It'll be a short story once I fix it, trust me

[phyrex]

Thanks for your suggestions guys, that is very! helpful to me

[imron]

The author's website

Do you always refer to yourself in the third person like this? Honestly speaking, you'd gain a lot more respect if instead of saying "there's this book you should read" you said "try reading my book". See also the forums' terms and conditions regarding disclosure and promoting your own product/business/service.

[rob07]

孔已己 is not a novel - it is less than 10 pages long. It is perfect in its way though. It was also the first thing I read in Chinese.

[Guoke]

I like 古龙的小说：

古龙小说全集

[querido]

leeyah, thank you for post #6.

Chinese books for children and I mean elementary school level, because there are different levels. It would be almost as difficult as the original version, if you bought an abridged version of a novel from 'mingjia tuijian xueshengbiducongshu' series which is for teenagers who have mastered elementary wenyan and more than a couple of thousand characters.

This list gives the number of characters the student is required to know by the end of the given grade level, according to the People's Education Press Yuwen series of textbooks for Chinese children in China. Note that these numbers are surprisingly high, as leeyah said, so your "grade level" is surprisingly low. I hope no one here is ashamed to read books engineered for these grade levels... and the illustrations are often heavenly too!

1st: 950

2nd: 1800

3rd: 2400

4th: 2800

5th: 3200

6th: 3400

I really feel a desire to read my first Chinese book.

And what a pleasure if you could just about read it straight through, right?

China's educational system *is* a vast world of coordinated readers in every subject. (I'm beginning second grade.)

[knadolny]

One of my first author's was Lu Xun (鲁迅). I had a lot of trouble reading his short stories, Kong Yiji (孔已己) and Medicine (药), which I really wanted to read due to Lu Xun's hero status in China. I took my notes, expanded them, and created this book for his collection of short stories. Maybe you'll find it useful in your studies.

During my studies I've been disappointed with most of the language books that are out there for intermediate and advanced speakers and am doing my part to try and change that.

Edited November 18, 2009 at 12:58 PM by knadolny