French Books - Books in and about French
Beginning-Intermediate French Reading Resources
Ready to try reading in French? Here is a selection of French readers for beginning to intermediate students, including short stories, novel exerpts, non-fiction, and poems chosen or written especially for beginning-to-intermediate students.
Books by Peter Mayle
Did you know that, in addition to the Provence series, Peter Mayle has written three novels set in Provence and a couple of books on other topics? If you're looking for something funny and interesting to read, any of these books will fit the bill.
Books on French Culture
There's more to language learning than vocabulary lists and grammar rules - culture is an essential element. Since language reflects culture and vice versa, fluency implies an understanding of both. If you don't know anything about wine, the Tour de France, or the French Revolution, your French is missing some context. Fill in the gaps with these books about the rich French culture.
Books on French Food
This mix of fact and fiction will teach you everything you could ever want to know about French cuisine: what it is, when it began, who helped it along the way, why it's so good, how to make it, and where to find the best of the best.
Books on Living and Working in France
If you dream of living and working in France, you have to plan ahead. Even if you're a citizen of the European Union, it's extremely unlikely that you'll be able to move to France and have everything fall into place. There are permissions to be acquired, paperwork to be filled and filed, and many important cultural differences to be aware of. These books can help you make your dream come true.
Fiction Set in France
I find that books about France, whether fiction or non-fiction, pique my appetite for travel more than anything else. I love writers who weave culture and language into their stories and memories. Of course, the best books are probably those written in French, but since not everyone reads well enough to survive Germinal, here's a list of my favorite English-language novels set in France.
French Dictionaries: Bilingual
When buying a bilingual French dictionary, consider your language skill and what the dictionary is for. Also note that bilingual dictionaries are a great tool, but can have discrepancies. Here are French dictionaries arranged by quantity and quality of entries.
French Dictionaries: Monolingual
Once you're at least intermediate, you need to think about investing in a French-only dictionary. Bilingual dictionaries are a great tool, but the're not infallible. The following monolingual French dictionaries are listed from most to least complete.
French English Bilingual Books - French English Dual Language Books
I don't like to read translations, because I believe that something is lost when literature is translated out of its original language. However, bilingual books are a great way to enjoy literature when your language skills aren't quite good enough to read the original. These books are French classics with the original French and English translation, so that you can compare as you read.
French Travel Guides
Here is a collection of useful books for anyone traveling to France. In addition to the guide books you would expect from such a list, a phrase book and two audio books are also included.
Grammar Books
There are hundreds of French grammar books - how can you know which is the best? That's where I come in - here are my favorite grammar books: the ones I use every day as well as those I've grown beyond, but keep because they once helped me so much.
Non-Fiction about French and France
You've probably seen dozens of travel and grammar books; what about the human side of learning French and visiting France? There are some great books - humorous yet helpful, fun but not frivolous. Here's my favorite non-fiction on French and France.
Slang and Colloquial French
The French you learn in class is not what you'll hear on the street or in the news. It is important to master correct French and also to understand and use slang and colloquial French. These books teach real French, as spoken by friends and enemies.
Verb Books
There are many, many French verb books in existence, which offer explanations and conjugations for hundreds - sometimes thousands - of verbs. In my mind, there are only three contenders for your French reference library.
Dog Trots Globe: To Paris and Provence, by Sheron Long
Dog Trots Globe: To Paris and Provence is the tale of a dog traveling in France, enhanced by color photographs and line drawings.
Escape to Provence
Much has been written about the South of France, but there is still more to be said, as Escape to Provence amply shows. This true story centers around the lives two women, one American and one British, who lived for some time together in the South of France. It's not quite right to call it a story, more a tapestry of stories about life, love, war, peace, and friendship.
False Friends - Faux Amis
Ellie Malet Spradbery's "False Friends - Faux Amis" is a small book filled with potentially difficult French vocabulary.
First French Words
First French Words, illustrated by David Melling and compiled by Neil Morris, is a perfect book for introducing children to French.
French Women Don't Sleep Alone, by Jamie Cat Callan
French women are so chic! Jamie Cat Callan tries to pin down and explain their je ne sais quoi is in her book "French Women Don't Sleep Alone."
Intermediate French for Dummies
As the title suggests, this is a workbook for intermediate-level students of French, with lessons and practice exercises on everything from pronouns to prepositions, with an emphasis on written communication. Exercises include fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, conjugations, and writing practice.
Parce que je t'aime and L'amour par internet
The intermediate-level French novelette "Parce que je t'aime" and its sequel "L'amour par internet" recount the romantic exploits of a teenage boy from Pau, a town located in the foothills of the Pyrénées.
Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Le Petit Prince is the wonderfully touching and creative story of a man who meets an extraordinary boy and relearns what it means to be a child. It is a French classic in children’s literature, as well as an excellent book for beginning-to-intermediate French students and for anyone who is tired of acting like « une grande personne ».
Le québécois en dix leçons A guide to day-to-day Québec French
Le québécois en dix leçons, subtitled Le cours de québécois parlé, is designed for French speakers who would like to learn more about joual, the unique variety of French spoken informally in Québec.
Sabita et les mots magiques mêlés
Sabita et les mots magiques mêlés is an illustrated French audiobook for children.
Speak Québec! A guide to day-to-day Québec French
Speak Québec! is a small book with huge amounts of information about French as it's spoken in Québec. Primarily a dictionary of Québec French to English, this pocket book is supplemented with notes on Québécois pronunciation, grammar, and slang.
The Story of French
The Story of French is a definitive analysis of French as it is spoken around the world. An in-depth, compelling, and above all affectionate look at the language of love, The Story of French is required reading for all Francophiles.
The Well
If you're a fan of that growing class of novels written by Englishmen who have chucked everything and moved to France, you'll probably like "The Well," with its combination of mystery, corruption, and sex against the backdrop of la France profonde.
Sur le vif French Audio Books
The publisher of the online audio magazine La Guinguette offers three intermediate/advanced French audiobooks about contemporary France called Sur le vif (Real Life).