I do occasionally get asked for recommendations of a more academic hue. Sometimes, these are very general - "How can I improve my English?"; sometimes, more specific - "Which is the best newspaper for phrasal verbs?". In each case, the student wants to do something more outside of the classroom to learn English and very kindly values my opinion on the matter. Although I'm more than happy to proffer unsolicited recommendations on TV shows, movies, music and podcasts, it is generally books that I find myself being asked to recommend.
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| Image taken from https://travelmilk.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/the-most-beautiful-book-shop-in-the-world/ |
I find this a bit tricky. For a start, many of the students who've asked me for a book recommendation tell me they don't have strong reading habits (that sounds a bit vague - what I mean is that they say they don't really read books for pleasure in their own language although I'm sure they do tons of online reading). Also, many of them are around the B2 level and I'm conscious that an overly challenging book might put them off reading in English. The more significant challenge is that during the academic year, I tend to read crime thrillers and very little else so I don't have a very wide range of books to choose from.
All that being said, here are some of the books that I have recommended and a short description as to why the recommendation was successful (I judge success by whether or not the student read it). In each case, the recommendation was made in the modest hope that the book would be enjoyable and lead to further book reading down the line.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
I'll start with this one as I've recommended it the most and it's had the best response. The story is engaging, the narrator uses relatively simple language, the chapters are short and mix between narrative and interesting diversions, and it is heart-warming. I recommended it (and loaned a copy, in fact) to one student - she enthused about it and the book made its way around the class. So far, nobody who has started it has given up on it (to my knowledge).
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
This one was written by an Irish author so I'm guilty of a bit of nationalism there. I'm also guilty of never having actually read it. But a good few students have read it and multiple copies have moved around the class. Again, it is relatively simple, being told from a child's perspective but there is a bit of substance to it. And there's a film for follow up (or pre-reading).
Any Autobiography by Any Sportsperson
These tend to be good as the reader knows a lot about the person before they start reading which should make it a bit easier to read. Preferable to biographies which are often a bit denser and more demanding. I've seen the Pele book bouncing around a few times; Nadal and Pirlo both made appearances; Agassi's book is good for those of a certain age with an interest in tennis/overbearing parents.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
When brimming with the enthusiasm to read in English, I've seen a lot of students go for the classics. Far be it from me to discourage someone from reading James Joyce whilst living in Dublin, but I've seen a lot of students' attempts at reading in English dashed against the rocks of a €1 second hand copy of Dubliners. Hemingway's stripped down style of writing (particularly in this novel) makes it an easier read for those at the B2/C1 level, it's obviously a gorgeous story and a lot of people have already read it in their own language.
Panic by Jeff Abbot
About six years ago, I had a notion to try a book club with a class I had that were studying for the IELTS exam. The idea was that we'd all read the same book, at the same pace and there would be spin off speaking/writing activities in class. I'm not sure exactly how we landed on this book - I think it was because it was very dialogue heavy, fairly simple and had short chapters (it was also going cheap as well at the time). Anyway, the majority of students liked it, they all finished it (some read ahead) and several got the follow up - Fear (unfortunately, the author doesn't seem to have stuck to the negative noun formula and has started messing around with verbs!).
If asked, what books do you (would you) recommend to your students?
