/lit/, I know HP/Rowling is a meme here, but is reading Harry Potter in a foreign language a good way to strengthen my vocabulary? I've read works of great consequence in French, but it can be a real slog. Harry Potter is long but easy to read, and I've already read it in English, so I'm assuming I wouldn't be having to translate an archaic or unknown word every other line, and will learn more easily by reading in context instead.
tl;dr should I read Harry Potter in my second language?
Yes, reading / watching simple shit in different languages is a pretty good way to learn them.
>>7889958
Honestly, The Stranger is an easier jumping off point than Harry Potter for French. I did both and The Stranger was far easier
heres a little fun fact for you:
in the french harry potter and the chamber of secrets, when hes in the chamber and voldemort shows that "i am lord voldemort" is an anagram of tom marvolo riddle, the french translation had to make his middle name elvis in order to spell je suis voldemort. the dark lords middle name is elvis. ill be crawling back to redit now, thanks for your time
>>7889958
Why wouldn't you read a French YA or children's book instead?
>>7890124
HP is YA.
>>7890136
But is it French?
>>7890148
The whole point is that OP already read it in English so it's easier to fill in the blanks.
>>7889958
Only works if you wanna learn to say 'stretch his legs' in another language
>>7890752
Do characters stretch their legs often in HP or something?
It translates to "s'étirer les jambes" in French btw, fairly straightforward.
>>7890099
I agree with this, same situation as you OP. I read the Stranger , then Sartre's "Les Mains Sales" (don't worry it's a play it's easy to read). I just finished Patrick Modiano's "Pour que tu ne te perdes pas dans le quartier" which is also not terribly challenging, and fairly short as well. Definitely look into most of Camus' books as well as his and Sartre's plays. Afterwards look into Zola (Nana is pretty good, if a bit long compared to the others I listed.)
>>7890752
Harold Bloom, author of The Western Canon, who said of J K Rowling’s work: “The writing was dreadful; the book was terrible. As I read, I noticed that every time a character went for a walk, the author wrote instead that the character stretched his legs’. I began marking on the back of an envelope every time that phrase was repeated. I stopped only after I had marked the envelope several dozen times. I was incredulous. Rowling’s mind is so governed by cliches and dead metaphors that she has no other style of writing.”
http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/harry-potter-and-the-money-making-machine-harold-bloom-continues-his-assault-on-potter-mania/
>>7891037
>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
>ctrl + f "stretches his legs"
>3,107 results
>>7892722
Therese Raquin isn't a bad choice when it comes to Zola. It's not too challenging, and is relatively short.
>>7889958
nah
