ERRATUM: OSCAR WILDE was IRISH (not English) sorry for my mistake. And George Orwell was born in India...

@FantasticPhrasal

3 жыл бұрын

Completely off-topic, but did I spot you in an old Gordon Ramsey program?

@salvatoregisonna8953

3 жыл бұрын

Do you consider Orwell English or Scottish?

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

@fantastic phrasal That's way off topic and normally I wouldn't respond but yes, it was me. Please don't hold it against me.

@antoniocastillo5382

3 жыл бұрын

@@FantasticPhrasal what's the chapter, or season, or the name

@gv6943

2 жыл бұрын

@@salvatoregisonna8953 His real name was Eric Arthur Blair, this name embodying so much of Great Britain's ethnic and culture heritage. But I read somewhere he chose George Orwell so as to sound eminently English

Please, I need more book recommendations from you. I say let that be a whole series. All agree? Great. Done. Cheers.

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

This is my third. I could be running out of material.

@dorotamakarzec5491

3 жыл бұрын

​@@LetThemTalkTV I believe in you! With love, Polish fan from London.

@agustinacarranza8018

3 жыл бұрын

​@@LetThemTalkTV I'm sure you are not, I'd like some more classics recommendation!

@robertm8780

3 жыл бұрын

Dorota Makarzec-My two cents: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway.

@helenamcginty4920

3 жыл бұрын

I have read about Frederick Douglass only a few years ago (i am 72 and we were taught about the evils of slavery at school in the 1960s but we were never introduced to Black intellectuals.) He was an amazing person.

1 The Catcher In The Rye 2 The Importance Of Being Earnest 3 Animal Farm 4 The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass 5 Pride And Prejudice 6 Cold Comfort Farm

@arseniiportnyagin7230

3 жыл бұрын

True tales of American life as a bonus one

@lopamudraray4571

3 жыл бұрын

3 and 5 done last year.

I read Animal Farm last year and it’s amazing. Though it is an allegory from the Russian revolution, I was able to identify with the story in my context, as I was working in a bad job and buying into all the things they were telling me. Animal Farm helped me quit my job and now I found a new one and way better :)

The problem i encountered with "animal farm" is the vocabulary revolving around farm life. I had to use the dictionary very often. Reading "pride and prejudice" was much easier. Thank you for the recommendations.

In my opinion, "Of Mice and Men" would be a good addition to your list🤔.

You definitely have got a super power, you can teach English the best way possible! My BF and I are literally addicted to your videos! Thank you so much from two Italian students🙏🙏

I am glad your video comes up on my timeline! Such an insightful content. Thank you for the wonderful recommendations.

Really loving these book recommendations! Keep em coming sir

Wonderful list of classics dear Gideon!l read the ones you mentioned by Wilde and Austen in italian and long time ago!Better for my lower level to start with the "bonus"book you suggested!Thanks so much,l like you and your awesome videos more and more!Have a blessed,happy week!❤️👍👍👍

Love this video! Thank you! Something that has helped me learn is listening to the audiobook whilst reading the paper book.

Thank you sir so much for doing these videos , it’s very helpful and glad to heard to learning English in this easy simple way online like this ! Best regard

I never take recommendations of books because is always about personal taste but with you I feel like you have always good logical reasons based on your knowledge and yes I'll read this books because of this.

I read two books from this list. The Catcher in The Rye and Animal Farm, and both were great. I really enjoyed The Catcher in the Rye, I could sympathize with the main character and his over reaction and escapism when he finds out how hard it is growing up. I am currently reading A Clockwork Orange and despite being not a long book there are some expressions from Nadsat that makes it kind of difficult.

Another recommendation from a native English speaker (American) and voracious reader: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It takes place in the 1930s but it was published in 1960, so the language is modern and straightforward. There may be some few obscure vocabulary words because the story takes place in the rural south, but these will be slight and even humorous. Deeply touching novel. Also I second the recommendation for Pride & Prejudice. It’s surprisingly easy to read. Jane Austen wrote the novel in her early days and it was rejected; she spent something like a decade refining it before she presented the work for publication again and it shows. She doesn’t waste a single word in that novel. Simply excellent writing.

@annek3296

2 ай бұрын

I second both of these. (I'm an avid Jane-ite.) Right now I'm helping a young Ukrainian lawyer with her English through the marvelous volunteer program ENGin, & we are reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" together. This beloved classic is read in many American high schools, so there is a great deal of supplemental material on-line. I recommend the audio-book read by the great actress Sissy Spacek, which includes the text, so you can listen to it as you read along. BTW, Harper Lee said "All I want to be is the Jane Austen of South Alabama," Also, the character of Dill is based on her childhood friend, who grew up to be the famed author Truman Capote.

I've read most of these books. The Picture of Dorian Gray was fantastic in my opinion. Might I recommend for the beginner a book named The Phantom Tollbooth. I first read it in third grade, and although it's written for children, there's so much in it that's relevant to adults. It's a book I'll never forget. I would also recommend the Anne of Green Gables series for intermediate readers.

I think Anthem by Ayn Rand is a pretty good read. Only a little over 100 pages and it illustrates the same problem with collectivism as animal farm does. Then ending also to me is very uplifting and a call to action to the reader.

Perfect recommendations for me (from Sweden) who wants to develop in English and English literature. Two older books that I found easy and interesting to read were Psycho and Rosemary's Baby.

What a great choice of books! Thank you so very much, Gideon! Really appreciate your help and your wonderful channel. Stay healthy. Cheers ❤👍🤗

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I hope you enjoy them.

It has been a years since I read them, but I believe Jack London is a great author for easy classics. I read the Call of the Wild in elementary school and I am dyslexic so it was one of my first novels and the books that got me into classics. How to build a fire is also good, and short. But as an narrative English speaker and for how long ago I read them, I can not say how complex the vocabulary is and how hard they are for non English speaker. But they are worth looking into and great classics! Also there are film adaptations of some of his books!

Thanks for the bonus book, will definitely read it! Btw, the correct pronunciation is NabOkov, the stress is on the middle syllable ❤️

Thanks to you, I read The Importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Animal Farm by George Orwell and The Perks of Being a Walflower by Stephen Chbosky. They are all fantastic books that I enjoyed very much reading. The latter was my favourite. I feel it is somekind of a teenager version of The Stranger by Albert Camus.

I would love to suggest TO kill a mockingbird. Apart from the accents that are written in the dialogue, it's a really great and good read! English is not my native language and I never really cared about literature until I read that book. It's all written from the eyes of a child so apart from that being an interesting viewpoint, it also limits the difficult sentences. That book changed my life, I've read it almost a year ago and sometimes, when I'm on the train or something, I find my mind slowly wandering back to that book.

I love The catcher in the rye, i read it several times, i think its a masterpiece .

I consider myself as having an intermediate level of English (I'm a native Spanish speaker from Argentina), and I remember enjoing very, very much reading more than a decade ago "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" (the author is Ken Kesey), of course in English. I highly recomend it!

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

I haven't read it. Sounds interesting

@alinapala

3 жыл бұрын

@@LetThemTalkTV , you've got also the movie, which was very good indeed.

Nice selection. Thank you 🌞

Robinson Crusoe: loads of words to learn, but there's just one character, so it's very easy to understand. I learned the verb "to husband" from that book. I felt very clever indeed.

I really like your videos about literature, please do more of these, maybe starting from introduction for beginners and progress to advanced literature

Thank you for your time and advice, Gideon! Is there any change that you give us another recommendation? Perhaps, about some certain fictional books, maybe not even classical? I'm not giving a tip there, i'm assuming you might have a favorite fictional books as well as classical! For some of us readers your personal opinion would be important.

I was 22 when I first read Catcher in the Rye. I'd been taking English lessons for about a year or so and had just passed a B2-level exam but all that mattered to me was to become "fluent in English", so I decided to start reading "proper books" ... Anyway, I was a bit confused with the story because even though I'd heard about Charles Dickens, the only David Copperfield I knew was a magician who'd appear on Sunday TV shows here in Brazil ... it must have been the first time I used "WTF" in a genuine way. Gideon, I really appreciate your videos, there's always something unique to learn in them. Thank you

@Muttonchop_USA

3 жыл бұрын

When Dev Patel's agent told him he'd been offered the role of David Copperfield he said, "The magician?"

@brassen

3 жыл бұрын

Muttonchop Hal Really? Phew! That’s genuinely relieving for me, thank you! 😅

@Muttonchop_USA

3 жыл бұрын

@@brassen It never occurred to him that any producer would want a nonwhite Dickens character.

@enigmaster84

Жыл бұрын

@@Muttonchop_USA Netflix ;p

Just wanted to say thank you for your channel, effort, and energy. I am really inspired by your consistency, authenticity, and variety of topics. You have incredible talent for recording and producing videos. Do you have a team or is it all by yourself?

That was amazing. Liked and sub’d. Thanks for sharing!

thank you so much sir, for the books you recommend.

I love reading in English Since I started to learn English reading has became a passion for me, more than in Spanish which is my mother tongue. I've read Pride and Prejudice. It's a wonderful book .

@EdwardZeind

3 жыл бұрын

For me is the same. Can you help me by reading a text of mine?

@a.r.4707

3 жыл бұрын

MARI DE LA: A small correction if you don't mind. Has become instead of has became. If you use has then its become but otherwise reading became without has:).

@maridela6320

3 жыл бұрын

@@a.r.4707 you're right Thank you

@englishwithlucky6923

2 жыл бұрын

@@a.r.4707 cool keep it up with grammar..

Thank for your amazing videos!!!

I'm glad i found this channel... Thanks

Great choice! I've read four of them with Animal Farm being my favourite, followed by Pride and Prejudice. I haven't heard of the one by Frederick Douglas but it sounds intriguing and I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for the tip!

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your comment.

Nice list. I can’t seem to bring myself to read Salinger, but I hope to one day. Another quick read is Henry James’ Daisy Miller. 😉

Yes! Thank you for more book recommendations. You won't be making more videos like this, will you?

When I read The cather in the rye the first time, I was only about 12 and I thought it was a boring book about a moping teenager doing nothing. But I gave it another try when i was around 16 and absolutely loved it. In fact I think it is time for a re-read.

Foreigners I have known who studied English have generally admired the novels and stories of the American writer Ernest Hemingway. He tended to use a very simple and straightforward kind of English while conveying deep emotion and irony. Example: "Of Mice and Men."

@ninamorway5536

Жыл бұрын

Of Mice and Men is by John Steinbeck.

I have read all of them except Gibbons and Austers' and I love them all, they are all great books. The catcher is actually the first book I read in English, it took me a while to understand what "sonuvabitch" meant, but I got it afterward :p So I'm certainly going to read these two books after I finish The road to Wigan pier. Keep recommending books!

Greetings from a Persian, a descendant of King Xerxes,,,, you are doing great!

What an EXCELLENT video thank you

I also loved the adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Short chapters and just a beautiful adventure story

@Egilhelmson

3 жыл бұрын

Tom Sawyer was good, and not written in dialect, unlike Huckleberry Finn, so it is not as good for learning English, which is one of the goals of his list.

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

I confess I haven't read it. I should try.

Thank you for this video. Based on your advices I am starting with "Animal farm". What do you think about the book "1984" from the same author? Thank you again 😊

Thanks a lot for sharing that list! :) PS: But what's with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ? :D

I’ve been meaning to read Oscar Wilde for a while. Thanks for the reminder

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

Love Wilde

Catcher in the Rye and Animal Farm were books we read in high school that I loved.

You've made me think in the classics I read, in my early days learning of English. One of them, I don't know how or why was Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami better known as R. K. Narayan. "The english teacher" can be a good one to start knowing this writter. If my memory doesn't lie to me it was quite easy to read.

Love ❤️ Catcher in the rye, importance of being earnest, and pride and prejudice!! I would suggest Jane eyre and 1984 but not sure if they are easy.

@fouchermarguerite2037

3 жыл бұрын

Jane Eyre +++ Incredibly modern!

Yesterday I'd read my first book in english. It was Coraline by Neil Gaiman. So I ready to continue this good case. This video is in time for me.

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

Happy reading

I have read The picture of Dorian Gray, it was amazing.

Hello from Sardinia. Thank you for your recommended titles. I've read "Animal Farm" "Pride and Prejudice" and "The Importance to be Earnest" and I definitely recommend the first two (about the third, I don't remember much!). Another author I like and find not difficult is Alexander McCall Smith (No 1 Ladies Detective Agency). BTW I was a bit perplexed about your pronunciation of "inquiry" (?!)....🖐️🤠

Good list! I would personally add The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Thank you very much.🙂☺️☺️☺️

Thank you, I'm going to check them out, the only one I've already read is Animal Farm. I had always trouble whenever I tried to buy The Catcher...thinking that David Chapman was reading it in the time he killed Lennon , so never bought it .I'll probably do it now , thanks to your words

Anima Farm is a masterpiece. If you enjoy history, this will likely be your favorite book. I recommend looking up who each character represents to get the full effect of the book. 10/10

@Iseul_shan10

3 жыл бұрын

I agree

It's a pity ,that I can't click "thumb up" twice. Thank you! It was very helpful.

Unfortunately, my first contact with The Catcher in the Rye was in Spanish, and once I had read it in Spanish, I didn't feel like re-reading it in English. The same happened with Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm; I only laid hands on those in English years after I had read them in Spanish. My first classic when my level was still intermediate was The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta), by Hemingway.

Good suggestions, need to read Douglas, Cold Comfort ans Tales. What about Canterville ghost, Farewell to the arms and Slaughter house n 5.?

Hello, Sire, is very interesting, to see and listen to your, explanation, yes I certainly going to try to read at least one of them, thank you very much.By the way, I think, I recommended I book or reading, English tale,I suggested because, your way of explaining is grate, the tale is “the lambTom worm” is a classic with unknowing who wrote it, is a story on how a worm get bigger and gets to eat almost everything in this town.Tanks again Sire. A Mexican living in Japan. Long time a go, visitor to the Uk, for a long period. Ta.

Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” is not only written in simple English, but is a great piece of literature.

Sir, your videos are great . Thank you

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

Your comments are great.

@shajikrishnan9597

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you sir

Hemingway all his books can be ready easy. Melville a challenge I m reading 1984 .i ll try amerycan farm.

Ernest Hemingway ‘The Old man and the Sea’

@Sauvageonne

3 жыл бұрын

Yes Martin. All Hemingway books are easy reads. Not to everyone's taste though.

@auroramacula

3 жыл бұрын

I couldn't finish it. I don't know why, but it bored me to no end. I would much more prefer to read The Divine Comedy instead of Hemingway's works haha

Hi Gideon! I've watched all of your videos and must say that they often make difficult things easily understandable. Is there any chance that you could make a video about the difference between blossom, bloom, flower, flourish and prosper? Best regards, Piotr (Poland).

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

A good idea for a video. Thanks for your comment.

Your channel is fantastic Gideon. You seem to have a touch of the history bug. I Myself am a New Englander, and further more a Bostonian. I would like to find biographies on pre and post colonial expansion from loyalists views and opinions of that time. Mother England's point of view of the rebellion of the colonies.

Other easy books to read: Frankenstein, the chronicles of Narnia, Sherlock Holmes. Thanks a lot for your videos. I discovered writers and books. From France! :-)

Stoner by John Williams All the Light We Can Not See by Anthony Doeer Both highly recommend

Animal Farm; Great book. I think I was introduced to this one at 11-13yr. "Of Mice And Men" by Steinbeck is another FAV, easy and thoughtful.

@Muttonchop_USA

3 жыл бұрын

My favorite Steinbeck is THE GRAPES OF WRATH.

What a beautiful video !

Thank you

I’m currently reading Cold Comfort Farm, it’s hilarious!

I'm really enjoying your videos! Just one little nit-pick: your volume is uneven in places. It goes quiet and then suddenly gets louder. I love "Pride and Prejudice", but the 19th century style of English might prove challenging for some at first. This is where the notes you mentioned would come in very handy.

Tales of American life sound like modern blogs. Thanks for great recommendations.

Oh I love Oscar Wilde and Salinger and George Orwell😍

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

3 of the greats

The Paul Auster book True Tales of American Life is what I call a classic toilet reading book I have a small bookshelf by the toilet with a select few titles on it for reading while on the toilet. This anthology of tales is ideal for that shelf. When I worked in France one of the first books I read in French was something I had not read in English was "Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers" I still haven't read the books in English

First of all, my Arabic is the original And English is my second language. I read a copy of the Sherlock Holmes story by Conan Doyle And I found it an easy book, then I read the story of Muhammad Ali, written by ANDREA STRTO, and I found it an easy and interesting book.

I guess it would be difficult to adapt The Catcher in the Rye for the silver screen. They tried it with On the Road and it was a mistake, to say the least.

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

You're absolutely right. In addition to that Salinger refused to sell the rights. He did us a favour.

Im from Lynn. Frederick Douglas lived there i wanna say after New Bedford.

Try "The Good Earth" by Pearl Buck. It may take just a chapter or two to get used to her style, but it's not hard reading, but it's a wonderful book.

This guy is awesome he also makes weird mistakes but handles it nicely

Thank you sir.

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

Any time

Could you please, Recommend a book for learning a bit more cockney, or do another video of The most common cockney phrase, or something like that..!!

The Outsider’s by S.E. Hinton

Thank you very much for your great lessons, they are really awesome, l enjoy all of them. I have read half of the books you have given. But l want to write about the book, which is neither light nor easy, it is vitally important now, when my country is bravelly fighting against russia. The book is 1984 by George Orwell, this book should open the eyes of the people to the country which unfortunatelly has already appeared on our planet, but must be stopped, until it is too late.

@paulbradbury4174

Жыл бұрын

I couldn't agree more. 1984 is more relevant today than it has ever been. Stay safe. I hope you have clearer skies soon.

thank you

This is what I'm looking for...

Oh no, I agree absolutely about the thesis, but I can't agree with the example - Christie can definitely be literature! Not all of her books, admittedly, but her stories can be quite poignant when it comes to psychology and social commentary, and even human nature, and be written in a beautiful, evocative way. Out of the Golden Age Crime classics, Christie is not the best writer imo, but she's more than purely genre writing.

I thought that you would recommend a book by Raymond Carver or Hemingway.

Of Mice and Men is another shorty but goody. 👍

If you are from Canada, there's some excellent historical fiction books on Truth & Réconciliation. Also the Duplessis Orphans.

Hello,Could I know what level of difficulty is The picture of Dorian grey ?

Hi Gideon! Loved the video, thanks once again for the tips and quotes... I started to read in English by Harry Potter, then the Lord of the Rings, then.. never stoped. This goes back so many years ago, and definitely helped me to learn the language.... still learning of course, still reading!! Will use your recommendations for sure 😉😉 stay safe!

Grazie.

@LetThemTalkTV

8 ай бұрын

Thanks for your kind tip. It's much appreciated. I'm glad you liked the video.

"Animal Farm" is satirical fairy tale. Animalism, Windmall, pigs ,Boxer....and others......I read it ...I studied it....I loved .

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

agreed.

@egyrebel2634

3 жыл бұрын

@Abeer syrian Forever I'm looking for a partner to improve my speaking skills , if u do not mind ?

Professor Gideon I wonder how many books passed through your hands, can I frame Don Quixote de La Mancha easy to read? Nice video today.. 💖 Thanks for all 🤗

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

A wonderful, wonderful book. Not sure it would be considered "easy"

Thank you very much! Please, speak to us about Shakespeare.

@Penguin-Goat

3 жыл бұрын

Oh I’m with you, I want Shakespeare informations!

@pipmitchell7059

3 жыл бұрын

In English schools when I was young (a long time ago) the first Shakespeare play on the syllabus was usually A Midsummer Night's Dream. Personally I would also recommend Macbeth, The Tempest, and of course Romeo and Juliet for entry-level Shakespeare.

@LetThemTalkTV

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, Shakesspeare. Good idea

@sameash3153

3 жыл бұрын

@@LetThemTalkTV I've always been very curious about how ESL students interpret Shakespeare.

Me loving Shakespeare and Dickens: hold my apple juice

@Muttonchop_USA

3 жыл бұрын

If you like Dickens you should read his pal Wilkie Collins' THE WOMAN IN WHITE if you've not yet had the pleasure.

@Penguin-Goat

3 жыл бұрын

@@Muttonchop_USA thanks, I’ll try it 😉

@Muttonchop_USA

3 жыл бұрын

@@Penguin-Goat It was Dickens' inspiration for THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD. It's tied with DRACULA as my favorite Victorian (and epistolary) thriller.

@Penguin-Goat

3 жыл бұрын

@@Muttonchop_USA wow then I’ll definitely try this!!!!