I realize that the answer may be mainly “amazon.fr”, but I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for finding books written in French in the midwest. I took French in high school and in college, and my brother is a French minor currently (he is actually in France on a class trip right now and will probably switch to being a French major when he returns), and I try not to let a day go by without reading something in French, or listening to something in French, or in some way interacting with the language. However, I know my ability has deteriorated significantly, and I think it would be good to actually read in French, to learn that language the same way I learned English. I have a French copy of L’Etranger, and my brother has promised to bring me back some other French book (maybe Twilight in French, because that would probably be closer to my reading level than L’Etranger is).
Other than that, what are my options? I live in southern Illinois - the local bookstores have a section for Spanish books, but nothing in French other than dictionaries or grammar workbooks. Recommendations for readable, entertaining middle school to high school level French websites would also be good - I can only make out one word in ten on the Le Monde website I love languages and French in particular - any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Couldn’t your brother give you some recommendations, and then you could ask the bookstore to order them for you? Can’t think of anything else, except through Amazon or maybe a college bookstore?
I don’t know if you ever find yourself north of the border, but there is a large Franco-Manitobain community in Saint-Boniface, one of the areas of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. There are also French communities in Ontario, though the largest concentration of Francophones is, of course, in Québec.
ETA - One of those Kindle things the kids are talking about might be an easy way to get some French books - I have no experience with them, but it would make sense if they’ve got content in other languages…
Hope some of this helps. Have you read any Daniel Pennac, by the way? I loved ‘Comme un roman’ and ‘Au bonheur des ogres’.
I’d recommend checking out the library - a lot of libraries these days are connected to pretty big networks, so you might be able to at least request something, if the local branch has nothing. I’m in California, but my library has a kids’ section that had some French books on my level.
Amazon.ca has a pretty good selection of French language books. In the last year or two, I’ve noticed that taking into account currency rates and shipping costs, Amazon.ca usually has better prices than Amazon.fr. That was not the case three or four years ago when I last ordered from amazon.fr. Amazon.com has a few French language books. I always check there first because that’s the cheapest option on the rare occasions when they happen to have what I want in stock.
Check out www.bookfinder.com They quote not only the price of new and used books available from different sellers, but also the cost to ship it to a US address. They catalog English and French titles, and some other languages I believe.
There are a few primarily bricks-and-mortar foreign-language bookstores in the U.S. some of which will ship to US addresses. Schoenhof’s in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has a good selection but their prices are steep.
All of these are great ideas! I’m both grateful and embarrassed - how I did not think of Canadian booksellers, I’ve no idea. One of those classic “duh” moments! I also went to add Daniel Pennac to my Amazon wishlist, and then found a bunch of other french books (many available inexpensively as used editions). I’m very excited now - in addition to getting to read some cool new things, I’ll have the challenge of figuring out the language - even better than crosswords! Any other suggestions are very welcome, and if anyone has recommendations for something I should read, I’m always looking for ideas.
Depending on what city you are in/near, you might try contacting your local Alliance Francaise. Even if you’re not interested in taking the classes or attending the events, they might have some decent local resources. You’re in Southern Illinois? The St. Louis AFmight be a good place to start
You can also get books for free via Google Books — the Advanced Search gives you the option of searching for books in French — but I suppose the selection may be limited and you’d have to know what you’re looking for.
If you’re not already doing so, you might find it interesting to read French-language blogs at a site like Journal Secret or Journal Intime.com. When I was in a situation like yours, trying to improve on my high-school French, I found that reading French blogs and participating in bloggers’ forums improved my knowledge of French swear words.
What’s your music collection like? I highly recommend Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf for language study. Harmonium, esp. the first album, would be very clear and useful. La Bottine Souriante and Beau Dommage are also highly recommended, but with a ‘strong Québecois accent’ warning.
A few DVDs to recommend, also - the ‘Cyrano’ with Gérard Depardieu is very fine, as is ‘Le Confessional’ written and directed by Robert LePage. I love ‘Jésus de Montréal’, ‘Le Décline de l’empire Américain’ and ‘Les Invasions barbare’, all directed by Denis Arcand, but they come with a ‘strong Québecois accent’ warning.
Back to books - Gabrielle Roi - La Montagne secrète in particular. My French collection is in storage; if the thread is still going by the time I get to move it all out, I’ll go through it in detail, if that’s of any interest.
Lots of short films in French to be found here at the ONF site.
Why does everybody who starts a “where can I get …” thread have such an aversion to getting things online? The answer to EVERY question of “where can I get X” is always: the Internet.
University libraries carry a variety of books in different languages.
To help with my French, I also watch dubbed movies on Youtube - they’ve got a couple of Hayao Miyazaki films, Disney films, and other cartoons dubbed in French. I also browse a couple of current event blogs and go through the reader comments. They are usually easier to read than Le Monde.
I understand your frustration, but I think the problem is that “the internet” is so vast that if you’re not really sure what you’re looking for, it’s hard to know where too look or how much you’re missing. I think in my case in particular, I couldn’t see the forrest for the trees. I was thinking “I want to read books in French like I read books in English”, so I was thinking of getting them the same way I get English books: library, bookstores, garage sales, Amazon, etc. I hadn’t really thought outside the box, as it were, because I didn’t realize I was inside a box. For example, I’ve never heard of the Alliance Francaise, but I live about 15 mins. from STL, so that may be a great resource (thanks Bayard!)
Even when I did think to use the internet, I wasn’t really sure how to go about it - I was pretty much just googling French words (or using google.fr) and clicking around, but it was so hit or miss that it was hard to be excited about it. Having a targeted place to begin my search (thanks, Sublata!) helps a lot.
Finally, even when I knew I was looking for French books, there’s still a lot out there, so just like English book recommendations, it’s great to have something to start with, where there’s at least a good chance that the book itself will be worth the struggles of trying to get through it in a 2nd language. (Thanks, Le Ministre de l’au-delà!) I read a lot more than I post on the SDMB, and it is invaluable to me to have people whose opinions I trust offering their views on what might be good or helpful.
For a French language blog, I read Richard Hetu’s. It covers US current events.
For French book rec’s, I really enjoyed Dai Sijie’s Balzac et La Petite Tailleuse Chinoise and Le Complexe de Di. What is your current level of French? Is it really rusty? Le Petit Nicolas series is readable and entertaining, but more elementary French, I think.
And university libraries, which are usually open to the public, carry many novels in different languages. If you live near one, it is a good place to access French books for free.
Amin Maalouf!! I’ve read ‘Léon l’Africain’, ‘Les Eschelles du Levant’ and ‘Les Jardins de lumière’ - I remember he writes in a good, clear intermediate level of French, the stories are engaging, and it’s a fascinating point of view on European culture. Sorry; I sprang awake at 4AM saying “How could I have forgotten…”
Woohoo! I clicked on that page, and I could understand everything! Ishaw, my reading level is about there - I understood the Amin Maalouf page, but only about half grasped Richard Hetu’s (which is not to say I’m sad you suggested it - it’s good for my brain to try and stretch it to understand harder stuff). My speech, of course, is atrocious, but I’m hoping my brother will major in French and then get a delightful international job, and I can go live with him in France for a couple of years like he’s lived in my basement here for a couple of years. That should fix my accent right up. Hey, I can dream, right?
I love languages and French in particular - any advice would be greatly appreciated!