2026 Reading Challenge discussion

I usually have two books on the go: one in English and one in Spanish. What do others do who read in more than one language?

I read virtually everything in English.
But I've also read short stories, poems and a novel in Yiddish.
I've finished two books in Russian - I've started others but I find it incredibly slow.

I read faster in English but still at an acceptable speed in Spanish. I wonder if it is easier because the two languages have virtually the same scripts whereas in your case they are very different.

The scripts of Yiddish and Russian are not THAT difficult. They are both used as alphabets. The types of books that I like tend not to get translated into English. Russian has really brilliant science fiction, fantasy, and detective novels but the people who get into Russian translation tend to only like Literary Fiction.

Even though Hebrew uses the same script as Yiddish it's much more difficult. Yiddish is usually phonetic while Hebrew is more of a reminder - vowels tend not to be marked.

I read most of my books in French (easier to buy and I use my local library a lot). All my "internet reading" is done in English though. Feels weird to read a physical book in English, or a digital file in French, but that's just habit at this point.

It really depends on my mood, I read English and Italian as they were the same language XD im trying to start reading in German but it's hard

lol
I gotta agree with Valerie: atm I read faster in Spanish. (With that said, I read a lot more technical/academic stuff in English.)
You guys just to give Japanese and French a go !
lol

I mostly read in English but French authors I stick with French. When I read a French book in English, I feel like something is missing.

I am Hungarian with a high proficiency in English. I tend to read in Hungarian more, since it is my native tongue, so I probably "get" the nuances of the given piece of literature more that way. I do read some books in English, though, usually if something has not been released in Hungarian or I found the English language version of the book for free or for really cheap. I also tend to read contemporary memoirs of English-speaking celebrities in English, too, if it is possible.

I read literature in 8 languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Swedish, Dutch and Welsh.

Because I live in Germany, German editions are much easier to get ahold of than English (my native language), so I often read English-language novels in German translation. Only rarely do I find I'd rather read a book in English.

Spanish is widely available here, French and Italian to a lesser degree.

What's really difficult to get are Dutch and Swedish novels in the original and you can forget about Welsh. You have to travel to those countries to get actual books (vs e-books) in those languages as the amount available here is minimal.

Valerie wrote: "I usually have two books on the go: one in English and one in Spanish. What do others do who read in more than one language?"

This year I'm trying to reduce my foreign language TBR shelf, so like you, I've got at least 1 book not in English or German (my normal reading langs) on the go all the time. So far it's been working. :-)

I think it's a good technique to switch languages. I find myself getting bored of reading only in German or only in English and want to see different words and a different grammar sometimes.

Berengaria wrote: "Valerie wrote: "I usually have two books on the go: one in English and one in Spanish. What do others do who read in more than one language?"

This year I'm trying to reduce my foreign language TBR..."

I find I get confused if I’m reading two books in the same language at the same time but have no problem if one is in English and the other in Spanish.

If a book was written in English, I will almost always prefer that over the Dutch translation. I’ve read too many translated books in which I could see what the English sentence would have been, bc some things don’t translate, or sometimes the translations just aren’t very good. Maybe I speak English too well now and I notice these things too much.

I’ve recently started reading The Hobbit in German though, bc I learnt a lot of German in secondary school, and then never used it again. By reading this book, I’m discovering that I remember a lot more than I thought, as well as learning a bunch of new words. I can understand German better than I thought and I need to find the confidence to speak it more.

Hi, I usually prefer English because of most of the books, movies and in our school too. So usually, I'm used to it.

Spanish, English, German and Dutch. Some French as well.

I live in South America, so it’s pretty difficult to get Dutch literature here. Through the Kindle I get the other languages easily. As you probably know, Spanish translations are mostly done by Spanish translators, and in South America that language varies richly So most of the time I seek translations done by Spanish, Mexican or Colombian publishing houses.

This year I’m trying to read at least two books in every one of those languages. I wish you all a great multi perspective 2022.

I'm so impressed by the range of languages everyone can read in this thread. I can read in English and Welsh but I haven't read any full Welsh books since leaving school. You have all inspired me to pick up a Welsh book or two again this year!

I once tried to read the first Harry Potter book in the French translation but it was a bit advanced at the time. Maybe one day I can try that again too.

Currently I mostly read in English. It's especially true if a book was written in that language originally. But of course I also read some stuff in my native Hungarian.
I used to rely on dictionaries too much when reading in English but now I only use it when it's really necessary. Trying to think in English and not translating in my head also helps me a lot.

I'm currently rereading Harry Potter in both languages starting each book with the translated version. I think it's a good way to compare them.

I also learnt German but unfortunately I forgot a lot, so I don't think that now I could read a book written in this language.

Majority of the books i read is in English, but i read a fair bit in Malay (my native language) and Indonesian as well. I’ve been adding French to the equation as well, though it takes me a lot longer to finish reading in French as i’m still wrapping my head around the tenses/grammar structure and slang usage..

I try to read books in the original language.
I read in Finnish, Swedish, English, some German, and French.
There's a lot of Fantasy written in Finnish not available in other languages.
I'm learning Polish to be able to read Witcher :-D I have read the first book in English, and I feel I'm missing a lot. :-D

Ketutar wrote: "I try to read books in the original language.
I read in Finnish, Swedish, English, some German, and French.
There's a lot of Fantasy written in Finnish not available in other languages.
I'm learn..."

I too prefer to read in the original language if possible. I read mostly English and Dutch - the latter my mother tongue.
When reading NZ writers I love reading books that a steeped in the local mix of cultural mixes. Often that means with Maori social aspects.

I also started to read in German again after a long hiatus Not quite ready to read Goethe in the original language though, but getting there and enjoying it.
Still considering a French book after reading it in translation first and all going well, I'll try a Chinese children's book next year.