WHAT SORT OF NOVELS ARE BEST FOR THE ENGLISH-HUNGRIES?

Jack   Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:35 pm GMT
I love English and I'm from south-south Nigeria. Like many over here,I started speaking English and pidgin English from my earliest childhood. The problem with some of us from West Africa is that we do not get enough imput of the English language during our childhood. So, even if we say English has been our 'ligua franca' -- first language, you may have a little doubt. Reading, recently, has been my be-all-and-end-all where imput is concerned. It's dragging when I read old classic books and they seem not to help much in making me as fluent as I wish. Please tell me what're best to read and assimilate enjoyably with ease. Such, if any, will be the end of my quest. I'm looking forward to your assistance.Thank you
Guest   Sat Oct 06, 2007 6:12 pm GMT
Well, You should read novels of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. They are awesome in terms of gripping you till the end. He is my favorite novelist.
Probably you should also try reading novels of Stephen King, Dan Brown and Elmord leanord. To be honest, you should try those novels in which you should forget the language and instead feel engrossed in the plot. That's what we call "interesting input". It'd be equally great if you could listen to such novels as well. I found listen-read method quite useful for learning English. So you need to buy audiobooks as well.
Guest2   Mon Oct 08, 2007 5:23 am GMT
I agree with Guest about Elmore Leonard. Nobody writes contemporary American dialogue as well as he does. Carl Hiaasen is also good, and quite funny.

For British English you can try the Harry Potter series. Not just for kids!
Guest   Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:31 pm GMT
I'd agree with the Harry Potters, Stephen King, Dan Brown, basically go for anything relatively modern. If you start reading classics, or Conan Doyle, you will come across a type of English that just isn't spoken any more, which will not be very helpful at all.
Guest   Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:25 pm GMT
WTF is an English-hungry?
Uriel   Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:53 pm GMT
Someone who's hungry for English, I suppose.

I'd stick to modern novels, Jack, unless you really like period prose. For most of us, that's more of an acquired taste.

Is there a particular subject or genre you like? That might help us point you in the right direction.
Guest   Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:33 am GMT
There's a famine going on in Nigeria as we speak, and so the poor people there have to eat books that were send by the American humanitarian aid.
Jack   Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:59 pm GMT
Thanks for your response, though from three: Guest, Guest2 and Uriel, it feels like getting it from a thousand experts ready to be of some help to me. Thanks once again. On a different note, Guest, did you say there's famine in Nigeria? Well, I haven't heard of such. I don't think my country has ever gone through famine since I was born. You can say that there are poor people scattered here and there because, like the South-south region, they're maginalized. I'm not saying that there are not the well-to-dos in this area too. Or book-hugary are what Nigerians are experiencing?

Uriel, do you want to help any further?
Guest   Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:55 pm GMT
I didn't know that they eat books in Nigeria.
Guest   Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:58 pm GMT
lol it's a really stupid metaphor in many countries. books are considered "delicious" or "saliva-inducing" and you "avariciously eat" when they're "tasty"
Guest   Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:20 pm GMT
I prefer books with some chile.
Skippy   Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:11 pm GMT
Chili?
Guest   Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:30 pm GMT
According to Webster dictionary there are three different spellings: chile, chili and chil·li.
davidab   Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:53 pm GMT
What about Nigerian writers? Have you tried any of these?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nigerian_writers
Damian in London SW15   Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:50 pm GMT
As a complete break from all the usual and abundant "classics" in the English Language, and for really up to date contemporary action, why not try the novels of Ian Rankin? His hero (and mine) is Inspector Rebus. But I am more than just a we bit prejudiced - all his novels (and they are pretty numerous) are set in my own home area. :-)