Students often ask me for English book recommendations. In this video, I give you five and tell you whether they're for intermediate or advanced students! In addition to a couple of classics, such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, I also recommend some more contemporary options, such as Wonder by R.J. Palacio. There's something for everyone: mystery, fantasy, young adult, and adult fiction. Tell me about some of your favourite books in the comments at https://www.engvid.com/5-books-to-improve-your-english/ !

If you're interested in any of the books mentioned in this video, you can get a free audiobook version when you sign up for a 30-day trial with Audible using this link:
https://www.engvid.com/out/audiblealex

You can also use the following links to get ebook or print versions of these books:
1. Charlotte's Web: https://www.engvid.com/to/amz_charlotte
2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: https://www.engvid.com/to/amz_wizard
3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: https://www.engvid.com/to/amz_curious
4. Fallen: https://www.engvid.com/to/amz_fallen
5. Wonder: https://www.engvid.com/to/amz_wonder

#engvid #LearnEnglish #reading

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on: "5 Books to Improve Your English". So, one of the most common questions I get from students is: "Which books should I read to improve my English?" This video is for you. So, today, I'm going to look at five books that I have chosen to help you build your vocabulary, increase your comprehension, and develop your speaking and reading confidence. Now, if you are interested in any of the five books that I mention in the video, we have a link to Amazon where you can get the e-book version or the print version of the book; or if you want the audiobook version, you can click the link below to Audible, and there, you can sign up for a 30-day trial and get your first book for free.

Now, this video is specifically for intermediate and advanced level students. If you are a beginner student, I probably wouldn't recommend jumping into, you know, this level of literature right now. So, this is specifically for intermediate and advanced level students. Let's not waste any more time, and let's look at the first book.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. So, this is a childhood classic. It is a young adult fiction book; it is only 184 pages; and it's basically a farm story about a girl, a pig, and a spider. There's also a movie out, you know, about the book, so you can check out the book, watch the movie, and you can understand more. So, what's cool about this book: It is written in the simple past, so you get a lot of past tense practice, and the vocabulary is not that difficult. So let me read the opening paragraph of chapter two. So, before I start: Fern is the name of the girl, and Wilbur is the name of her pig.

Chapter 2: Wilbur.
Fern loved Wilbur more than anything. She loved to stroke him, to feed him, to put him to bed. Every morning as soon as she got up, she warmed his milk, tied his bib on, and held the bottle for him. Every afternoon when the school bus stopped in front of her house, she jumped out and ran to the kitchen to fix another bottle for him. She fed him again at suppertime, and again just before going to bed. Mrs. Arable gave him a feeding around noontime each day when Fern was away in school. Wilbur loved his milk, and he was never happier than when Fern was warming up a bottle for him. He would stand and gaze up at her with adoring eyes.

So, as you can see, it's a cute, sweet story with a very tragic part that I will not spoil here in this video, if you have never read the book. This is a book that makes children cry. Maybe it can make you cry. So, let's go on to the second book.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, a classic children's book that was also made into a classic children's movie. So, this book is around 250 pages; it depends on which version you get. I have this beautiful edition that was given to me as a birthday gift a couple of years ago, and it has, like, nice pictures and everything. It's kind of pretty. And, yeah, it looks really nice. So, depending on the version you get, you can get... It can be shorter or it can be longer. So, this is basically, if you don't know The Wizard of Oz, it's about a girl who goes on an adventure in a fantasy land where she meets, you know, a lion, a tinman, a scarecrow, and she goes with her dog, Toto; and there's an evil witch. And it's a really cool adventure story.

I actually read it for the first time when I was in my late 20s, and I read it super-fast because it's written in such a fun way; there's always something happening, and you're going from one adventure to the next adventure to the next; it doesn't let you breathe. So it's a really fun adventure story. Let me read a little bit of it for you, here. Let's just choose a random chapter.

Okay, so here's Chapter 10: The Guardian of the Gate. […]