Olly Richards

So, I totally read a book in Russian and understood most of it!!!

This book is set up with short chapters and a has a plot summary after every story. There are also questions after each chapter to test reading comprehension. There are words throughout that are underlined and those words are defined at the end of the chapter.

Besides a few typos, like underlined words that were not defined and vice versa, I had no big problems with this book. The stories were varied and overall I enjoyed them.… (más)

OK, so I am roughly 60% in (and will finish), but wanted to leave a bunch of observations in case someone else is considering:

1) This is Castellano Spanish, not Mexican Spanish. They're close obviously, but there may be some phrasings that you struggle a bit more with if your background is Mexican Spanish. Not at all a negative or reason to steer clear, just something to be aware of.
2) This is not beginning Spanish. IMO, it's more for someone with ~3 years of high school Spanish or equivalent. It's leveled just right - a slight stretch, but without being so hard, that I want to quit.
3) This book fulfills its promise - it is not overly difficult to figure out the meaning of each conversation and in the process, pick up a few new words or phrases. At the end of each conversation, there's a handful of defined words/phrasings. You won't (and needn't) understand every word and in fact, there have been at least 1-2 words every conversation that were new to me and not defined for me.
4) I highly recommend you keep a log of any that are new to you -- you will get more out of it that way.
5) I use this book in conjunction with other Spanish readers and Duolingo and I think my vocabulary and understanding have both increased significantly. I'd definitely recommend this book (and others by the author).
6) I don't think this is a one and done resource. I think if I were to read through it again in another 6 months, I'd pick up even more than the general meaning, like verb tenses, idioms, etc.

In short, recommended for adult Spanish learners who are approaching intermediate reading level of Spanish (probably something roughly equivalent to a 5-6th grade reading level).… (más)