
The 20 best books to improve your level of Spanish. Enjoy them!
You’ll experience an explosion of colour and interactive activities whilst Day of the book around the corner, in Hispania, escuela de español. We really want to talk about books.
And we are staunch lovers of literature.
Did you know that read Books in spanish is one of the best things you can do to learn the language?
In this article we pay tribute to reading and we will talk to you about 20 top books to improve your spanish
The article will be distributed as follows:
- Why read in Spanish It helps to improve your level of Spanish.
- How to choose a good book.
- 15 best novels in spanish to improve your level.
- 5 manuals to learn Spanish.
Do you feel like immersing yourself in this literary adventure? Yeah? So let's go!
Reading in Spanish helps to improve your level of Spanish
When we want to improve a language, read books in that language it's great for raise our level. This, of course, also applies to Spanish.
There are many reasons why the reading in spanish will stimulate your language development:
- You improve the grammar
If you go to Spanish classes, you will surely learn a lot of grammar. When you read books, you don't stop seeing examples of what you learn in class: the use of tenses, prepositions, repeated grammatical structures, etc.
By seeing them repeatedly, you will better assimilate your Knowledge of Spanish grammar.
- extensive vocabulary
A book only has words, it does not use any other resource to tell you a story. So, yes or yes, you will see many words that you do not know and you will have to use the dictionary often to understand what they are telling you.
If you read frequently, you will learn a lot of vocabulary of all kinds.
But be careful, don't try to understand every word because you can get frustrated. You have to find the balance between improve your Spanish and enjoy reading.
- You learn idioms
En cada book in spanish surely you will also find many idioms. We have already talked about idiomatic expressions on other occasions.
The music is taken from phrases with a specific meaning. In books in many cases you can figure out their meaning by the context in which they are used.
- You improve reading comprehension
This point is super important if you are going to examine yourself in the DELE or SIELE.
Getting into the habit of reading in Spanish will improve your reading skills.
You will be able to read faster and better assimilate information without having to stop constantly.
There are other communication skills that can be trained with reading, such as oral expression. For example, if you read aloud it is a way of doing Readings to improve Spanish pronunciation.
As you can see, reading books in Spanish offers you many advantages to improve your level of Spanish. Now, are all books suitable for this purpose?
Of course not. There are many factors that go into making a book more or less suitable for you. Next, we give you tips so that your choice is the best.
How to choose a good book to read?
Choose a good book not always easy, and more if in addition to enjoying a good reading, we also want to learn a language.
These are our Five tips for choosing a good book to read and improve your level of Spanish.
What do you want to read? genre and style
The first thing you should think about is the genre and style of book.
What books do you like? Novels, history books, personal development books, science books…
Within novels, for example, there are many genres: drama, suspense, horror, romantic…
Being clear about what you like is essential so that reading does not become heavy.
Think that there will be many words that you do not understand and that you will need more time to read it than you would need if you read it in your language.
If the theme and story of the book hook you, even if it is difficult to read at times, you will want to continue until the end.
Books written in Spanish better than translations
If you can choose books whose original language is Spanish, best.
Translations of books written in other languages are generally good, but sometimes they are not as authentic as the original language.
A book written by a Spanish writer is going to be more immersive because it doesn't have that translation filter.
It will also allow you Get to know the Spanish culture and language better in a deeper way.
Ask a friend or your teacher
we all have some cultured friend who loves to read, TRUE? Well, take advantage of it and ask him: «¿What book do you recommend me to read??».
I'm sure he'll make you an extensive list of recommendations, and he'll also really enjoy that conversation because reading is one of his biggest hobbies.
You can also ask your spanish teacher. The good thing about asking the teacher is that he knows exactly what level of Spanish your students are at. Spanish students and what aspects need to be strengthened.
If, for example, you are in a level A2, probably the teacher sees fit that you start with easy books to read in spanish
If you are a teenager, he will think of the best Spanish books for teens.
If you need to improve your oral expression, he will surely advise you readings to improve speech.
The normal thing is that your Spanish teacher wants the best for you and gives you good advice.
Browse Best Seller Lists
another way to find best books in spanish, is browsing the internet and search bestseller lists.
By doing this you will easily know what the famous books in spanish y the best spanish books according to specialized critics or public reviews.
On the internet you can find everything and there are pages that offer very valuable information, like this blog 😁.
go to a library
when you go to a library or a bookstore, you feel great, right?
We love that feeling of entering a place full of books, where silence reigns, browsing the different sections and titles, picking up the books that catch our eye and reading the synopsis on the back cover...
This is our most romantic advice. For many it may be that doing this is already a bit old fashioned.
But we think that the charm of entering a library and being carried away by the atmosphere is still something very special, so much so that it often serves as a inspiration to know books We didn't even know they existed before.
We hope that these 5 tips to help you choose the best books to read books in Spanish.
Now we are finally going to see our list of 15 readings to read and learn Spanish. Let's go there!
Books in Spanish to improve your level
Most of these 15 books are novels in spanish Of all genres. All have had great recognition by critics and the public.
If you like to read, take note because surely when you finish the article you will want to go to your nearest bookstore to buy some of these books😉.
No news from Gurb (Eduardo Mendoza)
we started our series of books are dealt with first, followed by No news from gurbby Eduardo Mendoza.
In this work, an alien named Gurb arrives in Barcelona in the 80s and mixes with the crowd, going through bizarre adventures and situations.
This book is a satire on Spanish society of that time with much Sense of humor.
It is an interesting book for Spanish students because they will learn about Spanish culture from a very fun point of view.
there is also a lot vocabulary and colloquial expressions that require a high level to be understood.
Therefore, we recommend this book for Expert students who frequently read Spanishsince it is one of those books for advanced readers.
Atlas of human geography (Almudena Grandes)
Atlas of human geography, by Almudena Grandes, is a novel that deals with issues that have always accompanied the human: identity conflict, desires, disappointments, contradictions, relationships with others, losses, the passage of time...
All these deep themes are explored through its four protagonists: Rosa, Ana, Marisa and Fran.
This is one of the nice books to read in Spanish and it can be very interesting to improve your understanding of the language and learn new words and expressions.
Although we warn you that the complexity of his narrative and the depth of the topics it covers can make it a little difficult for a Spanish student to understand at times.
If you are patient, we assure you that it will be worth it. It is a beautiful book!
If you eat a lemon without making faces (Sergi Pamies)
This book narrates, through 20 stories, everyday problems that we have all experienced at some point, such as unrequited love, mistrust, family dependencies, excessive loneliness, unfulfilled desires…
If you eat a lemon without making faces It seems to us one of the best books in our top books in spanish because it's written in a pretty easy to understand way in 20 short stories, so there's a lot dynamism and it's hard to get bored.
Besides, surely the stories of these characters catch you, since, as the synopsis itself says, "the book delves into common emotions with which it is easy to identify."
Manolito Gafotas (Elvira Lindo)
Manolito Gafotas it's a book highly recommended to learn Spanish. This novel by Elvira Lindo narrates the adventures of a boy who lives with his family in a working-class neighborhood of Madrid, Carabanchel.
There are several books by Manolito Gafotas. They tell the typical stories of this 8 year old child: his routine at school, his relationship with his little brother, his family conflicts, his summer trips...
This book is written in a very funny, which will make you want to keep reading.
Also has very endearing characters like Manolito himself or his little brother, whom he calls "the idiot" 😆.
On the other hand, it is also interesting because it presents everyday situations that will allow you to learn more about Spanish culture and society in a big city like Madrid.
It also has a wide variety of popular idioms and colloquial slang.
The Alchemist (Paolo Coelho)
The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho is the only book on this list that It is not written in Spanish in its original version, since its author is Brazilian.
Why do we include it here then? because this book is a bestseller or with a contemporary classic from literature.
It is very well translated and we think it is one of those books that, if you have not read it yet, can give you very good teachings about life for the philosophical and beautiful approach it has.
The language used in the book is simple and direct, which makes it easy to understand the text, and the story is very interesting and motivating, so it will surely keep your attention.
Like water for chocolate (Laura Esquivel)
This work is a novel by the Mexican writer Laura Esquivel, published in 1989.
It is a work of fiction that combines elements of magical realism and romance, and is set in Mexico during the XNUMXth century.
The story focuses on the aunty life, a young woman who lives with her family on a farm where they produce food.
Throughout the novel, Tita discovers that she has a great passion for cooking, and uses it as a way to express her feelings.
The food that Tita prepares has a magical effect on the people who try it, and is capable of transmitting their love, their sadness or their anger.
Are you lover of Mexican culture and cuisine? So we can't think of a better book than this to learn Spanish.
The shadow of the wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafón)
Carlos Ruiz Zafón He is one of the most acclaimed Spanish writers by the public.
The wind's shadow, one of his most famous and award-winning books, is set in post-war Barcelona and follows the life of daniel sempere in a story that combines mystery, drama and love.
One of the great points of interest of this novel are its characters. Carlos Ruiz Zafón usually creates complex and well-developed characters. In this book, the characters are realistic and interesting, especially the protagonist.
El descriptive style from the author will make you learn a lot of new words in Spanish, although sometimes it can be a little difficult because he often uses a very evocative language and dreamlike.
If you are aware of this and do not pretend to know all the words, but let yourself be guided by the context, surely this book will catch you until the end.
Twelve Pilgrim Tales (Gabriel García Márquez)
The Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez He is one of the most famous Spanish-speaking writers in the world.
As its name says, this book is a story collection which was published in 1992.
It is said that García Márquez spent more than 18 years writing this book until he finally finished it. It is considered as one of their better jobs.
In it, he explores universal themes such as love, death, loneliness or culture through characters mainly Latin Americans migrating to Europe to seek a better life, but they encounter problems that they had not even imagined before, such as cultural differences.
García Márquez's style is known for his poetic prose and his use of magical realism. As in many of his books, the stories in this collection contain elements of fantasy and surrealism that make them very captivating works.
Do you dare to learn Spanish with one of the best Spanish-language writers? It may not be easy at first to understand your language so poetic, but if you manage to get used to it, it will eventually fascinate you.
the distance between us (Big Queen)
Are you into dramas? the distance between us is possibly the most melancholic novel that we have presented to you so far.
In addition, this book may be suitable for Spanish learners because of its simple and direct language.
The Mexican writer Reyna Grande tells the heartbreaking story of a girl and her brothers who have to take care of themselves due to the absence of their parents.
In this novel the author makes a autobiographical exercise and the whole story that is told is a metaphor for the harsh childhood that she herself lived, in which she only managed to find solace in books, music and her amazing imagination.
How to make good things happen to you (Marian Rojas Estapé)
This book is not a novel, but a self-help book. In How to make good things happen to you, Marian Rojas Estapé gives practical advice so that our life be happier and full.
The approach that the author follows is that of the positive psychology. Through her own experience as a psychology professional, Marian Rojas argues that we can have a more satisfying life through gratitude, resilience, empathy, self-esteem and communicating our emotions.
So now you know, if in addition to learning Spanish you want have more happiness in your life, this book can be a good option.
Homeland (Fernando Aramburu)
Homeland is considered one of the works most important contemporary literature in Spanish.
The novel deals with the theme of terrorism in the Basque Country and in the consequences after its disarticulation.
The day that ETA announces the abandonment of its weapons, Bittori decides to return to the house where she lived with her deceased husband, who was assassinated by the terrorists.
Bittori's return to the town disturbs the tranquility of its inhabitants, especially that of his neighbor, Miren, mother of an imprisoned terrorist.
This novel by Fernando Aramburu uses a fairly clear and accessible language for Spanish student with intermediate or advanced level.
However, it is important to bear in mind that the novel requires a high level of understanding and previous knowledge about the darker side of recent Spanish history, The terrorism.
If you are interested in it, you will surely like it.
The time between seams (María Dueñas)
The time between seams by María Dueñas is another of the most popular and successful works of contemporary literature in Spanish.
The novel tells the story of sira quiroga, a young seamstress who finds herself involved in plots of espionage in the context of Spanish Civil War y the Second World War.
We think that this book is suitable for improving your level of Spanish because the narration is very well constructed and has a quite understandable linguistic style. On enveloping frame about spies will surely hook you.
In addition, this novel portrays very well what society was like at that time and it can be very interesting if you want to expand your knowledge about the History and culture of Spain in the middle of the last century.
I will give you all this (Dolores Redondo)
This novel by Dolores Redondo won the Planeta award in 2016. The novel narrates the Manuel's story, a writer who travels to northern Spain to investigate the death of her husband, which has occurred under mysterious circumstances.
All this I will give you has a narrative style that makes the story Easy to follow, with a lot of surprises and twists that will leave you wanting to know what happens on the next page.
In addition, it offers a detailed view of the culture and life in the north from Spain. After reading it, surely you want to visit this beautiful area of the country.
Very soon you will be able to see this story in the cinema or on the platforms because they are preparing the adaptation of this spectacular novel.
The danger of being sane (Rosa Montero)
This book by Rosa Montero is the second book on our list that explore psychology from a particular narrative that It goes between fiction and nonfiction.
Rosa Montero offers us an exciting study on the links between creativity and mental instability.
Its sources are irrefutable, numerous books on psychology, neuroscience, literature, and memoirs by great authors from different creative disciplines.
Another of the powerful ideas of The danger of being sane is your view on the rational side and the sentimental side.
The author defends that «the key is in the balance between the percentage of detachment and the feeling, in achieving a certain harmony between the yo who suffers and the yo that controls".
All this has a very simple language and many analogies from real life so that ordinary people can understand it.
Once again, if you are passionate about the world of human psychology and self-knowledgeI am sure that reading this book will be very enjoyable for you.
Finals that deserve a story (Albert Espinosa)
This book by renowned author Albert Espinosa is a compilation of short stories that address topics such as friendship, love, family and life, and that share the idea that every ending deserves a good story.
In Espinosa's own words: «I love small stories of three to eight pages, that make you think, laugh, cry or feel emotional. A good story can brighten up a bad day because small stories sometimes summarize a great feeling that resides within us and that becomes our best medicine.».
One of this author's strengths has always been his ability to create close characters that manage to connect with the reader on an emotional level.
En Endings that deserve a story gets it too. Also, he does it with a very clear and everyday language, which easily connects with ordinary people.
If you are a Spanish student, you will surely also quickly connect with the style of this book.
We have come to the end of our list of 15 books to improve your Spanish. What do you think?
Don't leave yet, we still have the last point of the article 😉.
5 manuals to learn Spanish
When we talk about manuals, we are referring to Spanish books for foreigners.
These are the best books to improve a language, since they explain to you the grammar of that language and the book is divided into different thematic blocks with varied lexical fields and exercises to practice.
In this article we are going to talk about the 5 best Spanish books to learn the Spanish language. I'm sure you'd like to know, right?
Well go ahead!
The grammar of use of Spanish. Theory and practice. A1-A2/B1-B2/ C1-C2 (Luis Aragonés and Ramón Palencia) Editorial SM
This book is one of the best spanish grammar books What are you going to find?
In each topic you will find a different grammar lesson, with its theoretical explanations, examples and exercises They increase in difficulty as you progress.
It also has illustrations and charts to facilitate understanding and highlight the most important aspects.
One of the most striking things about this book is its format. There are 4 books; one general and three specific:
- Gramática de uso del español. A1-B2.
- Gramática de uso del español. A1-A2
- Gramática de uso del español. B1-B2
- Gramática de uso del español. C1-C2
With the first you will have a general notion and a good base, since it includes the basic level and the intermediate level.
The other three we can see them as supplementary books, although are more specific and with them you will be able to strengthen the contents of the chosen level.
Therefore, it can serve as a Spanish book for foreigners A1, A2, B1... up to C2, including all levels.
Use of Spanish grammar. Elementary – Intermediate – Advanced. (Francisca Castro) Editorial Edelsa.
Uso de la gramática española is another of our favorite books to learn Spanish, in terms of grammar exercises it means. It has the classic activities that never fail:
- Gap fills.
- Sentence matching.
- Verb conjugations.
- Multiple choice.
- Correcting errors.
And much more.
One of the things we like most about this book is its index. It is very clear and in one sentence it tells you the grammar that you are going to learn in each topic. For example:
- Nouns and adjectives.
- The verb SER.
- Estar and hay.
- The possessives.
Each topic is accompanied by a theoretical explanation with examples, illustrations and lots of exercises.
Use of Spanish grammar contains three editions cover all levels: elementary, intermediate and advanced.
Vocabulary. Elementary level A1-A2, medium B1 and advanced B2. (Editorial Anaya)
vocabulary it is a very cool book Spanish vocabulary .
There are three books Vocabulary at different levels:
- Vocabulary: elementary level.
- Vocabulary: intermediate level.
- Vocabulary: advanced level.
Therefore it can be a Spanish book for foreigners B1 or for any of the levels in which you are.
In these books, a lot of Spanish vocabulary is worked on in different thematic blocks.
These books always begin with a graphic representation of a subject and continue with a series of varied exercises.
There are many different activities: listening comprehension, texts and self-assessment test.
The book of correct Spanish (Cervantes Institute)
El Instituto Cervantes He has also written his own books on the Spanish language.
The correct Spanish book es a volume that teaches use Spanish with rigor and precision.
It provides the keys to improve the communication both oral as written. It is written in a simple style, including many examples that make it easier for the less specialized reader to understand.
Some of the content hub What you will find are the following:
- Use of spelling rules.
- How to prepare well-structured and effective texts.
- The keys to speak correctly.
- Advice on prosody and non-verbal language.
- Cult Spanish.
- Language used in social networks and new technologies such as chat, blog, email, etc.
The 500 frequent doubts of Spanish (Cervantes Institute)
This book, also written by the Instituto Cervantes, offers a very practical approach to the typical doubts that even we Spanish speakers have our own language.
The book is structured in the form of questions and answers, thus providing a very enjoyable and entertaining read for the reader.
Some of the questions you will come across in this book are:
- "Does it say overtime or overtime?"
- "Do nicknames go in quotes?"
- "Can you use @ to refer to both genders at the same time?"
The 500 most frequent doubts in Spanish addresses many topics that we could find in any Spanish grammar book: the new rules of accentuation, punctuation marks, agreement in sentences, the use of prepositions, etc.
But it also treats others more atypical themes that we do not usually find in the usual Spanish books for foreigners, such as queísmo, leísmo, laísmo, foreign words, abbreviations and others.
Undoubtedly, a different and very interesting book that will help you improve your level of Spanish.
Having a good book in your hands will be of great help in your adventure of learning Spanish. Although never underestimate the effectiveness of taking classes in the classroom.
If you want to learn all the communication skills you will go much faster if you go to classes with a teacher.
En Hispania, escuela de español. we offer Spanish courses face-to-face and online Spanish courses with expert teachers who will make your level of Spanish grow rapidly 🙌🏻
However, we always support reading as a very nice way to improve the language.
Of all the books we've talked about, which do you think would interest you the most?
Have you read other novels in Spanish that you think should be on this list?
Give us your opinion in a comment. See you!
Article written by Carlos Martínez for Hispania, escuela de español.
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2 comments on “The 20 best books to improve your level of Spanish. Enjoy them!”
Thank you very much for this very interesting article. It will be very useful for students who like self-learning.
Hi Loubna,
Glad that the article was useful to you! Learning Spanish independently is great, but we always advise supporting independent study with the help of classes from professional teachers like the ones we have at our school. = )