Guides
Guides to reading in a new language
How to learn a language from real books, which classics to read at each level, and how the reading apps compare. Written by the team behind Passage, with examples from public-domain books you can read for free.
Start here
- GuideHow to learn a language by readingWhen to start, how much to look up, and how to keep the words you meet.
- GuideHow to choose a book at your levelA two-minute page test, the 98% rule, and what to read at each stage.
- GuideGraded readers vs real booksWhat each is good for, and when to make the switch to unabridged classics.
Reading lists by language
- GuideClassics for Spanish learnersQuiroga, Galdós, Lazarillo, Unamuno: what to read at each level, and why.
- GuideClassics for French learnersPerrault, Renard, Daudet, Verne, Flaubert: what to read at each level.
- GuideClassics for Italian learnersPinocchio, Cuore, Pirandello, Salgari, Verga: what to read at each level.
Reading apps compared
- GuideReading apps comparedPassage, LingQ, Readlang, Beelinguapp and e-readers: who each is for.
- ComparisonPassage vs LingQImport everything, or a ready library of classics? An honest comparison.
- ComparisonPassage vs ReadlangAny web page in your browser, or a library of classics in a native app?
- ComparisonPassage vs BeelinguappSide-by-side translations, or the original with help when you ask?
From the blog
- BlogExtensive reading and comprehensible input, explainedWhat Krashen, Nation, Day and Bamford found, and where critics push back.
- BlogHow many words do you need to read a novel?The 8,000-word-family figure, where it comes from, and why you can start sooner.
- BlogThe tap-the-sentence methodRead slightly harder books without a dictionary: read, guess, ask, reread.
Browse the library
- SpanishSpanish booksGaldós, Quiroga, Cervantes and more, by level.
- FrenchFrench booksPerrault, Verne, Maupassant, Zola and more.
- ItalianItalian booksCollodi, De Amicis, Pirandello, Verga and more.
- DutchDutch booksDik Trom, Couperus, Multatuli and more.
- TurkishTurkish booksÖmer Seyfettin, Sabahattin Ali and more.
- EnglishEnglish booksAusten, Dickens, Conan Doyle and more.