Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Read in Multiple Languages

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is not suitable for me, as I only read ebooks or listen to audiobooks. Therefore, I won’t add any physical copy to my collection, even though I loved the book. However, as I’m a bilingual reader, I’ve read some books in both Dutch (my mother tongue) and English and decided to do this as a Top Ten Tuesday topic.

  • The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: I’ve read this book in English twice, because a Dutch translation came out in late 2020. Way too late if you ask me. However, as usual, I like the English one better.
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (and sequels): I’ve started this series in Dutch because I accidentally bought ACOMAF without realising it was the second book (LOL) and back then, I wasn’t reading in English that much. Now, I just want to keep collecting the Dutch versions. However, I don’t know whether I want to continue because the English books are much cheaper.
  • Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: I was 10 when I started these books and I’ve read them all in Dutch back then. I’ve attempted to read them in English but I don’t want to anymore because of the author. Maybe I will finish, because I really enjoy Stephen Fry‘s narration.
  • Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas: I know this is not the book title, but I’ve started House of Earth & Blood in English at the start of the pandemic and I felt I needed to take it easy and therefore read it in my native language. Now, same story as for ACOTAR and actually TOG too.
  • The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: These are my comfort books. I’ve started them in Dutch, but read the English books later.
  • Brick Lane by Monica Ali: I had to read this for university and I was a bit late (because I actually started another book I can’t remember but hated) and therefore read it quickly in Dutch before the exam. I’ve read the English version afterwards.
  • Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead: I wasn’t familiar with reading this much in English back then, so same story as with many other books.
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: I DNF’ed the Dutch book because I couldn’t stand it.
  • The City Of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty: I read it before a translation was even announced. Now I can’t read it in my native language because I keep hearing the English phrases in my head. Yes, I’ve tried.
  • The House in the Cerullean Sea by T.J. Klune: Same as the previous book LOL. I’ve finished this one in Dutch though and I again like the English one better.
  • From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout: This world is so rich I wanted to rediscover it in my native language. However, we are 3 books behind here.

These are just 11 books and series, I’ve read more in multiple languages. Are you a bilingual reader? Or have you read books in multiple languages as well?

11 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Read in Multiple Languages

  1. English is also not my first language. I speak Afrikaans, a language that is very close to Dutch actually! I try to read a fair amount in Afrikaans and I have actually also read The Harry Potter Series in both English and Afrikaans.

    Have a great Tuesday!

    Elza Reads

    Like

  2. This is such a clever list! As someone who only speaks one language, it’s so impressive you can read in both and form opinions on the differences!

    Like

  3. Oh, how interesting! It must be fun to compare and contrast books in different languages. My husband loves to read the Bible in Spanish (his second language) because he says he gets more out of it that way. Sadly, I only speak English. I thought I understood Spanish fairly well, but then I went to South America and yeah…I’ve got a long way to go. Ha ha.

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

    Like

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