What are the best books to learn French? I get it you know, watching movies is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some of us prefer to bury our noses in books. And that’s fantastic for French learners because France has an AMAZING catalogue of writers.
After all, French is not called ‘la langue de Molière’ (Molière’s language) for nothing.
But, when you look up classic French literature, you end up with massive books of thousands of pages.
And if you’re not a fan of endless descriptive paragraphs of the streets of Paris in the 17th or 19th century, well… It can be depressing.
What if, you’re looking for fresh, short, fun stories?
Lucky for you, I have a few books up my sleeves.
I’ve organised this list into levels, but feel free to pick the books that ACTUALLY interest you. In fact, you should hang until the end, because I have a couple of tips for you!
This list only contains fiction: novels, short stories,… of all genres. It does not contains any language books or non fiction. Those are books IN French. If you are looking for textbooks – check this.
Author : Marie Drouvin
Salut! Je suis Marie and I'm on a mission to make learning French simple. You can find me on Youtube, or here, on this blog. And if you want to know more about how to learn French, take a look at my book.
Download the list (+ a few extra titles)
Best books to learn French for beginners
L'étranger, Albert Camus, 1942
Le Petit Nicolas (series), René Goscinny, 1950's
Le Petit Nicolas, is a bit of an OVNI (UFO). It’s a comic, but it’s a book. And that’s why it is valuable for French learners because the visuals are here to reinforce the text.
Yes, it is a children’s book, but some of the topics can resonate with everyone.
(Also you might remember it from my list of French movies)
Marcel Pagnol, 1930's - 1970's
Pagnol is what we call in French a ‘touche-à-tout’ (lit. ‘Touch-everything’: a jack of all trades): film-maker, poet, playwriter, and novelist.
But what makes him so special is his attachment to his origins: the south of France. I recommend you start with À la gloire de mon père.
Dive in for some expressions.
Oscar et la Dame en Rose, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, 2002
Ok, this is a tad more contemporary for us.
For the few of you who thinks this is going to be charming story, I warn you: it’s about death.
Pay particular attention to the words and phrases structures in this one, as it is a good example of modern French.
Tintin, Hergé, 1900's-1980's
Yes, it is a comic. No, I’m not completely gaga (crazy) yet.
But Tintin’s comics are full of text and they read a lot like books. Plus, as I said, it’s a good thing when you’re a beginner to have images to go with the text.
Side note – it is a Belgian comic.
Best books to learn French for intermediate learners
Le Petit Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943
Le Petit Prince is not as easy to understand as many people think. The text might be easy but the sub-text is incredibly rich. So that’s why I recommend it to intermediate.
You’ll need a bit of language skills to understand it fully.
Bonus, lovely aquarelles.
L'Écume des Jours, Boris Vian, 1947
This book is halfway between a tale and a novel. If you’re a fan of jazz, love, and poetry, this is the story for you!
In fact, this is probably the most American of all the French classics with constants references to Louisiana, New Orleans, and the bayou.
Any book by Mark Levy
Mark Levy is a VERY prolific author. And you might have watched one of his story in the cinema: Just Like Heaven.
If you’re looking for a lighter, modern type of story, I recommend Sept Jours pour une éternité.
Note : the stories usually don’t take place in France, so you won’t have any cultural references. (Not it is not Quebec French)
L'Élégance du Hérisson, Muriel Barbery, 2006
Finally a women on this list! And what a book!
For once, the story takes place in Paris, and depicts a rather odd relationship between Renée, the concierge, and Paloma, a clever little devil.
If you’re looking for cultural references, go for this one!
Candide, Voltaire, 1759
No, it’s not because it is signed by one of the greatest French minds of the Enlightenment that it’s hard to read.
In fact, Candide is pretty easy. Once again though, the sub-text is what’s important. You might even get a few life lessons out of it.
La Belle et la Bête, Gabrielle Suzanne Bardot de Vileneuve, 1740
No, I won’t make fun of you if you can’t remember her name. I certainly always forget.
This is the original story of Beauty and the Beast, and spoiler, the Disney version is nothing compared to it.
It is in the intermediate section simply because I am going to recommend you read Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s version which is shorter and rewritten.
And if you fancy a movie over this: there’s a version of THIS story in the movie list.
Books by Jules Verne
Did you know Verne is the second most translated author in the world? And for good reasons, his stories are full of adventures, interesting and filled with mysterious characters.
You should try the French versions of Voyages Extraordinaires, ou Vingt mille lieues sous les mers.
And if you get stuck, you can always buy the translations and compare.
Best books to learn French for advanced French learners
Le mystère de la chambre jaune, Gaston Leroux, 1907
The French king of crime novels. If you like Christie’s, you’ll like Leroux’s!
And this particular one is the first appearance of his main character Rouletabille.
PS – it’s one of my favourite books on this list.
Molière's plays
I mean come on, you need to take a look at Molière. Not only it’s bloody funny, but it also still can teach us some things!
I recommend L’Avare, Le Tartuffe, Les Femmes Savantes, Le Malade Imaginaire,… All of them actually!
Cyrano de Bergerac 
, Edmond Rostand, 1897
, Edmond Rostand, 1897Yes, yes, yes I’m biased. It’s my favourite movie, my favourite play,… Give it a try for me? 
Be careful though – Cyrano is a tough book to read. First off because it’s a play (not easy peasy to get around it), and second, because the text is RICH. Cyrano is an orator, and his prose is very complex. DO NOT READ if you are looking for modern, basic French.
Notre Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo, 1831
Remember when I was talking about descriptive paragraphs? Well, read this if you love it or need a challenge. Or if you want to know the story behind The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Spolier alert: not really Disney material.
2 thoughts on “Best books to learn French 📚 and my tips on how to read in French 📖”
Thank you for this amaizing article!
I’m french learner B1.
l was looking for french books to read. I bought (l’élégance du hérisson) and fortunately, I reed your article before starting reading the book!
Quels conseils!
l’aricle répond à toutes mes questions! Il m’a poussé à le lire mainetenant! Merci beaucoup, j’apprécie!
Je suis contente que cet article vous ait plu 😘 L’Èlégance du Hérisson est super, je suis sûre que vous allez l’adorer!