Friday, March 20, 2015

French books I own...

I am kind of in that corner where I feel like casting most hobbies I do aside. I am not sure what to term that? But on occasion (probably more than occasion), when I am feeling bummed about things, I tend to shed all the things I find enjoyment in and just feel incredibly frustrated that I have zero desires to engage in them. I am once again in that place, stuffing all of my crochet hooks and yarns into my closet, finding myself closing every book I open after only a couple of pages of reading. I will admit, I hate it when I feel like this, yet it has become so common over the past several years for me. I think this feeling, in turn, makes me feel even more bummed. So I've been trying to dig out old things around my house that I have really enjoyed in the past, trying to find something to spark my interest. Quite a few years ago I started learning French through the online Rosetta Stone program. It was one of the benefits of being a military wife that I jumped on. I one day just decided I wanted to learn French, so I started. I purchased a English-French dictionary, filled out paperwork and got an account set up to use Rosetta Stone, and just had a blast. Every morning I would make some coffee, sit down at the desktop computer and complete a lesson or two, or review. I actually managed to complete the entire first level of French! I was so incredibly proud of myself, and anxious to continue on. However, that was the point where our lives took a drastic turn. My oldest began showing her first symptoms of Crohn's Disease, which led us down a year long path of trying to get a diagnosis. Once she did receive the diagnosis, it was almost another year before she got an actually decent doctor, unfortunately through the experience of being hospitalized for a week. During all of this, French basically took second seat, or third, maybe even fourth. It was no longer on my radar really. The Rosetta Stone account closed due to not being used for a period of time, and my French dictionary was put aside and long forgotten. Since then, the military no longer uses Rosetta Stone, we no longer have a family working desktop (mainly all laptops at this point), and I cannot drink coffee. Needless to say, I have struggled on and off since, trying to get back into the groove of learning this beautiful language. My distaste for just about anything and everything right now has had me pondering on the idea of taking up learning French again, and possibly creating some sort of a schedule to keep me faithful. I haven't yet decided if I have it in me at the moment, but I dug out all my French books to browse through, and thought I might share them on here. These include books in French or book to aid in learning French:

Larousse Student Dictionary: French-English / English-French
Larousse Student Dictionary. This was my very first book I purchased to aid in my learning. It is thick, filled with a lot of info. It actually has an English-French and French-English side. It has since become not my favorite, as I have discovered it is not set up in the most easy format.
 
Easy French Reader, Second Edition
Easy French Reader: Second Edition, by R. de Roussey de Sales. This is a lovely book, my first book actually IN French. It is just filled with small little stories, some about fictional characters and some non-fictional. It is basically a beginners French reading book. I was so incredibly surprised and elated when I discovered that I could actually read most of the first few passages!
 
Four French fairytale books. I cannot find an author anywhere on these, but I purchased them very inexpensively on Ebay. I have the French versions of Rapunzel, The Little Mermaid, The Little Tin Soldier, and The Brave Little Tailor. At one point I could actually read through The Little Mermaid.
 
Berlitz French Phrase Book & Dictionary (Berlitz Phrase Book & Dictionary)
Berlitz French Phrase Book & Dictionary. This is my favorite French book I own. There is so much information in this tiny little book, and organized so incredibly well. Plus I love that the pronunciations of all the words are give in parentheses after the French words, phonetically with English. This book makes studying super easy, love it!
 
The Ultimate French Review and Practice (UItimate Review & Reference Series)
The Ultimate French Review and Practice: Second Edition. This is my most recent French book I've purchased, and haven't really done much with it yet.
 
I am not sure yet if I will be dipping my toes back into learning French right now, but if I do, I'm sure you will hear all about it!

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