Are you a total bookworm?
If so, rock on. If not, stay with me for a second.
I don’t have to convince those of you who dig books already. But if you’re not “into” reading and you’re learning Mandarin Chinese, then you’re missing out on one of the best possible ways to learn the language.
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C’mon—I promise it isn’t so bad.
A casual, easy Chinese reading experience can be very enjoyable. That’s because I’m not talking about reading thick, formal language textbooks. I’m talking about reading regular ol’ books. You know, those books people read for fun, like these.
Of course, when you’re first learning how to read in a new foreign language, it’s always good to start off slow and easy by taking baby steps.
While learning to read Mandarin Chinese can be a challenge, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the written characters used by the language, this concept still applies.
Once you get the hang of how sentence structure works in Chinese and you grow your knowledge of Chinese vocabulary, learning how to read in Mandarin becomes a lot easier. Before you know it, you’ll be able to read novels all in Mandarin Chinese without the English translation or even the pinyin.
There are thousands of Chinese books out there, but if you’re looking for a list of books in Chinese that are simply delightful, then this post will be of use to you.
Here are 16 fun reads (some easy, some a bit less easy) that are all great for helping you learn Chinese while providing you wonderful sources of entertainment. This list is comprised of all sorts of genres ranging from fairytales and romance novels to mysteries and poems. There are options for Mandarin learners of all reading levels.
These books are categorized by levels 1 to 3, with 1 being the easiest and 3 being the hardest.
Are you ready? Let’s begin.
Level 1 (Easy Reads for Beginners)
1. “My First Book of Chinese Words: An ABC Rhyming Book” by Faye Lynn Wu
If there were only one book to recommend to Mandarin beginners, then this children’s book would definitely be it. Not only does this book do a terrific job of introducing readers to Chinese culture, but it also teaches Chinese words for common items that most people use or encounter daily in a fun, rhyming fashion.
In addition, readers will learn all of the basic sounds and written characters of Mandarin Chinese while seeing how they differ from English words throughout the entire book. They even explain right at the beginning how letters are pronounced by comparing them to pronunciations of English words.
As for the book’s formatting, here are three examples of how the Chinese words are taught:
A is for Ài 爱. Ài means Love.
B is for Bāozi 包子. Bāo zi is the name of a popular Chinese snack that consists of a stuffed bun.
C is for Chá 茶. Chá means Tea.
This goes on until the letter Z is reached and, by the time the story is over, readers will have a better understanding of a lot of words, therefore expanding their vocabulary in the process.
Seriously, if you haven’t done so already, please get this book. You’ll be glad you did.
And if you enjoy learning new words in a fun, context-rich way, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language lessons.
2. “Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes: Share and Sing in Two Languages” by Faye Lynn Wu
Another great children’s book by the author Faye Lynn Wu, “Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes” teaches readers basic vocabulary and simple sentences through popular nursery rhymes. Readers will continue to grow their Mandarin Chinese lexicon and work on sentence structure by following classic Mother Goose rhymes.
This book breaks the language down quite nicely, and has the English words on the first line, followed by the Chinese pinyin on the second line and then the actual Chinese characters on the third line.
Like Ms. Wu’s other book, “My First Book of Chinese Words: An ABC Rhyming Book,” also recommended, it has attractive pictures, large readable font and a brief guide that explains the purpose of the book and what the readers should learn from it.
3. “Slangman’s Fairytales: Cinderella (Level 1)” by “Slangman” David Burke
What’s so awesome about this children’s book, along with all the other books in the “Slangman’s Fairytales” series, is that it’s designed to help readers learn their new language by starting off the story in English and then slowly transitioning to all Mandarin Chinese.
The story of Cinderella is told well and, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the plot, it’s about a young woman who wishes to escape from her mean stepmother and stepsisters and finally does so with the help of a special fairy godmother. She even gets to marry her true love in the end. You need to know this, because I’m about to share some of the Chinese vocabulary you’ll learn from this book!
Fairytale – 童话 (Tóng huà)
Cinderella – 灰姑娘 (Huī Gū Niáng)
Fairy Godmother – 仙女教母 (Xiān Nǚ Jiào Mǔ)
Fairy – 仙女 (Xiān Nǚ)
Godmother – 教母 (Jiào Mǔ)
Glass shoe –玻璃鞋 (Bō Lí Xié)
Glass – 玻璃 (Bō Lí)
Shoe – 鞋 (Xié)
Stepmother – 后妈 (Hòu Mā)
Stepsisters – 异父姐妹 (Yì Fù Jiĕ Mèi)
Prince – 王子 (Wáng Zǐ)
Midnight – 午夜 (Wǔ Yè)
The book also comes in MP3 format which is perfect for those who like to listen to books on the go.
4. “Chinese Learning-The Story of Mulan (Bilingual English/Chinese Version)” by Sela Gu
The folk story of the legendary Hua Mulan is one that has been around since the Han Dynasty and is popular in both eastern and western countries due to Disney’s 1990s rendition of the classic tale. The story of Mulan is about a young woman who dresses up like a man to take her aging father’s place during a war to help protect China.
Using this story to help you learn new Chinese words can be very effective, and you’ll also be learning about some traditional Chinese customs. With this bilingual edition by Sela Gu, you’ll be building up your Chinese knowledge in no time.
This particular version is an e-book for the Kindle, so if you have a Kindle or any other mobile device, then consider this book. It’s filled with beautiful pictures, side-by-side English and Chinese narratives and an emotional story about patriotism, filial piety and being true to oneself.
If you’re interested in reading this book, here are several words to know before you begin:
Mulan – 木兰 (Mù Lán) Mulan means “Magnolia,” which is a type of flower.
Hua – 花 (Huā) This is Mulan’s surname. It’s a popular Chinese surname that means “flower.”
Warrior – 战士 (Zhàn Shì)
Hero – 英雄 (Yīng Xióng)
China – 中国 (Zhōng Guó)
Folk Story – 民间故事 (Mín Jiān Gù Shì)
Folk – 民间 (Mín Jiān)
Story –故事 (Gù Shì)
Once you’re able to successfully read these books backwards and forwards with no trouble, consider trying to master these next five reads that are a bit more challenging.
Level 2 (Easy Reads for Intermediate Learners)
5. “The Apple Tree” by Jane Thai
“The Apple Tree” is a short story geared towards children and beginners. It’s about two children and—you guessed it—an apple tree. This book will teach readers a lot of vocabulary words including words for the four seasons, which are listed below:
Spring – 春天 (chūn tiān)
Summer = 夏天 (xià tiān)
Fall – 秋天 (qiū tiān)
Winter – 冬天 (dōng tiān)
Also, in case you didn’t know, here is what the title of the book means in Chinese:
The Apple Tree – 苹果树 (Píng Guǒ Shù)
Apple – píng guǒ
Tree – shù
Similar to “Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes: Share and Sing in Two Languages,” the story is told with three lines on each page with huge, colorful pictures at the bottom. The first line is in English, the second line is in Chinese characters and the third line is the pinyin (with tones) for the characters above.
6. The Mandy and Pandy Series by Chris Lin and Ingrid Villalta
Ever wondered what it would be like to have a giant panda bear as a best friend? Find out while also learning basic Mandarin words for various topics with the Mandy and Pandy series by Chris Lin.
The first book in the series is “Mandy and Pandy Say, ‘Ni Hao Ma?'” and the main focus of the book is learning how to say “Hello” among other greetings.
Here’s the breakdown of how to say “hello” and “goodbye” in Mandarin, all things you’ll learn through context in these books:
“Hello” or “How are you?” –你好吗?(Nǐ hǎo ma?) This translates to “you good?” and is a common form of greeting in Mandarin Chinese.
You – 你 (Nǐ)
Good – 好 (Hǎo)
吗 (Ma) is a question particle
Goodbye – 再见 (Zài Jiàn)
What’s also great about the Mandy and Pandy series is that each book comes with their own audio CD with both English and Chinese narration. Many people have praised the series for teaching the material in a creative and colorful way, so it’s totally worth looking into.
7. The Gordon and LiLi Series by Michele Wong McSween
Just like Mandy and Pandy, the Gordon and Lili series follows the adventures of the lovable characters, Gordon and LiLi, two bears who take pleasure in meeting new friends and having lots of fun. There are about three books in the series so far, and each book focuses on one topic whether it be animals, numbers or just general everyday words.
8. “Princess Snow White” by Gisel Vasquez and Cristina Papadopoulou
This fairytale classic has been written in a format that can be read in a bilingual fashion. If you’re not familiar with the story, here’s a brief summary:
Princess Snow White is about the eponymous character who is hated by her stepmother, The Evil Queen, and ends up living in a cottage with seven dwarves after a failed murder attempt by one of the Evil Queen’s henchmen. Once the wicked queen finds out she’s still alive, she tries to get rid of Snow White for good on her own but fortunately Snow White has the dwarves, the forest animals and a handsome prince on her side.
Here’s a preview of some words you’ll learn across while reading:
Snow White – 雪 白 (Xuě Bái)
Snow – 雪 (Xuě)
White –白 (Bái)
Seven – 七 (Qī)
Dwarves –矮人 (Ǎi Rén)
Evil –邪恶 (Xié’è)
Queen – 女王 (Nǚ Wáng)
9. “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Curly Haired Company: Mandarin Companion Graded Readers Level 1” by Renjun Yang (adapter), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (original author) and John Pasden (editor)
For Sherlock Holmes fans (or any fans of mystery books) that are trying to become fluent in Chinese, there’s great news! There’s an entire book series dedicated to teaching beginners Mandarin while reading about the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his adventures.
Since this is a mystery book series, here are a few helpful words you should know in Mandarin in case you want to give them all a read:
Mystery = Shén Mì 神秘
Clue = Xiàn Suǒ 线索
Case = Àn Jiàn 案件
Detective = Zhēn Tàn 侦探
Police = Jǐng Chá 警察
London = Lún Dūn 伦敦
Level 3 (Easy Reads for Advanced and Fluent Readers)
Despite the last few books being slightly harder to read than the books before them, these next seven books (which still might be pretty easy to some) are recommended for those who have a good understanding of Mandarin already and just want to read some books in Mandarin for leisure while brushing up on their skills.
Beginners can attempt to read these too, of course, but they’ll challenge you. The best ways to learn how to read these books are to take your time, use context clues and try to match the English words to the Chinese characters.
10. “Wild Grass (Bilingual Series in Modern Chinese Literature)” by Lu Xun
Wild Grass is a book comprised of a series of short stories by the famous historical Chinese writer, Lu Xun. This book is a great way to help readers learn more advanced words in Mandarin while enriching themselves with classic literature.
Wild grass or weeds – 野草 (yě cǎo)
Wild – 野 (yě)
Grass – 草 (cǎo)
Lu (surname) – 鲁 (Lǔ)
Xun (given name) – 迅 (Xùn, which means “fast” or “sudden” in Chinese.)
11. “The Hunger Games (Chinese Edition)” by Suzanne Collins and translated by Gengfeng
If you’re a fan of this famous book series by Suzanne Collins and you love all of the movies (just kidding, you don’t have to like all the movies), then why not try to learn how to read them in Mandarin?
There are several different translated copies of the series that you can find online. One translated version that has been well received is by Gengfeng.
And here’s what the title “The Hunger Games” translates to in Mandarin Chinese:
The Hunger Games – 饥饿游戏 (Jī’ É Yóu Xì)
Hunger –饥饿 (Jī’ É)
Games – 游戏 (Yóuxì)
12. “The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain (Mandarin Chinese and English Edition)”
If you ever wanted to read all 307 beautiful Chinese poems by the highly talented Buddhist poet, Cold Mountain (Han Shan), then “The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain” might pique your interest.
This particular book—which was translated by the company Red Pine—has gotten great reviews for its excellent translations that make all of the poems very understandable and easy to read (not to mention inspiring).
Chinese poems differ from Western poems in terms of writing style, and this book may take time and patience for some readers to get into. However, many reviewers of this book have noted that while it did take them around two or three tries to get the feel of the book, they say that it’s very enjoyable to read after gaining familiarity with it.
“The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain” features poems by not only Cold Mountain himself, but also two of his very close friends who were also gifted poets. These three are known as the famed “Tiantai Trio” (天台三聖 – tiān tái sān shèng). Their names and their English meanings are below:
Cold Mountain – Hán Shān
Cold – Hán (Cold can also be 冷 lĕng in some cases.)
Mountain – 山 (Shān)
Big Sticks – 丰干 (Fēng Gān)
Pick-up –拾得 (Shí Dé)
13. “The Bilingual Essays of Lin Yutang (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition)”
If you’re a fan of nonfiction and a history buff, then this book of bilingual essays may appeal to you. This is one of the more difficult books on this list, but it can be an easy read for readers who are above the intermediate level. Each of these essays is written in both Mandarin and English so that readers can look back and forth to match the words and sentences up.
14. “The Birdy Lady” by Pu Guo, Tingjia Liang and Fa Chang
This Kindle e-book (which can also be read on iPads and other tablets) was specifically written to help Mandarin learners strengthen their Chinese reading comprehension. While noticeably harder than other Mandarin lesson books for kids and beginners on this list, it’s still relatively short and to read. Beginner, intermediate and advanced Mandarin readers alike shouldn’t have problems successfully finishing the book with practice.
Pu Guo’s “The Birdy Lady” is an interesting tale about a Guhuo (or Ghost Bird) who has the ability to transform between a bird and a woman but is one day forced to marry a man who steals and hides her bird fur (which gives her the power to transform).
The story then fast forwards to many year later and the Guhuo now has three daughters which she raises while secretly searching for her missing fur so she can once again become a bird and be free. This story will tug at your emotions so be prepared and have your tissues on standby.
A sampling of words that you’ll learn while reading:
Ghost Bird – 蛊惑 (Gŭ Huò)
Ghost –鬼 (Guǐ)
Bird – 鸟 (Niǎo)
Lady – 淑女 (Shū Nǚ)
Fur – 毛皮 (Máo Pí)
Husband – 丈夫 (Zhàng Fū)
Wife – 妻子 (Qī Zi)
Daughters – 女儿 (Nǚ’ Ér)
15. “First Love (Bilingual English-Chinese Edition)” by Ivan Turgenev
For all of the romantics out there, this is the perfect book for you. “First Love (Bilingual English Chinese Edition)” is an adaptation of the short story written by Turgenev in the late 1800s. It’s about a man reminiscing about his first love as a teenage boy to a group of party gatherers. It’s really sweet, mushy and dramatic, so if you enjoy reading this type of stories, then you should give this one a go.
16. “The Metamorphosis (English-Chinese Bilingual Edition)” by Franz Kafka
“The Metamorphosis” is a strange science fiction short novel that’s commonly used as literature to teach high school and university students. It’s about a young salesman who wakes up one day to find out that he’s been turned into a bug. (Yep, you read that right.)
What’s also strange is that after his mysterious transformation, both the man and his family quickly adapt surprisingly well to his predicament and they all carry on like nothing ever changed although the tables have turned because the man used to be the sole provider for his family. Now the rest of his family has to learn how to take care of not only themselves, but him as well.
If you’re at least on the intermediate reading level in Mandarin and you’re already somewhat familiar with the story, then this book should be a piece of cake. This particular book has both English and Chinese writing in it.
A few words that you’ll learn include:
Metamorphosis – 变态 (Biàn Tài)
Bug (Insect) – 昆虫 (Kūn Chóng)
Travel – 旅游 (Lǚ Yóu)
Salesman – 业务员 (Yè Wù Yuán)
Bed – 床 (Chuáng)
Room – 房 (Fáng)
Mother – 母亲 (Mǔ Qīn)
Father – 父亲 (Fù Qīn)
Younger Sister – 妹妹 (Mèi Mei)
So there you have it, a nice list of books to help you bring out your inner bookworm while you learn Chinese.
Remember, if you ever find yourself having trouble reading the books on this post or any other reading material in Mandarin, make sure to reread what you don’t understand, read aloud and, most importantly, take your time. You’re not in a race so just focus on learning and don’t get frustrated!
(By the way, if you really want in-depth advice on easy Chinese reading practice, then click here for even more foreign language reading strategies).
Good luck on your journey to Mandarin Chinese fluency, and thanks for reading!
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Chinese with real-world videos.
You don’t always have to choose sides.
Whether you’re a reader who loves the feeling of pages beneath your fingers or someone who has only read from a screen since e-readers came out, e-books have much to offer all Chinese language learners.
So if you haven’t used e-books yet to boost your Chinese reading skills, listen up.
E-books are the convenient way to reap the benefits of reading without the inconveniences of relying on hard copies. Not only convenient, they’re also super accessible, making a nearly unlimited selection of books available to you.
Let’s take a closer peek at all of the benefits these e-books offer language learners, and then we’ll show you the nine best websites for finding Chinese e-books.
Why Should I Use Chinese E-books to Improve My Chinese?
Here’s what makes e-books a great tool for Chinese learners:
- They’re affordable. There are many free e-books available online, and most of those that are not free are still very inexpensive compared to hard copy books. Many public libraries even have digital libraries now, where you can check out e-books for a period of time for free, just as you would with a hard copy.
- They’re convenient. You can take your books with you anywhere, on an e-reader, laptop or even smartphone, and read while you commute. Highlight unknown words to copy and paste them into online dictionaries, or copy and paste new words and phrases into a notebook app like Evernote or Apple’s Notes.
- They provide in-context learning. Regular reading practice reviews words you already know, helping to ingrain them in your memory. Reading also pushes you to learn new words, idioms and expressions in context, which is more memorable than studying from plain lists. Additionally, e-books can be published faster than paper books, which allows for the most current information to be read and used for learning.
- They work well with other context-heavy resources like FluentU. FluentU can take the vocabulary you learn from e-books and show you even more examples of usage in context, along with visuals and audio. FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language lessons.
- They get you familiar with written forms. Reading will teach you written Chinese, which is more formal than spoken and conversational Chinese. The newest e-books demonstrate written forms that are most popular today. Seeing the written forms will also teach you sentence flow and structure, helping you internalize grammar.
Better yet, if you get hooked on an e-book series, like a romance or martial arts epic, you’ll keep coming back for more, building an excellent habit of reading Chinese. So, where can you find e-books in Chinese?
9 Awesome Websites to Find and Download Chinese E-books
1. Weibo Books
Weibo Books offers an excellent selection of world-renowned publications that have been translated into Chinese, as well as original Chinese language books. Interesting categories on their site include books by celebrity authors 明星作家 (míng xīng zuò jiā), newest releases 新书上架 (xīn shū shàng jià) and Asia’s most popular book rankings 亚洲好书榜 (yà zhōu hǎo shū bǎng).
When you click into any book, you’ll see an overview page with book summary and readers’ ratings. Click 去阅读 (qù yuè dú) to buy and read online (this requires a Weibo account, but it’s free to sign up for one), or click 去购买 (qù gòu mǎi) to purchase a hard copy version.
Interesting stats are provided for every book, including: 浏览 (líu lǎn), the number of people who’ve browsed this book; 赞 (zàn), the number who’ve liked it; and 热议 (rè yì), the number who’ve commented.
Recommended reads:
- “一生陪你做公主 (yī shēng péi nǐ zùo gōng zhǔ — By Your Side, Princess)” by Huang Jia Qian — A real-life tale of “tiger” parenting, written by actress Phoebe Huang (Huang Jia Qian) along with her husband Christopher Downs, a Chinese-speaking TV host from Canada.
- “知更鸟女孩 (zhī gēng niǎo nǚ hái -- Mockingbird)” by Chuck Wendig — An orphan girl can foresee who will die in the near future. She keeps a “death list” in a notebook and wanders the city in search of those whose time is coming up.
2. QiDian Books
QiDian Books offers a massive selection of online e-books. Unlike Weibo Books, not all of these are published offline. Check out their featured categories for famous authors名家作品 (míng jiā zuò pǐn), and featured lists like all-time most popular books, 原创风云榜 (yuán chuàng fēng yún bǎng).
Click into any book to see 内容介绍 (nèi róng jiè shào), a synopsis. You can get e-book versions for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows and HTML5.
Recommended reads:
- “傲雪剑豪 (ào xuě jiàn háo -- The Snow Sword Hero” by Dan Ruo Ci — An ordinary martial arts fighter from Northern China discovers the truth about his mysterious past. At the same time trouble is brewing in the Western Regions, and a conspiracy is underway to topple the authorities of the Central Plain. (An kind of ancient-Chinese “mafia wars” story!)
- “地球毁灭计划 (dì qíu hǔi miè jì huá -- A Plan to Destroy the World” by Miao Wen — In 2019, a pair of friends discover an ancient tomb, and in it, an elevator. It belongs to a scientist who’s been working on a experiment to resurrect people from the dead.
3. Amazon Kindle
Amazon offers a selection of Chinese e-books through Kindle. With a Kindle app, you can read e-books on any device. At amazon.com, go to Kindle e-books in the menu bar. Go to the Foreign Languages category, and then select Chinese language, which currently has over 4,000 titles. You’ll see many Chinese versions of world classics.
Recommended reads:
- “双城记 (shuāng chéng jì -- A Tale of Two Cities)” by Charles Dickens — The trials of ordinary people in London and Paris during the 18th century French Revolution. This is a Charles Dickens classic that’s been translated into Chinese.
- “福尔摩斯探案 (fú er mó sī tàn àn -- Sherlock Holmes)” by Conan Doyle — Here’s the classic series about genius detective Sherlock Holmes.
4. Loyal Books
Loyal Books is a free online library. To find their Chinese e-books, scroll down to see “Languages” listed in the left-hand menu, and then select “Chinese.” Select “e-books” as a filter under the top drop-down menu. Their selection is small, but all of their e-books are free. You can also stream audio versions of books.
Recommended reads:
- “唐诗三百首 (táng shī sān bǎi shǒu -- 300 Tang Poems)” by Various — Chinese poetry is famous for brevity and beauty. Every Chinese student studies ancient poetry in school, so why not try reading some yourself?
- “论语 (lùn yǔ -- Confucius’ Analects)” by Confucius — Confucius formed the bedrock of traditional Chinese philosophy. Reading his Analects introduces you to the background of Chinese thought.
5. Haodoo
The name of the site 好读 (hǎo dú) means “Good Reads.” Here, you’ll find several categories of online novels: 言情小说 (yán qíng xiǎo shūo) romantic fiction; 奇幻小说 (qí huàn xiǎo shūo) science fiction; 武侠小说 (wǔ xiá xiǎo shūo) martial arts fiction; 悬疑小说 (xuán yí xiǎo shūo) suspense fiction. Other e-book categories include 世纪百强 (shì jì bǎi jiàng qiáng) world classics and 隨身智囊 (súi shēn zhì náng) practical wisdom.
All e-books are free to download. In addition to e-books, you can read web articles under 好读专栏 (hǎo dú zhuān lán) or good reads columns.
Recommended reads:
- “半生缘 (bàn shēng yuán -- Love Story of Half a Lifetime)” by Eileen Chang — Chang is the author of “Lust, Caution” and other famous works. This story speaks of two young lovers who, due to trials and family disapproval, broke up their engagement, only to meet again years later.
- “唐人街 (táng rén jiē -- Chinatown” by Shuo Ming — Perhaps the earliest book written on the Chinese-American immigrant experience. A man from Fujian province arrives on the American west coast to pan for gold. He opens a small laundry shop, together with the help of his wife and two children.
6. 24 Reader
24 Reader offers a very extensive collection of Chinese e-books written by Chinese authors (not merely translations of English books). Categories of interest include 商业 (shāng yè) business, 文学 (wén xué) arts, 亲子 (qīn zǐ) family, 心理 (xīn lǐ) psychology, 教育 (jiào yù) education, 男士 (nán shì) men’s interests, 女士 (nǚ shì) women’s interests, 生活 (shēng húo) lifestyle, 科技 (kē jì) technology, 历史 (lì shǐ) history, 保健 (bǎo jiàn) health and 小说/漫 (xiǎo shūo màn) novels/graphic novels.
When you click into any book, detailed information is listed, including where the book is originally from, 来源地 (lái yuán dì)--for example, Hong Kong 香港 (xiāng gǎng)—and the language—for example, 繁體中文 (fán tǐ zhōng wén), which is traditional Chinese.
The section 内容简介 (nèi róng jiǎn jiè) gives a brief introduction of the book and 作者简介 (zuò zhě jiǎn jiè) gives an introduction of the author. If you like the book, go ahead and click the big green button that says 立即购买 (lì jí gòu mǎi) to “Buy Now.”
Recommended reads:
- “未來中國10大创富产业 (wèi lái zhōng gúo 10 dà chuāng fù chǎn yè -- 10 Future Booming Industries in China)” by Huang Bin Yuan — Introducing 10 industries in China forecasted to have strong financial growth. A guide book for investors interested in the Chinese market.
- “時裝.有品 (shí zhuāng yǒu pǐn -- Fashion Is Cool” by David Yeung — Fashion designer David Yeung has taught fashion for over 12 years. In this book he shares Hong Kong-based fashion design theory. (Bonus: This book is in Chinese and English, and features interviews of both Chinese and Western designers.)
7. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg, an online library of e-books, has a small selection of Chinese language e-books. To find them, simply search “Chinese” from the homepage. All e-books are free to download in HTML, EPUB, Kindle and Plain Text formats. Files can also be directly downloaded to your Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive account.
- “西遊記 (xī yóu jì -- Journey to the West)” by Cheng’en Wu —Every Chinese child knows the tale of the monkey king and his band of followers who travel west in search of Buddhist texts. A must-read for students of Chinese culture.
- “狂人日記 (kuáng rén rì jì -- Diary of a Madman)” by Xun Lu — A critique of Chinese culture by one of the most famous modern writers from China.
8. Kobo
Kobo is a good place to find Chinese textbooks in e-book format. Their selection is not huge, but there are still many useful titles, especially resources for Chinese students. To find them, go to the “Language” category under the left-hand menu, then choose “Chinese.”
When you click into any title, you’ll get a synopsis and reader reviews. You can then click to purchase. Their e-books can be read on desktop, e-readers and tablets (iOS, Android and Windows).
Recommended reads:
- “The Sixty Year Dream: Mandarin Companion Graded Readers: Level 1, Simplified Chinese Edition” by Washington Irving — This story is written in simple style, and is suitable for upper beginner learners.
- “菊与刀 (jú yǔ dāo -- The Chrysanthemum and the Swords” by Ruth Benedict — This is an anthropologist’s comparison of Japanese and American culture; a bilingual Chinese and English version.
9. Pubu
Pubu is a Taiwanese online e-book store. In addition to e-books, you can get e-magazines and e-newspapers. Within the section for e-books, you can see lists of most popular e-books, newest e-books and 超值组合 (chāo zhí zǔ hé) or value sets (save money by buying more books at a time). In addition to synopsis and customer reviews for every book, you’ll also get suggestions for related titles, which is helpful for finding more titles you’ll love.
Prices are listed in Taiwanese dollars, but you can still pay with Visa, MasterCard or Paypal. Currently 33 Taiwanese dollars is equivalent to 1 USD (so a book that costs 180NT is about $5.50).
Recommended reads:
- “不穷忙,年轻夫妻的五堂千万致富课 (bù qióng máng, nián qīng fū qī de(dí) wǔ táng qiān wàn zhì fù kè -- 5 Financial Lessons for Young Couples” by Zhou Yi Jie — Written by a young millionaire, this guide shows young couple how to become wealthy.
- “沒有墙壁的教室:悠游在大自然里的小日子 (méi yǒu qiáng bì de jiào shì: yōu yóu zài dà zì rán lǐ de xiǎo rì zǐ -- A Classroom Without Walls” by Qin Hui Fan — This book will teach you how to gain knowledge for life in the great outdoors.
We hope you’ll have fun finding interesting e-books on these sites. And don’t forget: A little reading every day goes a long way in improving your Chinese!
And One More Thing…
If you like learning conversational Chinese, then you’ll love FluentU.
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FluentU has a wide range of contemporary videos—like dramas, TV shows, commercials and music videos. In fact, below you’ll even see the song “Let It Go” from the hit movie “Frozen”:
FluentU brings these native Chinese videos within reach via interactive captions. You can tap on any word to instantly look it up. All words have carefully written definitions and examples that will help you understand how a word is used. Tap to add words you’d like to review to a vocab list.
From the description page, you can access interactive transcripts under the Dialogue tab, or review words and phrases under Vocab.
FluentU’s Learn Mode turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.
The best part is that FluentU always keeps track of your vocabulary. It suggests content and examples based on the words you’re learning. You have a 100% personalized experience.
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