Online French Book Club
Learn French by reading literature
An online book club for French learners: Read books and discuss in French
Join the book club
The group meets online every week.
Read & discuss books in French
Reading provides you with a plethora of benefits.
When you read, you can spend the time to really break down and internalize grammar, vocabulary and better understand the structure of phrases.
Online French Book Club: When and where?
The calls are exclusively online.
Choose your group among many available schedules.
We read a new book every month.
6 French learners per group.
$15 covers one month class for 1 person and includes:
- Pre-call preparation: Before every call, I will submit specific questions to help you understand all the elements that the reading group will discuss.
- A new part each week: I will divide our book into different parts, each part corresponding to 1 week.
- 1-hour call each week: This is the time when the group meets online to discuss with me and other readers on Zoom.
- Follow-up emails
The places are limited!
Online Conversations
Why reading is important to learn French?
Reading has many advantages to improve your French learning:
Books contain a richer language.
Average speakers don’t spend as much time choosing their words as writers do. The written words are more nuanced than the spoken words. Writers consider their words more carefully than a native speaker talking with friends.
Books help you get more immersed in the language.
You just have to grab a book. Do that and you’ll be able to travel through space and time. You don’t have to travel to far away to learn a language.
Read if you want to be a good communicator.
People who are good communicators have a large vocabulary that they usually acquire by reading. They draw the appropriate vocabulary the moment they need it.
Build a routine and go at your own pace.
You can take the time to read the book and understand the words and the story.
How to read in French
Read what you enjoy.
Read what is challenging.
Set yourself short-term targets.
Keep a record of your achievements and celebrate them.
Things you need to know about our reading group
The calls are exclusively online. We read a new book every month.
Choose your group :
- every Tuesday at 1pm (Paris time) – Intermediates
- every Thursday at 3pm (Paris time) – Intermediates
- every Saturday at 5pm (Paris time) – Intermediates
- every Saturday at 7pm (Paris time) – beginners
- every Monday at 11am (Paris time) – beginners
$15 covers one month class for 1 person and includes:
- You’ll receive the pre-call preparation items
- We read and discuss a new part each week
- We meet online for a 1-hour call each week
- We exchange after the call with follow-up emails
What will we read together?
August
Group of Tuesday : 3, 17, 24 and 31 August, 1pm-2:15pm (Paris time)
Group of Thursday : 5, 12, 19 and 26 August, 3pm-4:15pm (Paris time)
Group of Saturday : 7, 14, 21 and 28 August 5pm-6:15pm (Paris time)
Here’s the book I chose: Thérèse Raquin de Emile Zola
In a dingy apartment on the Passage du Pont-Neuf in Paris, Therese Raquin is trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille. The numbing tedium of her life is suddenly shattered when she embarks on a turbulent affair with her husband’s earthy friend Laurent, but their animal passion for each other soon compels the lovers to commit a crime that will haunt them forever. THERESE RAQUIN caused a scandal when it appeared in 1867 and brought its 27-year-old author a notoriety that followed him throughout his life. Zola’s novel is not only an uninhibited portrayal of adultery, madness and ghostly revenge, but also a devastating exploration of the darkest aspects of human existence.
July
Group of Tuesday : 6, 13, 20 and 27 July, 1pm-2:15pm (Paris time)
Group of Thursday : 1, 8, 15 and 22 July, 3pm-4:15pm (Paris time)
Group of Saturday : 3, 10, 17 and 31 July 5pm-6:15pm (Paris time)
Here’s the book I chose: La gloire de mon père de Marcel Pagnol
Bathed in the warm clarity of the summer sun in Provence, Marcel Pagnol’s childhood memories celebrate a time of rare beauty and delight. Marcel Pagnol never forgot the magic of his Provencal childhood, and when he set his memories to paper late in life the result was a great new success. My Father’s Glory appeared on the scene like a fresh breeze, captivating readers with its sweet enchantments. Pagnol recalls his days hunting and fishing in the hill country, his jaunts about Marseilles, his schoolboy diversions, and above all his family: his anticlerical father and sanctimonious uncle, his mild and beautiful mother, and many others. This bright and lively book sparkles with the charm and magic that were Marcel Pagnol’s own.
June
Group of Tuesday : 8, 15, 22 and 29 June, 1pm-2:15pm (Paris time)
Group of Saturday : 5, 12, 19 and 26 June 5pm-6:15pm (Paris time)
Here’s the book I chose: L’élégance du hérisson de Muriel Barbery
In an elegant hôtel particulier in Paris, Renée, the concierge, is all but invisible―short, plump, middle-aged, with bunions on her feet and an addiction to television soaps. Her only genuine attachment is to her cat, Leo. In short, she’s everything society expects from a concierge at a bourgeois building in an upscale neighborhood. But Renée has a secret: she furtively, ferociously devours art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With biting humor, she scrutinizes the lives of the tenants―her inferiors in every way except that of material wealth.
Mai
Group of Tuesday : 4, 11, 18 and 25 May, 1pm-2:15pm (Paris time)
Group of Saturday : 8, 15, 22 and 29 May 5pm-6:15pm (Paris time)
Here’s the book I chose: L’étranger de Albert Camus.
The day his mother dies, Meursault notices that it is very hot on the bus that is taking him from Algiers to the retirement home where his mother lived; so hot that he falls asleep. Later, while waiting for the wake to begin, the harsh electric lights in the room make him extremely uncomfortable, so he gratefully accepts the coffee the caretaker offers him and smokes a cigarette. The same burning sun that so oppresses him during the funeral walk will once again blind the calm, reserved Meursault as he walks along a deserted beach a few days later-leading him to commit an irreparable act. Camus’s classic novel The Stranger portrays an enigmatic man who commits a senseless crime and then calmly, and apparently indifferently, sits through his trial and hears himself condemned to death
April
2021 April 3, 10, 17, 24
5pm-6pm (Paris time)
Here’s the book I chose for April: La Place by Annie Ernaux.
Author Annie Ernaux’s 1983 book La Place explores her father’s life trajectory, from impoverished child to owner of a small épicerie, charting the social and historical changes that occurred throughout his lifetime and applying them to his personal experiences, attitudes, and behavior.
French Beginners & intermediates
July
Group of Saturday : 3, 10, 17 and 31 July 7pm-8pm (Paris time)
French literature: Read and discuss
August
Group of Saturday : 7, 14, 21 and 28 August 7pm-8pm (Paris time)
French literature: Read and discuss
Do you have a question?
Send a message
Online French Book Club
If you're wondering...
Is this online French Book Club right for you?
WHO THIS CLUB IS FOR
- The Club is suitable for learners with an intermediate or advanced level of French
- The group of Saturday’s 7pm is best for beginners and intermediates
- Learners who want to improve their French level
- Learners who are ready to take the time to read
- Learners who are interested in getting feedback and support
WHO THIS IS NOT FOR
- Learners who don’t want to put in the time needed to read
Our programs to learn French
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French Reading Club FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
There are 2 groups : intermediates + and beginners +. Send an email if you need help to choose the right group.
You need four things: a stable internet connection, a computer, the book of the month and Zoom, the free video conferencing tool.
You will have to order the book yourself early enough to make sure you receive it before our first class.
Yes, your book will be only in French. And we’ll only speak French during our calls.
Please send me an email to provide me with your availabilities.
