8 graded books for upper-intermediate and advanced level

In one of the previous posts I recommended 8 graded books for pre-intermediate and intermediate levels. Now it’s time to give out more of the books I consider really worth reading. All the books are accompanied by audio, which makes it a perfect combination for developoing reading and listening skills.

 Clicking on the title of the book will lead you to a webpage where you can download the book with the audio for free. Just click the read button “descargar”. You may need to register there first.

 

Upper – Intermediate level (2300 words) 

1. Jane Austin “Persuasion”

In 1806, Captain Frederick Wentworth and Miss Anne Elliot fell in love, but since neither of them had any money, Anne’s friend Lady Russell persuaded Anne not to marry the Captain. Eight years later, Anne and Frederick meet again. By this time Frederick has made a fortune in the Navy, but he is still angry with Anne for rejecting him. This – the last of Jane Austen’s novels – is also the most delicate and moving love story she ever wrote.

 

 

2. William Shakespeare “The taming of the shrew”

Baptista’s two beautiful daughters are ready for marriage. Bianca, pursued in love by three different suitors, cannot marry until someone dares to marry her sister, the proud and contemptuous Katharine. Then Petruchio arrives in Padua and proposes to Katharine. Will he be able to turn her into a model of devotion and obedience?

 

 

3. Agatha Christie “A murder is announced”

When a notice appears in the local newspaper, the villagers are curious. Is it a joke, or is there really going to be a murder at Little Paddocks? At the announced time, the lights go out. Gunshots are heard. What is happening? Will Miss Marple be able to explain the mystery?

 

 

 

 

4. Conan Doyle “Sherlock Holmes Short Stories”

Many people visit the great detective Sherlock Holmes, but they all have one thing in common: they need help solving problems that the police cannot help them with. Join Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson in six stories that include suspicious deaths, the mystery of the engineer with the missing thumb, and the strange case of the two men who share a very unusual name.

 

 

 

Advanced level (3000 words)

5.Elizabeth Gaskell “North and South”

Life changes completely for Margaret Hale when she moves to a smokey northern city. There, Margaret meets Mr. Thornton and dislikes him immediately. But Mr. Thornton falls in love with Margaret.

 

 

6. Arthur Golden “The memoirs of geisha”

For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

 

 

 

7. Thomas Keneally “Schindler’s List”

Thomas Keneally’s famous novel tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a businessman who risked his life every day during the Second World War to save as many Jews as possible. Steven Spielberg’s film of Schindler’s List won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director

 

 

 

8. Wilkie Collins  “The Moonstone”

On her eighteenth birthday, Rachel Verinder receives a very special present: the Moonstone – a large yellow diamond from India: but that night the Moonstone is stolen…
In what T. S. Eliot called ‘the first, the longest, and the best of modern detective novels’, Wilkie Collins tells a story full of mystery, suspense and psychological insight.

 

 

 

 

Want to read in the original? Join my book club. The first book to read is “1984” by George Orwell

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In the group you’ll find more free graded books (pdf and audio), discussions in English and English materials added every day.