Thursday, December 15, 2016

10 Reasons why you should read selkokirjoja

1. They are small and thin books. You could borrow 5 from the library and it would still take up less space than 1 traditional hardback.

2. They are short. Most selkokirjat are around 100 pages or less. If you don't have a lot of time to read, this is a great option. If you are intimidated by reading a whole book in Finnish, with selkokirjat you are done before you know it!

3. They are modern. Nowadays you won't find a lot of selkokirjat with stories that are lessons in disguise or dumbed down or cheesy plots from the 50's. These are BOOKS. With PLOTS. There are crime novels, modern romance, serious drama. You'll even find many YA (young adult/teen) selkokirjat.

4. They are written by pros. If you've ever browsed through a list of selkokirjat, you'll find that for the most part, they are all written or in some cases "translated" by the same group of authors. So you can go back to the same authors in new books and know what to expect. You'll know their writing style and grammar and can trust their experience.

5. Short chapters. Most of the selkokirjat I have come across all have one thing in common. Short chapters! You don't have to devote hours at a time to reading these books (unless you want to of course). You can easily read a bit, learn a few new words, gotten into the story, and then put the book down to breathe and take a break before continuing.

6. Fast translations. First if all, you don't really need to look anything up in a dictionary while you are reading if you don't want to. That's perfectly ok. But if you do, in today's modern world you can get translations instantly from websites, apps, and even Google image search.

7. It's a great way to learn Finnish. You can learn new vocabulary, figure out grammar, and all while reading a good book.

8. Finnish culture and literature. Most selkokirjat are written by Finnish authors. Many selkokirja versions of classic Finnish literature are available. Sure, you might find a finnish version of a classic British novel, but selkokirjat are excellent means to bulking up on your knowledge if Finnish history, culture and literature.

9. Non-fiction. Selkokirjat are not just novels and fiction. Nowadays a vast range of non-fiction titles are available, everything from cooking to financial matters to learning computer software and information for families.

10. They're free. This is my own little plug as a librarian. Finland's libraries are filled with shelves of selkokirjat. You don't need to spend lots of money buying them, when you can borrow them from the library and take your time reading them.

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