What are you reading at the moment? The latest novel about vampires? The manual for the DVD player you just got? A cheesy love story (one of those you wouldn't even tell your best friend about)? Why not read it in your target language?
... Oh, you're not ready yet...
Well, guess what... reading in your target language, yes even before you are ready, can be a lot of fun!
All you need to get started is a very basic vocabulary and a very basic knowledge of the grammar.
One of the books I've recently finished reading was "Der Thron der Libelle" by Wolfgang Hohlbein. Now, German is my... L4 I suppose, but it is one of my target languages... I do intend on being able to use it at a level similar to English at some point in the future. However, I'm not actively studying/learning German at the moment. Does that mean I'm not 'ready' to read books in German? No, in fact, it might make it even more interesting! And I'll tell you why.
Clichés are transformed into something completely new when you're reading in a language you're not yet fluent in!
I read a lot, especially fantasy. A lot of fantasy stories can seem very cliché by now, in English. Yet another average young man who finds himself suddenly endowed with a super special awesome power he needs to use to save the world! Yet another princess roughly dragged out of her castle and into the cruel world, having to re-invent herself completely to be able to survive. ... This probably sounds very familiar...
Try reading this in Japanese, or German, or Spanish... or whichever language you are learning. Especially when you don't feel 'ready' to tackle a novel just yet.
Suddenly this princess seems much more special, and this young man with his magic powers? Well, it's like you've never read a story like that before!
It's like trying to keep up with a movie that is just too fast-paced for your eyes. Yes you're reading it, but what did Gewitter mean again? What is happening? Why is the tower suddenly burning? Oh wait, there was a horrible thunderstorm?!
Sometimes over half of what is happening might be too hard to understand, and it feels like you're completely losing track of the storyline, until you suddenly do understand a few sentences and you realise your dear princess has been kidnapped by some scary-looking guy who was pretending to be a guard.
Even ignoring all the new words you will learn reading a novel (even when you're not trying, and not making any new lists to use in Anki (or your preferred SRS)), it can be such a surprisingly entertaining experience!
Don't wait until you're ready; you already are.
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