Russian Short Stories for Beginners + Audio Download: Improve your reading and listening skills in Russian Kindle Edition

OK, admittedly these stories may not be captivating or mind-blowing, but they cover exactly what a beginner needs to know to be able to communicate - daily routines, food, transportation, etc. Beginners need practical vocabulary to express their immediate wants and needs, and this book delivers. Although I haven't gotten through all the audio, I want to point out that sometimes the gender of the reader doesn't match the gender of the character in the story. For example, in the first story, a male reader is speaking in the first person about a woman named Sarah, and when he reads things that Sarah supposedly says, he reads the feminine form in sentences where it is appropriate, although just from the sound of the voice saying those things, you would expect it to be a male character using the masculine form. So it's just a bit odd to hear a male saying the feminine form of "I am not hungry." But the book still deserves 5 stars!

I have a friend from Mexico, she is fluent in English and Spanish and now she is learning Russian language. I must say her Russian is pretty good for a beginner. She has been to Russia for the Olympics. Anyways, long story short, she was visiting me a few weeks ago, right before New Years and I wanted to buy her something, and as we all know book is the best gift so I bought her, "Russian Short Stories for beginners". Because when I looked at the book what I liked the most was the summary and quiz after each chapter, I think the best way to learn a language is to read and then check yourself if you understand it correctly. My friend absolutely loved it.

Great start for beginners! I have never studied the language formally, but found this book easy to follow, which made it easy to pick up on the pronounciation and vocabulary. I must admit I have already studied Serbian, which does help read the Cyrillic alphabet. But, overall this book would be great for beginners and intermediate learners as it does incorporate a lot of vocabulary, which would also be great for an intermediate-student to review. The incorporation of English translations below each Russian section, makes it easy to understand each part you are reading as you listen to the audio. Highly Recommend!

I can't wait to study the book

The audio isn't very good. Its choppy and hard to understand. Its not how Russian speakers actually sound. If you're getting this for the audio, I'd recommend you try something else.

Exactly what I need to improve my Russian

Sent back

It's like Pimsleur on steroids -- very long audio sections followed by interpretation. Good production value, clear diction, just not for beginners. Intermediate to advanced.