The Best Books to Learn Spanish

Best Books to Learn Spanish

We’ve organized our suggestions into the best books for beginners, intermediate learners, and advanced learners.

Spanish Books for Beginners

No Nonsense Spanish Workbook

Want to learn Spanish but nervous about diving into the grammar? This awesome workbook will help beginners confidently build a strong grammar base in Spanish. Cata Cuneo, a professional Spanish tutor, developed this workbook after years of instructing many different kinds of students, so she understands what Spanish beginners truly need. The exercises are helpful and applicable to real life, and Cueno addresses specific pain points that many learners struggle with. This workbook will take you from beginner lessons about weather vocabulary and the simple present tense all the way to the subjunctive mood.

Available on Amazon

Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish

Although published in the 1960s, this book is still a classic in Spanish language learning for a reason. Madrigal’s unique Spanish learning method focuses on helping you recognize, write, and speak Spanish from the get-go. Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish presents Spanish lessons in manageable chunks that aren’t overwhelming. It explains Spanish grammar in a way that anyone can understand, even if they’ve never studied Spanish before. So if you’re a bit intimidated to pick up a grammar textbook, start with this book! Plus, as a fun bonus, it’s illustrated by none other than Andy Warhol—pretty cool, right? 🙂

Available on Amazon

See It and Say It in Spanish

Let’s continue with another of Margarita Madrigal’s books for learning Spanish. See It and Say It In Spanish is an excellent tool for building your vocabulary as a beginner. The book contains helpful vocabulary words and simple drawings that help you immediately understand the new word. Then, it offers simple conversational sentences to use these new vocab words. It’s structured so that one page = one lesson, making it easy to squeeze in some Spanish throughout your day. Although this and Madrigal’s other book were published a while ago, we still think they’re worth picking up, because they offer a unique perspective on language learning.

Available on Amazon

Easy Spanish Step-by-Step

This workbook is another excellent choice for an introductory guide to Spanish. Although it will help if you have some knowledge of Spanish if you’re picking up this workbook, we’d still classify it as a beginner text. The lessons are clear and concise, and key verbs and terms are introduced as they’re relevant. The structure is where this book shines–lessons are built on top of one another, so you’re constantly using what you’ve already learned.

Available on Amazon

Spanish for Dummies

Spanish For Dummies is a comprehensive, no-nonsense overview of the Spanish language. This guidebook covers basic Spanish grammar and verb conjugations, common expressions, pointers for describing everyday activities in Spanish, tips for making small talk, and more. Fun activities help reinforce your learning, and there’s even a Spanish-English, and an English-Spanish dictionary included. This book is great if you need to learn Spanish for work or if you’re gearing up for a trip, because it’s meant to help you gain the essential Spanish skills to perform everyday tasks and talk about basic activities.

Available on Amazon

Spanish Books for Intermediate Learners

Breaking Out of Beginner’s Spanish

Spanish learners LOVE this book: one reviewer called it “the holy grail of Spanish learning!” Author Joseph J. Keenan has created the guide to the Spanish language he wished he had as he stumbled along in his Spanish-learning journey. Written in English, this book is meant to usher you away from stiff textbook Spanish and towards real Spanish spoken by native speakers. It does not teach grammar or vocabulary in a traditional way. Instead, it offers tips and tricks to tweak your grammar and pump up your vocab in a way that sounds natural. Keenan puts everything in the context of the real world, making this book extremely relevant and helpful. Think of it less like an exercise book and more like your funny and candid sidekick in your Spanish learning journey. 

Available on Amazon

  Practice Makes Perfect workbook series

We had such a hard time deciding which Practice Makes Perfect workbook to recommend that we’re just going to recommend the whole series! Although we put this in the “intermediate” section, this workbook series has titles that suit every stage of learning: Basic Spanish, Intermediate Spanish Grammar, Advanced Spanish Grammar, Complete Spanish Grammar, Spanish Verb Tenses, and Spanish Conversation. Depending on your level of Spanish and what you want to focus on learning, there’s a workbook for you. These workbooks break down Spanish grammar points into digestible pieces that include reading and writing exercises so you can practice your new knowledge. And since this collection has several workbooks, you can really cover all your bases. We think these workbooks are some of the best books out there for learning Spanish.

Barron’s 501 Spanish Verbs

This quintessential yellow book contains upwards of 2,000 Spanish verbs and their conjugations, making it a great resource for anyone learning Spanish. It also contains concise grammar reviews, lists of synonyms, antonyms, and idioms for every verb included, and a list of the 55 most essential Spanish verbs and their usage and conjugations. Sure, studying verbs might not be the most exciting thing, but verbs are the foundation of any language, and this thorough collection of Spanish verbs makes it one of the best books to learn Spanish.

Available on Amazon

Short Stories in Spanish/Cuentos en Español

Short stories from throughout the Hispanic world are presented with a side-by-side English translation. Expect to see work from classic authors like Gabriel García Márquez and Isabell Allende alongside more contemporary work. This book is a great choice for anyone ready to make the leap into literature written in Spanish, and the accessible English translation means you’ll still be able to understand and appreciate the stories even if you can’t understand every word or phrase in Spanish.

Available on Amazon

Spanish Books for Advanced Learners

  Barron’s Mastering Spanish Vocabulary

Have you reached a comfortable level in Spanish and can express yourself in most situations? It’s time to learn some new vocabulary. This helpful collection of over 13,000 Spanish words is organized by theme, so if you need to study up on medical words, or prepare for a business meeting, you can study those collections of words.

Available on Amazon

The Red-Hot Book of Spanish Slang and Idioms

…And don’t just learn basic textbook Spanish vocabulary! This spicy little volume collects more than 5000 regional Spanish slang words, phrases, and idioms, so you can decipher real-life Spanish no matter where you go. When someone asks you, ¿Tengo monos en la cara?, you’ll know that they aren’t literally asking if they have monkeys on their face…they’re asking why you’re staring!

Available on Amazon

Cien Años de Soledad

Gabriel García Márquez’s masterful novel is one of the most influential novels of all time, not just in Latin America but throughout the world of literature. This story of one family and one small Colombian town throughout hundreds of years and several generations will enchant you with its stunning magical realism. Once your Spanish has reached an advanced level, don’t miss out on the chance to read this classic in its original language.

Available on Amazon

We hope this list of the best books to learn Spanish will motivate you to continue your Spanish-learning journey! It’s exciting to crack open a new book in your target language, knowing that there’s so much knowledge waiting for you. What books in Spanish would YOU recommend for learners? Let us know in the comments below!