@fitterman, books originally written in other languages usually have specific translations for Brazilian and European Portuguese, if they’re planned to be marketed in both countries. So, if you’re buying in Portugal/from Portuguese stores, you can assume that the translation is in European Portuguese unless stated otherwise. When only a Brazilian Portuguese translation is available (I remember this happening with some specific college textbooks, but never with any other books if they’re remotely popular), a number of Portuguese readers will actually prefer to read in English instead, if they can.
Books originally written by a Portuguese-speaking author of a different variant are generally sold as is. The vocabulary is not adapted, but there may be some explanatory notes.
@Joseph This is incredibly helpful. As I’m looking to purchase ebooks, which is what I read primarily, what’s the right way to find them? The Kindle store or other US sellers of ebooks don’t make this distinction. Searching online it seems like I’m finding Portuguese publishers selling their own titles as ebooks. It’s there a particular site or app that would be likely to sell what I’m looking for? There only thing I’ve found is fnac.pt, which sells Kobo titles in Portuguese.
I have a website to share with simpler text. It has children’s literature written in Portuguese. I use this with my English learners that speak (read and write) in Portuguese.
This article (which should be accessible despite the paywall) provides a nice list of books that focus on Lisbon from a number of perspectives. The books are all by Portuguese authors, and are available in English translations (at least in the U.S. market). Presumably it should be possible to find any of these books in Portuguese. TLDR this is the list of the books:
“Lisboa, Cidade Triste e Alegre ,” Victor Palla and Costa Martins
“The Book of Disquiet,” Fernando Pessoa
“The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis,” José Saramago
Poetry by Cesário Verde, Alexandre O’Neill, Mário Cesariny, Ruy Belo and Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
“ Now and at the Hour of Our Death ,” Susana Moreira Marques
“ Cape Verdean Blues ,” Shauna Barbosa
“ What’s in a Name, ” Ana Luísa Amaral
“The Three Marias: New Portuguese Letters,” Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Velho da Costa and Maria Teresa Horta
“Empty Wardrobes,” Maria Judite de Carvalho
“South of Nowhere,” António Lobo Antunes
“The Return,” Dulce Maria Cardoso
“Racisms: From the Crusades to the Twentieth Century,” Francisco Bethencourt
“Whites Can Dance Too,” Kalaf Epalanga
The article also mentions Issue 20 of The Common, which is available online and describes itself as “A special portfolio of writing from the Lusosphere: Portugal and its colonial and linguistic diaspora, with works in English and in translation exploring Lisbon, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, and Mozambique.” It is all in English but could be another source for finding some interesting authors to track down.
Susana Morais has a few books in European Portuguese that she has published for all levels. Unfortunately, she only has a few books published, but they are excellent for helping you learn to read Portuguese and understand it. The stories are well written for your level and include an audio file and English translation. You can even sign up for her newsletter and get a weekly short story. (mainly for those who have finished level A2) You can find her books on Amazon. I hope it’s OK to suggest a product from another teacher. I just think her books give you another opportunity to apply what you have learned from PP. (and they are fun to read!)
