Hi JDP, I'm learning Spanish. A bilingual book like this helps me. http://www.amazon.com/Stories-America-Historias-Latinoamerica-Second/dp/0071701745/ref=la_B001KI9YIK_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406255662&sr=1-4

I recommend a series like Harry Potter where you already know the story. Will make understanding the context easier!

Do you like suspense? Any book by Dean Koontz is fairly easy to read. He uses a lot of the same words and descriptions book by book and some of his best works really have you reading from cover to cover within 2 days.

I've began (I'm not sure about the tense) whit Harry Potter

"The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith.