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I do recommend this book if you have money to spend. Learn Albanian by Cezar Kurti

He includes a little CD so you can read along.
One of the best things about this language is that every letter makes one and only one sound. So reading will come very naturally to you after a little practice.

I also like this youtuber Viola. Her accent is very nice and standard, and she covers a variety of topics.

One thing to keep in mind as you study is the different dialects. Here is a nice tumblr post that shows you the various ones. Be careful when learning Albanian through resources made by or for Kosovars, only because it is a dialect that strays a lot from the standard language. This tumblr is a good example. If you use it to learn phrases, you will learn things in a hodge podge of dialects.

As someone who grew up in middle Albania, I later forgot a good deal of the language after moving away and a lot of my problems finding resources is the prevalence of the different dialects. It throws off learners a lot. I can't actually even understand most of Kosovar Albanian, even though it is technically the same language.

I would say that this book is fantastic.

If you're looking for software, I haven't found much. There's an iPhone app by uTalk that's pretty good for teaching basic phrases (time, numbers, food, body parts, colours...).

Well, if you gonna stay with Kadare, then I'd recommend one of his latest novels. Fall of the Stone City. It is classic Kadare, it manages to capture the gist of Albanian historical drama, or at least its 20th century trajectory at any rate. The fusion of all the major themes of his oeuvre with his unmistakable style make this work one of his finest IMO.
Here is a review from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/sep/21/fall-stone-city-ismail-kadare-review

Other reviews can be found on the book's Amazon page:
https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Stone-City-Ismail-Kadare/dp/0802120687

If you want a classic I'd suggest the piece of literature everyone here obligatorily read in school The History of Skanderbeg. Right along with Lahuta e Malcis (The highland lute),a classical poem covering the 1870s to 1912 . A pivotal era in Albanian history when the Albanian identity was formed and Nationalism spread among Albanians in Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania proper and even outside the borders.

As for some new stuff, I'd suggest this:

The General of the dead army by Ismail Kadare. A critically acclaimed book about an Italian general coming to Albania to collect the bones of his dead soldiers from World war 2.

A personal favorite of mine however is a book called "Besniku" about a girl born in Prizren in Yugoslavia in the 50s raised as a boy. Nobody knows but her parents since her father wanted a boy and decided to raise her as such. The book details her life and all the difficulties she has to overcome, from growing up in the neighborhood, to falling in love and going to the army. It's fantastic yet unfortunately I don't think there's an English translation.

Well, the books that I enjoyed the most about Albania are the ones written by Mrs. Edith Durham. Maybe it's just me but it was hard to put them down. I'm putting here a list with the links to Amazon.
High Albania, The Struggle for Scutari, The Burden Of The Balkans and Twenty Years Of Balkan Tangle. And then there is this one by Noel Malcolm that I have to read yet called Agents Of Empire but judging by the other book he wrote about Kosovo it should be a good read.

There is an article about burrneshat in some western publication every other month. And as the other poster suggesteed “Broken April” should do the job on the Kanun front.

Libri gendet tek Amazon ne Anglisht nqs ke mundesi ta blesh. Me sa mbaj mend une ai version.ka nje faqe ne Shqip dhe faqja perballe eshte perkthimi ne Anglisht.

Kanuni I Leke Dukagjinit: The Code of Leke Dukagjini https://www.amazon.com/dp/0962214108/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zfmGAbW7262WD

For more information: http://www.amazon.com/The-Transhumanist-Wager-Zoltan-Istvan/dp/0988616114/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1380648355&sr=8-1

Gift him a physical copy

https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Balkan-State-Experiment-Democracy/dp/1442644354

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Sex-Suicide-Mitochondria-Meaning/dp/0199205647/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502474332&sr=8-1&keywords=power+sex+and+suicide

https://www.amazon.com/Debt-Updated-Expanded-First-Years/dp/1612194192/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502474404&sr=1-1&keywords=5000+years+debt

https://www.amazon.com/Why-West-Rules-Now-Patterns/dp/0312611692/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502474420&sr=1-1&keywords=why+the+west+rules+for+now

https://www.amazon.com/Enver-Hoxha-biografi-dokumentet-personal/dp/9995639351

https://bukinist.al/en/biografi/1188-enver-hoxha.html

https://www.shtepiaelibrit.com/store/en/communist-period/1742-enver-hoxha-blendi-fevziu.html

https://www.amazon.com/Standard-Albanian-Reference-Grammar-Students/dp/0804711291

Expensive but it's the definitive guide to Albania grammar. Helped me a lot

Nuk di, ai Gjermani vet ja ka ve titulin jo une, mbas ke te drejt.
https://www.amazon.com/Fryme-Lufte-Mesime-Fushebeteja-Albanian/dp/9951562361/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=9951562361&pd_rd_r=bf4c9dd3-d2d0-11e8-ba19-2f14f43f834b&pd_rd_w=spamD&pd_rd_wg=7S3Nw&pf_rd_i=mobile-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=926ebe02-3236-40c6-ac63-01ad178f498a&pf_rd_r=JKF94NBMCESCKAEPCHS5&pf_rd_s=mobile-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=JKF94NBMCESCKAEPCHS5

$8 on Amazon if anyone wants a physical copy.

https://www.amazon.com/Real-Life-Comics-25-Adventure/dp/1542359651

Be aware that it is a reprint and not an original

So, I am going to go against the praise this video as so far gotten:

To be clear, I am American with an Albanian wife who lived in your country for two years.


I don't think this guy has every been to Albania or studied too much about it.

He gets the history of the downtown area totally wrong, suggesting that it was just sort of left there until the 1990's at which point suddenly there were grand boulevards for cars.

The downtown area was planned out specifically by the Italian Fascists. In fact, at the time, if you looked at if from the air it made the shape of the Fascist symbol like this: https://www.amazon.com/Fyon-Italian-Fascist-Banner-Landscape/dp/B06Y1S74DK

The blade of the symbol was destroyed by the communist after the war, so now you just have the rectangular shape, although you can still see in this video how it was supposed to look.

But it was absolutely designed to be broad streets and parks and such.

The communists banned cars, and this video just sort of acts like it miraculously turned into what it is today, but I don't think that's the case.

Censuset nuk jane te sakta, por mendimi yt qenka i sakte? Mire hajt po e pranojme.

Po Kosova? SIpas definicionit tend eshte shtet mysliman.Atehere pse votojne femrat? Pse marrin patenta? Pse nuk veshin ferxhe me detyrim nga shteti? Pse dalin te pashoqeruara? Pse zgjodhen femer presidente? Pse nuk vrasin me gur ateistet?

> Ku i gjen këto shifra e fesë njëherë? Se po më çudit.

https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Fundamentalism-Confronting-Religious-Globalization/dp/0812978307

> Që të krishterët praktikojnë FGM nuk do të thotë që s'ka lidhje me fenë myslimane.

Pike e zeze. Edhe kur te krishteret e praktikojne e kane fajin myslimanet.

Si mendon pra? A eshte FGM problem katolik? A eshte persekutimi i homoseksualeve problem katolik? Apo problem afrikan? A eshte perdhunimi i femrave ne grup problem hindu?

> Indonezia është afrikane?

?

jo

> Censuset nuk jane te sakta, por mendimi yt qenka i sakte? Mire hajt po e pranojme.
>

Këshilli i Evropës jam unë? Se këtë po thua.

> Po Kosova? SIpas definicionit tend eshte shtet mysliman.Atehere pse votojne femrat? Pse marrin patenta? Pse nuk veshin ferxhe me detyrim nga shteti? Pse dalin te pashoqeruara? Pse zgjodhen femer presidente? Pse nuk vrasin me gur ateistet?


Ta thashë shpjegimin më sipër. Kosova është shtet laik dhe feja ka pak ndikim falë komunizmit dhe nacionalizmit laik shqiptar.

> https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Fundamentalism-Confronting-Religious-Globalization/dp/0812978307

Në qoftë Reza thotë se Eritrea është katolike atëhere ia fut kot. Unë shoh shifrat e WHO-së.

> Pike e zeze. Edhe kur te krishteret e praktikojne e kane fajin myslimanet.

>Si mendon pra? A eshte FGM problem katolik? A eshte persekutimi i homoseksualeve problem katolik? Apo problem afrikan? A eshte perdhunimi i femrave ne grup problem hindu?

Në radhë të parë, mos e përdor "katolik" në vend të "krishterë" se është e gabuar në çdo mënyrë.

FGM është problem afrikan dhe mysliman. Pra zbatohet në kultura afrikane dhe është pranuar në fenë myslimane. Ka mjaft burime që e vërtetojnë këtë gjë.

Diskriminimi ndaj LGBT është problem i krishter dhe mysliman, vetëm se bota historikisht e krishterë sot po bëhet gjithnjë e më laike.

Ky është një rezolucion për LGBT në OKB. Shikoi mirë vendet.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/LGBT_rights_at_the_UN.svg/530px-LGBT_rights_at_the_UN.svg.png

Ti s'ke lexuar as Kuran as hadithe, si të flasësh për diçka që nuk e njeh? Sipas shkollarëve myslimanë Muhameti ka thënë se pranohet FGM dhe ai e përmend specifikisht. Tani sipas teje kjo s'paska vlerë fare?

> ? jo

Në Indonezi deri në 97% e grave kanë pësuar FGM. Në Malajzi deri në 93% e grave myslimane e kanë pësuar.

Te vendasit jo-myslimanë në këto vende është e padëgjuar kjo praktikë, ndërkohë myslimanët vendas e justifikojnë pikërisht me fenë. Para se këto vende të bëheshin myslimane prapë ishte e padëgjuar kjo praktikë.

Tani ma thuaj pak si nuk qenka problem i fesë ky.