Leí el cancionero y el catálogo.

Leí is the first-person singular preterite of leer (to read).

So it means I read in the sense of I read it / I finished reading it at a specific time in the past.

The subject yo is not written because Spanish often leaves subject pronouns out when the verb ending already makes the subject clear. Here, -í shows that the subject is I.

The accent mark in leí shows that the stress falls on the í and that the vowels are pronounced separately:

• le-í → two syllables

Without the accent, Spanish spelling rules would suggest a different pronunciation. The accent helps show a hiatus instead of a diphthong.

So you pronounce it roughly as:

• leh-EE

not as one blended syllable.

In standard Spanish pronunciation, leí is pronounced approximately:

• leh-EE

with two clear syllables:

• le-í

The second syllable is stressed.

El means the.

In this sentence:

• el cancionero = the songbook / collection of songs
• el catálogo = the catalogue / catalog

Spanish usually uses the definite article more regularly than English, and here both nouns take el because both are specific items.

The most natural version is the one you have:

• Leí el cancionero y el catálogo.

Repeating el makes it clear that you are talking about two separate specific things.

You may sometimes see a single article shared by two nouns, but with this sentence, repeating el sounds more standard and natural. For a learner, it is safest to keep both:

• el cancionero
• y el catálogo

The normal Spanish word for and is y.

It changes to e only before words that begin with an i sound, to avoid an awkward repetition of sound:

• padre e hijo
• España e Italia

But here the next word is el, which begins with an e sound, not an i sound, so it stays:

• Leí el cancionero y el catálogo.

Cancionero is a noun. It usually refers to:

• a songbook
• a collection of songs
• sometimes a book of lyrics or poems, depending on context

It comes from canción (song) plus the suffix -ero, which can form nouns related to collections or things associated with something.

Catálogo is a noun meaning catalogue or catalog.

It refers to an organized list, often of items, products, works, or information.

It is masculine:

• el catálogo

Catálogo has an accent because the stress falls on the third-to-last syllable:

• ca-TÁ-lo-go

Words stressed on the third-to-last syllable are called esdrújulas, and in Spanish they always take a written accent.

So the accent is there because of normal Spanish spelling rules.

Yes, both are masculine nouns, and their endings help suggest that:

• el cancionero
• el catálogo

Many Spanish nouns ending in -o are masculine, though not all nouns follow this pattern perfectly. In this sentence, both are definitely masculine, which is why the article is el.

Spanish often omits subject pronouns because the verb form already tells you who the subject is.

So instead of:

• Yo leí el cancionero y el catálogo

Spanish commonly says simply:

• Leí el cancionero y el catálogo

Adding yo is possible, but it is usually only used for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Here leí is I read in the completed past sense.

It is not I was reading.

If you wanted I was reading, Spanish would usually use the imperfect:

• Leía el cancionero y el catálogo.

So:

• leí = I read / I finished reading
• leía = I was reading / I used to read

Because el cancionero and el catálogo are things, not people.

Spanish uses the personal a before specific people (and sometimes pets or personified beings), but not normally before things.

So you say:

• Leí el cancionero y el catálogo.

But with a person, you might see:

• Vi a María.

In much of Spain, the c before i is pronounced like the th in thin.

So cancionero is approximately:

• kan-thyo-NE-ro

More carefully:

• the second c (before i) has the Spain pronunciation /θ/
• the stress falls on -ne-

In many parts of Latin America, that same c would sound like s instead.

Yes, Spanish word order is fairly flexible, but the normal neutral order here is:

• Leí el cancionero y el catálogo.

You could change the order of the two objects:

• Leí el catálogo y el cancionero.

That just changes which item is mentioned first. The basic meaning stays the same.

Usually, yes. Because leí is in the preterite, it normally presents the action as a completed whole.

So the sentence most naturally suggests:

• I read the songbook
• and I read the catalogue

as completed past actions.

Of course, exact interpretation can still depend on context, but that is the usual idea.