This would be a really terrible idea. Ima is a dense, ponderous read even for native speakers, filled with long digressions on a wide variety of specific topics, and if you try reading it without a solid handle on the language you will probably just end up discouraged and unengaged. I would recommend picking pretty much anything else.

For anyone wondering what version of the game to play, though, there aren't really any significant differences between versions like with C+C, so just go with the latest one.