*Je . . . Desto*

It took me a long time to grasp the way to say things like this:

The more I read the more I want to read.

or

The less I (fill in your own words here) the less I (and here).

etc.

And I'll tell you why. The words that Germans use in these cases sound ridiculously non-German to me. They sound Spanish or something. And I could never remember which word came first.

Here they are:

je

desto

The leo.org dictionary (my lifeline) defines "je . . . desto" as "the . . . the." Yeah. Confusing without an example. So here's one for your enjoyment:

Je mehr ich lese, desto mehr ich lesen will. (The more I read, the more I want to read.)