Now LIVE: 'Some Sex and a Hill - or How To Learn Welsh in 3 Easy Pints' by Aran Jones

Welsh General / Questions
#1

[See the bottom of this post for links]

So, I wrote a book about how I learnt Welsh - in the days before SSiW.

It involved alcohol, inappropriate behaviour, and fear of Welsh speakers.

I’m hoping it will show you that I’m telling the truth when I say that I feel your pain. Ever been humiliated as a Welsh learner? Yup, me too.

I’m going to publish it on Kindle - if enough people would like it as a hard copy, we can sort that out later.

But now here’s the thing - the Kindle rankings really like having a lot of purchases (and reviews!) all on the same day - so I’m going to launch it via the weekly email (and in here!) next Tuesday.

As a little nudge to ask you to get it on the Tuesday if you’re interested, it will be £2.99 all day Tuesday - going up to £3.99 on Wednesday…:slight_smile:

And…

Reviews.

Reviews are the lifeblood of Amazon (and even more so Kindle). Every single review gives a big jump in ranking - so please, like it or loathe it, please leave a review - I read every single one of them, and I’ll thank you for them personally in here (for at least the first week or so, until I get distracted by something like recording Level 3 Welsh…;-)).

Recap

I wrote a light-hearted book about how I learnt Welsh.

My mother says it’s funny, but she’s biased (against me, usually, so it may be better than funny).

It’s launching next Tuesday, and is a whopping £1 cheaper on that first day.

Reviews are the single most lovely thing you can give… :slight_smile: :star: :star2:

Yup, we’re now live - if you’re in the UK, that means:

While if you’re in the US, you’ll need:

It is available on all Amazon/Kindle outlets, to the best of my knowledge, so searching for the title on your local Amazon should find it for you (fingers crossed that the title is unique…;-)).

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Aran's book.....post how it inspires
#2

Thanks for the heads-up. I might have to revisit my ‘never buy anything from Amazon’ rule just this once…

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#3

[winces] Yeah, in an ideal world I wouldn’t go with the over-centralised monster - I think it’s a huge pity that there aren’t any opensource-ish bulk publishing setups… :frowning:

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#4

I’m on …

What abut some “thunderclap” on the launch day.

Well, I never set one so I don’t know how it works to set it up, but I’ve participated in some.

For those who don’t know: Thunderclap is the app on Internet which enables one particular message is published simultaniously by as many people as they participate in the specifric “clap”. What means if @aran would set one and the whole crowd of forum members would decide to participate in there would be (for example) 400 simultaniously posted (same) messages on twitter and Facebook. It can be something like “Big lounch of my new book “Some Sex and a Hill” today on Kindle” (and it can include link to the book too if I’m correct.

Well, just a thought.

I bet the book is HIGHLY interesting.

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#5

I will have to wait for the hardback version as I don’t have a Kindle. Look forward to reading it . Especially the bits about the alcohol and inappropriate behaviour

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#6

Not often I get in before the lovely @tatjana, especially on a techie question. But I know we don’t have a Kindle but my other half reads books on a tablet, or on a mobile phone.

If you do not have a Kindle, you can still download digital books from Amazon’s Kindle Store and read them on a device that you do have. Amazon has Kindle reading applications available for Windows, Mac, iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry.

How to Read a Kindle Book Without a Kindle | Our Everyday Life

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#7

Thank you @margaretnock.

You can also read Kindle books on your PC with the help of “Kindle Cloud” but usually I just read them with the Amazon Kindle app for Android wo it’s really not obligation ot have Kindle nowdays. If books are available on Kindle I buy only those nowdays, but it’s one funny thing. I can’t buy them from UK but only from US store so @aran better make them available “internationally”. - hehe

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#8

…and on Linux, you can read Kindle .mobi files with Calibre…

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#9

Thanks for the advice . I tried to download it via the Amazon app on my phone but it said I don’t have a compatible device . I’m not the most tech savv person to be honest. I will try and download it on to my PC perhaps with a Kindle reading ap

#10

It’s not being published until Tuesday.

#11

You have to download app first. I’ve done so from Google Play store (having android) and then through the app you search for the book and download it through the app not directly from the store.

And, yes, as @margaretnock says, it will be published on Tuesday and not before that. Plenty of time to sort things out. :slight_smile:

#12

It was the download sample that I tried to download. Thanks for the advice . Very much appreciated . I will download the app from the Google play store :slight_smile:

#13

Thanks to everyone who told me I can read it on my Kindle app. Janet put that on my ipad so I could read the Harry Potter play!! So, if I buy it from Amazon…er…do I have to do that from my ipad, or can I use my laptop, which I usually use…oh I think I’ll have to ask Janet how to do it!
I don’t like typing on the ipad!!

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#14

Thunderclap sounds like a great idea, but unfortunately they need at least a two week lead-in period, so it wouldn’t be possible for next Tuesday. But thank you for the suggestion! Maybe for the next book… :slight_smile:

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#15

@henddraig - you can use your computer to purchase it, and it will ask where you want it downloaded to. When I’m on Amazon, it has a drop-down that I can choose my phone or my tablet (both of which have the app on them).

Also, @aran, do you know if I need to go to Amazon UK or will I find it at the US Amazon site?

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#16

I have a special feeling that you won’t be able to buy it on Amazon.uk just like I can’t because it says to me every time I am on UK one that buyers from USA are not able to buy on UK but have to go to USA. So, we share more or less the same fate here. However usually what is available on Kindle it’s available on every Amazon so I don’t fear not to be able to buy it though.

And yes, I many times buy books on the site aswell and specify where it should be delivered. So there’s really no problem to buy kindle books at all. It’s just the question are Kindle books enabled for one particular countrie or not. For the record: we from Slovenia couldn’t buy Kindle books neither Kindle devices for quite a long time and now only 2 or maybe 3 years the marked has opened for us too.

#17

'Naeth e i fi foyn gwneud y cwrs Canolradd dwys yn Aberystwyth, ond… £815!

Bydd rhaid i ni gwneud y ffordd i ddysgu’r heniaith yn llai ddrud…

Edit: For the newcomers and those who don’t yet speak/read Welsh

It made me want to do the Intensive Canolradd course in Aberystwyth, but… £815!

We have to make it cheaper to learn Welsh…

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#18

Now I have to try and remember to do this on Tuesday…!

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#19

Gei di lot o amser gyda tiwtor am llai na £815 yn fyddet

Roughly speaking this was meant to say - you’ll get a lot of time with a tutor for less than £815, wouldn’t you.

#20

Na fyddwn, ond os does dim digon o arian (a does dim digon o arian gyda’r mwyaf o bobl), does dim digon o arian. Chawn ni ddim gwneud y ffordd i ddysgu’r heniaith rhy drud, achos na fydd y pobl yn ei wneud e.

Edit: For the newcomers and those who don’t yet speak/read Welsh

No, but if you don’t have the money (and the majority of people don’t), you don’t have the money. We can’t make it too expensive to learn Welsh, because people won’t do it.