(Posting on behalf of @MarilynHames)
5 Likes
4 Likes
3 Likes
4 Likes
Excellent Jo,
I have been taking notes, because thanks to your reply I now have a list of new authors and books I could try. My own ‘yn darllen’ has been stuck in a rut exhausting whatever murder mysteries I can lay my hands on (as an antidote to regular doses of the serious stuff that I have to digest in my work). Now I can go delving into something new and exciting.
Thank you so much! Diolch yn fawr!
Marilyn
1 Like
Helo eto,
We share the same interests in detectives, so I will look up my list of favourites and share them on the weekend, but I am intrigued by the Welsh authors you read, wondering if I will be able to track down any via the internet perhaps. We are currently reading ‘Bore da’ as a group effort—it is hilarious.
Diolch yn fawr,
Marilyn
Diolch yn fawr eto Siaron,
Just as I was about to respond to the range of reading you do, I have been prompted to reply to several posts at once. Please excuse me, I need to digest how to do this…
Hwyl,
Marilyn
Hello Marilyn,
Here is a list of the books I have read, more or less in order of difficulty, easiest first.
Cwm Grachod - Colin Jones. What do you do if one of your schoolfellows is turned into a frog? Vocab on every page and notes between chapters.
Coed y Brenin - Colin Jones. Dafydd is expected back from Australia, but what has happened to him? Vocab on every page and notes between chapters.
Bywyd Blodwen Jones - Bethan Gwanas. Blodwen’s tutor suggests that the class keep diaries in Welsh. She has plenty of comical disasters to relate.
Dilyn dwy afon - Elin Meek. Non fiction. Lovely pictures of places along the Tywi and the Teifi with short articles about them.
E-Ffrindiau - Lois Arnold. E-mails between learners in Wales and Australia, starting very simply and getting more advanced as they progress.
Ffenestri - Lois Arnold. Short stories, graded from beginner to supposedly Lefel Canolradd, but they were so good that I had to read the lot.
Cysgod yn y coed - Lois Arnold. More excellent short stories.
Clymau Ddoe - Alys Jones. A chance meeting in a cafe sends Llinos in search of her double, and her life is changed. I didn’t find this easy, but it was worth the effort.
Currently reading.
Deltanet - Andras Millward. Do you trust modern technology and big computer companies? I am having to look up a lot of words but I struggle on to find out what happens. Words such as allegation, accusation, conspiracy, suspicions, industrial espionage, physical force.
And here are the books I have bought but have not read yet.
Blodwen Jones a’r aderyn prin - Bethan Gwanas
Tri Chynnig i Blodwen Jones - Bethan Gwanas
Sgwp - Lois Arnold
Gwendolin Pari P.I. - Meleri Wyn James
Coban Mair - Gwyneth Carey
Deg Chwedl o Gymru - Meinir Wyn Edwards
Pluen - Manon Steffan Ros (going up a level here I think)
Dyfi Jyncshiyn - y dyn blin - Gareth F Williams
Dyfi Jyncshiyn - y ddynes yn yr haul - Gareth F Williams
Ras Olaf Harri Selwyn - Tony Bianchi (an aspiration rather than a book I might actually be able to read some day.)
I bought quite a few of these from Gomer Press
http://www.gomer.co.uk/index.php/books-for-adults/fiction-for-welsh-learners.html
I confess that I have also bought second hand from Amazon Marketplace.
Happy reading!
Sue
2 Likes
Bore da Sue,
Thank you—what a great start to the day—it is really helpful and kind of you to make a list of books I can work from, especially organizing them in levels of difficulty. The ones with vocabulary on each page will make an excellent start, so Colin Jones, here we come. I also like the ‘Welsh diaries’ approach—that is good advice, but the book will make light-hearted reading by the sounds of it. Diolch yn fawr.
While I cannot add any titles in Welsh (yet), later today, I will make a list of some detective series I have enjoyed.
I am just enjoying a cuppa’ coffee after spending 2 hours on the phone with my brother who lives in a cottage near St. Nicholas. We talk every week, and this morning’s conversation revolved around the rugby (high fives for Wales), soccer (good for Cardiff and the Swans), and books about the same. Sport is his major interest since he used to be a pretty handy ‘all-rounder’ until a motor-neuron disease gradually robbed him of mobility, but he has a marvellous sense of humour and ‘coaches’ me from afar on keeping fit. ‘How many laps did I swim? Do I still alternate walking and running between lampposts? How many steps did I take or how far did I hike?’ As a spinoff benefit, this means I can hold my own in conversations with any ex-pat sport-crazy friends who sit up all night listening to the cricket or glued to the league tables and World Cup in whatever. The Six Nations can be a bit of a touchy subject though, not that it has ever stopped me offering the ultimate consolation ‘Fair play, your lads tried hard though’ 
I’ll be back later with the list.
Hwyl,
Marilyn
Bore da eto Sue,
Here are a few detective series I have enjoyed:
James Benn—Billy Boyle (Europe in WWII)
Rhys Bowen—Evan Evans (Wales)
Anne Cleeves—Vera, Shetland (NE England, and Shetland)
Clive Cussler—Isaac Bell (America in early 20th Century)
Martha Grimes—Richard Jury (Scotland Yard)
PD James—Adam Dalgliesh (Scotland Yard)
Stephen Puleston—Inspector Drake (Wales)
Martin Walker—Bruno, Chief of Police (Provence)
They go from the serious to the quirky, but in this weather, there is nothing to beat Bruno in Provence.
I have also just managed to get hold of Coed y Brenin as my Welsh-reading project. Looks ideal.
Diolch yn fawr,
Marilyn
Hi Marilyn, I didn’t mention both Colin Jones books are available on audible as well with Colin Jones reading them and giving pointers on some grammar between chapters. I found them a nice bedtime story and practice for listening.
1 Like
Found it Jo—what a great idea. Thank you for putting me on to the audio version too. Now I can enjoy plenty of listening practice as a bedtime relaxation/story 
In the past couple of days, thanks to asking a couple of questions then listening to and reading the responses, I feel I have stepped through a magic entrance into a kind of Alladin’s cave—Merlyn’s cave maybe. This is perfect because I had set aside time to dig deeper and explore. Looks like I got lucky and found pure gold!
Diolch yn fawr,
Marilyn
1 Like
4 Likes
2 Likes
Here are the titles of the Welsh books I mention:
Bywyd Blodwen Jones by Bethan Gwanas
A Oes Heddwas? by Myfanwy Alexander
Pwnc Llosg by Myfanwy Alexander
Cai by Eurig Salisbury
1 Like
Helo!
Here is my answer to your question, it’s a bit simple, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say!
2 Likes
1 Like
Hi Marilyn, quick answer for you…
2 Likes
Diolch yn fawr—I took notes 