Has anyone read āY Blaned Dirionā by Islwyn Ffowc Elis? I picked it up for Ā£1 from a bargain table recently. Iāve been telling myself Iām not going to buy any more books until Iāve read all the ones Iāve already got, but couldnāt resist a book by a classic author!
I didnāt really get into it at first, but itās got me hooked now - Welsh SciFi if youāre interested!
4 days later - I had to shut the book and force myself to go to sleep at midnight last night ā¦ yes, I think Iām enjoying it
Written under Bethan Evans in case you canāt find it anywhere.
I remember talking to Bethan outside the Galeri in Caernarfon before the party earlier this year, she told me about the sequel to āGwrach y gwylltā and how she feels embarassed writing sexy scenes ā¦ well, that obviously didnāt bother her when she was writing this book! Not for the prudish.
Itās a story about a womenās rugby team being set up and all the shenanigans that the members get up to on and off the pitch.
Considering that this is obviously aimed at the adult market it it very accessable and easy to read, maybe thatās because Iām so used to Bethanās writing style by now, this being the 18th BG book Iāve read.
Small bit of trivia ā¦ the lady on the front you may recognise from Rownd a Rownd, y Wal, y Mynyddoedd, and others ā¦ itās the one and only Ffion Dafis.
Watching this at the moment - and for those who, like me, only know Buddug Povey as middle-aged, permanently harassed and sharp-tongued Kay in Rownd a Rownd, it may be a bit disconcerting to recognise her as the rather glamorous man-eater Menna
āDwi ddim yn dweud 'mod iān bĆŖl-droediwr anhygoel, ond roedd hon gĆ“l y byddai Gareth Bale yn falch ohoni!ā
Marc Hughes is a massive football fan and when he got the chance to go to France to see the Wales team play he was over the moon.
But in the middle of all the excitement of the games and spending some rare time with his dad (who was the spit of Joe Allen), things werenāt all that rosy.
This book is definitely aimed at the younger reader, maybe 8-11ish at a guess, so is written in really quite a straight forward style with easy to grasp language. Probably one of the best books for this age Iāve read for me as all of the excitement of the 2016 Euros came back to life. Very enjoyable.
Suitable for people just starting to read I would say. This is the 17th MSR book Iāve read so maybe that was why I found it easy ā¦ try it out for yourself.
āMerched Gwyllt Cymruā (Wild Welsh Women) - I couldnāt resist when I came across this in the library. You may disagree with the authorās choice of women, or with her definitions of āWildā, āWelshā and even (Rebecca and her daughters) āWomenā, but itās a rollicking good read. I was pleased that the fifteenth century feminist poet, Gwerfyl Mechain, was included, and your notion of Welsh womanhood will be further expanded by reading about harpist and wrestler Marged ferch Ifan.
The book starts with the legendary witch Ceridwen, and ends with Megan Lloyd George, who has one of the best put-downs ever to a hustings heckler.
The book is dual language English and Welsh, so although itās aimed at fairly advanced readers, itās possible for less advanced readers to enjoy it as well. The English is by no means a word-for-word translation, which would be annoying if you were using the book as a serious learning tool, but if you just want to read for pleasure without having to look stuff up in the dictionary, itās ideal.
Iād recommend this book as a Christmas present for a friend whoās learning Welsh. It costs Ā£7.95, but you can buy secondhand copies at AbeBooks for just over Ā£2. (Other non-Amazon booksellers are available.)
My goal is to work through the History of Wales by Davies. I have it in English & Welsn & is my reading Welsh goal. Surviving a week or two in Wales is my speaking goal. I have that and some pre grammar school books. Not much in between cardiau post is my read/write goal! I have 3 or 4 & starting to write. Caveat: having surgery Fri so may be delayed
Hi, has anyone read Apostol by Dyfed Edwards? The June 2019 prize winning fiction book. I think itās intended for first language speakers but Iām thinking of buying it - I had a sneak look at a page or two yesterday, and the vocabulary didnāt seem to be too frightening.
My sister (who doesnāt speak Welsh) has kindly sent me a book that she found in a second-hand shop. The original price of 7/6 is written in the front and there are copious notes in an illegible handwriting. The book is:
āBlodeugerdd oār Ddeunawfed Ganrifā by D. Gwenallt Jones.
She has to be joking. I donāt read collections of eighteenth century poems in English, let alone in Welsh. I realise that it is a classic collection put together by an eminent poet, but oh dear! Never mind, I shall put it at the very end of the books that I might aspire to one day but canāt tackle yet.
This is a great book by Lois Arnold that is unmistakenly aimed at learners with a small geirfa at the back and a few words translated at the bottom of each page. The story is very good and keeps your interest all the way though. Itās about a young reporter, Lowri Glyn, who works at a small, local newspaper while dreaming of making her name and writing the big stories. Making tea and typing letters is her usual day to day chores until some clues to something bigger come her way.
I will say that I felt a lot of things in this book were written purely just to broaden your vocab while reading it, which is a good thing, donāt get me wrong, but it was a bit blatent on times.
On the back cover it says that this is aimed at ālefel sylfaen dau / canolraddā. Not too much for any SSiWers having got through level 1 then I guess.
Hereās a review I found from the SSiW eisteddfod back in 2017 thatās worth a read ā¦
Agree with you totally @gruntius. Lois Arnoldās books are great for early learners to improve vocabulary, sentence construction and pick up useful phrases to drop into conversation. Iāve recently finished Sgwp and would thoroughly recommend it.
Seconded! Iāve just worked my way through the first chapter of Sgŵp!, on loan from @RichardBuck, and was surprised by how much I could construe (having recently finished SSiW Level 2). Looking forward to uncovering the Big Story!
That was my review Thanks very much for thinking it was worth sharing! I really enjoyed Sgwp, still one of my favorite books Iāve read in Welsh (granted, the list isnāt very long - around 10, I thinkā¦) Iāve been really busy this past year with life/other projects, but am definitely going to get back to reading Welsh books soon. Iām grateful for all the contributions in this thread to help me choose the next one- thanks everyone!
