It’s a really useful app, isn’t it. I was losing track of what books I had before I got it.
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Aargh, clash of taste there! I found both of those a bit unnecessarily OTT! (Oh well, at least we agree on MSR! 
)
And third one? I thought the ending was a bit, er, final… (Edit: iawn, just noticed the smiley, time for bed methinks!!)
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As you are happy with non-fiction, you might try “Hanes Cymru” by John Davies.
And if you need any help (which I don’t think is cheating at all), he’s also written an English version: “A history of Wales”.
Edit: And if you want a reasonably challenging fiction book, you might try Atyniad by Fflur Dafydd.
For some reason, I found that quite difficult in places.
I don’t know how he spotted that. I didn’t!
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You mean you don’t keep an inventory based on the Dewey Decimal system? What sort of book lover are you?
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Wow, Da iawn ti, Well done you. I had a conversation this evening with a Welsh tutor and they said that they struggled with the Harry Potter book and had to look things up in a dictionary. So anything else should now be nicely enjoyable for you.
I’m almost at the stage of propoperly reading grown-up books too. Blasu was my first, it was tough as there was so much I didn’t understand but followed most of the story. I’ve reverted back to getting through the remaining Stori Sydyn books on my pile, which are a real pleasure now with only a few words on each page that draw blanks. With those done I’ll feel ready for something longer. So I’m interested in this thread too.
I seem to have got to the point where reading is now probably the best way of boosting vocabulary and awareness of words not in infinitive form.
I’m not quite ready for the Welsh Finnegan’s Wake yet, but then I’ve not read it in English yet either!
Keep the recommendations/ reviews coming!
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Several people have told me that reading to themselves out loud helps a lot in more fully understanding the Welsh books they’re reading. I’ve tried it myself and it really does seem to help - I guess it’s forcing you to concentrate more and I suppose saying the words out loud also helps to make and reinforce connections in the brain. If you’re not doing it already, do give it a try!
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I tend to read out loud for about 10 minutes or so, then I settle down to read quietly. I especially enjoy reading aloud snippets of conversation written in a way where the spelling reflects the local pronunciation. I can imagine the people talking then … and when I read my first book where the characters were Gogs, I just imagined Aran and Catrin playing all the roles 
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Totally agree, especially where books have a lot of “spoken” dialect and the spellings reflect the style of speech and not the dictionary spellings. Reading “anl dwfn” and then looking up words like “anl” can be quite frustrating, when the word doesn’t exist, but reading it out loud it suddenly becomes more obviously a contraction of anadl and the whole thing meant “breathe deeply” or in the context of the book, “take a deep breathe” - that was from a book @Deborah-SSi mentioned by Ioan Kidd - an author with a great writing style, that I found easy to follow, when reading parts out loud - I only read two chapters of that book, because it felt a bit too Mills and Boon to me in terms of the storyline.
I tend to read a couple of chapters of a lot of books and rarely finish them, because the story-lines of the ones I’ve picked have started to get a bit uninteresting to me personally. Two books I’ve read cover to cover are very non-intellectual - Straeon Tafarn, by Alun Gubbard and Dewi Pws - a book that links to an S4C series I never saw. Another one was an autobiography/hunangofiant by Gareth Edwards - Y crwt o’r waun", where I sort of knew the back story very well, which helped a lot.
I’ve read a few Chapters of Porth Y Byddar by Manon Eames, about the drowning of Tryweryn and I lost interest after about 30 pages, although agin the writing style was very good - I persevered for a couple more chapters, despite not really enjoying it very much.
I find Historical books interesting, but I tend to need a good dictionary - GPC close at hand. “Cwm Tawe” part of a series of books called “cyfres y cymoedd” - golygydd/editor Hywel Teifi Edwards was one, that I lived through the dictionary - it starts by talking about the old bards or poets, called cyn-feirdd and brings in all the welsh words for “theology”, “the scriptures” etc etc - I can’t remember all of those words now, but it was a good book, but very hard work and I gave up a few chapters in.
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Having never read a Mills and Boon I can’t comment on the comparison, but I did find the language useful in that it wasn’t too literary, so useful additions to my general vocabulary.
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I think I’ve done the exact same thing myself in the past, probably more than once - so it was familiar!
And now I think about it, I can’t count the number of perfectly understandable, clear and interesting chats I have had with non-native English speakers, in the middle of which they have apologised for their English and expressed hope that they might be an English speaker in the future … so I think this is a thing.
Dal ati with the holiday/bwtcamp-llyfrau/alligator-wrestling-recovery-period!
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I may have been a bit harsh with Mills and Boon. I really liked the language and style of writing and could really picture what was happening, but it was heavily focused on dysfunctional relationships and I think it will appeal to a lot of people, but much like I wouldn’t be seen dead reading a Catherine Cookson novel, I couldn’t bring myself to see it through.
On another note - I find translations or very close adaptations very hard to read as well. I have tried to read some Welsh versions of kids books - David Walliams books, Roahld Dahl, the “Mali Awyr” books etc and feel like I’m reading an English book, with Welsh words. I now avoid books which have been translated or adapted and if I see “addasiad or cyfiethu” on the cover I don’t bother with those ones any more.
I’d like to find an author who writes like Ioan Kidd, but with storylines I can connect with. T. Llew Jones is very, very good (I have his Pennillion book for kids and its great, not a novel obviously, but lovely little bits of poetry, which I guess are meant to be sung?), but some adult books by him would be good, if he ever wrote any - too late now, if he didn’t.
@gruntius, this app is brilliant! I’m going to scan in all our books.
Damia! Now I have to thank you again!
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Lots of good suggestions here thanks pawb!
I have read a few of those mentioned, although with the non-learners books I am sure I am missing a lot of the subtleties. I go through phases of looking up a load of words, and phases of just keeping going as long as (I think!) I am getting the jist.
Reading in Cymraeg has been a bit on hold over the past couple of months as I take part in a project with my Children’s Literature reading group where we shadow the Carnegie children’s book prize and read all the shortlisted books. I would love to do the same with the Tir na nog, but it would get expensive as my local library in London does not have an extensive Welsh collection, oddly enough. I will certainly look up Mererid’s winning book after hearing her speak.
I am halfway through Blasu too, enjoying it but it’s quite hard going for me. I enjoyed Pluen and it was a much easier read.
I have read a couple of T Llew Jones books - Trysor y Morladron and Dirgelwch yr Ogof.
I’ve also read I Botany Bay, and enjoyed it but wasn’t sure about certain aspects of the story. Don’t want to spoil it here though.
I wondered if anyone might be interested in some kind of book club? We could choose a book and then have a session on slack to discuss - and a follow up thread on here for those who couldn’t make the discussion, or who don’t like talking online.
What do you think?
Kate
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That sounds like it pains you to do so. 
[quote=“KateM, post:34, topic:12714”]
… with the non-learners books I am sure I am missing a lot of the subtleties. … Blasu too, enjoying it but it’s quite hard going for me.
[/quote] I’m intending to reread Blasu at some point to see if I get more out of it now I’m a better reader.
Yes.
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‘prism’ gan manon stephan ros, dw i am fynd i ddarllen eto, stori mor lyfli! prism, manon stephan ros, i’m going to read again, such lovely story!
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Great idea! If I can keep up…
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This sounds fascinating! I’m a scientist so the maths doesn’t put me off – but is the Welsh reasonably accessible for learners? The idea of reading a ‘real’ book yn Gymraeg is a bit scary… 
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It really depends on what stage you are at. Probably not one to begin with if you haven’t read anything else, but that is because of the vocabulary more than anything - sometimes it can be disheartening if you have to look up every other word - but the style of writing is very comfortable and almost conversational.
The good thing about books though, is that even if you don’t get them on the first read you can dip in and out over time and re-read and that’s a great boost when you realise you’ve understood something you maybe didn’t get at first
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Yes, I agree – and destroys the ‘flow’ of reading.
Maybe a book can also be a good target to aim for – it might seem too hard now, but maybe in a couple of months… And anyway, you can never have too many books! (At least, that’s what I thought until I had to move house…)
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