Gwyl Llen Maldwyn/Monty Lit Fest - 14-16 June 2019 - Gregynog Hall, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3PL. celebrating Authors in Wales and Welsh borders. Also childrenâs section.
Manon Steffan Ros and Myfanwy Alexander along with many other authors contributingMore info on www.montylitfest.com
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Okay, I am very simple. I am only on my second challenge - enjoying it. I do have Irish, which helps with some of the consonant mutations at the start of words, and there are odd words that are - not quite in common but recognisably similar and thus easy to remember. But I am very much a beginner.
What easy reader books can you recommend?
The magazine âLingo Newyddâ is the place to start. Itâs a bi-monthly and caters for different levels from complete beginners to intermediate and a whole range of subjects.
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Y Trioleg Melanai - Bethan Gwanas
Efa - Y Diffeithwch Du - Edenia
Iâm trying to do all 3 books in this trilogy at once here because, after all, they are one story and follow directly on from the last.
The princess of Melania has to kill her mum, the queen, on her 16th birthday to take the crown. Thatâs how itâs been for thousands of years and ensures that a young, healthy and strong queen rules over the land. It works for the honey bee.
Efa, the princess in waiting, doesnât think itâs right that she has to kill her mum so decides to run away and seek a new life with her closest and most faithful friends to a land called âŠ
Y Diffeithwch Du which turns out to be a wild, unforgiving land where it seems like every animal wants to bite them, sting them, hurt them or eat them. It gets a bit blood thirsty on times but no-one said running away would be easy. They eventually find themselves, slightly worse for wear, in a place called âŠ
Edenia, where society is different to what theyâre used to. Friendships are tested as they adjust to new surroundings. And what is happening back in Melania?
I know these books, although it doesnât state, are aimed at the younger market, and Iâm nearly half a century now, but I really enjoyed all three as a whole. I read them in 12 days simply because I couldnât resist ploughing on. If I was to be honest, maybe the ending came a bit sudden and lacked a really good finale and some of the moral lessons were a little forced but thatâs me being really harsh. A very, very good story. If you like fantasy adventure this is for you. Itâs based in the future but with a middle ages feel ⊠horses, bows and arrows, queens and princesses, etc.
The reading level is probably intermediate at least with these, but not impossible for beginners with a dictionary to hand.
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Mis yr ƶd - Manon Steffan Ros
Hereâs a moral story about acceptance in our society which starts off with group of travellers arriving in a small seaside community. This is written from a first person point of view and follows Tom as he befriends one of the traveller kids and comes to learn more about how they live and how easily peopleâs opinions of others are swayed by rumours and reputations.
A very well written book (as weâve come to expect from MSR) of only 91 pages that is aimed at 12-14 year olds. Iâd put this in the late beginner bracket so one for almost everyone.
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âOswaldâ, by Lleucu Roberts, is another book in the Stori Sydyn series, costing only ÂŁ1. Oswald had a job writing obituaries for a local newspaper, but he lost his job after he wrote an obituary of his motherâs boy-friend, who was still alive. Many years later, and ten years after his motherâs death, Oswald still visits as many funerals as possible and writes them up in his little red book. One day he goes to a surprising funeral.
For a really good review in Welsh, try this winning entry from the 2016 online Eisteddfod. Itâs by âSion y Bragâ but I donât know the winnerâs real name.
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This is a trilogy about Owain Glyndwr, Silver Fox - It begins https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007PF0UN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_f5P8CbYJ639S1
Jenny Sullivan also has lots of books published in English by Gomer press and a few kids books in welsh too.
Thereâs three with similar names on the Apple store MyLibrary, MyLibrary! and My Library. Assuming (possibly stupidly) that the same app youâre using is in the store, is it one of these? 
Thanks Grunt - doesnât seem to exist for iOS, but I found something called BookBuddy which seems good at first glance. Will see how it goes.
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Last weekâs coach holiday included two hours in Caernarfon so I made the most of my time. I bought 5 books in Palas Print where the lovely lady let me speak Welsh, helped me choose suitable books and taught me the word for âcontactlessâ. I then visited charity shops and bought 6 additional books. Reviews may eventually appear here.
Sue
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âAr Agor Fel Arferâ was adapted by Huw Llwyd Rowlands from the original âFrying As Usualâ by Joan Lingard.
âDowch ymaâr funud 'maâ bloeddiodd Rosita. âMae Dad wedi syrthio oâr to.â
The Francetti fish and chip shop is already struggling against new competition. Dad is rushed to hospital with a broken leg and Mum is in Italy for a month. Can the three children and their grandfather keep the shop open?
This is a straightforward and entertaining story for young teens. The three children have very different characters and contribute in their own ways. Even without using a dictionary, I found it a fairly easy read. There were words that I didnât know, but I could guess them from the context. There seem to be copies available second-hand. Mine was a bargain for ÂŁ1 in a charity shop.
Sue
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I have read the book with Vincent via skype. The book was very funny but I think even though it is aimed at first language young teenagers I would think because some of the language is very colloquial in the dialogs and some of the words are more phonetically spelt and not how it is spelt in the Dictionary that an advanced beginner would struggle and I would put it probably at canoradd (intermediate ) but I struggled a bit with the book and I enjoyed it.
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sorry I thought I had logged in as Richardglaves and not as Vincent
A couple of years ago I recorded the whole of âHarri Potter aâr maen yr athronyddâ. - one sound file per page. If you re interested I could send you a couple of them. You would need the book though.
Just occurred to me that I have found it very useful to read stuff out loud - it means you don t have to worry about vocab/correctness etc. And it starts building muscle memory in your jaw AND it helps words stick.
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Yes indeed. Though perhaps not on the bus.
Sue
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Doesn t matter if you are a believer or not (I m not) but many of us can remember fragments of bible stories which makes it easier to understand this - http://www.beibl.net/. The most modern complete version available on-line with downloadable audio files for each chapter - the guy reads really well
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Not sure if it has been mentioned here already (if so, apologies.)
Iâm currently reading parallel.cymruâs 2018 annual using the Kindle App on my phone. The Welsh articles are in the first half of the book, with the English translations in the second, and the articles are written for a wide range of reading abilities.
And the best part⊠ITâS FREE!
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Iâve been to Wales a couple of times since I started learning, and as trawling charity shops is a favourite activity Iâve started making a beeline for the childrenâs book corner! I think my favourite find so far is Pwd Pwdin. The illustrations make it easy enough to work out whatâs going on, and I was most amused by Pwsâs attempt at five-a-side football.
(only just noticed I seem to have found an image in English! I promise I have it in Welsh!
Looking for an image to upload, Iâve been delighted to find that there are a couple more Pws Pwdin books, which I will make the effort to buy!
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