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Hello to you all again,

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And a very Happy New Year to you all!

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I hope everyone had a great Christmas, with lots of books and book tokens as presents! But I’m sure there were some of you who wouldn’t have been happy to be given a book as a present!

Welcome to Cerys and Simon, brother and sister and our guests today. Thank you for sharing your views and opinions on books. Cerys, did you get any books this Christmas?

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Cerys: My Mum gave me three books which I downloaded to my Kindle. I’ve read one of them already!

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Trish: Which books did you choose?

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Cerys: Chess Club Dropout by Lux Carmine is the one I’ve finished. It’s really good. It’s about a girl who loses her mum and Nan and has to live with her aunt who isn’t very nice. At the new school, she doesn’t really fit in until a group of boys take her under their wing. But things get complicated…

                I also got One of us is Lying by Karen M Mc Manus. It looks really good. Four students are suspects in the murder of another student. My friend read it and recommended it to me.

                And the last one is Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. The main character in this book is allergic to just about everything and can’t go outside, but she decides she’d rather take risks than continue to live her sheltered life.

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Trish: I’ve read ‘One of us is Lying.’ I really enjoyed it. Now let’s hear from you, Simon. I know you didn’t want any books for Christmas!

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Simon: No. I just don’t like reading. My sister and Mum don’t get it and are always trying to persuade me to read!

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Cerys: Yes, we do, I’m afraid. Mum and me are bookworms and we think that no-one really hates reading, they just haven’t found the right book yet!

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Simon: Because there isn’t the right book for me!

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Trish: Why do you dislike reading, Simon?

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Simon: I associate reading with school. It’s not a pleasure, it’s work.  I really struggled with reading when I was at primary school. I hated it. And I hated writing. I can read OK now, and when I know I have to read stuff I just get on with it. I read some magazine articles or newspaper articles that interest me. Usually something short. But for pleasure? No way!

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Cerys: You did use to like the comic books we borrowed from the library for you.

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Simon: Yes. If you or Mum read them to me! Anyway, they weren’t so difficult because you could usually work out the harder words using the pictures.

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Trish: So, you enjoyed having a story read to you, Simon?

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Simon: Yes, I liked that.

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Trish: What about audiobooks? Would you listen to a story?

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Simon: No, I’d rather watch a film now. Some books are made into good films.

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Cerys: If I like the film, I’ll get the book and read it.

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Simon: I can’t see the point in that. You already know the story.

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Trish: Quite a few people agree with you there, Simon. Though there are many who feel like Cerys, too and want to read the book itself.

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Cerys: Yes, then you can compare the book to the film. And you can also read other books by the same author.

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Trish: If you like a book by a certain author, do you read others by him or her?

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Cerys: Yes, quite often I do. If I’m looking for something completely new to read, I often choose a book from the title, the cover picture and the blurb.

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Trish: What kind of storylines do you go for?

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Cerys: Usually something that is based in reality rather than fantasy; problems that teenagers can face in everyday life. Though I have read one or two fantasy books and enjoyed them. I loved the Harry Potter books.

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Simon: I loved the films. I had to make you promise not to tell me what would happen next because you’d usually read the next instalment!

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Cerys: I wonder if there’ll be another series like the Harry Potter books. It was great to grow up with them. I was so sad when we saw the last film. Knowing that was it!

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Simon: I remember that evening! I had to keep reminding you that it was only a film – a made up story!

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Trish: That’s the thing about a good book or one made into a film – it carries you away into another world for a while!

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Well, thank you to you both for sharing your ideas with us. Can I say, I hope you do find that right book one day, Simon?

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Cerys: Me and Mum aren’t giving up on him, yet!

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Trish: Good to hear that! Has anyone else any ideas about tempting reluctant readers? Or are you a confirmed non-reader yourself? I’d love to hear your comments!

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Finally, here are some of the books Cerys and Simon talked about.