What English Books Did You Read In Lockdown? | Easy English 73

Hello, welcome to Easy English.

Today we’re finally back  on the streets of Brighton

and we want to know what you've  been reading during lockdown.

This episode is sponsored by  Beelinguapp which is available

on the Apple App and Google  Play Store, here we go.

Could you please tell me what  you’ve been reading during lockdown?

Erm… well I'm not a reader  but um… I’ve read one book

and obviously Twitter and  um… various news articles.

But my one book that I read was Emily Maitlis.

Er… she's a presenter of Newsnight  and she um… it’s her stories

about interviewing presidents and  um… just general people in politics.

What did you read er… during the lockdown?

Erm… I tended to read things,  generally sort of er… magazines that…

that I get, which is to do with animal rescue,

things to do with the environment.

I used to keep bees so… I still  get some of those as well,

in the post as well. - Really? –  yeah, yeah, so. – You’re a bee keeper?

Or you were? – Were, yeah yeah,  they died off unfortunately.

It was during that week with the  cold snap in about, when was it?

February, that sort of went on  for two, three weeks and yeah…

Unfortunately - Wow, as a hobby?  Or for a living? – Er… for fun.

What were you reading during  lockdown? - Well normally I would read

but I decided that I was  going to listen to audiobooks.

Because I had to do solitary walks um…

it was easier to sort of walk  around the streets and listen

so I downloaded from the local  library and had a sort of,

vast selection of er… fiction  books, very all really interesting.

And er… okay, before I ask you about the books.

What would you say is the… do you notice like,

a big difference between  reading and listening to a book?

Um… I… actually prefer to read a book. – Yeah.

But because of the situation…  which is why I was erm…

you know listening to them.

And also I found I had some  difficulty sleeping because

I wasn't doing my in my new… new routine.

So I would listen to audiobooks at night,

to sort of help with to go to sleep.

So, something I've never done before.

Why? Why that book in particular?  - I really like her and um…

I prefer reading that kind of thing than novels.

So um… and it's… and it's  really (a) lovely bite size um…

and it's not politically… not  a political message she has

but it's just… just situations  and how the world was

when she interviewed you know  Theresa May or Bill Clinton and yeah,

just so yeah, it's very, very good.

Why wildlife er… is that what you’d say, wildlife?

Yeah, it’s just… something that  I’m into really, I just enjoy it.

I mean, you know, that’s why I'm out now,

just here, just on my lunch break.

It’s escapism I guess as well you know,

just being by the sea and  that it’s great, you know.

What were you reading? What kind of genre of book?

Erm… I like, sort of mystery type books.

Er… crime books obviously I've  read the local author Peter James.

I’ve read most of his books.  Erm… but I can read anything.

You know, once I start  something I do plough through it

even if I don't like it. I  just felt I had to read it.

Erm… so yeah, so I read a sort  of… you know, all types of books,

magazines I buy occasional magazines  too and sort of flick through them.

Okay, but you’re more interested  in the kind of, fictional world?

I prefer fiction. – Yeah?  – Yeah, I prefer fiction.

And er… yeah, why… why is that?  Is it… especially during like,

lockdown as well? – It’s  escapism, you know when you're…

when you're reading a story and it's er…

you visualise all these lovely places  and lovely scenery and it's… yeah,

it's a kind of escapism from what's  actually going on around you.

Yeah, was there a reason why?

Was it just because it was out at that time,

or was there a particular reason why you chose

to read that during lockdown? Your  one and only… one and only book.

My one and only book. Erm… just  ‘cos I think I could pick it up and…

and leave it. Um… and er… and yeah, I just…

I just knew that she’d written  a book and I'd seen people

review it online and I just  thought, oh that looks really good.

So, yeah, I dived in and  actually I didn't put it down

which I usually do, I usually carry  a book around with me pretending

I'm well read and never read them.

So this one is actually one that I  read. – I’m glad I’m not the only one.

Oh good. – Okay, important question,  did you finish it? - I did.

Oh, really? Yeah. – Okay  and would you recommend it?

I definitely would yeah. Very, very  er… very easy and informative read.

Is there a specific author  you’d recommend to people?

I think, I think if you're looking  to sort of be in the Brighton area

or someone from Brighton and  Hove, then the Peter James ones.

He's got a series of er…  dead simple dead like that.

And for me growing up in Brighton it's  really interesting to sort of see…

where, where things happened.  So for example, you know,

he did something in the road where  I was brought up as a youngster,

I know all the areas so  it's… yeah, that's… that's,

I’m enjoying… enjoyed lots of his books.

What have you read during  lockdown? – Okay erm… well the er…

probably book that stands in my  memory more than any other is

The Mirror and the Light which  is the third in the trill…

in the Wolf Hall trilogy by  the author Hilary Mantel.

Could you tell me what you read during lockdown?

Well I bought some library books and er…

started reading a variety of things historical,

erm… novels, erm… some of the  old favourites like Dickens.

Just a very eclectic bunch.

Okay, and are you traditionally a book reader

or was this purely because of er… the lockdown?

No, we've always been avid readers erm…

and I've enjoyed reading since  I was a very young child.

What did you read er… during lockdown?

Well I normally erm… read at  least an hour a day in the evening

erm… so it was mainly books. I  range between mainly music books,

erm… maybe biographies or about a genre of music

and then I'll put in some sort of  dodgy detective series, type things.

Er… comedy novels really and  then the odd bit of history.

Er… so I try and sort of,  intersperse… mix it up a bit.

It’s normally about, like I  say a couple of music ones,

then a sort of, a story one  and then maybe historical one.

Okay, er… pretty broad, but er… broad range.

But when when you ay music books,  do you mean like, notation…

like, biographies? – No, yeah,  biographies. Er… so you know,

so there be biographies erm… from like  I say, from the modern day or past.

Sort of like Jim Morrison ones or whatever else.

But it might be about genre of music,  like skiffle or something like that.

So it’d be something about  one or the other really.

So it goes to the death of Thomas Cromwell.

Um… and er… yeah it's… it's  a… it's a big piece of work

and I thought being in lockdown,

having a lot of time and not a lot of distraction,

it would mean I could really  absorb myself in the book.

Okay, so it’s not a work of fiction then?

It is, it is… it’s based on  the life of Thomas Cromwell

and Henry the eighth,

but it is fictionalised because  it happened a long time ago,

so a lot of what happens is  fictionalised conversation,

fictionalised thought. But it's  all based on historical fact.

Okay, so they’re kind of filling  in the gaps a little bit? – Yes.

Great, okay. Why… why did  you pick up the first book?

Er… I just have an interest in English history,

particularly the Tudor period.

So, er… and you said you’re  reading like, classics right?

You were… you were venturing into Dickens. – Yeah.

Is that a re-read or are you  actually now just exploring the…

No, it's, it's… I've enjoyed  erm… people like Conan Doyle,

Sherlock Holmes stories. Read  virtually all of Dickens,

I find I like re-reading  them because there's always

something new in them, they're very  relevant today in many, many cases.

So yes, Thackeray, yeah but old  fashioned, lots of the classics.

And erm… all the one you  mentioned I think are all like,

non-fiction right? Er… are  all fiction stories sorry.

Is there a reason why you  chose fiction during lockdown?

Well I suppose because it takes you back to er…

events which are not continually  banging on about the pandemic.

We got sick and tired of the  main media reporting nothing

but the number of people dying  every day and going into hospital.

They seem to be incapable of  telling us how many people

were becoming well again, er…

and it's just been a constant barrage of bad news.

So, I guess it's a form of escapism  with look for a bit of good news

and er… there's plenty of bad  things that’ve happened in the world

over the years, erm… so er… maybe  we should get our own situation

in perspective.

What did you read during lockdown?  - Well I like detective stories.

Okay. - And spy stories and  that type of genre really.

Um… apart from that I stick  in a bit of Jane Austen

or something like that. – Okay.

Between them, I tend to go from one to the other.

Okay and er… what is it about…  I guess maybe not the classics,

but what is it about the spy  genre that you like so much?

I just enjoy that reading. I'm… I'm…  I'm not into romance stories, at all.

I like… I like a bit of blood and guts.

Okay, and just a bit of Jane Austen  to lighten the mood before bed.

That’s right. Keep going, another dose  of Pride and Prejudice in-between.

First lockdown I didn't read it because  I didn't have the attention span

erm… just a lot of people  I think experienced that.

So the second lockdown, I started  reading it then… and then finished it.

And you finished it? – Yeah. – And  er… yeah, would you recommend it?

I would highly recommend it.  I recommend the whole trilogy.

Would you recommend it to anyone,

or do you think you have to have a specific…

kind of interest in English  history? - No, no, you don't.

Erm… it's just a fascinating story about er…

extraordinary individuals at an  extraordinary period of English history.

And of… and of the one’s you’ve  read, during the last whatever,

six the nine months. Er… what would  you recommend to someone… like,

not someone who’s into like,  fiction. But just the general public,

of the ones you read? – Well, I would  read, why not read travel books.

Graham Greene, erm… there's all kinds of erm…

you can go around the world with a book,

erm… and you can go to a particular  place and if you have any kind

of ability to visualise,  you can imagine being there

and as we have been able  to travels during lockdown,

it can take you to places.

What did you read during lockdown?

I feel I didn't read many books  like everybody else I know.

I'm a school governance, I had quite  a lot of… of school papers to read

and… and things to read to do with COVID.

So I had quite a lot of  work things to read. – Yeah.

And I'm also part of some  charities to do with safeguarding

and everything was enhanced during that time,

so I had a massive amount of reading  to do with these kind of interest.

And also the… the time factor is  quite interesting during COVID,

so everything took longer, so if  you wanted to go and see a friend,

you have to meet them outside  so that all took more time.

So I ended up not having a lot of time  for kind of um… enjoyable reading.

I mostly read the news on my phone. – Yeah.

Um… I read a couple of books, I'm  reading a book by a friend of mine.

Who’s just written a book. – Oh yeah?

so I'm… yeah, apart from that, haven't  really read much else to be honest.

Interesting, because I imagine  maybe you might say you had

a contrasting answer maybe? That  you had more time to read maybe?

I had… I was furloughed for over a  year, so I had to really fill my time.

I read loads, but it was really  kind of light and fluffy,

I couldn't deal with any  kind of hard hitting books,

a lot of crime novels, just…  yeah, kind of not really,

not much reality in there. But I  I've avoided… I stopped reading

any of the news. It was just all so  doom and gloom and for me personally,

just made me feel worse. so I  kind of just avoided the news,

I listened to the radio but  I… I stopped watching it.

Well I'm only few pages in, but  erm… it's written by my friend,

oh she's gonna love for this.

Caraline Brown and it's her first  book and it's really good actually.

So, it’s called The Candlelit  (Menagerie). Menagerie,

The Candlelit Menagerie. – Okay,  and is this er… a fiction book?

Yes, it is yeah. It’s a period fiction.

Period fiction. Okay, is that  something you’d generally sort of,

go towards when you were picking a book?

Probably not this subject  that she's writing about.

But er.… yeah, I do like period  dramas, yeah, more, you know,

murder mysterious or something  like that, but yeah, it’s good.

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