Note: This episode was originally published in August 2023.
This lesson suits intermediate learners. After listening, test your knowledge with our quiz.
Learning notes
Language objective
Starting conversations about books
Different questions to use about reading books:
- Have you read this book yet?
- Have you read any good books lately?
- Are you reading anything interesting right now?
- Did you race to the end, or was it more of a slow burn?
Different phrases to use when we enjoyed reading a book:
- I tore through it in a day.
- I couldn’t put it down!
- I stayed up all night reading it.
- It’s such a page-turner!
Different phrases to use when we didn’t enjoy reading a book:
- I couldn’t get into it.
- I struggled to finish it; it’s a slow burn.
- I stopped reading it halfway through.
- I gave up about 50 pages in.
Colloquial expressions:
If you have your nose in a book, you are reading intensely.
A page-turner is a book that is so interesting that the reader is eagerly wanting to know what happens next.
Getting or not getting into something is means becoming interested or not becoming interested in something.
If a book is a slow burn, its story takes its time to develop, becoming more interesting and emotional as you read further, even though it might require some patience at the beginning.
Vocabulary:
A bookworm is a person who spends a lot of time reading books.
A plot is the sequence of events and actions that make up the story line of a book or film.
Chick-lit is a genre of literature set in modern times that follows the experiences of female main characters as they live, love and develop in a light-hearted way.
Crime stories are stories that follow police investigations.
Literary novels are fiction books that value artistic expression. They often explore complex ideas and explore the depths of human experience as well as telling a story.
Romantic literature is a genre of literature that explores stories of love and passion.
Spoilers are information or details that reveal important plot points or surprises in a book, movie, or TV show, potentially spoiling the experience for someone who hasn't seen or read it yet.
Thrillers are films or books that have very exciting plots.
Transcript:
(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)
SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia.
Hi, my name is Josipa and I’m a bookworm.
Oh yes, I’m one of those people who spends a lot of time reading books in quiet comfortable corners. I enjoy how you can imagine you are in a totally different place or time.
My love for books started very early, and actually, if you were to ask my mum what I used to do in my childhood, she would straight away say,
Growing up, Josipa always had her nose in books.
I think you can imagine what this means… if your nose is that close to the book, you are reading with very strong interest.
And how about you? Are you a bookworm like me, or do you have your nose in books only occasionally?
Reading is not only enjoyable but also a helpful way to improve our language skills. When we read, we discover new words and understand grammar better.
So, picture this. Allan and Claire are sitting across from each other in a cozy corner of a coffee shop.
They sip their hot drinks, enjoying the inviting aroma of freshly ground coffee that fills the air. Soft sunlight enters through the window, warming the room. Oh look, Allan is holding a book in his hand.
Allan
So, have you read it yet?
Claire
I tore through it in a day. I couldn’t put it down!
Allan
Me too. I stayed up all night reading it. It’s such a page-turner!
Starting a conversation about books and reading is a great way to connect with people. I’ve made so many friends by asking people about books.
And it’s simple to start a conversation. You could try asking a question like,
Allan
Have you read any good books lately?
Or
Claire
Are you reading anything interesting at the moment?
Or you could use the question we heard Allan say at the start of the dialogue when he said,
Have you read this book yet?
When we use the word ‘yet’ at the end of the sentence, we are also saying that we expect that whatever we are talking about will eventually happen in the future.
And Claire said,
I tore through it in a day.
‘I tore through it in a day’ is something we say when we have read a book very quickly, usually because it was so interesting that we just couldn’t stop – or as Claire says,
I couldn’t put it down!
Allan
I stayed up all night reading it. It’s such a page-turner!
A 'page-turner' is a book that is so interesting that the reader really wants to know what happens next.
A page-turner usually has a very exciting plot that keeps you guessing so that you never know what is going to happen next.
Do you know what a plot is?
A plot is the sequence of events and actions that make up the storyline of a book or film.
Let’s say that Claire has just tried to read a book, but she didn’t like it because the plot wasn’t very interesting, she could say,
I couldn’t get into it.
That means that she just could not get interested enough in the plot or the characters of the way it was written.
Let’s say Allan was trying to read a book with a plot that was so boring that he just couldn’t get into it, he could not become interested in it. He could say,
I struggled to finish it.
And what was the last book you read like? Was it a page-turner? A book you just couldn’t put down, or was it something you couldn’t get into?
Did you struggle to finish it? Or did you tear through it in a day?
I love to read before I fall asleep. And I go through all kinds of genres. I read:
Thrillers - stories that have intense plots where you just don’t know what will happen next and are so gripping that they keep me on the edge of my seat.
Crime stories - stories that deal with the world of police investigations and explore motives and the consequences of crime.
I also like romantic literature which are books that explore themes of love and passion.
If you see me on the beach, I could well be reading just about anything from chick-lit to literary novels.
Chick-lit is a genre of literature set in modern times that follows the experiences of female main characters as they live, love, and develop in a light-hearted way.
Fiction books that value artistic expression literary novels we call literary novels. They usually explore complex ideas and the depths of human experience as well as telling a story.
But did you know that we can use the word book in everyday language when we want to talk about how well we understand someone?
Let’s say Claire can easily understand what Allan is thinking, she could say,
Claire
He’s an open book.
On the other hand, if Allan finds it difficult to understand what Claire is thinking, he could say,
Allan
Claire is like a closed book; I never know what she is thinking.
We can also use the word book when we want to offer an opinion on something
For example, we could say,
Claire
In my book, a cozy blanket, hot chocolate, and nice company make for a perfect evening.
I agree with Claire. That sounds like a perfect way to spend an evening. But let’s go back to talking about reading.
Allan stopped by Claire’s house to return a book he borrowed.
Allan
I stopped reading it halfway through. It felt like nothing significant was happening.
Claire
Oh no, I know it’s a slow burn but keep trying. Sometimes the best things are worth the wait.
Allan
Alright, I'll try to pick it up again. Can you give me a hint of what to expect without giving away any spoilers?
This has happened to all of us. Sometimes, like Allan, we try to read a book that we just can’t finish.
I stopped reading it halfway through.Allan
But Claire thinks that sometimes the best things are worth the wait, so she said,
I know it’s a slow burn but keep trying.
If a book is a slow burn, its story takes its time to develop, slowly becoming more interesting as you read further, even though it might need some patience at the beginning.
Allan
Alright, I'll try to pick it up again. Can you give me a hint of what to expect without giving away any spoilers?
If you try to pick up a book again, you are making an effort to start reading it again. You are basically giving the book a second chance.
And do you know what spoilers are?
Spoilers are information or details that reveal important plot points or surprises in a book, movie, or TV show, potentially spoiling the experience for someone who hasn't seen or read it yet.
When I first started reading novels in English, there were books that I gave up on, because the vocabulary was too difficult, and I couldn’t follow the plot.
That’s not the case for me anymore. I found that the more I read in English, the easier it became.
Anyway, sometimes I just want to enjoy a book that is written in my mother tongue. So, i invited Shauna Miller from State Library of New South Wales.
Shauna, is it true that we can find books in languages other than English in our local libraries?
Shauna
Yes, you can. Most public libraries have collections. They are basically for communities in their local government area. So, if there's a big community of Arabic speakers, Vietnamese, and Croatian libraries generally cater to their local communities.
If however, you are, for example, a Russian speaker living in Fairfield, and there isn't there a collection for you, you can then request books from State Library. We loan boxes of books at the time, not just one or two, but the entire box of books. It's a free service, and we will send it out to Fairfield Library where you are, and you go into the library and borrow it from them.
Josipa
I know that libraries have lots of books for learning English but are there any other services that can support our language learning journey?
Shauna
Oh definitely. Prior to coming to do this podcast I actually contacted some of the public libraries, and I was overwhelmed with the types of programs they have for people learning English.
There are Bilingual Story Times, there are Let's Chat sessions, and there are Conversations classes at the elementary level through to more advanced levels. Most libraries have programs for people to learn languages but I would recommend that you contact your local library to see what programs they can offer you.
Josipa
And all these services are for free?
Shauna
Oh definitely, yes. And libraries really want people to come in. They spend a lot of time and effort putting these programs together, and they really want as many people as possible to take part. So, if you do nothing else, please visit your local library. They are there for you and they love to help.
A big thank you to our educational consultant Professor Lynda Yates, and our guests Shauna Miller and Domenico Gentile.
Paul Nicholson and Lily O'Sullivan voiced the characters of Allan and Claire.
