Watch Gaelic Coimhead Gàidhlig

[Anna] Bha Dòmhnall a' bruidhinn air Sierra Leone. Thogadh tusa ann an Stafainn ann an teaghlach gu math mòr. Dè seòrsa rud a bhiodh tu a' leughadh 's tu a' fàs suas?

[Josie] Uill a h-uile seòrsa rud. Bha sgeilp leabhraichean againn agus bha tòrr leabhraichean, chanadh sinne "leabhraichean Sàbaid" riutha. Leabhraichean mu dheidhinn sgeulachdan mu dhaoine a chaidh thall thairis a dh'obair còmhla ri daoine 's diofar rudan mar sin, ach ...

[Anna] 'S mar sin dheth bha leughadh eadar-dhealaichte agaibh Là na Sàbaid.

[Josie] Bha, bha. Bha leughadh fa-leth againn air Là na Sàbaid. Sin dìreach, tha mi a' smaointinn gur e rud cumanta a bh' ann ann an tòrr thaighean agus nuair a gheibhinn an cothrom leabhraichean agam fhìn a leughadh uill tha cuimhne a'm thòisich mi le leabhraichean leithid Noddy 's an uair sin ghluais mi gu Enid Blyton agus an uair sin dìreach diofar rudan mar sgeulachdan a bheireadh air falbh mi bhon àite far an robh mi a' fuireach, tha mi a' smaoineachadh, sin an ùidh a bh' agamsa.

[Anna] Agus a bheil cuimhne agad a' chiad turas a chaidh thu a-steach gu leabharlann?

[Josie] Tha, gu dearbh fhèin, tha. Bha sinn air saor-làithean ann an Glaschu agus aig an àm sin cha bhithinn ach 's dòcha sia no seachd 's bha mi a' leughadh nan leabhraichean aig Noddy aig an àm sin 's Enid Blyton agus bha sinn a' dol a-staigh dhan bhaile. Chaidh sinn a-staigh dhan leabharlann agus cha chreidinn dìreach an sealladh a bha air mo bheulaibh agus tha cuimhne a'm fhathast air an fhàileadh agus dìreach an taghadh a bha seo, am farsaingeachd de leabhraichean. Bha e dìreach mìorbhaileach.

[Anna] 'S mar sin dheth bha leabhraichean cudromach. A bheil leabhraichean bho d' òige a tha fhathast prìseil dhut?

[Josie] Tha. Tha. Tha a dhà no trì leabhraichean a chùm mi bho m' òige. Bha mo bhràthair, tha bràthair agam a' fuireach ann an Dùn Èideann 's bhiodh esan, bha e uabhasach fhèin còir, bhiodh esan a' ceannachd leabhraichean dhòmhsa. Nuair a chaidh esan dhan àrd-sgoil chaidh mise dhan bhun-sgoil agus bha bùth leabhraichean a' reic leabhraichean anns an àrd-sgoil 's bhiodh e a' ceannachd leabhraichean dhomh so chùm mi iad 's bha mi a' smaoineachadh gun toirinn dhan chloinn agam fhìn iad agus gu dearbh rinn mi sin ach bha e beagan na bhriseadh-dùil. Cha robh really ùidh aig an nighean agam anns na leabhraichean sin. Bha iad a' coimhead diofraichte bho na leabhraichean a tha ise a' leughadh.

[Anna] 'S mathaid rudeigin ro shean-fhasanta ...

[Josie] Tha.

[Anna] ... dhan ...

[Josie] Chan eil iad cho dathach, tha mi a' smaoineachadh, 's a tha na leabhraichean anns an latha a th' ann an-diugh.

[Anna] Tha thu a' dol air ais gu d' òige airson a' chiad roghainn.

[Josie] Tha.

[Anna] Dè an leabhar a thug thu a-steach thugainn?

[Josie] Uill 's e a' chiad leabhar a thagh mi 's e Lord of the Flies le William Golding agus an leabhar a tha seo, nuair a tha cuideigin a' toirt, a' faighneachd na ceist dè na leabhraichean as fheàrr leat no a chòrd riut really tha thu a' dèanamh tòrr smaoineachaidh air ais agus tha leabhraichean dìreach a' togail ceann aig amannan sònraichte nad bheatha. Tha iad a' toirt air ais ... 's e, chan e dìreach an stòiridh 's e ciamar a bha thu fhèin aig an àm a bha siud agus an leabhar seo bha agam ri leughadh airson an ìre choitcheann anns an sgoil agus aig an àm dh'fhàg mi e chun na mionaid mu dheireadh oir bha an leabhar a' coimhead uabhasach grànda. Cha robh e a' coimhead mar seo idir. 'S e còmhdach gu math dorcha, chan eil fhios a'm a bheil ...

[Dòmhnall] Ceann muic, tha mi a' smaoineachadh. Fùil agus eile.

[Josie] Tha, so cha robh e a' coimhead snog idir. Bha e a' coimhead gu math grànda.

[Anna] Dè seòrsa rud a bha thusa a' leughadh aig an àm?

[Josie] Uill aig an àm sin tha cuimhne a'm glè mhath bha mise a' leughadh Danielle Steel aig an àm sin agus Jackie Collins agus rudan gu math aotrom.

[Anna] 'S bha sin uabhasach eadar-dhealaichte.

[Josie] Yeah, you know tha tidsear a' toirt leabhar dhut mar siud, bha thu dìreach a' smaoineachadh uill chan eil mi a' dol ga leughadh.

[Anna] Mìnich an sgeulachd 's cho eadar-dhealaichte 's a tha e bhon rud a bha thu a' leughadh.

[Josie] An sgeulachd a tha seo, tha gillean a' dol, tha iad air plèana 's tha tubaist ann 's tha iad leotha fhèin air an eilean a tha seo. Chan eil càil ann agus feumaidh iad dìreach tighinn beò air an eilean a tha seo agus, you know, tha e a' dol glè mhath leotha an toiseach 's an uair sin tha dìreach, tha a h-uile càil dìreach a' dol às a rian 's tha iad a' tionndadh air càch a chèile 's ...

[Anna] Fòirneart ann.

[Josie] Tha, tha, tha. Agus leis an fhìrinn leugh mi an sgeulachd, thòisich mi air agus bha mi rud beag dìcheallach so bha mi a' smaoineachadh uill leughaidh mi e 's cuiridh mi crìoch air ach mudheireadh bha mi glacte leis. Chòrd e rium gu mòr. Bha an sgeulachd fhèin fìor mhath agus dìreach chòrd e rium oir thug e orm smaoineachadh barrachd na na leabhraichean a bha mi fhìn a' leughadh.

Chaidh am prògram seo, Leugh Mi, a chraoladh an toiseach ann an 2015.

[Anna] Donald was talking about Sierra Leone. You were raised in Staffin in a very large family. What sort of thing did you read as you were growing up?

[Josie] Well every sort of thing. We had a book shelf and there were lots of books, we called them "Sunday books". Books about stories of people who went abroad to work with people and different things like that.

[Anna] And so you had different reading on a Sunday.

[Josie] We did, yes. We had separate reading on a Sunday. That is just, I think that it was commonplace in lots of houses and when I got the opportunity to read my own books well I remember I started with books like Noddy and then I moved to Enid Blyton and then just different things like stories that would take me away from the place where I lived, I think, that was what interested me.

[Anna] And do you remember your first visit to a library?

[Josie] I do, indeed, yes. We were on holiday in Glasgow and at that time I would only have been perhaps six or seven and I was reading Noddy books at that time and Enid Blyton and we were going into town. We went into the library and I just could not believe the sight in front of me and I still remember the smell and just this selection, the range of books. It was just marvellous.

[Anna] And therefore books were important. Are there books from your youth that are still precious to you?

[Josie] There are. Yes. There are two or three books that I kept from my youth. My brother was, I have a brother who lives in Edinburgh and he would, he was really very kind, he would buy books for me. When he went to high school I went to primary school and there was a book shop selling books in the high school and he would buy books for me so I kept them and I thought that I would give them to my own children and certainly I did that but it was a little disappointing. My daughter wasn't really interested in those books. They looked different from the books that she read.

[Anna] Perhaps somewhat too old-fashioned...

[Josie] Yes.

[Anna] ... for the ...

[Josie] They aren't as colourful, I think, as today's books.

[Anna] You are going back to your youth with your first choice.

[Josie] Yes.

[Anna] What book did you bring in for us?

[Josie] Well the first book that I chose is Lord of the Flies by William Golding and this book, when someone asks the question what are your favourite books or ones that you enjoyed really you do a lot of thinking back and books just appear at certain times in your life. They bring back, not just the story itself but how you were at that time. I had to read this book for standard grade in school and at the time I left it until the last minute because the book looked terribly ugly. It didn't look like this at all. It was a very dark cover, I don't know if ...

[Donald] A pig’s head, I think. Blood and things.

[Josie] Yes, so it didn't look appealing at all. It looked very ugly.

[Anna] What sort of thing were you reading at the time?

[Josie] Well at that time I remember very well I was reading Danielle Steel at that time and Jackie Collins and very light things.

[Anna] And that was terribly different.

[Josie] Yeah, you know a teacher gives a book like that to you, you just thought well I'm not going to read it.

[Anna] Describe the story and how different it is from the thing that you were reading.

[Josie] This story, boys go, they are on a plane and there is an accident and they are by themselves on this island. There is nothing there and they must just survive on this island and, you know, they manage very well at the start and then just, everything gets out of control and they turn on one another and ...

[Anna] There is violence.

[Josie] There is, yes, yes. And to be honest I read the story, I started it and I was a wee bit diligent so I thought well I will read it and I will finish it but before the end I was hooked by it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story itself was really good and just I enjoyed it because it made me think more than the books that I was reading.

This programme, Leugh Mi, was first broadcast in 2015.