In this informal interview, an adult (Speaker A) chats with Alana, a young beach‑going reader, about the books she is currently reading and her overall reading habits. Alana describes the plot of the second Percy Jackson novel, noting its adventurous storyline and her preference for plot over characters or writing style. She discusses her experience with Robinson Crusoe, finding it interesting and not overly difficult despite large pages. Alana also mentions rereading the Geronimo Stilton series and how she often reads multiple books at once, such as Harry Potter alongside Percy Jackson. When asked about reading time, she says she reads in short bursts throughout the day rather than long sessions. The conversation shifts to her surfboarding plans, where she explains the balance challenges of a soft‑top board and reflects on the advantage of learning balance young. Finally, Alana shares that story elements linger in her thoughts even when she is not reading, indicating a deep engagement with the narratives.
Chapters
Hello, how are you guys?
I'm good, how are you?
I'm well, I'm well. Looks like you're at the beach.
Yes, I am.
All right, so I know that you started Robinson Crusoe and you also are reading a different book, so tell me about what you're reading.
Robinson Crusoe or the other book.
Well, let's start with the other book.
Okay, the other book that I'm reading is called Percy Jackson. It's about this demigod boy who's the son of Poseidon, and in the book that I'm on right now, I'm on the second book, he's in the Sea of Monsters. And he asked her, and he asked her to rescue his friend named Grover. He's a satyr. Satyr. I don't really know how to pronounce it. Um, but, um, there's a big Cyclops called— and I don't really know how to pronounce his name, but like Polyphemus or something like that. Um, and he thinks Grover is a lady Cyclops and he wants to marry Grover. So Percy and his friend Annabeth, who's a demigod and the daughter of Athena, has to go rescue them.
Got it. And, um, this is book 2 of how many? Do you know how many books are in the series?
I think there's 5.
Do you want to read all 5?
Yeah.
So it sounds like it's pretty compelling that this story Do you know what a plot is? The plot of a— of a—
Like maybe something tricky happens?
Doesn't need to be tricky, but basically the plot is this happens and then this happens and this happens. So when we talk about stories, we can talk about the plot, which is what happens. We can also talk about the characters. So some stories are really good because the plot, you know, what happens gets you all excited and engaged. Sometimes it's more about the characters. You just love these characters. And sometimes maybe it's about other things like the writing. Maybe the writing is really good. So with those, those distinctions in mind, would you say that Percy Jackson is great because of the plot or because of the characters or because of the writing or because of all three?
Um, I like it because of the plot. Like a lot of interesting and funnier fun things happen.
Got it. Does it make you want to keep reading every time?
Oh, yeah. Like, it's very, very interesting.
Do you know what a cliffhanger is?
Like, you leave someone off, like, a very interesting part, then you stop.
Exactly. So sometimes authors will have in the chapter something that is just so exciting, you can't wait to get to the next chapter. Because you want to know what happened. Does Percy Jackson use cliffhangers like that?
Um, I don't think so.
Okay, but the story is interesting enough you want to keep going, right?
Yeah.
Okay, um, so tell me about Robinson Crusoe, what you've read so far. Was it interesting, not interesting?
Um, it's actually pretty interesting. So they're living like, I kind of forget where, but So they're on a ship going somewhere, but like a storm, like a big, big, big storm, it actually, I think, damages their boat. And I think that's where I am.
Okay, got it. Is it very difficult to read or not so hard?
It's not so hard, but the pages are big.
Got it. And do you usually read 2 or 3 books at once, or usually read just 1 book at a time?
How do you read? Usually 2 or 3, at least series or books at once, because when I was reading Harry Potter, like, I was also kind of reading Percy Jackson at the same time.
Got it. So in addition to Percy Jackson and Robinson Crusoe, are you reading anything else?
Yeah, I'm rereading a lot of books like this book called The Stilton: The Dragon's Code. I didn't really know if you heard about it, but there's a series of books named after a mouse, like a little mouse. His name is Geronimo Stilton. Dee Stilton is his sister, and they go on like all these different adventures in different parts of the world and stuff.
Fantastic, that sounds really cool. Um, how many, how many, how much time per day would you say you read? Do you spend half an hour a day reading, an hour a day reading, 2 hours a day reading?
I actually don't know because I read on and off all day.
Okay, so maybe you like pick a book up for 20 minutes or half an hour and then you go and play and then you come back later in another 30 minutes, something like that?
Yeah, something like that.
Do you ever do days when you just sit and read for hours and hours?
Um, I don't really think that's happened for hours and hours, but it can happen.
That makes sense. It's, it's, I think reading is so much fun, and it's also good that you're so active and athletic. Are you going to body surf today, or real surf, or what, what are you going to do at the beach?
I have a mini soft top surfboard that I'm gonna try, that I'm gonna practice standing up on.
Wow, can you already stand up on it kind of?
Mm-hmm, I can.
I would think it's hard, isn't it hard?
Well, sometimes the balance is kind of hard, like you have to put your feet in the center, not just like on the rails, because if you do Um, it'll flip over, like too much pressure or weight will be on one side, so it'll tumble you.
Yeah. Do you know that, um, there's some things where it's much better to learn when you're young? And I think balancing on a surfboard is one of those things where it's much better to learn when you're young. So you are going to have a huge advantage over older people because I think at your age you're much better at balancing. Does that seem likely?
Yeah.
All right, well, in which case, I just wanted to explore the reading, and I love hearing how you read and what you read and what you're thinking about when you read. Do you think about the things you read when you're not reading?
Um, sometimes, like, hey, oh, I really, really, um, don't hope that this character don't get to a trap by that character or something like that when I'm not reading.
Got it. So it sounds like the story stays with you. I'm gonna let you go surf. Have a great day. Next week.
