Buondì.
As is, ormai, traditional on the Friday of sale week, today I present the EasyReaders.Org 2020 Summer Sale Bestseller List, the idea being that you will be able to identify AT A GLANCE which particular products or services are hot, and therefore procure some to facilitate your own language-learning.
Ready?
EasyReaders.Org 2020 Summer Sale Bestsellers!
(data from our online shop, last seven days, sales by no. of items, excluding free downloads)
- Online Italian lessons: 10 x 30-minute lessons
- I promessi sposi
- Online Italian lessons: 5 x 30-minute lessons
- Il vulcano
- Anselmo e l’omicidio di Giovanni Borgia
- Italian Easy Readers ‘Three For Two’ – Level B1
- Italian Easy Readers ‘Three For Two’ – Level A2/B1
- Italian Workout! C1/2
- Nine Book Of The Film Easy Readers – Save 50%!
- The Tenses You Need To Speak Italian
There’s nothing on that list for beginners, did you notice? Can’t have that, can we?
However, I really am very, very busy processing orders… I’m therefore going to cheat and copy/paste the recommendations I wrote during from the Spring Sale, back in March.
Below you’ll find my personal favourite easy reader ebooks at each level, from the easiest to the hardest!
N.b. If in doubt about what to spend your ‘learn Italian’ budget on, buy some or all of the selection below. But look at the free sample chapters first, so as to check the type and level of the material and to verify that you know how to use it on your preferred device.
Someone wrote this morning to enquire whether our ebooks would work on her iPhone. The answer is that they almost certainly will, but whether or not the writer would know how precisely to make that happen is entirely another matter. Many of our members confess to not being very technically able…
Hence the free sample chapters, which are linked to below and on our Catalog page. Experiment with those first, and hopefully I’ll get fewer ‘please help!’ emails over the weekend!
A1
Can’t cook? Neither can grandmother Rosa. But her health-conscious daughter has begged her to pick up the kids from school and feed them lunch – no unhealthy takeaways mind! Free sample chapter (.pdf)
An elderly couple run the village’s only hairdresser’s. He does the men, she does the women. When it comes to the invevitable gossip, of course there’s a Chinese wall between the two of them. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A1/2
Hate your noisy neighbour? Imagine being stuck in a lift with them. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
Ever had your purse or wallet stolen and hoped in vain that someone would return it to you? Never happens. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A2
A charming story of a nobody who takes a crazy risk to please his child. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A group of childhood friends reunite to hike in the mountains, but the weather takes a turn for the worse. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A2/B1
The day that women in Italy first got to vote, and the nation decided whether or not to keep its monarchy (spoiler: it didn’t.) Free sample chapter (.pdf)
My wife wrote this one. The only thing she’s ever written, as far as I’m aware, which is a shame as it’s a proper job (as the Cornish say.) A love story, of course, and the ‘struggling artist’ carrying his canvas in the cover photo is me. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
B1
Grandad has an old-fashioned tip for his lovelorn student grandson. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
An American student goes to stay with her black-sheep Italian uncle. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
B1/2
A small-town family restaurant has just one chance to make the big time! Free sample chapter (.pdf)
Rome. It’s very, very hot today. And our failing private detective is about to take his cat to the vet when he gets an unexpected phone call. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
B2
On a planet far away, a nerdy I.T. guy with an eye for detail ends up in big trouble. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
Valeria, Michele e le maschere
Can you really find love on the Internet? Valeria and Michele decide to find out. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
B2/C1
Prometeo e la guerra dei titani
Remember high school? Brutal, wasn’t it? And that was WITHOUT the ancient Greek… Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A second-world-war mystery comes to light due to some careless Italian driving. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
C1
Like ‘Pretty Woman’, but set in Italy, centuries back. There’s no Richard Gere or Julia Robers and the story is much less patriarchical. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
C1/2
Anselmo e l’omicidio di Giovanni Borgia
The first in a trilogy featuring our medieval investigator, Anselmo. I had my doubts, I admit, but enjoyed all three (the final one is the best…) Free sample chapter (.pdf)
Obviously it’s much more fashionable these days to lock child refugees in cages or confine them behind barbed wire or on islands. But back in the day, people actually cared about the welfare of vulnerable young people. Here’s the story of one of them. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
C2
Italian teacher Roberto’s narrative of his adventures on the famous pilgrim route. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
La carriera – dietro le quinte del Palio di Siena
Skullduggery with horses. This is probably the hardest text we have, and damn good, too. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
+++
Così. The ‘save 20%’ promotion ends on Sunday night – stock up now and you’ll be good until the next similar offer, which is scheduled for the end of September.
Online lesson students – do you have enough credits for the rest of July, plus all of August and most of September?
There are always people who run out, weeks or even months before the next -20% sale, then write to ask if we can give them the discount early.
And the answer is always: ‘Daniel told you to stock up back at the time of the last offer, so sorry, no can do, it wouldn’t be fair on those who did. Buy at the full price, or wait a few weeks.’
2020 Summer Sale: Save 20%!
Save 20% on everything in our online shop these final few days of the 2020 Summer Sale!
- Coupon code 2020-Summer-Sale-20%-Off gets you 20% off everything – remember to copy and paste it into your cart, though
- The ‘Summer Sale’ ends at midnight on Sunday 12th July. The next similar offer won’t be until the end of September so stock up on lesson credits and ebooks while you can!
- There’s no minimum spend – use the coupon as often as you wish until Sunday night
- The 2020-Summer-Sale-20%-Off coupon code will also work on items that are already discounted, such as ebook bulkbuys or packs of online Italian lessons
- Choose from Amazon, Paypal (they process credit cards for us – you don’t have to open an account) or bank transfer (not a good idea unless you have a UK bank account) payment options
Find materials for your level in our online catalog!
P.S.
Listening to Thursday’s bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news is, as always, completely free.
Mille grazie to everyone who has donated to help us meet the cost of the writers and editors. Read who helped here.
P.P.S.
Fed up with all this commercial stuff? Sick of me always trying to sell you something?
Don’t unsubscribe today, though.
Because from Monday I’ll be GIVING instead of selling!
Next week sees the start of our 30-part free ‘History of Rome’ series – articles (in Italian) with accompanying audio.
That’ll run throughout July and August, and for most of September, at the blistering pace of three free pieces of material each week!
By the end of that lot, we’ll all know our Claudiuses from our Caligulas, our Tiberiuses from our Tituses!
Watch out for ‘Episodio 1. Le origini di Roma tra mito e realtà. La fondazione’ on Monday.