Buondì.
I was looking back at what I wrote on the Wednesday of last year’s Summer Sale, hoping for inspiration.
But didn’t find any.
Then it occurred – why not write about all the great stuff we’ve published SINCE then, in case there’s anyone out there who’s been lost in the jungle for twelve months?
So here you go: the seven ‘easy readers’ and two ‘Italian/English parallel texts’ we’ve published in the last year.
If your name’s Pat and you live in the USA, you may as well stop reading now.
That’s because she buys EVERYTHING we publish. Thanks Pat!
(That said, she HATED ‘Il secondo tragico Fantozzi’ – check the reviews!)
Assuming you’re not called Pat, I hope you’ll find something below to interest you.
I’ve linked to the free sample chapter and to the reviews page for each title.
Do download the FREE Sample Chapter (.pdf) to check out the type and level of material, and to see that it opens on the device you want to use it on.
Yue a Bologna (A1)
Yue, a talented young Japanese from a rural community in Hokkaido, wins a one-year scholarship to study opera at the ‘Conservatorio’ in Bologna, home to Europe’s oldest university.
But the thought of leaving her parents and brother for a whole year disturbs her.
And, before studying at the ‘Conservatorio’, she’ll first have to learn Italian…
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Valeria, Michele e le maschere (B2)
Valeria has been single for months now. She meets men but after going out a few times they seem reluctant to commit, or even return her messages! She wonders whether the dating app, Tinder, might be worth a try?
Michele spends his Saturday evenings alone, playing computer games. If only he wasn’t so shy, he’d meet more people. And then, maybe find a girlfriend? Perhaps the solution is online…
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (B2)
The 1970 political thriller on which this ‘easy reader’ is based was a massive success for director Elio Petri, winning many prizes, including that year’s Oscar for the Best Foreign Language movie.
The story takes place in Rome in the summer of 1969, at what would be the beginning of Italy’s ‘years of lead’. It reflects on the power of the apparatus of the state, and the roles played by those who worked within it or rebelled against it.
The unnamed protagonist, a senior police officer and head of the homicide squad, murders his lover but then immediately sets out to leave as many clues as possible…
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Il secondo tragico Fantozzi (B2)
Ragionier Fantozzi, Ugo is the Italian everyman: abused by his employer, unhappy at home, and so occasionally tempted to rebel – in the hope of a better future…
“Of course! Everyone knows Fantozzi”, declared this copywriter’s Italian wife, on entering the kitchen to find out what he was laughing out loud about.
The 1971 book was a million-seller and was followed by several unforgettable movies, from which this second volume of mishaps has been selected (find the other here: Fantozzi)
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Italian/English Parallel Text: Quattordici (B2/C1)
How to communicate with a fourteen-year-old Italian daughter who only seemed interested in acquiring every possible shade of nail polish?
What DO teenagers think? Attempts at conversation elicited silence, or grunts.
Only rarely, when money ran short, were words arranged in sentences and delivered in a way I could make out:
“Daddy, have you got any work for me?”
Write some texts for my website, I suggested.
Which she did, so cash was duly handed out.
Four years later, tidying up my computer, I came across a folder named “Hannah texts”…
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Italian/English Parallel Text: Sedici (B2/C1)
What goes on in a teenager’s mind?
Find out with ‘Sedici’, eight articles written by a sixteen-year-old girl.
Recently, tidying up my computer, I came across a folder named “Sofia texts”.
It contained articles written as a ‘make-work’ summer project by a desperate-for-cash teenage daughter.
Four years later, reading through them made me chuckle…
“Cockroaches have my deepest sympathy. That doesn’t mean I like them, it means I feel sorry for them because everybody else hates them.”
“I got drunk off vodka once, and it wasn’t pretty.”
“The chances of anyone eating even one spider in their sleep throughout their lifetime is basically 0%.”
“If I could pick a dream job, discovering aliens would probably be pretty high on my list.”
Fortunately Sofia’s mum agreed and, given that the texts were written in English, volunteered to render them into publishable Italian, to make this parallel-text ebook.
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Dante, gatto vagante (B1)
Dante is a black and white cat who likes to roam his sestiere of Venice but proudly refuses to wear a collar.
So when, one day, he fails to show up for his dinner, frantic owner Anna has no way to trace him. Where can he have got to?
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Il vulcano (C1/2)
The moving story of how the author, a language teacher, is asked to help a child who has crossed the dangerous Mediterranean Sea on a rubber boat with other migrants, having lost his mother somewhere along the route from his home country.
Now a new challenge awaits the boy – he speaks not a word of the Italian yet must soon start school. And, gradually, build a life in this new land.
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Prometeo e la guerra dei titani (B2/C1)
Un altro giovedì di gennaio al liceo classico Parini di Milano. E’ passato da poco mezzogiorno e alla quarta ora la 5C ha greco: la lezione sembra essere infinita…
But wait! What’s that the teacher’s saying?
“Sapete che secondo il mito greco nella notte dei tempi si combatte una terribile guerra tra immortali? L’obiettivo della guerra è il dominio dell’intero universo.”
Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Read reviews | Buy it
Nothing here at at your level?
Then check out our Catalog page, which lists EVERYTHING by type and level, over 100 titles in total!
Summer Sale info.
Don’t forget, everything in our online shop is a fifth cheaper this week!
Save 20% on online Italian lessons with a club teacher and on our extensive range of ebooks for learning Italian (and other languages!)
Use this coupon code to get your discount: 2019-Summer-Sale-20%-Off
Make your selections of ebooks and online lesson credits from our online shop.
- Coupon code 2019-Summer-Sale-20%-Off will reduce your cart total by 20%!
- It’s valid until midnight on Sunday 7th of July 2019
- Spend as much or as little as you wish
- The coupon code can be used multiple times during the offer period
- And it’s valid for items which are already discounted, for example ebook multipacks
- N.b. the coupon code cannot be used cumulatively with other coupons
- Secure payment systems include Amazon and Paypal
Browse our online shop or view our catalog page
A domani!