Buondì. Another lockdown Monday, with still at least two weeks (!) to go until any real prospect of things starting up again here in Italy. Oh well, better make the best of it. Since finishing ‘Il nome della rosa‘ last week, I’ve been dipping into ‘Le avventure di Pinocchio‘ (we have an easy reader version […]
Why is using a dictionary as you read a dumb idea?
Buondì. Capitolo 6 of our ‘riassunti’ of Umberto Eco’s ‘Il nome della rosa‘ is now available on our website, here. It’s an exciting one! You should take a look. Previous chapters are listed on our Literature page. Each has a simplifed text, a glossary of ‘difficult’ terms with English translations, and a comprehension exercise. Plus, […]
“…e a chi non piace peggio per lui, rimane alle falde della collina.”
Buondì. “…e a chi non piace peggio per lui, rimane alle falde della collina.” That’s Umberto Eco talking about the first hundred or so pages of ‘Il nome della rosa’ in ‘Postille a “Il nome della rosa” 1983’. “…and whoever doesn’t like it, worse for them, they’ll remain on the slopes of the hill.” He’s […]
Reading, when done well, should be like surfing (not digging)
Buondì. +++ INTRODUCTORY NOTE Someone wrote to ask why on earth I have to write so much. Why should she waste time reading in English when she could be reading in Italian, she wanted to know. Why indeed? If you’ve been asking yourself the same question, then go here, or here, or here and find […]
Bottom-up or top-down?
Buondì. Bottom-up or top-down, which is your preferred way of doing things? No, I’m not trying to be smutty, I’m talking about reading in Italian. Do you start from the bottom, so at the level of individual words and phrases, or even their component parts (suffixes showing conjugations of verbs, gender, plurals of nouns, etc.), […]
‘Il nome della rosa’ capitolo 2 (and a new discussion topic)
Hey there, OnlineItalianClub.com members! Today we have the third part, the second chapter, of our ‘riassunto’ of Umberto Eco’s book: ‘Il nome della rosa’ – Capitolo 2 – Come un labirinto It’s linked to from our Literature page, too. And there, you’ll find the ‘Nota introduttiva’ and the first chapter, if you missed them. There […]
Book Club capitolo #1 and thanks to 36 keen commenters!
Buondi. Chapter 1 of our ‘riassunto’ of Umberto Eco’s ‘Il nome della rosa’ is ready. Find it here, along with page references to the real book, for those of you who have bought it and are reading it. It covers the ‘Primo giorno – PRIMA’ and ‘Primo giorno – TERZA’ sections of the book. If […]
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!
Buondì. And we’re off! It’s the beginning of the long-awaited Book Club – we’re reading Umberto Eco’s bestseller, ‘Il nome della rosa’ together! Perhaps this is the first time you’ve read a ‘real’ book in Italian, or maybe you’re an old hand like me. Either way, it’ll be a challenge – it’s a long book, […]
“I would appreciate your advice”
Buondì. This yesterday, via email, from Angela, which I thought might be of general interest: Please can you advise me re learning Italian. Like most of the world I am at home for a long indefinite period and want to move on from domestic organising which dominated the first week and challenge myself to something […]
Email attachments 101
Buondì. The Spring Sale is over and the tidying up has begun: making sure every order has been processed, dealing with loose ends, and so on. If you haven’t heard from our teaching manager, Lucia, about organising your online lessons, first CHECK YOUR SPAM/JUNK FOLDER to see if she actually has written to you already, […]