Buondì.
Sorry I missed you yesterday – had to teach.
And here at OIC HQ we’ve all got stinking colds, so the cogs are grinding more slowly than usual .
But anyway, on Monday I promised to publish my top ebook picks.
Now understand, this is a bit like asking a bookshop owner to show you his entire stock.
Worse, as he’s also the publisher.
They’re all my babies!
Though if you press me, I may admit that some are strapping and bouncy, while others are runts.
Tell you what… let’s do it like this.
I’ll just pick out the titles from our catalog that I remember particularly enjoying myself.
And leave out everything else!
Come with me then, let’s take the tour!
(Click the ebook titles below to view them in our online shop. Or download the free sample chapter.)
Ready?
So, over here, we have our renowned ‘Day in the life of…’ series of Italian Easy Readers.
The idea with these is to feature snatches from the live of historical characters (details of which are conveniently out of copyright…)
My favourites?
Not the artists, sculptors or composers. Sorry!
Maybe it’s a guy thing, but I liked the explorer, the scientist, the inventor (admittedly also an artist) and the drinker/womaniser.
Yeah, you got me.
The drinker/womaniser was another artist…
Colombo e il mare Oceano (B1/2) sample (.pdf)
Galileo, Pisa e la luna (B1/2) sample (.pdf)
Leonardo in riva all’Adda (B2) sample (.pdf)
Caravaggio nei vicoli di Roma (B2) sample (.pdf)
You’d rather see the composers and sculptors?
Whatever.
View all seven from the ‘Day in the life of…’ series on this page.
So here we are, now, back to the twentieth century and cinema!
Yeah, you’re right. Italian movies can be weird.
Let’s skip the strangest ones, which are mostly Fellini, anyway.
With apologies to my brother-in-law who runs a complex of fine eateries right behind Rimini’s specialist Fellini cinema, the Cinema Fulgor.
Il sorpasso (A2) sample (.pdf)
Ladri di biciclette (A2/B1) sample (.pdf)
Nuovo cinema paradiso (A2/B1) sample (.pdf)
Roma città aperta (B1) sample (.pdf)
La vita è bella (B1/B2) sample (.pdf)
Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (B2) sample (.pdf)
All fourteen of the ‘Classic Italian movie’ easy readers, including the ones that’ll have you scratching your head but will most impress your friends and family, can be found here.
Or go big, and save 50%, with the nine ebook bundle!
Allora, leaving aside famous people and famous movies, how about some original stories?
In level order, and these are only the ones that tickled my fancy, mind you, we have:
Colpo di forbici (A1) sample (.pdf)
Rosa la cuoca disastrosa (A1) sample (.pdf)
Cena con delitto (A1/2) sample (.pdf)
Il giocoliere (A1/2) sample (.pdf)
L’ascensore (A1/2) sample (.pdf)
Cielo libero (A2) sample (.pdf)
L’amore ai tempi del supermercato (A2) sample (.pdf)
La montagna (A2) sample (.pdf)
2 giugno 1946 (A2/B1) sample (.pdf)
Il campo di papaveri (A2/B1) sample (.pdf)
Missione Segreta (A2/B1) sample (.pdf)
Caccia all’autografo (B1) sample (.pdf)
Correre a tempo (B1) sample (.pdf)
Segreti e polpette (B1/2) sample (.pdf)
Un furto ad arte (B1/2) sample (.pdf)
Un’indagine molto privata (B1/2) sample (.pdf)
Le italiane (B2) sample (.pdf)
Valeria, Michele e le maschere (B2) sample (.pdf)
La Via Francigena (C2) sample (.pdf)
If you want to browse the many that didn’t make it onto my longlist, click here.
Not in the mood for browsing?
You want me to choose for you, pick out a few at each level so you can work your way up from beginner to advanced?
And by the way, you’d like a discount for quantity, please?
No problem.
A while back I preselected ‘Three For Two’ multipacks of ‘easy Italian readers at six half-levels:
A1, A1/2, A2, A2/B1, B1 and B1/2.
Or, or…
Save even more by getting all six half-levels, so eighteen titles in total, at half the marked price!
Shop for Italian Easy Reader Multi-Packs
Now, over here, deliberately hidden away in this dark and dusty corner, we have the parallel texts.
Italian original, English translation, no audio, no comprehension questions.
From a teaching point of view, they’re not very respectable at all.
Perfect for anal people, though.
Oh, did I just say that?
Forgive me.
Anyway, there are twenty-one to choose from, though most are the same stories as in the ‘easy readers’ format, just with the added translation.
I think we just have three texts that are ONLY in parallel text format, which are:
Italian/English Parallel Text: Il colloquio (A1/2) sample (.pdf)
Italian/English Parallel Text: Quattordici (B2/C1) sample (.pdf)
Italian/English Parallel Text: Sedici (B2/C1) sample (.pdf)
Parallel text enthusiasts will find all twenty-one titles here.
Last but not least, we have the self-study workbooks.
There’s a general one, on tenses, plus a specific one for each level.
N.b. The sample chapters include the first quarter of each book, so are really worth your time downloading! But you really do have to download them, then unzip/decompress them, as they contain both audio and .pdf files. Clicking on the link from your iphone won’t show everything that’s inside…
The Tenses You Need To Speak Italian | sample (.pdf)
Italian Workout! A1 | sample (.pdf)
Italian Workout! A2 | sample (.pdf)
Italian Workout! B1 | sample (.pdf)
Italian Workout! B2 | sample (.pdf)
Italian Workout! C1/2 | sample (.pdf)
Visit the Italian Self-Study Workbooks section of our online shop.
OK, that’s it for the tour.
But don’t forget, besides ebooks, there’s also the option to take one-to-one lessons with a club teacher.
Let her decide what you should study!
Online Italian lessons: 1 x 30-minute lesson
Online Italian lessons: 5 x 30-minute lessons
Online Italian lessons:10 x 30-minute lessons
Compare online lesson options.
Spring Sale: 20% Off Ebooks and Online Lessons!
- Use coupon code Spring-Sale-2019 to save 20% on EVERYTHING!
- Pay via Amazon, Paypal/credit card, or bank transfer (if you have a UK bank account)
- Offer ends on Sunday
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P.S.
Don’t forget to read/listen to Tuesday’s FREE EasyItalianNews.com bulletin.
Also I re-did the ‘Advice‘ page, which has suggestions for how to use that site.