Buondì.
This week we’re not publishing anything new, but have a half-price ‘Ebook of the Week’ for you.
What this means is that, for a week only, we reprice one of our older ebooks, so something that you may not have seen, at £3.99 instead of the usual ‘easy reader’ price of £7.99.
The idea is to help you build a habit of reading in and listening to Italian (and doing so with our products, obviously…)
I always try to pick something that our regular buyers may not already have, and also something that is significantly different in terms of level from whatever we published in previously weeks. ‘Cecilia‘, for instance, was a tough one, so this time I’ve gone for something lower.
So what’s it to be?
This week we have a title from our ‘eBook of the Classic Italian Movie’ series. The first person kind enough to review it, a few years back, wrote:
“I have seen the film many times but to be able to read and listen to the story again is wonderful. And it loses none of the original flavour. The notes are also very helpful. So glad I bought this e-reader.”
Which reminds me – before I go into details about the half-price offer – it always amuses me to read the instructions that people add to the order form, when they buy something from our online shop.
Tipo (Italians say this when they want to give an example of something) “If I’m out, please leave it on the back porch“.
That one has me scratching my head, wondering how exactly I would manage to leave an ebook (basically a computer file, information in the form of a crowd of electrons) on someone’s back porch. Even if I could make it to Wombats’ Creek, or whatever address the buyer has given, given the current virus restrictions…
N.b. There are still people who, when they buy an ebook from us, expect an email from me personally, with an attachment, which is what used to happen.
Yet we’ve been using the ‘instant download’ system for months now. You pay, you get an automated email with a link, you click the link and save the ebook on your computer.
Ragazzi, not only will I not be leaving your ebook in some shady spot around the back of your home, neither will I be emailing it to you as an attachment. So please don’t wait days for this to happen, before, having eventually lost your temper, firing off an irate email wondering what on earth I’m playing at.
For on the ‘product information page’ for each and every ebook is written:
How do I access my ebook?
When your order is ‘completed’ (allow up to 24 hours), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook (.mobi/Kindle-compatible, .epub) cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them.
N.n.b. To see the ‘product information page’, and so be fully informed should we in future decide to deliver ebooks by ladling the component electrons into a box make of 100% recycled materials, wrapping them in tough brown paper, and mailing them to you, just click on the cover image of the ebook that interests you. For example here.
So, where were we? Ah yes, I was about to reveal the half-price ‘eBook of the Week’.
‘La vita è bella’ broke many records: it’s the Italian film that has won the most Oscars, Benigni (who stars and directs) is the only male Italian actor to have won an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’, and it’s the highest-grossing Italian film ever!
This re-telling for learners of Italian makes a great introduction before watching the movie itself. Or simply an excellent supplement to your study program!
As always, there’s a Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) to look at and, as always, the free sample chapter .pdf contains a link to the online audio for the entire story. So you could, if you so chose, listen to the ebook without buying it. Isn’t that nice?
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 9 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at B1/B2 level and above
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Oh, one final thing I should mention – this ebook is written by one of our online teachers, who is, in his other non-virtual life, an actual movie scriptwriter! And not just a wannabe one, either. Giovanni, besides being a language teacher with decades of experience, and a nice guy to boot, has been involved with some award-winning Italian movies.
It’s unsurprising, then, that he’s particularly well-suited to retelling the stories of some of the greatest works of Italian cinema, and doing so in a way that makes them accessible to people learning the language, and so hopefully increasing their appreciation of the movie!
View all fifteen ‘classic movie’ ebooks here.
Now, you must excuse me – I have to go down to check that the ladies in the ebook packaging department haven’t slipped out for a cigarette break, or got distracted by their knitting…
Buy ‘La vita è bella‘, just £3.99 | Free sample chapter (.pdf) | ‘Classic movie’ ebooks | Catalog
A Mercoledì.
P.S.
Did you find a moment over the weekend to read/listen to Saturday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news?
No? Well you’ll be grateful for this reminder, right? Click here.