Buondì.
Thanks to the many, many club members who joined in on Friday by posting a comment on that day’s article.
If you missed it, Read me!, and in particular the comments, which you’ll find at the bottom of the article. There were the beginnings of quite an interesting debate about Wikipedia, and whether or not knowledge should be free, or professionally-curated, and so by implication not free.
My two cents worth?
I didn’t leave a comment on Friday, but I’d point out that us non-academics don’t have access to university libraries or databases of research papers paid for by our employers. Insomma, if I wanted to read the latest on, for example, language learning, where could I go?
Given that I’m not a professor of applied linguistics, or an enrolled student, Wikipedia is more or less my only option. However imperfect, it’s open to all and a hell of a lot better than nothing, which was what used to be available.
Wikipedia’s ‘Purpose’ page is interesting to read, and includes this quote:
Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That’s what we’re doing. — Jimmy Wales
When academia and the publishing industry comes up with something equally inclusive and altruistic, rather than just self-serving and discriminatory, they’ll have my full backing, instead of, as currently, my disdain.
Anyway, talking of the grubby business of publishing, today we have a new ‘easy Italian reader’ ebook, an original story set in a village in northern Italy in the nineteen-twenties and nineteen-thirties (not a very happy time…)
The level is C1, meaning it’s suitable for upper-intermediate and advanced students, and for the first seven days it costs just £5.99, instead of our usual easy reader ebook price of £7.99!
No, it’s not free. But the audio is, for the entire story. There’s a link to it in the free sample chapter (see below). And as club members know, we use the revenues from paid-for materials to finance website which are open to all, for example, EasyItalianNews.com and OnlineItalianClub.com.
Back to the new ebook, though. Be warned, this is not a tale for readers who enjoy happy endings…
What’s it about? Will you like it? How will you get it?
Below is the blurb, freshly copied and pasted from our online shop!
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An original Italian easy reader by Francesca Colombo
Italia, circa sette anni dopo la Prima Guerra Mondiale e la successiva influenza spagnola, che insieme avevano decimato la popolazione giovane e fertile di Villalba, un piccolo paese nel nord d’Italia
Fuori dalla casa di Luigia c’era un gruppetto di persone che si guardava in attesa. Il marito di Luigia, che stava per diventare padre, mostrava tutta la sua preoccupazione.
“Voi credete che sia normale? Tante ore per…”
Il parroco sbottò, quasi fosse offeso: “Certo che è normale, abbi fede nel Signore, che diamine! Le cose ben fatte son lunghe da farsi!”
Marcello chiese scusa, rammaricato per aver messo in dubbio i piani del buon Dio. Ma in quel momento qualcuno gridò: “È nato, è nato!”
- .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
- 8 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 upper-intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
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.
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Interested? Check out the free sample chapter (.pdf) BEFORE YOU BUY, so as to get an idea of the level, length and format of this ebook, and so decide whether it will be suitable for you at your current level in Italian. This one isn’t really advised for beginners, or for anyone with shaky reading skills, as you can verify for yourself if you click the above link and read/listen to the first chapter.
If it’s too hard, or too easy, why not select something more appropriate from our Catalog page? You’ll find all of our ebook easy Italian readers there, from the lowest level to the highest.
A mercoledì.
‘Il miracolo del paese‘ just £5.99 this week!| Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
P.S.
Saturday’s bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news is ready for you to read and listen to, if you haven’t already done so.
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Eulira says
buobasera a Tutti,
quante nuove parole sul testo di questo new asy Reader Il Miracolo del Ppaese.
Grazie del Vostro lavoro,!
Un Caro Saluto, e Un affettuoso Abbraccio aTutti!