Scrubbing the decks & nautical-themed Book of the Week Offer

Buondì.

I got up promptly this morning, knowing I needed to write something for the club before spending an hour or two tidying up our little sailing boat, which we’ve neglected all winter.

But then… I had no idea what to write, which is rare, as I am by nature a person with lots of ideas.

So a change of plan, then.

Ninety-minutes or so of scrubbing the decks first, then the article after!

Now, the boat is 8.5 meters long and 2 metres wide.

But it’s pointy at the front.

So to calculate just how much deck I scrubbed (there’s only one, it’s not a cruise ship), it shouldn’t be so simple as multiplying 8.5 by 2 to get 17 square meters.

I dare say one of my kids would know how to do it, as they all study or studied math at school.

But typically, there’s not a child handy when you need one.

So lets take 17 and knock off a few square meters to account for the bow (‘prua’ in Italian, stern is ‘poppa’, which always make me think of farts, but anyway…)

I therefore scrubbed 14 sq.m of winter grime and muddy footprints from what is supposed to be a white plastic deck.

Using the sort of little ‘foam one-side, abrasive other-side’ cloth we use at home for cleaning greasy frying pans.

Fun, fun, fun.

You know what it is with cleaning that’s so frustrating?

The more layers of muck you scrub off, the more you notice each little mark that’s left.

And the end result still looks dirty, even though, it’s objectively much less so than it was when you started.

To cap it all, when it came to putting the hosepipe away, someone had to step back on the quay (‘molo’ in Italian) to detach it, which meant putting on land shoes again and…

…a whole mess of footprints!

Where’s that little foam pad gone again?

All of which got me thinking…

It’s been a while since we’ve done a half-price ‘Ebook of the Week’ offer.

So let’s do one, yey!

But which?

I have a list of the hundred or so original titles our writers have produced (five more are coming), and noted next to each is the date of publication and whether I’ve previously done a BotW offer.

Scanning down the list, one jumped out.

Of course!

September 1492, Atlantic Ocean: Christopher Columbus is wrestling with his fear of failure and ruin. After months at sea, there’s still no sign of land. Captains and crew are growing desperate!

And I bet there were muddy footprints everywhere!

And Colombo would have been bad-tempered enough already, not yet having found New York or Beijing, or wherever.

So there you go – tension and OCD on the high seas: Colombo e il mare Oceano

And yes, of course, you know the ending already.

But the beginning and the middle are pretty good, too!

The level of this ‘easy’ reader is B1/B2. There aren’t a lot of reviews because, as I said, I haven’t promoted this one since it was first published (in Feb. 2017).

But several of the reviews that there are mention that the audio is fast, the level is hard, etc.

Harold, for instance, wrote:

I found the reading too fast in places, often with parts of words swallowed. That may be how many Italians speak, but it doesn’t aid my learning.

That was in February 2017. Now I know for a fact that Harold is still with us, more than two years later. He’ll occasionally comment on EasyItalianNews.com or email me about something I’ve written, which is nice.

But I betcha his listening skills are much stronger these days. Two years of regular practice will do that.

But you know? Improving your listening skills is like scrubbing the deck.

It’s never really done, and the more you focus, the more you realise you don’t (and probably never will) understand everything…

Still, that’s no excuse not to try.

Anyway, the reason I mention the reviews, is that you really should start by downloading the FREE SAMPLE CHAPTER (.pdf).

Why?

Because that way you can read the first chapter and see if it’s too easy, too hard, and so on.

But ALSO, listen to the audio for the ENTIRE STORY, absolutely free of charge. There’s a link at the top of Chapter 1 in the free sample chapter download.

So, here’s more info. about the ebook:

This challenging easy reader ebook is an excellent way for intermediate-advanced students of Italian to consolidate their knowledge of grammar rules, learn new words and, above all, build reading and listening skills!

• .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online at soundcloud.com)
• 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 intermediate level or above
• Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
• Please note: your e-book will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your purchase

Oh, I forgot to say – ‘Colombo’ will be half-price, so just £3.99 rather than the usual £7.99, until Sunday night.

So you’ve plenty of time.

But hey, today’s a holiday just about everywhere where the club has members, so why not get your copy now, while you think about it?

Buy ‘Colombo e il mare Oceano‘ £3.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Other ebooks about famous people | Catalog