Summarise this!

+++

Buondì.

Shop for groceries and – assuming you’ve remembered to bring your reading glasses – check out what’s in the food you’re buying.

The number and complexity of ingredients in even the simplest things can be scary – there seem to be either flavourings, colourings or preservatives (careful, ‘preservativi’ in italiano are contraceptive devices) in everything these days, though that probably goes back to the very beginnings of commercial food distribution.

I can imagine a stone-age shopper asking his local smoked-salmon vendor what this new-fangled muck is, what on earth is in it, and what was wrong with the way fish used to be preserved.

Smoked salmon comes to mind as there was a glut of it in my local supermarket over the festive period, since when the piles of unsold fish have been half-price, so of course we’ve been eating masses of it.

Anyway, yesterday I was staring at Google Analytics (webmasters will know what that is) trying to figure out how to stop it collecting data for a website I’d just deleted. GA is one of those useful, free, online services that I shouldn’t be able to do without, were it not for the complexity and the fact that it’s constantly changing.

After minutes of fruitless clicking around, I gave up and Googled how to use Google. There, above the usual ‘organic’ results showing websites that may or may not be helpful, appeared an A.I. (artificial intelligence) ‘summary’.

How much summarising is needed to tell me which button to press on which page, I wondered, but dutifully looked at the two sites side-by-side in my browser (analytics and search results/A.I. overview) and attempted to follow A.I.’s instructions.

Of course they was wrong. I went through it line by line but just came to a dead end. The Google Analytics ‘CANCEL THIS SITE’ button was not where Google’s AI said it would be.

Google calls their new tech Gemini, presumably not after the Zodiac sign – though I was in love with a Gemini once and she was just as frustrating, so could be.

I closed the browser in despair, clicked randomly once or twice more in Google Analytics, and – would you effing believe it – there was the ‘CONSIGN WEBSITE TO OBLIVION’ button.

Così.

There’s A.I. in nearly everything these days (though not yet in half-price smoked salmon) – all the Google stuff, including my Android phone, all the Microsoft products (Windows, Outlook), the default .pdf reader on my computer, and so on. The phrase ‘with bells on’ comes to mind.

“A.I. Summary” or “A.I. Overview” seems to pop up on one screen or another every few seconds of my waking day, but asking any of these ‘intelligent’ assistants how to make them go away seems fruitless.

Ormai I’ve resigned myself to ignoring them. “These things are sent to try us”, my grandmother used to sigh.

A year or two ago I wrote about asking A.I. ‘How to learn Italian’. The result, as I remember now, was a long list of common-sense tips, though with little clear sense of how to prioritise them, then organise day-to-day learning activities.

Still, learning a foreign language IS hard, and complex, and how someone should approach it will necessarily vary according to the person, their situation, the learning opportunities that exist for them, their previous learning experiences, the amount of time available, and so on.

So I wouldn’t really have expected a trustworthy, clear, unambiguous answer to such a banal query.

Maybe if we’re more specific? For instance, asking ‘how to improve my Italian listening comprehension’. I just tried that, but Google still only provides an extensive though rather obvious list of just about everything that could possibly be relevant, rather than any sort of coherent plan.

Could I have done better? Certainly, but no one asked me.

Anyway, the reason I’m banging on about A.I. comes down to a feeling of ‘everything I know is being washed away by the tides of progress’. Perhaps that’s just me getting old…

Tecnology is great for the young, I assume. I ask my kids, for instance, to do a job for me (write an article, say) and can tell they got A.I. to do it for them when it comes back free of spelling mistakes.

Well of course they should get the job done more quickly and with less effort than I could do by using my own eyes, fingers, brain, and decades of writing experience.

The point, though, is that if everything is getting done with A.I., what will I need kids for? Apart from babysitting Bug, naturally, a job that no silicon chip could handle, as he’s at that ‘throw toys around until the break’ phase.

Moreover, where will the creative, idiosyncratic stuff come from? Texts that, hopefully, people actually like to read.

Which brings me to last week’s article, ‘Check out the checklists (they’re not a syllabus…)‘, which was emailed to the club’s twenty-eight thousand members last Wednesday.

It contained various links to materials on the club website, along with explanations, a promotion for the ebooks store, and the usual reminder to read/listen to the three FREE weekly bulletins of ‘easy’ Italian news that my wife and kids produce (so far without A.I. assistance…)

Three hours invested in the article, approximately five hundred (American) dollars a month for the mailing list software, thousands of pages of free materials, and the result was?

Zero comments on the website, zero increase in traffic to the linked-to web resources, but yes – ONE PERSON emailed, though only to say all the links were broken in the emailed article, which they totally weren’t, as he later agreed – the problem was his VPN or something.

Perhaps all twenty-eight thousand club members were busy the same gloomy week in January, perhaps they all got fed up (at the same time) reading my articles, perhaps – who knows – they all learnt Italian! Or quit learning Italian.

But of course, now even email apps have A.I., especially those on phones, iPads and so on. For you, dear reader, are busy. Of course you are!

Good news, though: you no longer need actually read emails you’ve chosen to receive, nor click on any of the bothersome links they might contain, which in any case would just lead to other things to read.

What was so important about last Wednesday’s article that the A.I. summary/overview didn’t manage to convey?

Perhaps nothing, perhaps something, but read the damn article, why don’t you?

‘Check out the checklists (they’re not a syllabus…)‘

E poi, when our expensive mailing system sends me back my own words later today (for I am a club ‘member’, i.e. on the mailing list), I plan to ask my Gmail to summarise them, that’s to say this, and see what happens.

I’m willing to be impressed: “Daniel moaning about new technology and worrying that – if people can’t do something as demanding as reading a long email, no way will they ever master a foreign language, even with A.I. assistance” would be more or less it, in a nutshell.

But I wrote that ‘overview’ myself.

Gotta go. I have to walk, listen to Swedish news on my ear buds before an online conversation with a native speaker this lunchtime, and hit the supermarket to stock up on half-price fish.

Comments on this article are welcome. “How can I comment on an article?” is the fourth question in the club’s FAQ, by the way.

Though perhaps A.I. will find out for you. You could even ask it to write a supportive or disparaging comment, according to your preference.

Either way, it would be a sign of life.

N.b. Our ebooks store is running a promotion this month. Details are below, for anyone that can still be bothered to read.

Alla prossima settimana!

2026 January Sale: ‘easy reader’ ebook picks at your level!

(published yesterday on our ebooks store’s website)

Last Monday we announced that our 2026 January Sale had begun. Find out more here.

So today, as part of that promotion, I’m going to give you my top ebook picks for beginner, intermediate, and advanced-learners of Italian – I hope there’ll be something here that grabs you!

When I say ‘my top picks’, what I mean is the ebooks that I have enjoyed the most (I read them all, multiple times, during the editing and publishing process).

My criteria is just that: enjoyment. Why?

Because as a language-learner myself, I find that if there’s a story that engages me (whether it’s a news article, or fiction, like our ‘easy readers’), I’ll keep turning the page.

And if I can’t (metaphorically) put an ebook down, my reading comprehension skills improve, and with them my knowledge of vocabulary, and my confidence with the grammar of the language I’m learning.

As any teacher (or student) knows, boredom is the enemy! So a writer that knows how to craft a text so that it pulls you in and won’t let go, even if it’s ‘just’ language-study material, is indeed a useful ally!

Don’t forget, the 2026 January Sale is on! To get 25% off everything in your shopping cart, copy/paste the coupon code, which is:

2026-January-Sale-25%-Off

Bene, let’s get to it. I’m on the Catalog page of our online shop, starting a little way down, where it says ‘Italian Easy Readers’ (if you’re learning another language, you’ll need to scroll down the Catalog page and make your own selections, sorry!)

So we have seventeen easy reader ebooks for A1 and A2 students, six at A1 (the lowest level), eight at the ‘half-level’ A1/2, and three at A2 (the harder ones). If you’re not sure which level is right for you, use the Free Sample links and take a look. You should be able to get the gist of the story with only occasional use of a dictionary.

N.b. This article was written a couple of years ago. Since then we’ve published other ebooks, so the selection at your level is probably even more ample than described below. Our Catalog page is always up-to-date, so includes the most recent titles, and free sample chapters!

So honestly? I enjoyed all seventeen. but I’ve been strict with myself and whittled the total down to just two at each level, concentrating on the ones I liked the MOST – the stories that made me actually care about the characters, and about what happened to them next!

(These are extracts from our Catalog page, so you can also see the price, the available formats, and a link to the free sample chapter for each title…)

A1

Colpo di forbici (A1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Rosa la cuoca disastrosa (A1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

A1/2

Il giocoliere (A1/2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
L’ascensore (A1/2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

A2

Cielo libero (A2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
L’amore ai tempi del supermercato (A2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

What if those were too easy for you? Nessun problema. For ‘intermediate’ learners we have loads and loads of materials – twenty-two separate titles!

The hard part was choosing between them, but again, I’ve been strict and narrowed it down to two stories at each half level…

A2/B1

2 giugno 1946 (A2/B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Il campo di papaveri (A2/B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

B1

Caccia all’autografo (B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Dante, gatto vagante (B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

B1/B2

L’imperatore e i giochi (B1/2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Segreti e polpette (B1/2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

B2

Natale a sorpresa (B2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Le italiane (B2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

Hope there was something there that called out “Read me!”

But if you looked at the sample chapters and they were STILL to simple for you, firstly, well done for reading Italian for such confidence, and secondly, brace yourself now for the hard stuff!

Bene. Hope you found lots that will keep you reading in and listening to Italian in 2026!

The prices marked above are the usual, year-round prices but with the 2026 January Sale promotion (which ends on Sunday February 1st 2026) everything in our online store (EasyReaders.org) is 25% cheaper!

Copy and paste the coupon code 2026-January-Sale-25%-Off into your shopping cart, then scroll down to check the cart total has been reduced by 25%.

Make your selections today!

EasyReaders.org

N.b. Check out the ‘easy reader’ ebook MULTIPACKS, which get you a three-for-two deal, or better.

AND the 25% discount!

Assuming you remember to use the coupon code, that is…

2026-January-Sale-25%-Off

P.S.

And here’s the usual Wednesday morning reminder to read/listen to Tuesday’s bulletin of news from EasyItalianNews.com.

Reading/listening practice will help you consolidate the Italian you’re studying, expand your vocabulary, and build vital comprehension skills.

EasyItalianNews.com is FREE to read/listen to.

Subscribing, and so receiving all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news via email each week -on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays – is also FREE.

Just enter your email address on this page and click the confirmation link that will be sent to you.

+++

OnlineItalianClub.com | EasyItalianNews.com | Shop (ebooks) | Shop (online lessons)

OnlineFrenchClub.com | OnlineSpanishClub.com | OnlineGermanClub.com

+++

No longer interested?

All bulk emails we send (including this one) contain an unsubscribe link, usually at the bottom. Scroll down to find it, click the link and select ‘unsubscribe’. That will permanently remove your email address from our ebooks mailing list.

Comments

Mayken says

January 21, 2026 at 12:32 pm

Hi Daniel!
I hope the half-price fish is still good, 3 weeks into the new year, and still half-priced.
I hate A.I. and won’t ask it to summarize anything any time soon. Here’s my H.I (human intelligence) summary:
“Daniel buys half-priced fish an successfully deletes a website from Google Analytics with no help whatsoever from A.I., while reminding readers of A.I.’s unhelpfulness in learning Italian.
There’s a promotion at Easy Readers anx s recommendation to listen to Easy Italian News.”
Have a good week and say hi to Stefi who’s been very helpful in the last days as I’ve been planning my week in Bologna (yes, I’m finally coming to study Italian at your school!).
- Daniel says
  
  January 21, 2026 at 1:15 pm
  
  Stefi’s always helpful, Mayken. It’s the secret of my success (marrying the right woman.) I’ll tell her you said “ciao”.
  Thanks for the summary, by the way!
Virginia Fleet says

January 21, 2026 at 2:49 pm

Darn. The Checklist article definitely caught my interest and I left it in my inbox to read later but never got back to it. Now I will!
Glenda says

January 21, 2026 at 5:56 pm

Hello Daniel
Just to say that I do read your articles and look forward to them every week. I almost sent a message a few months back when you went very quiet and didn’t publish anything for a few weeks…. but thought you might be having health issues and didn’t want to pry.
I was so happy when you started publishing again.
Since I’m finally writing to you, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you for the materials you supply, and the advice that you give. About 18 months ago I finally decided to kick the DuoLingo habit….. it was indeed an addiction! I’d done the Italian course twice…. once from English and the second time from French, my second language…… I’ve been living in France for 35 years. I knew lots of vocabulary, some basic grammar, but of course, still couldn’t speak. I finally took up the offer of a free lesson with a native Italian speaker. I blew it! Although I understood what was being said, I was so stressed that I replied to everything in French! Still, as a Christmas present to myself, in December 2025 I bought a pack of 10 lessons and here I am, a year later, having renewed every time you have a 20% off sale, still talking to the same lovely lady. I’m less stressed, not always coherent and make lots of mistakes, but I’m no longer afraid to speak and looking forward to my next trip to Italy.
I enjoy hearing the updates on Bug and I like your sense of humour…… and even the rants make me smile.
Keep up the good work. I am sure I’m not the only one that appreciates your endeavours, but has been too timid to contact you.
Signed
A very happy customer.
PS I always Read Easy Italian News, listening first and then reading. Well done to the children too.
- Daniel says
  
  January 21, 2026 at 8:30 pm
  
  Great to hear that the lessons worked out in the end, Glenda. Being ‘blocked’ at first, or only being able to speak the ‘wrong’ language, is totally normal. But as you experienced, it passes quickly if you stick at it. I’m glad you did!
  
  I haven’t been ill for the last few years, and try to publish each Wednesday, except when there’s a big promotion going on, in which case it’s more often but nothing original. If you’re expecting a Wednesday article but don’t get one, feel free to write and ask why – could be something technical that’s affecting others too but that I don’t know about. It’s always good to check.
  
  Also, the club website has a ‘Recent articles’ page (it’s in the Menu) where you can see what’s been published recently, and so check if you’ve missed anything.
Marjorie says

January 21, 2026 at 6:42 pm

I haven’t used AI … but it keeps popping up and I don’t know what to do with it !!! I liked seeing the list of your favourite easy-reader books. They really are very good. As well as listening, I like to print them off and read them on the bus too. Some of my favourites over the years include: Caravaggio nei vicoli di Roma (B2), Le italiane (B2), Galileo, Pisa e la luna (B1/B2). le italiane (B2)…And I have just bought 2 Giugno 1946!. Thanks Daniel !
- Daniel says
  
  January 21, 2026 at 8:25 pm
  
  Good publicity indeed, Marjorie, thank YOU!
Every Woman says

January 22, 2026 at 4:33 pm

This post has to be by far the funniest I’ve seen from him.
XD
Jan says

January 24, 2026 at 4:09 pm

Buondì

Hello Daniel,
I do read all of your emails and I look forward to reading them each week. I feel like I have a friend in Italy who writes to me. I love how you use examples to compare learning a language to what is happening in your life. Your wife who works in the language school, your grown son who reads the easy Italian news, (that I do try to listen to) or your extended family and you trying to learn Swedish. I especially like to hear about your adventures with Bug who I thought for the longest time was a grandchild until you wrote about taking him to the dog park! You make me laugh and one morning I was very sad and I opened your email and you had me laughing through my tears so yes Daniel, I love reading your emails and belonging to your Online Italian Club.
However, I am not even remotely at the point of speaking to a native speaker in Italian as I only know some Italian words in the Abruzo Dialect. I’ve only been to Italy once and I visited Florence, Rome and my cousins in the little mountain town of Penne in the province of Pescara. I had to have an interpreter to visit with them but now you make me want to visit Bologna.
Thank you for providing such an informative and detailed website for learning Italian and I will make an effort to use it more.
- Daniel says
  
  January 24, 2026 at 5:44 pm
  
  Thanks for taking the time to write, Jan. I appreciate it.
  
  I don’t have grandchildren as our three kids are only in their twenties and all so far swearing they’ll never reproduce. But the patter of little paws has been a regular thing a casa nostra since sometime in the second lock-down, about five years now.
  
  Bug’s exact species, and that of his predecessors Roomie, and the one I never wrote about, I’ve kept deliberately vague, so as to avoid a telling-off from social services.
  
  Though when pet-sitting is a problem or buses are delayed he can occasionally be seen at the school, sniffing at students’ legs and generally getting in the way. So it’s not exactly a secret.
  
  Hope that gives you some clues!
Sieglind says

January 25, 2026 at 7:51 am

Thanks for the telling off Daniel – I mean that, I certainly need it. Like Virginia I kept the article in my inbox so it would remind me of following up. I’ve let my Italian slip and need to check to see where to start my review. It’s just that something more important (or appealing) seems to grab my attention. In addition, I’ve come to dislike spending time in front of screens, probably because they have dominated my life for almost forty years……

PS: Remember the “silent majority” — there are no doubt many of us who feel like Jan.
- Daniel says
  
  January 25, 2026 at 9:01 am
  
  Ciao Sieglind!
  How nice to hear from you after all this time. Yes, I get it about a life-time of screens, so you’re excused.
  Be sure to let us know next time you’re in Bologna, as we owe you a meal.
  A presto!
  Daniel

Summarise this!

2026 January Sale: ‘easy reader’ ebook picks at your level!

A1

A1/2

A2

A2/B1

B1

B1/B2

B2

B2/C1

C1

C1/C2

C2

P.S.

No longer interested?

Contact us

Cookies and Privacy

Looking for something?