Buondì.
Still on the mailing list after Wednesday’s warning that we have our Spring Sale next week, that being accompanied by a splurge of marketing?
Sono contento.
Today I have nothing major to say, but a few bits and pieces of ‘vari ed eventuali ‘ (the Italian term for ‘Any other business’, as in the final item on an agenda for a meeting).
Google’s been nagging me for months to add a link to our Cookies and Privacy policy to the club website, which I thought I’d done, but they insisted not, so now I have, again.
In it you’ll find a link to Google’s own policy about how it uses cookies to make loads of cash. But why does Google have any interest in this, you may be wondering?
It’s because the really, really old .html exercises on the club website (find them here, where you see the word ‘exercise’) display ads from Google Adsense.
We put them up there years back, when paying the bills was still a struggle, and get maybe a hundred dollars a month from people clicking on Google’s ads when they get bored with conjugations or whatever.
But honestly, it’s more hassle than it’s worth, really.
The trouble is. the pages were manually coded (by me, back in the dark ages before content management systems were a thing). To remove the ad code from over three hundred individual pages would be a tedious job indeed, and one that never gets even close to the top of my list of priorities.
So there you go, one job off Friday’s ‘to do’ list already this morning. Hopefully, when Google wakes up, it’ll pat me on the head and tell me I’ve been a very good boy. Finally.
E poi, ebooks, and a confession.
Those who’ve been following attentively will know that we have a small animal sharing our bed. Well, a child really, but she might as well be an animal for all the rest we get these days.
Picture a rather hefty lion cub, all matted fur and claws, prone to biting anyone it’s angry with, but also to frequent nightmares, and you’ll have the general idea.
Anyway, since the animalina arrived, I’ve had a lot less time to work, which was expected, but am also making many more mistakes, typos and so on, which wasn’t.
But that’s the effect of sleep deprivation, it seems – stuff gets messed up, such as the latest two ebook ‘products’ in our online ebook store, which I set up one yawny Friday morning and didn’t notice that I’d messed up until Karen kindly wrote to tell me.
The problem?
We promise that buyers get 7 days to download their ebooks to a safe place, and three download attempts, after either of which the link will expire.
If you don’t manage that, I’ll help – just email the shop email address – but the idea is to encourage people who buy ebooks, presumably intending to use them to improve their Italian, to actually do so.
And the first step is to do the download (takes seconds) and SAVE A COPY IN A SAFE PLACE.
In every, single marketing message (see below) I explain how all this works, and yet virtually every day someone writes to me to say that they bought an ebook but forgot to download it / lost it / saved it on a computer that no longer works / dropped it in the W.C. or whatever their problem is.
Ci vuole pazienza, as Italians say, which I don’t possess in vast quantities, but I do my best to help nevertheless. Muttering curses, probably.
Anyway, that particular Friday morning, instead of specifying 3 downloads within 7 days, I typed 7 downloads in 3 days.
Oops. Good job I’m not in charge of a nuclear bomb, really.
But anyway, now you know, and I’ll try extra hard this week to be sweet to anyone who writes saying they didn’t manage the download in time, knowing that it’s probably my own fault.
The final ‘vari ed eventuali’ is also prompted by an email from a club member, this time Derek, who bought the second ebook in the new series (see below) which has to do with a sea crossing (see below) and wondered if I would be interested in reading an academic article on the topic, which he attached to his email.
Which I absolutely was, but no way would have had time for.
However, I thought some of you guys might be, especially, those who’ve bought and read, or are reading, the second ebook in the series.
I’m trying really hard not to give away the plot here, and if you have the ebook but haven’t opened it yet (or even downloaded it…), do forget I even mentioned this.
But if you’re up for some authentic, academic Italian and don’t mind a spoiler, here’s the link that Derek kindly sent on:
https://www.infezmed.it/media/journal/Vol_23_2_2015_16.pdf
Did I say that was the final item? Just thought of another, sorry.
Monday our Spring Sale begins, which means a 20% discount on ebooks and one-to-one lessons with a native speaker teacher, though only if you remember to use the coupon code.
And the coupon code is?
I’ll tell you that on Monday.
However, our teaching management team has already emailed it to our regular students, the idea being we get them sorted out with their usual teachers, or someone new if they prefer, before the horde beats down our virtual shop doors on Monday.
So if you are, or were, taking one-to-one lessons with us, fancy saving a fifth on your online learning, and prefer not to wait until April 4th, check your emails from yesterday.
The coupon code you should find there (if not, check your spam, too) is good in either of our online shops, EasyReaders.org (ebooks) and NativeSpeakerTeachers.com (one-to-one lessons).
A lunedì, allora.
Ebook Final Reminder
This week’s new B2-level ebook, Colpa della terra, Libro 2, La traversata, is discounted 25%, but only until Sunday!
It’s the second in a series of five, the first being: Colpa della terra, Libro 1, Colpa della terra.
Libro 2 opens in the chaos of Naple’s port in 1895, moments before the sailing of a ship crammed with emigrants from some of Italy’s most desperate villages. The narrator is Giuliano, the family’s disabled eldest child.
Arrivati al porto di Napoli, veniamo inghiottiti dalla folla. Stringo forte la mano di mia madre, i miei due fratelli più piccoli sono aggrappati alla sua gonna. Mio padre sta dietro di me e mi spinge avanti, proteggendo la mia gamba fragile dai colpi che dà la gente.
- .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 intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy Colpa della terra, Libro 2, La traversata, just £5.99 | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
And/or Colpa della terra, Libro 1, Colpa della terra | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Our pick something from our online Catalog (BUT REMEMBER – WE HAVE OUR SPRING SALE NEXT WEEK!)
How do I access my ebook?
When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after payment), 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.
P.S.
Thursday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news was a good one!
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OnlineItalianClub.com | EasyItalianNews.com | EasyReaders.org (ebooks) | NativeSpeakerTeachers.com (1-1 lessons)