(This is a modified, mish-mash of two articles published in March 2020, as I’m rather too busy with the Sale to write anything new. Things will be back to normal on Monday!)
Buondì.
It’s human nature to want what other people have, not in the tenth commandment sense of coveting your neighbours’ goods but, for example, as with fashion, which we’re very into here in Italy.
So possessing the most new-fangled, the perceived-to-be-the-best, the generally hottest, the most-enviable.
Think iPhones, back before the fall, or the colors and drive technologies of automobiles (it would really have to be electric these days), and indeed, online Italian lesson and ebook options.
Would you want to be the unfashionable or foolish person who missed out on this season’s best deal? Of course not.
But how to know what that might be, given that learning Italian is the sort of minor niche that the Kardashians have yet to venture into?
Without a social-media influencer, day-time TV personality, or glossy magazine to point out the right direction, where should one begin?
Well with a bestseller list, of course! There’s wisdom in crowds, after all.
Today then, for your edification and guidance, I present the EasyReaders.Org 2021 Spring Sale Bestseller List, from which you will be able to identify AT A GLANCE which particular products or services are being snatched off the metaphorical shelves like coronavirus-era toilet paper, and thus ensure you won’t miss out on grabbing some for yourself.
EasyReaders.Org 2021 Spring Sale Bestsellers!
(data from our online shop, from Thursday March 18th 2021 until today, sales ordered by no. of purchases, excluding free downloads)
- Online Italian lessons: 10 x 30-minute lessons
- Online Italian lessons: 20 x 30-minute lessons
- Online Italian lessons: 30 x 30-minute lessons
- Online Italian lessons: 5 x 30-minute lessons
- Italian Workout! B2
- Italian Workout! A2
- Italian Workout! A1
- La Via Francigena
- La commediante
- Italian Easy Readers ‘Three For Two’ – Level A2/B1
Lots of one-to-one online Italian lessons, as usual, followed by three levels of our self-study workbook, two advanced level ‘easy readers’, and one 3×2 ‘easy readers’ bundle, which is accounted for by a U3A class in Australia that’s decided to read those three titles over the coming weeks.
It’s very honest of the teacher, and the students, to actually buy the ebooks individually, rather than just getting one copy and sharing it around… I appreciate it, thank you!
Interested in ‘easy reader’ ebooks (simplified stories with accompanying audio), but don’t know where to begin? Then scroll down to today’s P.S. for a copy/paste of my recommendations from twelve months ago.
Così.
The Spring Sale ‘Save 20%’ promotion ends on Sunday night. Stock up now, and you’ll be good until the next similar offer, which is scheduled for the beginning of July. Or wait a day or so, why not? But don’t then blame me if the shelves of our online shop are barer than Old Mother Hubbard‘s lockdown hoard.
2021 Spring Sale: Save 20%!
Save 20% on everything in our online shop these final days of the 2021 Spring Sale!
- Coupon code Spring-Sale-2021 gets you 20% off everything – remember to copy and paste it into your cart, though
- The ‘Spring Sale’ ends at midnight on Sunday 28th March 2021. The next similar offer won’t be until July. Stock up on lesson credits and ebooks while you can!
- There’s no minimum spend – use the coupon as often as you wish until Sunday night
- The Spring-Sale-2021 coupon code will also work on items that are already discounted, such as ebook bulk buys or packs of online Italian lessons
- Pay with your credit card, via Amazon or Paypal, or even bank transfer (not a good idea unless you have a UK bank account) payment options
Find materials for your level in our online catalog!
P.S.
Here’s the promised list of ebook recommendations, along with the introductory text, copied from last year, when I originally published it (and yes, I know it’s not Wednesday today, so please don’t write to tell me.)
+++
“… for in my windowless, wind-battered garage this morning, I have crafted a list of ebooks that could engage and divert you for the whole of today, and indeed for many days to come.
A note about methodology: I started at the top of the catalog page in our online shop and worked my way down the list of ‘easy reader’ ebooks, attempting to choose just two at each level. The selection criteria were simply that I remember personally ENJOYING THE STORY.
Anything tinged with boring, or not sparking joy, as Marie would say, failed to make it onto today’s list.
And a further qualification: while all these ebooks are for sale in the aforementioned online shop, you don’t have to actually buy anything in order to pass this Wednesday in a useful and educational fashion.
I’ve included a link to the FREE sample chapter for each ebook, and in the FREE sample chapter (.pdf), you will find a link to the FREE ONLINE AUDIO, which comprises not just the audio track for the sample chapter but for the entire story!
Which means?
Which means that if you are, say, an intermediate or advanced student of Italian, you could begin at the very lowest level (A1), download the FREE sample chapter, read and listen to Chapter 1, and then continue listening to the other seven chapters (as often as you like), without spending a cent!
I was going to say ‘without spending a penny‘ as our shop prices in British pounds, but probably you will need to do that at some point. I’m thinking of getting a bucket in my home office, so as not to risk infection by venturing out amongst family members.
Anyway, once you finish the first story, move on to the second. You have two per level to listen to. Then up half a level and repeat. E via! That’s the rest of your lockdown sorted!
Ready to blow away those Wednesday blues??
Hit me with the ebooks, daddy!
A1
Can’t cook? Neither can grandmother Rosa. But her health-conscious daughter has begged her to pick up the kids from school and feed them lunch – no unhealthy takeaways mind! Free sample chapter (.pdf)
An elderly couple run the village’s only hairdresser’s. He does the men, she does the women. When it comes to the invevitable gossip, of course there’s a Chinese wall between the two of them. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A1/2
Hate your noisy neighbour? Imagine being stuck in a lift with them. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
Ever had your purse or wallet stolen and hoped in vain that someone would return it to you? Never happens. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A2
A charming story of a nobody who takes a crazy risk to please his child. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A group of childhood friends reunite to hike in the mountains, but the weather takes a turn for the worse. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A2/B1
The day that women in Italy first got to vote, and the nation decided whether or not to keep its monarchy (spoiler: it didn’t.) Free sample chapter (.pdf)
My wife wrote this one. The only thing she’s every written, as far as I’m aware, which is a shame as it’s a proper job (as the Cornish say.) A love story, of course, and the ‘struggling artist’ carrying his canvas in the cover photo is me. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
B1
Grandad has an old-fashioned tip for his lovelorn student grandson. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
An American student goes to stay with her black-sheep Italian uncle. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
B1/2
A small-town family restaurant has just one chance to make the big time! Free sample chapter (.pdf)
Rome. It’s very, very hot today. And our failing private detective is about to take his cat to the vet when he gets an unexpected phone call. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
B2
On a planet far away, a nerdy I.T. guy with an eye for detail ends up in big trouble. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
Valeria, Michele e le maschere
Can you really find love on the Internet? Valeria and Michele decide to find out. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
B2/C1
Prometeo e la guerra dei titani
Remember high school? Brutal, wasn’t it? And that was WITHOUT the ancient Greek… Free sample chapter (.pdf)
A second-world-war mystery comes to light due to some careless Italian driving. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
C1
Like ‘Pretty Woman’, but set in Italy, centuries back. There’s no Richard Gere or Julia Robers and the story is much less patriarchical. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
C1/2
Anselmo e l’omicidio di Giovanni Borgia
The first in a trilogy featuring our medieval investigator, Anselmo. I had my doubts, I admit, but enjoyed all three (the final one is the best…) Free sample chapter (.pdf)
Obviously it’s much more fashionable these days to lock child refugees in cages or confine them behind barbed wire or on islands. But back in the day, people actually cared about the welfare of vulnerable young people. Here’s the story of one of them. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
C2
Italian teacher Roberto’s narrative of his adventures on the famous pilgrim route. Free sample chapter (.pdf)
La carriera – dietro le quinte del Palio di Siena
Skullduggery with horses. This is probably the hardest text we have, and damn good, too. Free sample chapter (.pdf)”