On January 10th we announced that our 2025 January Sale had begun. You’ll find full details about how to save 25% on your learning materials in the P.S. at the end of this article (scroll right down!)

So today, as part of this 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!

Not learning Italian? Then follow these links to browse our selection of graded material for the language you’re learning: Italian | Spanish | French | German

OK, so 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 most of 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’s the enemy! So a writer who 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 2025 January Sale is on! To get 25% off everything in your shopping cart, copy/paste the coupon code, which is:

2025-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 make your own selections: Spanish | French | German )

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!

B2/C1

Prometeo e la guerra dei titani (B2/C1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi)
Il bar (B2/C1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi)

C1

La commediante (C1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi)
I racconti della vestale (C1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi)

C1/C2

Anselmo e l’omicidio di Giovanni Borgia (C1/2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Il vulcano (C1/2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

C2

La Via Francigena (C2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
La carriera – dietro le quinte del Palio di Siena (C2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)

Bene. Hope you found lots that will keep you reading in and listening to Italian in 2025!

The prices marked above are the usual, year-round prices, but with the 2025 January Sale promotion (details below) everything in our online store, EasyReaders.org, is 25% cheaper!

To get your discount, just copy and paste coupon code 2025-January-Sale-25%-Off into your shopping cart, then scroll down to check the cart total has been reduced by 25%.

P.S. Don’t forget the 2025 January Sale!

Don’t forget the 2025 January Sale is running this month!

Save a quarter on graded material for learning Italian, Spanish, French or German.

Everything in our online store, EasyReaders.org, is 25% cheaper until midnight on Sunday 2nd February 2025.

But only if you remember to use this coupon code:

2025-January-Sale-25%-Off

Browse Italian ebooks by level: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

Ebooks for students of French, Spanish and German can be found in our Catalog, where everything is organised by language, type, and level. Scroll down past Italian, or follow these direct links:

French | Spanish | German

Make your selection from our range of ebooks, which have been especially written to keep you interested and making progress.

Apply coupon code 2025-January-Sale-25%-Off in your shopping cart to reduce the cart total by 25%!

Stock up on online easy readers, parallel texts and grammar workbooks – at an unbeatable price!

EasyReaders.org

Here’s that coupon code again:

2025-January-Sale-25%-Off

Don’t forget to use it when you order to save 25% on the price of everything in your cart!

Italian | French | Spanish | German

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.

Everyone learning a foreign language is familiar with the concept of ‘level’.

Some materials are just too hard for where you’re currently at, others might seem just right, whereas the texts you worked on months ago will now, hopefully, feel easy.

We all know that it can be difficult (impossible!) to understand films and so on in the languages we’re learning, or to read an authentic article, say from a newspaper, which is written for educated native-speaker readers.

And yet, clearly, listening to the language as it is really used, and reading articles written in it, are important long-term goals, even if they seem unachievable for the moment.

Plus, it seems likely that the more we read and listen, the more meaningful our studies will be, the more new words we’ll pick up, and the more we’ll feel familiar with the grammar and structures of the languages we’re learning.

Reading and listening to the language you’re studying are unarguably good ways to speed your progress, and in any case, training yourself to listen and to read effectively in the new language is obviously going to be necessary at some point.

But authentic materials are HARD! Often too hard.

The solution to this quandry?

‘Graded’ texts, that is to say materials written by language teachers for learners like you, and designated as suitable for those who have reached or are above a particular level.

The CEFR level system uses six level bands, which are (from easiest to hardest): A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.

Assume that students at the C levels should be reading and listening to authentic (real-life) texts and audio without too much difficulty. The graded materials at those levels, then, will approximate texts written for native-speakers.

People at the intermediate stage (the B levels) are not yet ready for ‘real’ or ‘nearly real’ listening and reading, but still need to build their skills in anticipation. So the graded materials will be an in-between step, aimed at challenging students to develop their skills further.

The easiest materials (at A1 and A2 levels) are designed to be unintimidating, which means short chapters and simple or simpler grammar and vocabulary. Their purpose is to encourage learners to get into the HABIT of reading and listening to the language they’re learning as early on in the process as possible.

The more reading & listening you do early on, the easier everything that follows will be. You’ll already be used to, for example, guessing meaning from context in a text, or getting the gist of the spoken language even when you can’t pick out every word.

Graded materials are useful at every language-learning level, but their real power can be seen when they are incorporated as an integral part of our studies right from Day 1 with a new language.

The difference between a learner who regularly reads and listens to graded materials, and one who never or rarely spends time on anything other than grammar and vocabulary exercises, is plain to see, if for no other reason than that a student who has no fear of reading and listening (because she is using materials that have been specifically written for her level, remember) comes across as being more confident and more autonomous.

How to find graded materials for your level? Our Catalog page lists materials by type and in level order, which should help.

But importantly, there’s always a free sample chapter, which you should absolutely look at before deciding to buy a particular title.

Have a look at the first few lines, the first paragraph, the first page, even the whole of the first chapter. Can you manage to figure out what’s going on in the story without too much effort, without constantly reaching for the dictionary?

If not, step down a level, try another free sample chapter, keep looking until you find something that you’re comfortable with. Don’t forget to check out the free online audio, if there is one. Usually the link is at the top of the first chapter…

Then, if the story grabs you, go ahead and buy a copy! Read a chapter a day, perhaps. There are usually eight short chapters, so in not much more than a week, you’ll be done.

At which point, you could check out other titles at the same level, or look at free sample chapters for the next level (or half-level) up, to see if you’re ready for something a little more challenging.

Aim to establish a reading/listening HABIT. Move up to the next level only when you’re comfortable, no need to rush,

Gradually, month by month, your reading/listening skills will improve, as will your knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of the language you’re learning.

With graded materials, such as ‘easy readers’ and ‘parallel texts’, you’ll master the language you’re studying step-by-step, almost without realising it!

P.S.

Don’t forget the 2025 January Sale is running this month!

Save a quarter on graded material for learning Italian, Spanish, French or German.

Everything in our online store, EasyReaders.org, is 25% cheaper until midnight on Sunday 2nd February 2025.

But only if you remember to use this coupon code:

2025-January-Sale-25%-Off

Browse Italian ebooks by level: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

Ebooks for students of French, Spanish and German can be found in our Catalog, where everything is organised by language, type, and level. Scroll down past Italian, or follow these direct links:

French | Spanish | German

Make your selection from our range of ebooks, which have been especially written to keep you interested and making progress.

Apply coupon code 2025-January-Sale-25%-Off in your shopping cart to reduce the cart total by 25%!

Stock up on online easy readers, parallel texts and grammar workbooks – at an unbeatable price!

EasyReaders.org

Here’s that coupon code again:

2025-January-Sale-25%-Off

Don’t forget to use it when you order to save 25% on the price of everything in your cart!

Italian | French | Spanish | German

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.

The EasyReaders.org 2025 January Sale has begun!

Which means that students of Italian, Spanish, French or German can save 25% on ebooks to supplement or guide their language learning.

Everything in our ebooks store, EasyReaders.org, will be 25% cheaper if you remember to use coupon code:

2025-January-Sale-25%-Off

Check out, for instance, the Italian easy readers, parallel texts, and self-study workbooks.

Or browse Italian ebooks by level: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

Ebooks for students of French, Spanish and German can be found in our Catalog, where everything is organised by language, type, and level. Scroll down past Italian, or follow these direct links:

French | Spanish | German

Add 4 ‘easy reader’ or ‘parallel text’ ebooks into your shopping cart (reading and listening practice is essential), enter the 25% coupon code, and it’ll be as if you pay for just three of them!

Use the following coupon code to save 25% on your orders, for as long as the promotion lasts, with no minimum or maximum spend:

2025-January-Sale-25%-Off

First make your selection from our range of ebooks, which have been especially written to keep you interested and so making progress.

Then go to your shopping cart and apply coupon code 2025-January-Sale-25%-Off to reduce the cart total by 25%.

Scroll down to verify that the cart total has been reduced by 25% BEFORE proceeding with your payment…

The coupon code is good until midnight on February 2nd 2025.

You can use it as often as you wish until then, with no minimum or maximum spend.

Restrictions? Small print?

Coupon code 2025-January-Sale-25%-Off can’t be used together with any other coupon code you may already have.

Besides that, no.

The next sale won’t be until the spring, so a long way off!

Do find some time to stock up on the easy readers, parallel texts and grammar workbooks you’ll need to improve the language you’re learning in 2025 – now at an unbeatable price!

Browse the Catalog.

Or go directly to the language or languages that interest you:

Italian | French | Spanish | German

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.

A quick reminder about the NativeSpeakerTeachers.com 2025 January Sale, which will end at midnight on January 6th 2025.

Save 20% on one-to-one Italian/French/Spanish/German Lessons with a native speaker teacher of the language you’re learning by using this coupon code:

2025-January-Sale-20%-Off

Ten thirty-minute online lessons with a native speaker teacher would normally cost you £200 (just £20 a lesson).

But with coupon code 2025-January-Sale-20%-Off you’ll pay just £160! (£16.00 a lesson), which is like getting two free lessons!

So how exactly do you save 20% on your online lessons or practice with a native speaker of the language you’re learning??

Start by making your selection at NativeSpeakerTeachers.com. There are one/five/ten/twenty/thirty-lesson options, with increasing discounts. Use the ‘Add to cart’ button.

Next, go to your shopping cart and paste in coupon code 2025-January-Sale-20%-Off (where it says ‘Apply coupon’), which will reduce the cart total by 20%.

Press the ‘Apply coupon’ button and scroll down to check that the CART TOTAL (not the individual item price) really is discounted by 20%.

Remember: coupon code 2025-January-Sale-20%-Off expires at midnight on January 6th 2025.

Stock up today on the online lesson credits that you’ll need to make progress with your chosen foreign language!

Here’s that coupon code once more:

2025-January-Sale-20%-Off

Use it here: NativeSpeakerTeachers.com

No longer interested?

All bulk emails we send (including this one) contain an unsubscribe link 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.

This week our sister website NativeSpeakerTeachers.com is having its 2025 January Sale, which means that one-to-one Italian/French/Spanish/German Lessons can be had a fifth cheaper than usual.

Use regular online meetings with a native speaker teacher of the language you’re learning to give structure to your self-study, and for that essential practice speaking and interacting!

Save 20% on one-to-one Italian/French/Spanish/German Lessons with a native speaker teacher of the language you’re learning by using this coupon code:

2025-January-Sale-20%-Off

Ten thirty-minute online lessons with a native speaker teacher would normally cost you £200 (just £20 a lesson).

But with coupon code 2025-January-Sale-20%-Off you’ll pay just £160! (£16.00 a lesson), which is like getting two free lessons!

So how exactly do you save 20% on your online lessons or practice with a native speaker of the language you’re learning??

Start by making your selection at NativeSpeakerTeachers.com. There are one/five/ten/twenty/thirty-lesson options, with increasing discounts. Use the ‘Add to cart’ button.

Next, go to your shopping cart and paste in coupon code 2025-January-Sale-20%-Off (where it says ‘Apply coupon’), which will reduce the cart total by 20%.

Press the ‘Apply coupon’ button and scroll down to check that the CART TOTAL (not the individual item price) really is discounted by 20%.

This promotion ends, and coupon code 2025-January-Sale-20%-Off expires, at midnight on January 6th 2025, so stock up today on the online lesson credits that you’ll need to make progress with your chosen foreign language!

Here’s that coupon code once more:

2025-January-Sale-20%-Off

Use it here: NativeSpeakerTeachers.com

No longer interested?

All bulk emails we send (including this one) contain an unsubscribe link 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.

Learning Italian/French/Spanish/German?

Our sister website NativeSpeakerTeachers.com will shortly be having its 2025 January Sale, which means that one-to-one, online Italian/French/Spanish/German Lessons can be had a fifth cheaper than usual.

Use regular online meetings with a native speaker teacher of the language you’re learning to give structure to your self-study, and for that essential practice speaking and interacting!

The NativeSpeakerTeachers.com 2025 January Sale begins on Friday 27th December 2024. Anyone on their mailing list will be sent the 20% coupon code on that day.

Next Monday, so 30th December, we’ll send their coupon code and information about how to use it to the EasyReaders.org mailing list, so ‘our’ students of Italian, Spanish, French and German can also save 20% on lesson credits purchased from NativeSpeakerTeachers.com.

Watch out for the email with the coupon code on Monday 30th December!

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.

Here’s a quick reminder about the 20% discount promotion on 2025 Italian courses at our school in Bologna, and about the seasonal Italian ‘easy reader’ ebooks currently selling for half the usual price (scroll on down for those…)

Details of the school’s promotion are here: 2025 Italian Course Offer: Save 20% From Today!

But you might also want to take a look at these articles on the school website:

• 2025 Italian Course Offer: Why learn Italian?
• 2025 Italian Course Offer: Why Study Italian in Bologna?
• 2025 Italian Course Offer: Why Study Italian at Madrelingua?

That promotion ends at midnight on Christmas day. If the prospect of actually studying Italian in Italy appeals, Save 20% before then!

For anyone who won’t be able to make it to Bologna in 2025, or who just prefers to practice speaking Italian from the comfort of their home or office, just a day or two later our sister site NativeSpeakerTeachers.com will be running its New Year promotion. From Friday Dec. 27th, watch out for the coupon code which will save you 20% on one-to-one online lessons.

Three Half-Price Seasonal Italian Easy Reader Ebooks!

Read/listen to one or all of these three half-price seasonally-themed Italian ‘easy reader’ ebooks over the next week or two and you’ll improve your Italian comprehension skills, consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, and get into the festive mood!

Matteo’s supposed to be writing a book – he has a deadline coming up – but he’s suffering terribly from writers’ block. All he can do is stare at a blank computer screen. He’s recently out of a relationship, which hasn’t helped…

Worse, it’s December and Christmas is coming! Normally Matteo spends the festive season with his family, but this year they’re visiting relatives in Australia. So it looks as if he’ll be celebrating alone.

Then he has an idea. He’ll call his best friend Filippo, who’ll surely be able to help! Perhaps they can spend Christmas at Filippo’s place in the mountains, or take a trip somewhere…

• .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)

Remember, until the end of the holiday period Natale a sorpresa is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy Natale a sorpresa just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

“Sbrigati Alida, o arriveremo in ritardo alla festa di Capodanno!” ripete nervosamente Martina alla sua compagna di stanza. Alida sta sdraiata sul letto con un libro di Agatha Christie fra le mani. Si toglie pigramente gli occhiali da lettura e guarda fuori dalla finestra: “Nevica ancora, che incubo!”

It’s New Year 1970 and Martina’s all dressed up for the party, determined to enjoy it! But her roommate, Alida is more cynical:

“Ascolta: siamo bloccati dalla neve in un collegio in cui viviamo tutto l’anno. Dei duecento alunni che frequentano la scuola, solo sette (sette, porca miseria!) hanno dei genitori che non li vogliono tra i piedi nemmeno durante le feste. E noi siamo tra questi sette. Quindi puoi anche vestirti come Marilyn Monroe… ma rimani una disgraziata!”

Alida would rather read detective thrillers than pretend to have fun with just six fellow students. But who knows? Perhaps something interesting will happen?

• .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)

Remember, until the end of the holiday period ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

Laura finds weekdays a bore but loves public holidays! And Italy has plenty to enjoy, each with its own traditions.

Read how she and her husband like to spend each ‘giorno festivo’, from Epiphany on January 6th, through the spring, summer, fall and winter months, to the climax of the Christmas holidays, New Year, and then, to begin all over again!

• .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
• 14 chapters to read and listen to
• 14 exercises to check your understanding
• Italian/English glossaries of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
• Suitable for students at elementary level and above
• Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)

Remember, until the end of the holiday period ‘Il calendario di Laura‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘Il calendario di Laura‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

Find more ebooks, organised by level, then type: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

How do I access my ebook?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your 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, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

P.P.S.

And here’s the usual reminder to read/listen to Saturday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news.

The regular text + audio bulletins are a fantastic, FREE way to consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, as well as being fun and motivating!

Take a look at their website to get started on improving your Italian immediately!

To get all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news emailed to you each week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, subscribe (also FREE) by entering your email address on this page then clicking the confirmation link that will be sent to you.

Since the end of November we’ve been promoting a selection of seasonal Italian ‘easy reader’ ebooks, first ‘Natale a sorpresa‘ (about Christmas), then ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ (New Year), and finally the A2/B1 (pre-intermediate/intermediate) -level ‘Il calendario di Laura‘ (a whole year’s worth of Italian public holidays!)

They’re all still half-price, if you missed them, and will remain so until the end of the holiday period. See the P.S. below for more details and links.

But first, here are some important dates for your diaries…

TOMORROW our Italian school in Bologna begins its annual promotion, which means a saving of 20% on group Italian courses of any length, from a week to a year, beginning in 2025.

If you’ve considered studying Italian in Italy, this might be worth a look see. The offer hasn’t begun yet, but details will be sent to everyone on the school’s mailing list tomorrow morning. To get on the school’s mailing list, and so make sure you don’t miss out, complete the form at the top of the school website’s homepage (where they offer a 15% voucher) and click the ‘please confirm’ link which will be automatically sent to you.

Find out more here: Madrelingua’s 2025 Italian Course Offer is coming soon!

That promotion ends at midnight on Christmas day, and just a day or two later our sister site NativeSpeakerTeachers.com will be running its New Year promotion, which means a coupon code to save 20% on one-to-one online lessons, which should be perfect for anyone who won’t be able to make it to Bologna in 2025, or who just prefers to practice speaking Italian from the comfort of their home or office.

Details of that promotion aren’t live yet, but again, to make sure you hear about it when they are, get on their mailing list. There’s a form on their Discounts and Promotions page.

Both of those mailing lists, and this one of course, are easy to unsubscribe from, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t sign up to hear about the discounts then unsubscribe if you decide they’re not what you need.

E così. The Madrelingua Italian School promotion runs from Dec. 18th to Dec. 25th and will get you 20% off all group Italian courses at their school in Bologna. The NativeSpeakerTeachers.com promotion is a coupon code to save the same percentage on one-to-one online lessons. It begins on Dec. 27th and ends on January 6th.

And now back to the ebooks…

P.S. Three Half-Price Seasonal Italian Easy Reader Ebooks!

Read/listen to one or all of these three half-price seasonally-themed Italian ‘easy reader’ ebooks over the next week or two and you’ll improve your Italian comprehension skills, consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, and get into the festive mood!

Matteo’s supposed to be writing a book – he has a deadline coming up – but he’s suffering terribly from writers’ block. All he can do is stare at a blank computer screen. He’s recently out of a relationship, which hasn’t helped…

Worse, it’s December and Christmas is coming! Normally Matteo spends the festive season with his family, but this year they’re visiting relatives in Australia. So it looks as if he’ll be celebrating alone.

Then he has an idea. He’ll call his best friend Filippo, who’ll surely be able to help! Perhaps they can spend Christmas at Filippo’s place in the mountains, or take a trip somewhere…

• .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)

Remember, until the end of the holiday period Natale a sorpresa is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy Natale a sorpresa just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

“Sbrigati Alida, o arriveremo in ritardo alla festa di Capodanno!” ripete nervosamente Martina alla sua compagna di stanza. Alida sta sdraiata sul letto con un libro di Agatha Christie fra le mani. Si toglie pigramente gli occhiali da lettura e guarda fuori dalla finestra: “Nevica ancora, che incubo!”

It’s New Year 1970 and Martina’s all dressed up for the party, determined to enjoy it! But her roommate, Alida is more cynical:

“Ascolta: siamo bloccati dalla neve in un collegio in cui viviamo tutto l’anno. Dei duecento alunni che frequentano la scuola, solo sette (sette, porca miseria!) hanno dei genitori che non li vogliono tra i piedi nemmeno durante le feste. E noi siamo tra questi sette. Quindi puoi anche vestirti come Marilyn Monroe… ma rimani una disgraziata!”

Alida would rather read detective thrillers than pretend to have fun with just six fellow students. But who knows? Perhaps something interesting will happen?

• .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)

Remember, until the end of the holiday period ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

Laura finds weekdays a bore but loves public holidays! And Italy has plenty to enjoy, each with its own traditions.

Read how she and her husband like to spend each ‘giorno festivo’, from Epiphany on January 6th, through the spring, summer, fall and winter months, to the climax of the Christmas holidays, New Year, and then, to begin all over again!

• .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
• 14 chapters to read and listen to
• 14 exercises to check your understanding
• Italian/English glossaries of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
• Suitable for students at elementary level and above
• Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)

Remember, until the end of the holiday period ‘Il calendario di Laura‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘Il calendario di Laura‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

Find more ebooks, organised by level, then type: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

How do I access my ebook?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your 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, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

P.P.S.

And here’s the usual reminder to read/listen to Tuesday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news.

The regular text + audio bulletins are a fantastic, FREE way to consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, as well as being fun and motivating!

Take a look at their website to get started on improving your Italian immediately!

To get all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news emailed to you each week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, subscribe (also FREE) by entering your email address on this page then clicking the confirmation link that will be sent to you.

The last couple of weeks we’ve been promoting a selection of seasonal Italian ‘easy reader’ ebooks, first ‘Natale a sorpresa‘ (about Christmas), then ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ (New Year). They’re both still half-price, if you missed them. See the P.S. below for more details and links.

But attenzione! ‘Natale a sorpresa‘ and ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ are both for upper-intermediate or advanced students, so might be too much of a challenge for many of our readers.

To remedy that, this week’s (final) seasonal ‘easy reader’ ebook choice is the A2/B1 (pre-intermediate/intermediate) -level ‘Il calendario di Laura‘.

Laura finds weekdays a bore but loves public holidays! And Italy has plenty to enjoy, each with its own traditions.

Read how she and her husband like to spend each ‘giorno festivo’, from Epiphany on January 6th, through the spring, summer, fall and winter months, to the climax of the Christmas holidays, New Year, and then, to begin all over again!

• .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
• 14 chapters to read and listen to
• 14 exercises to check your understanding
• Italian/English glossaries of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
• Suitable for students at elementary level and above
• Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)

Remember, this week ‘Il calendario di Laura‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘Il calendario di Laura‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

Find more ebooks, organised by level, then type: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

How do I access my ebook?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your 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, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

P.S. Two More Half-Price Italian Easy Readers!

Two weeks ago our ‘Half-Price Ebook of the Week’ was the very seasonal B2 (upper-intermediate)-level ‘Natale a sorpresa‘.

Because we’re still feeling Christmassy, we’ve left it at half-price until the holidays, to give you a chance to grab your copy at a discount: ‘Natale a sorpresa‘.

Ditto with last week’s seasonal Italian ‘easy reader’, the B2/C1-level ‘easy reader’, ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘, a New-Year murder mystery, perfect for improving your Italian reading/listening skills over the holidays.

N.b. Both of those are for more advanced/confident learners of Italian. If that sounds like you, check out the free sample chapters (don’t forget to try the online audio, too – the link is in the free sample):

• https://easyreaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Natale-a-sorpresa-SAMPLE.pdf
• https://easyreaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Giallo-a-Capodanno-SAMPLE.pdf

Read/listen to one or both of these over the next week or two and you’ll improve your Italian comprehension skills, consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, and get into the festive mood.

Get them while they’re still half-price!

Natale a sorpresa | Giallo a Capodanno

P.P.S.

And here’s the usual reminder to read/listen to today’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news.

The regular text + audio bulletins are a fantastic, FREE way to consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, as well as being fun and motivating!

Take a look at their website to get started on improving your Italian immediately!

And/or to get all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news emailed to you each week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, subscribe (also FREE) by entering your email address on this page then clicking the confirmation link that will be sent to you.

Last week’s very seasonal, half-price, ‘easy reader’ eBook, the B2 (upper-intermediate)-level ‘Natale a sorpresa‘, was promoted very late  in the week – on Thursday – so could have ended up in many people’s ‘trash’ folder, along with all the ‘Black Friday’ offers…

So – and because the story is about Christmas – we’re leaving it at half-price until the holidays, to give you a chance to grab your copy at a discount: ‘Natale a sorpresa‘.

And this week? We have another seasonal Italian eBook for you!

Half-price, B2/C1-level ‘easy reader’, ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ is perfect for improving your Italian reading/listening skills over the holidays (though it’s a little harder than ‘Natale a sorpresa‘ so check the free sample chapters for each before you buy:

• https://easyreaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Natale-a-sorpresa-SAMPLE.pdf
• https://easyreaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Giallo-a-Capodanno-SAMPLE.pdf

Read/listen to one or both of these over the next week or two and you’ll improve your Italian comprehension skills, consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, and get into the festive mood – at half the usual price!

“Sbrigati Alida, o arriveremo in ritardo alla festa di Capodanno!” ripete nervosamente Martina alla sua compagna di stanza. Alida sta sdraiata sul letto con un libro di Agatha Christie fra le mani. Si toglie pigramente gli occhiali da lettura e guarda fuori dalla finestra: “Nevica ancora, che incubo!”

It’s New Year 1970 and Martina’s all dressed up for the party, determined to enjoy it! But her roommate, Alida is more cynical:

“Ascolta: siamo bloccati dalla neve in un collegio in cui viviamo tutto l’anno. Dei duecento alunni che frequentano la scuola, solo sette (sette, porca miseria!) hanno dei genitori che non li vogliono tra i piedi nemmeno durante le feste. E noi siamo tra questi sette. Quindi puoi anche vestirti come Marilyn Monroe… ma rimani una disgraziata!”

Alida would rather read detective thrillers than pretend to have fun with just six fellow students. But who knows? Perhaps something interesting will happen?

• .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)

Remember, this week ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘Giallo a Capodanno‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

Find more ebooks, organised by level, then type: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

How do I access my ebook?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your 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, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

P.S.

Don’t forget to read/listen to today’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news.

The regular text + audio bulletins are a fantastic, FREE way to consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, as well as being fun and motivating!

Take a look at their website to get started on improving your Italian immediately!

And/or get all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news emailed to you each week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, subscribe (they really are FREE) by entering your email address on this page and clicking the confirmation link that will be sent to you.