Tutorial Transcript

Good morning everyone. Today we're talking about books; more specifically, I will recommend some collections of short stories in Italian. And I'm very happy to make this video because as you know I love reading books. But most of all I'm very happy when I manage to find books that I can also recommend to you guys. Before delving into the magical world of books, I need to make myself a coffee because I feel terribly sleepy. So now I'll make myself a coffee, but not just any coffee. Let's make together a Lecce coffee. Have you ever heard of a Lecce coffee (caffe' leccese) ? It's a cold coffee with almond milk, which is very very popular in Salento in the Apulia region. Firstly, we need some coffee. ha ha So, I read that In theory the traditional Lecce coffee made at home should be made with the traditional Italian coffeemaker (la caffettiera), but I really don't know if I want to do it this way. because it makes too much coffee. This makes three cups, which is too much for the afternoon. But if you have the regular Italian "moka" pot at home, go ahead and use it. But I will now make just a small (short) coffee with my trusty coffee machine. So, here's my coffee. But it's still boiling, so I'll leave it to cool off for a moment. I put some ice in the glass, and now I'll pour some almond milk. So here are all of the collections of short stories in Italian, but I won't recommend them all in one day. otherwise what fun would that be ! and so today I'll recommend only some of them, okay? Except that I've already recommended some of these books to you in the preceding video about books. For example, this one you alreay know - "Quel giorno" but this one is a collection of short stories and so why not just mention it again in this video, right? So Valentina Farinaccio tells us about the moments and encounters that have given life to historic times and events which we all remember. It's very nice. Then if you want to read a story then close it, then read another one, you don't have to read them in order; but you can also do it foward and backward. So another book that you already know because I've already spoken about it is this one by Alessandro Barbero. But why not mention it in this video since this one is also made up of stories. This one is a collection of six stories that tell about six characters that lived during Medieval times. Ok, now the rest is all new. So let's start with this one which.. is for level A1.. A1/A2 because it's a children's book. but it's very nice I still my copy from when I was, I think, in elementary school. and then I gave it to my sister. And our names are still written inside. And it still has the price in Lira. This cost seven thousand nine hundred Lira. What a memory, guys. However, this one is a collection written by Dacia Maraini, who's a great contemporary Italian writer and wrote these "Dog stories for a little girl" and they are fictional stories, right? For example, a story about a yellow dog who loved ice cream. They're fantasy stories, but they're very easy to read and therefore adapted for a student who wants to approach the Italian language - that wants to start reading in Italian. We come to this one, which is a bit more difficult. This is for a student who is already at or above the B1 level. "Serendipity" by Oscar Farinetti. He's the founder of Eataly and put together 50 stories of success by chance. I already bookmarked here a particular one that I like. and it's the one in which he explains that "spaghetti alla bolognese" is effectively a story of successful marketing. It's a pure marketing invention. Because people abroad think that "spaghetti alla Bolognese" is an Italian dish. But in reality, in Italy it doesn't exist. Farinetti interviews Bruno Barbieri, who's a cook from Bologna, and says: "One thing is spaghetti. Another thing is Bolognese sauce." And we call it "ragu" (sauce); we don't call it "Bolognese sauce". They both have to do with Bologna, but not between them. If not on the menus of Italian restaurants abroad and some crowded Italian tourist city And even the mayor of Bologna says "It's strange that we're famous around the world for a dish which is not ours." according to The Telegraph. Naturally we're happy that it draws attention to our city but we prefer to be known for our quality food which is part of our culinary tradition. Therefore let's say that these are 50 stories of success by chance - whether good or bad. In the gastronomic context, let's say, and not only in the Italian context. He talks in a world context. It's an interesting read really, because they're dishes which.. all dishes, all food that we all know very well, no? But that often we don't know where they come from. Or we have a mistaken idea of those dishes and that's why I find it it interesting. Then, I discovered this book really when I was going to the university at Triest. I was an undergrad at the University of Triest, and studied translation and interpreting. and as an English teacher - to converse with a native English teacher. I had Laila Wadia. and having her as a university teacher, I discovered that she was a writer. Obviously, before knowing her at the university, I didn't know. I discovered as I was following her lessons. This book is a collection of stories written about these four authors you see on the cover. Gabriella Kuruvilla, Ingy Mubiayi, Igiaba Scego, Laila Wadia. Their stories are very lively, very real, but also quite touching. Because they tell about their own experience, they live within two realities; one is with their family, and the other is the one they chose as a way of life, let's say. If not them directly, then their parents when they moved to Italy. And it's interesting to read about the different points of view. You know that maybe I'll recommend only one more, and that's it? Because I'll leave the other ones for another video. Also because I realize that we can't read all these books at the same time, and so I'll go slow with my recommendations. Because I really go overboard (or carried away) when I buy books. I say, okay, I'll just buy one. and then my cart and my bag is filled with books. Unfortunately, I have a obsessive-compulsive attitude when it has to do with buying books. In fact, for a while, for a long while, or for a couple of months at least I won't buy any books. It's a promise. For this reason I'll hold onto some books for a video maybe next month. Okay so let's do the last one. The last one is a book by Andrea Camilleri that that has nothing to do with the detective Montalbano saga. Nothing to do with it. This is a collection of stories in which Camilleri talks about all the ladies that were part of his life: stories of friendship, stories of love, stories of simple acquaintances, stories of encounters, but encounters not only in real life and this is the interesting thing; that he doesn't only talk about real people, but he talks about literary characters; hence the title "Women" is made up of those women that effectively were part of his real life as well as those literary women that were part of his life. And so for example there's Beatrice di Dante, Angelica dell'Orlando Furioso, Giovanna che sarebbe Giovanna d'Arco. And so he finds these literary figures in some of the women that he knew during his life. I find it very interesting I started to read it. I read the first four stories. So, that's about it for today's video. Obviously I'll leave you all the links to find these books in the description below. And I'm telling you, if you want some other reading recommendations look through my channel and you will find them, because I have already made other videos where I recommend books And so I thank you all for watching this video, and I'll see you at the next one. See you soon, bye.

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