An excellent resource (although somewhat pricey) is Yale University Press's Trame : A Contemporary Italian Reader. I like this book very much because it provides 33 short readings from contemporary authors. Each chapter features a snippet from a particular novel or work by some excellent Italian writers: Niccolo Ammaniti, Stefano Benni, Umberto Eco, Melania Mazzucco, Roberto Saviano among many others. After each reading is a section for testing your reading comprehension, questions that help you analyze the readings, questions to help you practice your writing as well as a section called "Internet" that invites you to use the web to learn more about themes and topics presented in the readings.
Each chapter features a list of vocabulary with definitions of Italian. This can help you think in Italian instead of relying too heavily on a bilingual dictionary. There are preliminary questions that prepare you for the reading, a short biography of the author, and exercises -- for example, there are some that help you use context clues to help in indentifying the meaning of certain words from the passages while others tell you to identify the word that doesn't fit with the rest.
I like this book because it profiles contemporary Italian works. Many of these writers provide a window into modern Italy that standard textbooks ignore or have no space for. Italy is a complex and interesting country that is more than Dante, Italian Renaissance and Mussolini. There are many facets to this beautiful country, and this book will help you learn and discover Italy through its contemporary literary output!
The book can be purchased from Amazon.com (or your favorite bookstore) or from the publisher directly.
0 commenti e suggerimenti:
Post a Comment