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[Italian Books] Two Great Books Based on True Stories

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Your Italian Toolbox, the page where I upload all language-learning materials, under the section Miscellaneous (You can access the page by subscribing to my newsletter)

I have read two really good books recently and thought you might like them as well. 

It’s been a while since I wrote a post about Italian books, and it’s great to be finally able to do it again. I have been reading a lot, as usual, but no books really worth mentioning. So I am happy to have finally found two very good books I am sure you will like!

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[Italian Books] The Story of an Italian Family, of a Business, and of a Whole Town

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For this series of posts, I normally pick Italian books that have an English translation as well. I do it to give people the opportunity to read good Italian books even if they can’t read in Italian.

However, I’ve decided to make an exception today because the book I want to tell you about tells a true Italian story that is really worth knowing even though you won’t read the book.

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[Italian Books] The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

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The Lying Life of Adults (La vita bugiarda degli adulti in Italian), one of Elena Ferrante’s most recent books, has been made into a Netflix series. 

Before Christmas, I read that this new show based on Elena Ferrante’s book would debut on Netflix on January 5th and I thought I had better read the book before watching the tv series.

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[Italian Books] Mi sa che fuori è primavera by Concita De Gregorio

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Europa Editions always makes me really happy.

If you are interested in Italian literature translated into English and don’t know this publisher, I highly recommend checking its catalog because it has many interesting titles by contemporary Italian authors.

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[Italian Books] La figlia oscura by Elena Ferrante, a book about motherhood and life choices

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I have multiple ways of selecting books for this section of the blog.

As you may already know, the only rule I follow is that the Italian books I write about here must be available in English as well because I want to give people who are interested in Italian literature the chance to enjoy interesting books even if they cannot read Italian.

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[Italian Books] Scherzetto by Domenico Starnone

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After reading Lacci a while ago and loving it, I’ve finally decided to read another book by Domenico Starnone. 

I read his book Lacci in 2019 and wrote a post about it. In fact, I’ve enjoyed that book so much that I have been meaning to read another title by him for ages.

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[Italian Books] I leoni di Sicilia by Stefania Auci

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I have another good Italian book to recommend and I am super happy about it! 

As you may know very well since I constantly repeat it in my posts, I am always on the hunt for good Italian books to recommend here on the blog and, when I find one, I am truly delighted.

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[Italian Books] Dove mi trovo by Jhumpa Lahiri

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Jhumpa Lahiri is a very famous writer who is particularly dear to many students of Italian.

As a matter of fact, she has written In altre parole, one of the most popular books about learning Italian, a book that many students have read – either in Italian or in English – and that many have loved.

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[Italian Books] Nives by Sacha Naspini

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One of my favorite Italian books of 2020 has been translated into English and I couldn’t be happier!

I am happy because the English translation of the book means that I can recommend it in this section of my blog. In fact, as you may know if you have been reading my blog for a while, when I recommend an Italian book I always make sure it is available in English too.

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[Italian Books] Il ritratto by Ilaria Bernardini

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I have a new Italian book to recommend and it’s a really good one!

As you may know, I really love books and I am always reading something. I read all sorts of books but, every now and then, I pick Italian books with one specific purpose: finding good reads for people who are specifically interested in Italian literature or just want to read a book by an Italian author.

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