ICC Book Club

It’s all about Italian Books

ICC is very happy to introduce the latest perk reserved for our members only: a quarterly Book Club meeting and a great opportunity to immerse in Italian culture! Come and enjoy an evening of conversation with other members and our teachers. Books will be in Italian and/or English and are selected to ensure cultural enrichment. This wonderful cultural activity is free of charge for ICC members. In order to ensure a successful and satisfying experience, we recommend that:
1) The book must be read in its entirety. The Book Club requires the participation of all members.
2) The Book Club is not a lecture on the book, rather a conversation on the book.
3) Please be sure to purchase the book in time and to read it prior to the club meetings. The books can be purchased on http://www.applauselearning.com/
4) If you do not read the book, you will not be able to participate.
5) Reading is one of the fundamental elements in understanding and learning a foreign language.

2012 Book Club Dates:

Thursday, February 16
ICC- Columbia Street at 6:30pm
RSVP by February 14 at info@icc-sd.org

Book: “I Promessi Sposi” by Alessandro Manzoni (Easy Readers version)

Considered one of the most important novels ever written in the Italian language, "I Promessi Sposi " (The Betrothed) is Alessandro Manzoni's 1827 historical novel, which details the terribly oppressive rule of the Spanish over Italy in the early 1600s. At the center of the novel is the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, whose marriage is forbidden by the local baron. Set against all odds Renzo and Lucia's love must struggle against the ravages of war, famine, and the plague. Manzoni's "I Promessi Sposi" is an epic, historical Italian masterpiece.

Thursday, May 17
ICC- Columbia Street at 6:30pm
RSVP by May 14 at info@icc-sd.org

Book: “Marcovaldo” by Italo Calvino (Easy Readers version)

An unskilled worker in a drab northern Italian industrial city of the 1950s and 1960s, Marcovaldo has a practiced eye for spotting natural beauty and an unquenchable longing to come a little closer to the unspoiled world of his imagining. Much to the puzzlement of his wife, his children, his boss, and his neighbors, he chases his dreams, gives rein to his fantasies, tries-with more ingenuousness than skill-to lessen his burden and that of those around him. The results are never the anticipated ones.

Thursday, September 20
ICC- Columbia Street at 6:30pm
RSVP by September 18 at info@icc-sd.org

Book: “Il segreto e altri racconti” by Achille Campanile (Easy Readers version)

This book contains a collection of humorous short stories depicting Italian society and its peculiarities, often with quite surprising endings. This is a simplified book whose original texts have been shortened and simplified without sacrificing the original style. With their manageable structure and controlled vocabulary based on international word frequency research, this book can be easily understood at various levels of instruction.

Thursday, December 13
ICC- Columbia Street at 6:30pm
RSVP by December 10 at info@icc-sd.org

Book: “Mio marito. L’altra famiglia” by Dacia Maraini (Easy Readers version)

In “Mio marito”, a wife admires her husband so much that she doesn't seem to see that in fact he is quite cruel. A warm yet ironic look at the situation of women. Dacia Maraini studied in Palermo, Florence and Rome, and began her writing career with articles for literary magazines. In addition to publishing novels and poetry, Maraini co-founded the "Teatro del Porcospino" in the 1960's and established "La Maddalena", a feminist experimental theatre in Rome. Many of her plays have been performed in countries around the world, and several of her books have been made into films. Maraini continues to write books, and to commentate on politics and society in newspapers and weekly publications.