Many of you who who have come to the New York Italian Conversation Group Meet Ups have expressed interest in reading aloud from the very best Italian contemporary Bestsellers. SO, I have decided to start a type of "Italian Book Club" where we will meet on a weekly basis for 90mins, to read aloud to each other from a selection of fabulous books - books that are written in everyday speech the way movie dialogue is written. There will be time to read at home before the class and then to read aloud putting emphasis on pronunciation and "usage" of particularly wonderful italian phrases. Such as, "I hadn't realized" or "Who'd have thought?" or "If I were you" or " If I'd known you were coming, I'd have baked a cake!" ANy number of frequently used phrases that are not necessarily in your vocabulary yet.

This reading group will serve two purposes: the first will be to offer practice in actually speaking in Italian with emphasis on pronunciation; the second, to improve everyone's comprehension and familiarity with literate and grammatically correct, everyday Italian as spoken in today's world and typically found in contemporary bestsellers in Italy today.
The Book Club will meet in someone's home, not in a restaurant or bar, and we will limit the number of members to six (including myself) so that everyone will have ample time to read a section of the chapter aloud and everyone will derive the full benefit of each session.

In cases where the book we choose to read is not yet available in English, I will be sending out to each enrollee the pages to be prepared, with my own translation. Everyone will be responsible for reading the selection before coming to the MeetUP. The one-hr. session once a week will be all about reading aloud with full comprehension. Short of being in Italy and speaking in Italian every day, this is the best way to learn fluency. Please let me know if you would like ot join this group. If the group grows to more than five members, it can be split into two groups.  

This group will meet weekly or bi-monthly (every other week), if that works best for everyone. Less than this, would not accomplish the stated goals of learning to speak more fluently, and increasing one's vocabulary in Italian while being highly entertained and getting to make new friends.