15 h 21 minAudiobook11 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A joke becomes a memory, and a memory becomes a sharp look at the ways people fool themselves.
In Scraps, Lorenzo Stecchetti turns short prose into a place for wit, memory, and scrutiny. Sketches, essays, and reflections move between playful mockery and a plain look at human weakness. There is no single plot to follow. Instead, each small piece offers another chance to notice how people behave—and what solemn words can hide.
Stecchetti is the pen name of Olindo Guerrini, the Italian writer and Bologna librarian known for his mocking, playful voice. Here, irony takes the air out of solemn claims, while memory gives remembered people, places, and customs their weight. The appeal lies in those quick changes of direction: laughter opens the door, and reflection asks you to stay.
What you’ll discover
- Wit as a lens See how a mocking eye makes solemn claims look less certain and human habits more revealing.
- Small memories with weight Find reflections that give remembered people, places, and customs room to matter.
- An irreverent voice Meet a writer whose playful skepticism challenges pious speech and polite literary fashion.
- Quick turns of thought Move from a joke to a memory, then toward a harder look at behavior.
- Human weakness in view Explore the gap between solemn claims and the habits that invite a writer's mockery.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy a witty, opinionated voice, the literary quarrels of nineteenth century Italy, mountain walks, sly satire of officials and priests, and the small human stories that sit beside big history.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A young man learns to be a writer
- Family tenderness and the weather
- Libraries and the machinery of the state
- Mountains, fog and the open air
- Priests, miracles and love stories
- Politics, the poor and the bourgeoisie
- Portraits of poets, rulers and historians
- Literature, taste and the novel
- A voice that still carries
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 15 h 21 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 11 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Bribes in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Bribes
A young poet leaves his first article in a pipe-smoke fog, and a whole irreverent Italy unfolds.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Scraps is a gathering of short pieces by Lorenzo Stecchetti, the pen name of the Italian poet and librarian Olindo Guerrini, who died in 1916. They first ran in the newspapers of Italy in the early 1880s.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A young man learns to be a writer
The book opens with a confession. In the winter of 1868 the author lets his family think he is studying law. He graduates anyway, after writing a tipsy thesis that praises liberty and abuses popes, and the professors pass him out of pity.
He spends his evenings reading French poetry and writing furious verse against God and Manzoni. Then Carducci's Levia Gravia comes out, with no angels and no pious leftovers, and the young reader is delighted. He writes an enthusiastic, muddled article and carries it to a republican paper called the Friend of the People.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Bribes
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Scraps by Lorenzo Stecchetti about?
It is a collection of short newspaper pieces from the early 1880s. They include comic sketches, mountain walks, small tales, reviews of poets and historians, and essays on libraries, divorce, miracles and politics, all in a witty voice.
Who was Lorenzo Stecchetti?
Lorenzo Stecchetti was the pen name of Olindo Guerrini, an Italian poet and librarian who died in 1916. He wrote in the circle of Carducci and published Postuma, a book of poems that made his name.
Is Scraps a novel or a collection?
It is a collection of separate pieces, each a few pages long. You can read them in any order, since each one has its own subject, from a comic confession to a literary review to a short story.
The author
Lorenzo Stecchetti
1845–1916 · Italian poet
Lorenzo Stecchetti was a pen name of Olindo Guerrini, an Italian poet and writer. He was born in Forlì in 1845 and died in Bologna in 1916. He wrote poetry in Italian and in the Romagnol dialect. His poetry collection Postuma was published in 1877.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
