For a Handful of Books - Season 20

First aired: 1/28/2017 12 episodes

Episodes

1. Animal Farm (by George Orwell)

Aired: 1/28/2017

The theme of this episode is the famous novel by the British writer George Orwell, "Animal Farm", the book on which the two high school classes compete. The challengers are the 5 F of the "Antonio Roiti" scientific high school in Ferrara and the 5 L of the "A. Pieralli" linguistic high school in Perugia. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who in this episode recommends "Another part of the world" by Massimo Cirri (Feltrinelli) and "Nella valle senza nome" by Antonio Leotti (Laterza).

2. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (by Italo Calvino)

Aired: 2/4/2017

The theme of this episode is "If on a winter's night a traveler" (by Italo Calvino), the book on which the two high school classes compete. The challengers are 3 A/C of the Convitto Nazionale Maria Luigia of Parma and the students of the Piero Calamandrei classical high school of Naples. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "Dentro la sera. Conversazioni sull'scrivere" by Giuseppe Pontiggia (Belleville Editore) and "E poi libri, e ancora libri" by Federico Garcia Lorca (Edizioni Lindau).

3. Let the Tears Flow, Said the Policeman (by Philip K. Dick)

Aired: 2/11/2017

The theme of this episode is "Let the tears flow, the policeman said" by Philip K. Dick, the book on which the two high school classes compete. The challengers are the 3B of the "Carlo Lorenzini" linguistic high school in Pescia and the students of the "Lorenzo Respighi" scientific high school in Piacenza. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "Vertigo" by Boileau-Narcejac (Adelphi), "The Dress of Books" by Jhumpa Lahiri (Guanda) and "The Scorn" by Alessandro Zaccuri (Marsilio).

4. One Hundred Years of Solitude (by Gabriel Garcìa Márquez)

Aired: 2/18/2017

The theme of this episode is "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcìa Márquez, the book on which the two high school classes are competing. The challengers are 5°A from the Foscarini high school in Venice and 5°B from the Vincenzo Monti classical high school in Cesena. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "The Merry Men" by Robert Louis Stevenson (Nutrimenti) and "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck (Bompiani).

5. Six Characters in Search of an Author (by Luigi Pirandello)

Aired: 2/25/2017

The theme of this episode is "Six Characters in Search of an Author" by Luigi Pirandello, the book on which the two high school classes compete. The two classes competing are the Augusto Righi scientific high school of Bologna and the 5th A class of the Leonardo Da Vinci scientific high school of Jesi. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "Carne mia" by Roberto Alajmo (Sellerio) and "Prima di perderti" by Tommaso Giagni (Stile libero Einaudi).

6. The Centre-Forward Was Murdered Towards Evening (by Manuel Velasquez Montalban)

Aired: 3/4/2017

The sixth episode of "Per un pugno di libri", the most famous book game in Italy, sees the "Massimo D'Azeglio" Classical High School of Turin and the "Leonardo da Vinci" Scientific High School of Milan compete on the novel "The Center Forward Was Murdered Towards Evening" by the Spanish writer Manuel Velasquez Montalban. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "The Road in the Woods" by Colin Dexter (Sellerio) and "Like Wild Dogs" by Ian Rankin (Longanesi).

7. Opinions of a Clown (by Heinrich Boll)

Aired: 3/11/2017

The theme of this episode is "Opinions of a Clown" by Heinrich Boll, the book on which the two high school classes are comparing notes. The challengers are the 5th A liceo classico scientifico Ariosto Spallanzani of Reggio Emilia and the 5th D liceo classico Amedeo di Savoia of Tivoli. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "La casa dei Krull" by Georges Simenon (Biblioteca Adelphi).

8. Taras Bulba (by Nikolai Gogol)

Aired: 3/18/2017

The theme of this episode is "Taras Bulba" by Nikolaj Gogol', the book on which the two high school classes compete. The challengers are the 5th A of the Giordano Bruno classical high school in Albenga and the 3rd A of the Vitruvio Pollione classical high school in Formia. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "Duel in the Ghetto" by Maurizio Molinari and Amedeo Osti Guerrazzi (Rizzoli) and "Scuola di classe" by Roberto Contessi (Laterza).

9. The Ghost Writer (by Philip Roth)

Aired: 4/1/2017

The theme of this episode is "The Ghost Writer" by Philip Roth, the book on which the two high school classes are competing. The challengers are the 5°B of the "Vasco-Beccaria-Govone" high school of human sciences in Mondovì (CN) and the 5°C/L of the "Lombardo Radice" linguistic high school in Rome. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "The Museum of the Penultimate Things" by Massimiliano Boni (66th and 2nd) and "The Present Is Not Enough (La lezione del latino)" by Ivano Dionigi (Mondadori).

10. Around the World in 80 Days (by Jules Verne)

Aired: 4/8/2017

The theme of this episode is "Around the World in 80 Days" by Jules Verne, the book on which the two high school classes compete. The two high school classes are competing: the "Domenico Azuni" classical high school from Sassari and the "Luigi Pietrobono" classical high school from Alatri. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "The Great Tale of Ulysses" by Piero Boitani (Il Mulino) and "Guide to the World Tour" by Nanni Delbecchi (Bompiani).

11. Doctor Zhivago (by Boris Pasternak)

Aired: 4/15/2017

The theme of this episode is "Doctor Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak, the book on which the two high school classes compete. The challengers are the 5th G of the Filolao scientific high school in Crotone and the Vanini linguistic high school in Casarano. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "The recipe of Dr. Wasser" by Lars Gustafsson (Iperborea) and "Mr. Bovary & other characters" by Alberto Manguel (Pagine d'Arte).

12. The Day of the Owl (by Leonardo Sciascia)

Aired: 4/22/2017

The theme of this episode is "The Day of the Owl" by Leonardo Sciascia, the book on which the two high school classes are comparing notes. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles, who recommends, in this episode, "A futura memoria" by Leonardo Sciascia (Adelphi), and "Presunto terrorista" by Leif GW Persson (Marsilio).