English-language Library in Angers

Healthy mind and body, happy life! Come to the library for Wellness Day on Friday, June 28th from 10 AM to 6 PM.

Workshops offered all day:

10h-11h30: Ecological Action, learn how you can impact climate change and make a difference, with Amy Concilio. No reservation.

10h-11h30: “Paths to Contentment” Life Coaching, dive into the compelling and elusive topic of contentment, with Aïda Guèye. 10 participants. Reservation required.

11h45-12h45: Shakti Dance Yoga, practice a combination of yoga, dance, music, mantras, flowing stretches, energized movements, relaxation and meditation, with Celeste Prancic. 12 participants. Reservation required.

14h-15h30: Nutrition (details coming soon).

14h-15h30: Creative Writing as therapy with Anne Woodford. Reservation required.

15h45-16h45: Let’s Sing! No matter your level or what your voice sounds like, have fun and build confidence through song, with Liz Hanaway. No reservation.

17h-18h: Tai Chi, discover the ancient Chinese martial art and the forces of yin and yang, while improving your defense training and health, with Isabelle Monnier. 25 participants. Reservation required.

And a Smoothie Bar (smoothies for 1 €) all day! Sign-up at info@ellia.org / 02.41.24.97.07. Free and open to the public. Come and enjoy!

Join us at the library on Friday, June 21st at 7:30 PM for a free concert of both French and American jazz and swing music ballads with the Swing Colporteurs!

Free and open to the public, no need to reserve, just come and enjoy! It’s Fête de la Musique!

“Sea, Sun and Fun” is a 3-day English-learning workshop for collégiens. Participants learn English in a fun, interactive way with games, songs and activities with lots of talking and moving around! The workshop will be at the library for three consecutive afternoons of three hours each: July 2nd, 3rd and 4th from 3 PM to 6 PM.

Limited to 15 participants so sign-up fast! Cost is 75 euros (includes snack, materials and library membership).

Sign up now at info@ellia.org / 02.41.24.97.07

Starting from Saturday, June 1st you can check out twice as many books for a longer borrowing period (due date: Tuesday, September 17th).

The library closes for the summer on Saturday, July 13th at 6 pm and re-opens on Tuesday, September 3rd at 1 pm with regular hours. However, if you are off to travel near or far, remember that you can always check out eBooks! Simply click here.

The month-long art show “Eye to Eye – Avec ces yeux-là” featuring engraving and print pieces by Elianne Richard opens on Thursday, June 13th at 6 PM. Join us for refreshments and meet the artist! The exhibition, free and open to the public, continues until July 6th during opening hours.

In 2006 Elianne Richard was first introduced to metal engraving by Richard Chester, a specialist in multi-colored (polychromatic) engraving using the Hayter method. Her goal at the time was to learn how to use acid to prepare pieces for enameling, but she was intrigued by this method of inking an engraved metal plate with several colors at the same time, which would then produce beautiful polychrome and monochrome prints after just one pass through the press. The traditional approach requires several passes through the press, cleaning the plate and applying a different color each time to obtain a multi-colored result. Drawn by the beautiful results Elianne forgot about enameling for a time and devoted herself to learning the art of engraving.

Elianne says she enjoys the manual work that engraving demands (cutting, polishing, inking, wiping, etc.) as well as the astonishing softness and warmth that a plate can have. To her own surprise, she discovered a fascination with worlds of air and water, worlds of genesis, worlds of promise or worry. Her first pieces, in small colorful formats, have become increasingly bigger. She duplicates the same print multiple times on the same paper and does forms of collage. In fact, she has combined her two passions as she will use enameled plates to further adorn and enhance her engravings. Currently, she has started dabbling in black and white ink, which she says is a real luxury.

“I go where I want to go, starting from outside observation or from within myself, I search for each engraving, print, collage… a new perspective. “ – Elianne Richard

Drop by the library and check out our newest titles! Every month we add the latest and greatest new releases for your reading pleasure. New and Noteworthy for June:

• The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh has been called a feminist fable set by the sea, a female Lord of the Flies with shades of Margaret Atwood.
• The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson is a fascinating account of a bizarre crime – part natural history, part detective story and the stuff of tragedy – you’ll never look at a feather the same way again.
• Red Birds by Mohammed Hanif brilliantly captures the ugliness of war. This wildly original novel, narrated by a teenage refugee and his philosopher-dog, takes a satirical look at war which has been compared to Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.
• Kill Creek by Scott Thomas is for you if you like a good haunted house story. Add a cast of complex and interesting characters and you’ve got a classic modern-day gothic horror.
• Spring by Ali Smith, the bestselling author of Autumn and Winter, is the unmissable third installment in the critically acclaimed novel cycle, the Seasonal Quartet.
• The Big Bad Fox by Benjamin Renner is beautifully rendered in watercolor and a hilarious and surprisingly tender parable about parenthood that’s sure to be a hit with new parents (and their kids too).
• The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, in this novel philosophy and science are recognized, if not as two sides of the same coin, then at least as cousins. But fear not! The science and prose are blended together in a very accessible read. It’s a short book but a little goes a long way.
• The Book Smugglers of Timbuktu by Charlie English, is an exemplary piece of investigative journalism that is also a wonderfully colorful book of history and travel.
• Who You Think I Am by Camille Laurens, recently made into an acclaimed film with Juliette Binoche, this psychological thriller exposes the disconnect between fantasy and reality. It questions the place of women in society and the role of social media in giving us the illusion of control.
• Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, occurs in an alternative 1980s London. Britain has lost the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power and two lovers will be tested beyond their understanding when one of them purchases the first batch of synthetic humans. So then, what makes us human? Could a machine understand the human heart?

Come visit, browse and find your next favorite book. Have a look at our Books At Heart noticeboard for a full list of new acquisitions and recommendations from fellow members. There’s always something new and good to read at the library! Browse the catalog here.

When you come into the library, you may be faced with the question, “What should I read next?” The library has a huge collection (about 30,000 books!)… but which books will promise you hours of good reading?

“Books at Heart” will help you with your question.  It’s a new initiative for book lovers, to promote sharing and feedback about books. Now you can tell everyone about the books you love!

Firstly, you’ll find a new noticeboard in the library, called “Our Books of the Year”. There’s already a small selection of truly excellent recommendations. It’s open to everyone… feel free to add YOUR book of the year. Spread the news!

Secondly, we invite people to “curate” their favorite books. A curator will promote a selection of books. It could be a genre (crime, historical, classics…), it could be linked to a country (Sweden, Canada, China…), or a non-fiction range (politics, history, cooking, etc.).

And, we need volunteers! As a curator, you will put an information card on the shelves every month or so, to promote a book or an author. And you will organize a front-of-library display once a year. If you want to become a curator contact Peter Bolos, library staff member, at collections@ellia.org.