Saturday Reading Group
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The February read for the group is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited and Other Stories”. The story of Charlie Wales, a former drunken party-goer who returns to Paris, the site of his former 1920s debauchery, shortly after the stock market crash of 1929. Charlie sees his world with new (sober) eyes and is both shocked and appalled by the extravagance that characterized his former life. The story is rooted in the financial crisis of its times. Fitzgerald wrote the piece in December of 1930, when the good times of the Jazz Age (also called the “Roaring Twenties“) had come to an end and America was headed into the Great Depression. Charlie’s horror with his own former waste and self-destruction is Fitzgerald’s condemnation of a society who drank away the ‘ Because of the connections to Fitzgerald’s own life, many critics have looked in painstaking detail at the autobiographical elements of “Babylon Revisited.” Like main character Charlie Wales, Fitzgerald was in a tumultuous and tabloid-ready marriage that was destructive to both him and his wife, Zelda. Fitzgerald also admitted to basing the character of Charlie’s estranged daughter, Honoria, on his own daughter Scottie. When and where: Meetings will be held in the library once a month on Saturday afternoons starting at 3:00. Cost: FREE to all members of the library. To join: Please contact Anne Kaar at bookgroup@ellia.org |
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Bookclub reads “The Awakening”
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The February read for the bookclub is “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.’ Kate Chopin was one of the most individual and adventurous of nineteenth-century american writers, whose fiction explored new and often startling territory. When her most famous story, The Awakening, was first published in 1899, it stunned readers with its frank portrayal of the inner word of Edna Pontellier, and its daring criticisms of the limits of marriage and motherhood. For any enquiries about joining the bookclub please send an email by clicking here. |
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Knit and natter
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Come along and bring your knitting, Have a natter while you’re sitting, Or learn to knit with wool provided, Needles loaned and stitches guided. Knitted garments are très chic, So be in vogue and start this week.
Knit and natter is a free activity open to all members. No need to reserve, just come and enjoy yourself! |
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Coffee House
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This is a special moment when the community gathers together to talk about everything and anything (…in English of course!) and sips coffee and tea. Coffee House is free and open to all library members. Just drop in, no need to reserve! Coffee house is every Friday except during school holidays.
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Take your TOEIC test
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The library is an authorized open center for the TOEIC Listening and Reading test (Public programme with photo). To sign up please consult the ETS website. Scheduled dates for 2018 are Wednesdays : Feb. 14th, March 14th, April 11th, May 9th, June 13th & Sept. 12th. Saturdays : March 31st & July 7th All tests will take place at the ESSCA in Angers. Click here for full directions. |
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Walk and Talk
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Want to sign up? Easy as pie!Sign up by sending your name, email address and phone numbers (perferably cell phone) to this email address. You will be sent full details of the walk in due time. |
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Luncheon Club
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Film Club presents Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”
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The next film club event will be a showing of Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”. The Great Dictator is a 1940 American political satire comedy-drama film written, directed, produced, scored by and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin. Having been the only Hollywood filmmaker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was Chaplin’s first true sound film. Chaplin’s film advanced a stirring, controversial condemnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, fascism, antisemitism and the Nazis. At the time of its first release, the United States was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany. Chaplin plays both leading roles: a ruthless fascist dictator and a persecuted Jewish barber. Screening begins at 15:00 sharp. This activity is free of charge for all library members. Please reserve by signing up at the front desk in advance. A discussion in English will follow the film. |
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Critical thinking: the monthly press review
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The Internet is wonderful and can answer all your questions. For most of us, it is the main source for news. Indeed, we have immediate access to plenty of media from different part of the world. But can they all be trusted? Using different sources and media, the press review helps you to find your way through the news and be well-informed. This is an informal sharing and discussion of the news in English. Please feel free to bring in an article that you would like to share with the other members of the group. Meeting are held on Saturdays from 3-4:30PM. This new activity for library members is organized by freelance journalist and library volunteer: Isma Hassaine-Poirier
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Knit and natter
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Come along and bring your knitting, Have a natter while you’re sitting, Or learn to knit with wool provided, Needles loaned and stitches guided. Knitted garments are très chic, So be in vogue and start this week.
Knit and natter is a free activity open to all members. No need to reserve, just come and enjoy yourself! |
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