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The Saturday Reading Group is for anyone who loves to read, socialize in English, and meet new people.

The June selection is the book “qmlbqjofdbij” by Colm Toibin. Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. Though skilled at book-keeping, Ellis cannot find a proper job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn visits the household and offers to sponsor Eilis in America — to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood “just like Ireland” — she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind. Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, studies accounting at Brooklyn sister behind. Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, studies accounting at Brooklyn College, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with persistent charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony and consider what this means, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

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

The Saturday Reading Group is for anyone who loves to read, socialize in English, and meet new people.

The June selection is the book “Brooklyn” by Colm Toibin. Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. Though skilled at book-keeping, Ellis cannot find a proper job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn visits the household and offers to sponsor Eilis in America — to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood “just like Ireland” — she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind. Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, studies accounting at Brooklyn sister behind. Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, studies accounting at Brooklyn College, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with persistent charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony and consider what this means, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

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

The next film club event will be a showing of “Blue Jasmine” by Woody Allen (2013). After everything in her life falls to pieces, including her marriage to wealthy businessman Hal (Alec Baldwin), elegant New York socialite Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) moves into her sister Ginger’s (Sally Hawkins) modest apartment in San Francisco to try to pull herself back together again. Jasmine arrives in San Francisco in a fragile mental state, her head reeling from the cocktail of anti-depressants she’s on. While still able to project her aristocratic bearing, Jasmine is emotionally precarious and lacks any practical ability to support herself. She disapproves of Ginger’s boyfriend Chili (Bobby Cannavale), who she considers another “loser” like Ginger’s ex-husband Augie (Andrew Dice Clay). Ginger, recognizing but not fully understanding her sister’s psychological instability, suggests that she pursue interior design, a career she correctly intuits that Jasmine won’t feel is beneath her. In the meantime, Jasmine begrudgingly accepts work as the receptionist in a dentist’s office, where she attracts the unwanted attentions of her boss, Dr. Flicker (Michael Stuhlbarg). Feeling that her sister might be right about her poor taste in men, Ginger starts seeing Al (Louis C.K.), a sound engineer whom she considers as a step up from Chili. Jasmine sees a potential lifeline when she meets Dwight (Peter Sarsgaard), a diplomat who is quickly smitten with her beauty, sophistication and style. Jasmine’s flaw is that she derives her worth from the way she’s perceived by others, while she herself is blind to what is going around her. Delicately portrayed by a regal Cate Blanchett, Jasmine earns our compassion because she is the unwitting instrument of her own downfall. Woody Allen’s new drama BLUE JASMINE is about the dire consequences that can result when people avert their eyes from reality and the truth they don’t want to see.

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.

You are cordially invited to the concert of jazz, blues & swing performed by “Big Up”… come and sing and dance along with them to some of the great sounds from American musicals, jazz and blues classics plus other original pieces. Free and open to the public. No need to reserve. Donations accepted.

“Big Up, ensemble vocal jazz d’Angers, vient pour la quatrième fois à la Bibliothèque Anglophone. Elle est seule en son genre dans le Maine et Loire, avec ses choristes toujours enthousiastes pour le swing des comédies musicales hollywoodiennes, les blues, les standards du jazz anglais et français. La chorale s’est confrontée aussi au rock-barroque, a chanté au Grand Théâtre d’Angers, au cloître Toussaint, à la Collégiale Saint Martin… et a gaiement déambulé en ville. Alors, que la fête continue, et place au Big Up show!!

“Books and Tea” is a monthly meeting for bookworms and tea drinkers. Bring a book you’ve really enjoyed, talk about it and pass it on! The group meets from 2 to 3:30 at “Les Casse-Croûte de Suzy” 3 rue de l’Espine. No need to sign up, just come and enjoy!

You can sign up to take your TOEIC test here in the library. To sign up please consult the ETS website.

Love those French restaurants? Feel like you need to speak English more but in a relaxed atmosphere? Join this club which schedules a lunch in a great local restaurant. This event takes place on the second Tuesday of the month. Click here to send an email to the coordinator for more information and the full schedule and to sign up!

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.

Meeting are held on Saturdays from 3-4:30PM. This will be the last meeting of the year before the summer break.

This new activity for library members is organized by freelance journalist and library volunteer: Isma Hassaine-Poirier

Philippe Méaille, contemporary art collector and founder of the Château de Montsoreau-Contemporary Art Museum will be in the library to talk about the castle and the new project. The Château de Montsoreau, the only château in the Loire Valley built in the riverbed itself, was transformed into a contemporary art museum  in 2016. Stretching for more than 2,000 m², it boasts a permanent collection of artworks linked to the Art & Language movement, and is believed to be the world’s largest collection of works by this group of artists involved in the founding of Conceptual Art.

Free and open to the public. No need to reserve.

You can sign up to take your TOEIC Bridge test here in the library. To sign up please consult the ETS website.