Archives: Events

The Saturday Reading Group is for anyone who loves to read, socialize in English, and meet new people. For this meeting, the group will read the #1 New York Times Bestseller “Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things” by Jenny Lawson.

In Furiously Happy, a humor memoir tinged with just enough tragedy and pathos to make it worthwhile, Jenny Lawson examines her own experience with severe depression and a host of other conditions, and explains how it has led her to live life to the fullest:

“I’ve often thought that people with severe depression have developed such a well for experiencing extreme emotion that they might be able to experience extreme joy in a way that ‘normal people’ also might never understand. And that’s what Furiously Happy is all about.”

Jenny’s readings are standing room only, with fans lining up to have Jenny sign their bottles of Xanax or Prozac as often as they are to have her sign their books. Furiously Happy appeals to Jenny’s core fan base but also transcends it. There are so many people out there struggling with depression and mental illness, either themselves or someone in their family—and in Furiously Happy they will find a member of their tribe offering up an uplifting message (via a taxidermied roadkill raccoon). Let’s Pretend This Never Happened ostensibly was about embracing your own weirdness, but deep down it was about family. Furiously Happy is about depression and mental illness, but deep down it’s about joy—and who doesn’t want a bit more of that?

Meetings are once a month on Saturday afternoons starting at 3 pm. Open to all library members. To sign up please contact the group coordinator at bookgroup@ellia.org.

Come and play (simple) Bridge (cardgame) at the library! Engage in a brain-stimulating sport: the Mini Bridge Exclusive Society. Discover, learn and play Mini Bridge in a relaxed, casual and informal ambiance. Mini Bridge, as developed by MBES allows and encourages

• conversations while playing the game,
• comments and remarks before, during and after the game,
• second thoughts,
• not taking oneself too seriously,

…in a nutshell, MBES (Mini Bridge Exclusive Society) proposes a different concept from the competing conventional Bridge Clubs.

Feel free to sign up and come and discover this new activity for library members! It is free and open to members of the library. Please contact the library to join!

The library is an authorised test center for the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test (the Test of English for International Communication). For more information please visit our TOEIC page or to sign up go to the official ETS website.

Get on those hiking boots and take some time to revel in the great outdoors! The group “Walk and Talk” organises an easy walk once a month – approximately 10 km, 2 to 3 hours in the afternoon – in order to discover or re-discover the beautiful hiking paths of the Maine-et-Loire. Come along with good walking shoes, protection against rain, cold or heat according to the season…. a bottle of water and a little “en-cas” to keep your stamina up !

Maximum group is 20 so make sure to sign up!

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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“Ski, Snow and Surf” 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, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Please contact the front desk to sign up by phone: 02 41 24 97 07 or email: info@ellia.org. Limited to 15 participants so sign-up fast! Cost is 75 euros (includes snack, materials and library membership).

The February read for the book club is “The Secret Life Of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd.

“When Lily’s fierce-hearted “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three racists in town, they escape to Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that holds the secret to her mother’s past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily finds refuge in their mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna.”     

To join the book club please send an email to the group coordinator here.

Come and play (simple) Bridge (cardgame) at the library! Engage in a brain-stimulating sport: the Mini Bridge Exclusive Society. Discover, learn and play Mini Bridge in a relaxed, casual and informal ambiance. Mini Bridge, as developed by MBES allows and encourages

• conversations while playing the game,
• comments and remarks before, during and after the game,
• second thoughts,
• not taking oneself too seriously,

…in a nutshell, MBES (Mini Bridge Exclusive Society) proposes a different concept from the competing conventional Bridge Clubs.

Feel free to sign up and come and discover this new activity for library members! It is free and open to members of the library. Please contact the library to join!