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The April read for the bookclub is « The English Major » by Jim Harrison.

It used to be Cliff and Vivian and now it isn t. With these words, Jim Harrison begins a riotous, moving novel that sends a sixty-something man, divorced and robbed of his farm by a late-blooming real estate shark of an ex-wife, on a road trip across America. His adventures take him through a whirlwind affair with a former student from his high-school-teacher days twenty-some years before, to a snake farm in Arizona owned by an old classmate, and to the high-octane existence of his son, a big-time movie producer who has just bought an apartment over the Presidio in San Francisco. Harrison’s riotous and moving cross-country novel, « The English Major, » is the map of a man’s journey into, and out of, himself. It is vintage Harrison, reflective, big-picture American, and replete with wicked wit. »

For any enquiries about joining the bookclub please send an email by clicking here.

Time to get outside! Get on those hiking boots and take some time to revel in the great outdoors! The idea is to organise 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 you going ! 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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« Springtime in the States », a workshop in English for young adults ages 12-14, will take place in the library and runs over three consecutive afternoons of three hours each. This is a wonderful way for kids to have fun learning English through games, songs and lots of speaking and moving around. Cost is 75 euros (includes snack, materials and library membership). Please contact the front desk to sign up. Limited to 15.

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 Saturday Reading Group is for anyone who loves to read, socialize in English, and meet new people. There is the line-up of great reading for 2016-2017! Click here for full schedule and line-up of titles 2016-2017. 

The April selection – in collaboration with the film club – is the book « The Hours » by Michael Cunningham. The Hours tells the story of three women: Virginia Woolf, beginning to write Mrs. Dalloway as she recuperates in a London suburb with her husband in 1923; Clarissa Vaughan, beloved friend of an acclaimed poet dying from AIDS, who in modern-day New York is planning a party in his honor; and Laura Brown, in a 1949 Los Angeles suburb, who slowly begins to feel the constraints of a perfect family and home. By the end of the novel, these three stories intertwine in remarkable ways, and finally come together in an act of subtle and haunting grace.

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

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!

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.

The garden club kicks off a new year of visits to the beautiful gardens in the area! One of the activities open to library members is the Garden Club which organises visits once a month. The first visit of the season will take place on Thursday, April 6th in the afternoon.

The first garden visit this year is to La Baronnière in La Chapelle-Saint-Florent, a romantic park of 30 hectares surrounding a 19th century château, with a large organic kitchen and a neo-gothic chapel. A one hour garden and one hour visit of the château by the owner Anne du Boucheron costs 5 euros.

For more information, for the schedule for 2016 and/or to sign up for visits please send an email to gardenclub@ellia.org.

The pizza and board games evening is scheduled one Tuesday a month from 6-8 pm. Cost is 7 euros (covers pizza and non-alcoholic drinks, 5 euros for children 12 and under and native English speakers). No reservations necessary, just come and enjoy! Dates for 2017 are April 4th, May 16th and June 20th.

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.

Dates:

On Saturdays from 3-4:30PM on the following dates:
April 1st
May 6th
June 3rd

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