FRIENDS OF THE ANGLOPHONE LIBRARY - update ...

[peter]

Message from - FRIENDS OF THE ANGLOPHONE LIBRARY

Adresse :

MME METHERELL, 31 AVENUE DE SAINT LAZARE, RES. LE PRIEURE,
34000 MONTPELLIER
Téléphone : 04 67 72 00 39

Courriel : foal@dbmail.com

Dear Friends

As you know, we have set up a new association.

One of the things we are in the proceeds of doing is setting up a small lending library for future members. We have a small room at 29 rue Maguelone at the Institut Méditerrannéen des Langues on the first floor.

We have already set up shelves and now need books to fill them. If you have any recent books (paperback or hardback) that you are willing either to lend (in which case you need to put a sticker with your name on them) or donate, you can take them to that address on Wednesday afternoons from 3pm-6pm. (Ring the IML buzzer). Leave the books at the "accueil".

I say "recent " books although we shall also be organising a permanent book sale, but the room is small and we need, first and foremost, books for the lending library. We have decided to spend some of the money we got from the old association to buy new books, but, as you can imagine, our means are limited for the moment. When we start recruting members we shall have more money and will be able to buy more books.

The library will be run on a trust basis and we will welcome suggestions from members for book-buying. We hope to open at the beginning of December (it rather depends on how many books we will be able to offer) and you will be kept informed in due course.

We do thank you for your support.


Vicki Metherell

[peter]

By email :

Friends of the Anglophone Library

As you know, we have set up a new association, also called FOAL (Friends of the Anglophone library). Unfortunately, all our efforts to keep the original collection intact and accessible have come to nothing. We have decided to set up a small lending library for members of Foal at 29 rue Maguelone , Montpellier on the 1st floor at the IML (near the station). We are starting small but the idea is for members to bring along recent books they not longer want to keep (not older than two years) and donate them to the library, or, alternatively, lend books which they could take back after a few months. (in which case, you need to affix a sticker with your name on it). Some of the books you bring will go on the shelves to be lent out, others will go into a permanent Book Sale, the proceeds of which will allow us to buy new books. We hope all this will have a snowball effect.
We have already bought a selection of 42 recent books. (see list below)
The library will be open two afternoons a month from 14-18, the first and third Wednesday of each month and members will be able to take out two books at a time for two weeks (there will be a small fine for lateness, 50 cents). We will start functioning on Wednesday 1st December. The organisation will be informal, based on trust. A member of the Board will be there to help.
We also plan to organise some cultural events about which you will be kept informed in a Newsletter. Members will be asked to make a small contribution and /or participation to expenses for these events in aid of the book fund (3 euros). At the moment, we have a talk by Michael Scott Moore planned for 4th December (venue to be given nearer the time). Scott Moore is a published novelist and world-class journalist who has spent the past few years travelling the globe in search of surfing cultures, (Gaza, Cuba and other surprising places) His book has been praised by the New York Times, the Economist and many other publications.
In February we shall welcome the barrister who defended two authors against Dan Brown (of the Da Vinci Code fame). They accused him of plagiarising their work. The talk will be followed by a wine tasting as Jonathan James now makes wine near Pezenas. Later in the spring we shall be organising a jazz concert by Art Fell and friends.
Our Vice President, Edwin Hill is hoping to set up a Ciné Club, and Philippe Marchand is going to set up Book Chat sessions. These will provide an opportunity for members to meet as a group of readers, with each person talking briefly about a book she or he has read. Books are passed round so one can note titles and authors. Eight to ten books will normally be ‘highlighted’ at each session. If you would like to participate in a Book Chat meeting, send your name, telephone number and “best time to contact” to Philip via mishex@wanadoo.fr We are open to all suggestions for new activities.
Many of you have voiced support over the past few months; by joining Foal you will be showing this support and, we hope, getting something in return.
If you join now, your membership will run until the end of 2011
Membership fees
40 euros Benefactor
25 euros Active Member (this includes all family members)
15 euros Student
If you wish to join, please fill in the attached form and send it, along with a cheque and a stamped, addressed envelope to:
Mme S Erickson, Mas de Calage, Chemin de Calage, 34130 St Aunès
and we will return a membership card which you will need to show when you come to the library. Alternatively, you can also join up at the library when you come to check out books.
--
Jon NORTH
74 rue de la Brèchette
34400 LUNEL
France
04 67 85 52 12 (06 87 19 88 53)
From outside France replace initial 0 with 0033

[peter]

Just a reminder that the library will be open on Wednesday 15 December from 2- 6pm, 29 rue Maguelone at the IML (1st floor). A board member will be there to welcome you. There are some really good books to choose from

Vicki Metherell

[peter]

New opening hours



We have decided to extend opening hours as from Febuary. The library at 29 rue Maguelone, Montpellier, 1st floor, will be open EVERY Wednesday from15h-18h. Come and have a look, we have a good selection of books and hope, with increasing membership, to order new books regularly.

Vicki Metherell

[peter]

By email :

The new Friends of the Anglophone Library (FOAL) at IML, 29 rue Maguelone, Montpellier, is now open every Wednesday from 3pm to 6 pm. A good selection of new books is available, as well as a permanent book sale.

Friday March 25th 2011: FOAL is organising a talk at Maison Martin Luther King (Blvd Louis Blanc, Montpellier) by Jonathan James, Q.C. called "Da Vinci: the True Code?", based on his experiences in the court case for plagiarism against author Dan Brown. This will be followed by a wine-tasting from Mr James's estate near Pèzenas. 6pm to 8pm.


Many thanks
Joyce Copin
FOAL

[peter]

The Friends of the Anglophone Library newsletter


The new books have arrived (see list at bottom of page). You will also find a list of recent books donated by members. Thanks to numerous volunteers, we have been able to cover them with plastic film so they will last longer. You will find a green booklet at the library with a selection of book reviews.

Our “front shelf” can now rival the shelf we all made a beeline for in the “old” library.

New membership rules

We have decided to change the membership rules. Your membership will run for a year from date of joining up. If you join now, for example, your membership will run to April 2012. So you get a full year whenever you join. Just remember to put date on the membership form you fill in. You can join at the library (IML 29 rue Maguelone, 1st floor every Wednesday from 3pm-6pm) or send a mail to Foal (see address below). We hope the new rules will encourage you to join if you haven’t done so already.



Date to put in your diaries

The Annual General Meeting will take place on Friday 17th June at 6pm. All members are invited and there will be an apéritif afterwards. The AGM will take place at l’Espace Martin Luther King, 27 Boulevard Louis Blanc.
You will receive by post a letter informing you of the Agenda. Please send an e-mail to the foal address (foal@dbmail.com) confirming your presence so that we have an idea of how much to purchase for the drinks party.

Summer opening hours

In July we will be open every Wednesday; in August, we will be open on 10th and 24th, then back to normal in September.

Facebook

We have a Facebook site: Foal-Friends-of-the-Anglophone-Library-Montpellier





BOOKS MARCH 2011

Non fiction


Tolstoy : A Russian life Rosamund Barlett
Why not say what happened: A memoir Ivana Lowell
Narcissism of minor differences Peter Baldwin
Life of Irene Nemirovsky Olivier Philippoonat
Hitch-22 Christopher Hitchins
The Masque of Africa V.S. Naipaul
Must you go Antonia Fraser
Life and opinions of Maf the dog
And of his friend Marilyn Monroe Andrew O’Hagan
Through the language glass Guy Deutscher
Payback Margaret Atwood
A widow’s story: a memoir Joyce Carol Oates
Moonwalking with Einstein: Joshua Foer
The art and science of remembering
everything E.M. Forster;
A new Life Wendy Moffat

Fiction

The Imperfectionists Tom Rachman
Pulse Julian Barnes
Daughters-in-law Joanna Trollope
Tinkers Paul Harding
The Finkler Question Howard Jacobson
Parrot and Olivier in America Peter Carey
Blood count Robert Goddard ( May 24th)
Saints and Sinners Edna O’ Brien
Caribou Island David Vann
Fear itself Andrew Rosenheim
London Satyr Robert Edric
The empty famiy Colm Toibin
Full dark, no stars Steven King
Trick of the dark Val McDermid
The wings of the sphinx Andrea Camilleri
Tigerlily’s ordhids Ruth Rendall
Book of secrets Michael Holroyd
The house at sea’s end Elly Griffiths
Fall of giants Ken Follet
Perfect lives Polly Samson
Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart Michelle Lutze
Drawing conclusions Donna Leon (April 2011)
Pereira Maintains Antonio Tabucchi (new translation)
Sing you home Jodi Pecoult


LIST OF RECENT BOOKS WHICH HAVE BEEN DONATED BY MEMBERS


Conspirata Richard Harris
One Day David Nicolls (was on our order)
Solar Ewan Mc Ewan
Hancox Charlotte Moore
The Big Short Michael Lewis
Facebook effect Story of Marc Zuckerberg
Inheritance Robert Sackville West
Mad World Paula Byrne (bio Evelyn Waugh)
In tearing haste Deborah Devonshire (last Mitford sister)
Rosamond Lehmann Selina Hastings (biography)
The Duchess Amanda Foreman
Charlotte & Lionel Stanley Weintraub ( a Rothschild marriage)
Love and Louis XIV Antonia Fraser
Marie Antoinette Antonia Fraser
Antony Powell: a life Michael Barber (A Powell wrote “ a Dance to the Music of time)
Graham Greene, the man within Michael Shelden
The Courtesan and the Samurai Leslie Downer
Nine lives William Dalrymple (his latest travel book)
D-Day: the battle for Normandy Antony Beevor

[peter]

We held our Annual General Meeting on 17th June with quite a few members present and a small drinks do afterwards. Below you will find the minutes:

Friends of the Anglophone Library (FOAL)
Minutes Annual General Meeting, 17 June 2011

The President summarized the events of the year, including the creation of the new association in July 2010, recuperation of the funds of the previous FOAL, and establishment of the library on premises rented from IML.
Donations from various members of shelving and books have helped to get the library off to a good start. Events included talks by the writer Michael Scott Moore, the barrister Jonathan James and a “sold out” wine tasting at his domaine in Pezenas. These events, the continuing book sale in the library and our participation in Outbound’s book sale, have raised cash which, combined with the opening balance and revenue from subscriptions have enabled FOAL to purchase new books.

The library has been functioning without any problems. Annual membership fees will remain at 25 euros for the next year. The card system is working well. There are about 50 members, of which approximately 40 come in regularly. There have been sufficient volunteers up to now to man the library; there is a list at the library for any members wishing to volunteer. About 80 books have been purchased to date, approximately 70:30 fiction: nonfiction. Choices have been made by the Book Committee (Katharine, Joyce and Vicki), who keep up with various book reviews. Vicki has been sending out lists of recent purchases. Suggestions are most welcome.

Other activities hosted by FOAL this year include a Book Chat, begun in January by Philippe Marchand and held every 5-6 weeks (reviews of previous Chats are available in the library). Still in the idea stage: a book quiz, ideas for future speakers, dramatic readings, and a potentially grand project: the 100 best books of the 20th century. Any suggestions are again, most welcome.

A question was raised regarding the books from the former American Library, many of which were purchased by the first FOAL; previous communication from the University Paul Valery and the Mairie have said that UPV teachers would take 10% and the médiathèque Emile Zola would take 25OO books. One member noted that the books are not on display yet at the médiathèque. It was decided that we should ask UPV for some of the books that remain, especially the children’s books, and the DVDs which we assume to be still be at the Richter building.

Looking forward to the second year of our library, the President stressed the need to improve membership and revenues, to enable us to continue to purchase new books and host English-oriented events. She has prepared a bilingual flier which, if members can print out a few and distribute or post on bulletin boards at a Maison pour Tous, or other location, might help us to achieve this goal. Events can pose problems in finding sufficient volunteers to put them on, but we are still at present committed to having them, in support of the English speaking community in the Montpelier region.

A thank you was extended from the President to all who have helped in the creation and continued life of our library: members, donors and board members; we add here an especial thank you to our energetic President.

Any suggestions for activities or book purchases, and requests for fliers or additional information deleted inadvertently by this inefficient secretary can be addressed to FOAL at the library, on our Facebook page which has been updated (Friends-of-the-Anglophone-Library-Montpellier)or by email to this address:
foal@dbmail.com

The library is open all summer except for the 3rd and 17th August

The Book Committee will be meeting at the end of August to choose new books. Remember, suggestions welcome.
Although we make a few pence from the permanent Book Sale, we badly need more members in order to increase our budget for books. It would be good if you could all try and recruit a member or two. I am also attaching a flyer of which you could print out a few copies and distribute. We shall try and have a membership drive in the autumn, ideally, we need to double current membership. We would also like to get some sponsorship, any suggestions?

I have written to Christopher Crimes who is Director of the Domaine d’O, asking him if he would be willing to come a give a talk about his experiences there.

The Book Chat meetings will recommence in the autumn
(contact: mishex@wanadoo.fr )

Thank you all for your support and have a good summer.





DON’T FORGET, WE HAVE CHANGED OUR JOINING UP POLICY, IF YOU JOIN NOW, YOUR MEMBERSHIP RUNS FOR A FULL YEAR AND CAN BE RENEWED ON ANNIVERSARY DATE. WE NEED AS MANY MEMBERS AS POSSIBLE SO AS TO BE ABLE TO KEEP ON BUYING NEW BOOKS.

As well as the Permanent Book Sale, we have decided that if you bring in a good, recent book that we can add to the collection, we would pay a small sum for it. Relieving your summer visitors of their summer reading to make room in their suitcases for other things on their return journey could also be a good way to augment the collection!

[peter]

FOAL New Books September 2011


NON FICTION

The Elephant to Hollywood Michael Caine
This is Sir Michael’s autobiography, the Elephant of the title being the place in London where he was born in 1933 and where his heart still is today. He is a natural story-teller and we bowl along happily

Spoilt Rotten Theodore Dalrymple
If ever a book was crying out to be written, it is TR’s coruscating polemic against the mawkish sentimentality of modern Britain. TD argues that many of our social woes are rooted in the fact that people have been brainwashed into believing that expressing their feelings is a quasi-religious duty. Fail to weep at the death of Diana and the mob will crucify you. It is a compelling thesis, developed with brio

One thousand years of annoying the French Stephan Clarke

Globish: how English became the world’s language Robert Mc Crum

The children of lovers Judy Golding
An exemplary memoir of childhood with William Golding and what it was to be a child in an unusual family. The daughter gives an intimate view of Golding’s life, shot through with arresting detail, wit and the wisdom of hindsight

The Hare with amber eyes Edmund de Waal
While researching a book in Tokyo, E d W discovered a collection of 264 wood and ivory carvings, netsuke figures which had belonged to his family since the 1870s. A meticulously researched memoir which traces the story of the collection and five generations of his remarkable family. Charles Ephrussi, who collected the figures, was a wealthy banker and noted aesthete used by Proust as a model for Swann



FICTION

The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes
Long-listed for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, the novel is a perfect example of his miniaturist technique. A tragic story about childhood friendship, suicide and the imperfection of memory. The novel may be slight in size but in its power and the depth of its themes it is anything but

The Stranger’s Child Alan Hollinghurst
Also long-listed for the Man Booker 2011, this novel is a strong contender. Sleek, seductive and a little sly, it appears at first sight to address a bankable theme: the stately homes and homos of England

Derby Day D.J.Taylor

The death instinct Jeb Rubenfeld

The Troubled Man Henning Mankell
A Kurt Wallander story, the detective is now 60 and this appears to be his last case

Theodora Stella Duffy
The real-life Theodora was a sainted Byzantine empress of the 6th century. She was also reputedly a famed actress and child prostitute. Duffy’s fictionalised Theodora is all of these things and more, a living, breathing, complex woman, wonderfully feisty and empowered. Her ancient story is told in a modern, vivacious way, Duffy is able to tether the wild rumours to real life and also take joyous artistic licence.

My former heart Cressida Connolly
Three generations of the same family, a succession of relationships analysed and orchestrated by a writer who seems to peer directly into the human heart. The reviewer says: “I strongly suggest readers buy two copies, one to savour, and one to throw at the Man Booker judges who unaccountably left it off this year’s long-list”

I’ll walk alone Mary Higgins Clark
A highly recommended entry in the Higgins Clark series

Smut Alan Bennett
AB has somehow acquired an entirely undeserved reputation for wholesomeness, perhaps because his characters are often the sort of people who those with little imagination imagine to be wholesome. In fact, as Bennett has frequently shown, beneath the placid surface of many a middle class, suburban existence is a boiling cauldron of grief, spite, rage, ambition, despair, and in the case of his latest two stories, interesting sex

Our kind of traitor Le Carré

Mystery Jonathan Kellerman
An Alex Delaware novel, a good story, well written, and one his long-time fans will enjoy

Sing you home Jodi Picoult
Her 18th novel, probably her most controversial yet. JP presents a powerful story about what constitutes a family, and why committed gay couples should be seen no differently from straight couples when it comes to marriage and raising a family. It is certainly a story which will provide for lively discussion among readers and book clubs everywhere. A must read.

The Forgotten Waltz Anne Enright
This author won the Booker Prize in 2007. Her latest is one of those densely recapitulative novels that seek to interpret emotional crack-up from the angle of its ground-down aftermath

The girl who fell from the sky Durrow

The Blue Book A.L.Kennedy

Becoming George Sand Rosilind Brackenbury
RB’s tenth novel encompasses a poetic, dreamlike disquisition on love, sex and loss, sliding smoothly between the 19th century and the 21st and the lives of two formidable women trying to manage their homes, their children, their men and their work as writers

Tick tock James Patterson

The Inspector and Silence Hakan Nesser
Inspector Van Veeteren is the main character in ten of HN’s award-winning crime novels. Van Veeteren is destined, in the words of Colin Dexter “for a place amongst the great European dectectives

Last night in twisted river John Irving

House of the hanged Mark Mills
Riveting and evocative tale of passion and murder, set on the French Riviera in the 1930s from the bestselling author of The Savage Garden

[peter]

The Friends of the Anglophone Library


SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER




The new books will be in the library any day now. You will find most of the relevant book reviews in the Book Review booklet.

Thanks to our dynamic board, we were able to open all summer (apart from two Wednesdays in August)


We also have a couple of projects which should interest you

100 BEST NOVELS OF THE 20th CENTURY

One of our board members, Philippe Marchand who has already set up Book Chat, has come up with the idea that the library could create a special collection of the 100 best novels of the 20th century. Philippe has consulted several lists and has come up with a final list of 100 books. The idea is to make appeals for support, either for people to donate books on the list, offer a cash contribution or sponsor the purchase of a specific book. Obviously, we would publicise the campaign which would generate interest and support. On the front page of each book, a label would indicate the person or organisation who/which made the acquisition possible. Of course, the books would be available for borrowing.
You will be kept informed of the progress of this project

BOOK QUIZ






Again, thanks to dynamic board members, we are planning a Book Quiz for Friday 13 January 2012. There will be an American Womens Group team, led by Maggie Palau and a FOAL team whose captain will be Caroline Di Miceli.
Questions will be on a range of literary subjects; classics, 20th century literature, poetry, theatre, and so on.
This should be a bit of fun and games and a nice way to start the New Year together (drinks and nibbles also on the agenda). More details in a later Newsletter, but put this lucky date in your diaries.

MAGAZINES

Just a reminder that we have a regular supply of some magazines which members can borrow: (the subscribers bring them in on a regular basis)

The Spectator a British current events magazine with literary and art reviews and some very amusing contributors
Intelligent Life A new bi-monthly magazine with lots of ‘intelligent’ articles as the name suggests
The London Review of Books A bit heavy going at times but interesting if you are interested in books
The New York Review of Books

And coming soon, The Economist which one of our members will be subscribing to and bringing in


Over the summer we registered a domain in order to be able to set up a website. At the moment we are looking for someone with the skills to set up a site so, in the fullness of time, FOAL will be online.


Book Chat meetings continue: here is the calendar

Thursday Sept 15th 5.00-6.45pm
Wednesday October 19th 2.30-4.30pm
Wednesday November 9th 4.30-6.15pm
Wednesday December 14th 4.30-6.15pm
Info on Book Chat: mishex@wanadoo.fr

[peter]

We have received an important donation of books from Carla Gamba. This gift of books makes a significant contribution to the library’s coverage of popular and literary novels. We have put 79 classic authors/titles on a special shelf, the rest have either been incorporated into the other shelves or put in the Book Sale

There are some enchanting surprises in the Carla Gamba donation: a rare sci-fi novel by the Russian master Isaac Asimov (I, Robot ), several John Irving novels (including The World According to Garp) four Graham Greene novels (including his funniest Our Man in Havana ), a now rare Daphne Du Maurier (Frenchman’s Creek), and Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. Last on the alphabetical index of this set of books is P G Wodehouse and his Life with Jeeves volume.

Akutagawa, Ryúnosuke
Rashõnon and 17 Other Stories

Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot

Atwood, Margaret
Dancing Girls
The Robber Bride
Wilderness Tips
Surfacing

Bach, Richard
A Gift of Wings
Running From Safety
The Bridge Across Forever
Illusions
The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
One

Bellow, Saul
To Jerusalem and Back

Blixen Karen
Out of Africa

Brookner, Anita
A Private View
A closed eye

Cain James M
The Five Great Novels

Colegate, Isabel
Winter Journey

Conrad, Joseph
An Outcast of he Islands
Youth an the End of the Tether
Typhoon and Other Stories
Under Western Eyes

Dos Passos, John
Manhattan Transfer

Du Maurier, Daphne
Frenchman’s Creek

Farrell J G
The Siege of Krishnapur

Forster E M
The life to come and other stories
Where angels fear to tread
The longest Journey
Room with a view
Maurice
Howard’s End
Collected short stories

FitzGerald, F Scott
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
The Beautiful and Damned
Tender is the Night
The Pat Hobby Stories


Greene, Graham
Our Man in Havana
It’s A Battlefield
The Tenth Man
The Quiet American
The Comedians

Grass, Günter
Crabwalk

Huxley, Aldous
Crome Yellow
The Gioconda Smile
Brief Candles
After Many A Summer

Irving, John
A Widow for One Year
The Hotel New Hampshire
The Cider House Rules
A Prayer for Owen Meany
World according to Garp
Setting Free the Bears
The Water Method Man
Trying to Save Piggy

Isherwood Christopher
Down there on a visit
A single man
Kathleen and Frank
The Memorial
All the Conspirators
The world in the evening

Prater Violet
Lions and shadows
Meeting by the river

Ishigouro Kazuo
An artist of the floating world
A pale view of the hills

Mansfield, Katherine
In A German Pension
Selected Stories

Miller, Arthur
Timebends – A Life (autobiography)

Paley, Grace
Later the Same Day

Salinger
For Esmé with love (stories)

Somerset Maugham, W
Cakes and Ale

Steinbeck, John
The Moon is Down

Twain, Mark
Wharton , Edith
The Age of Innocence

Wells, H G
The Invisible Man

Wilde, Oscar
The Importance of Being Earnest & other plays

Williams, Tennesee
Collected Stories

White, Edmund
A Boy’s Story

Wodehouse, P G
Life with Jeeves

On a more modern note, a Henning Mankell “The Man from Beijing “ a donation, and three books I bought in England – The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi (the Italian literary thriller phenomenon) – Headhunters by Jo Nesbo and The Women of the Cousins’ War by Philippa Gregory

[StummvonBordwehr]

Isaac Asimov is an American author really, having emigrated from Russia at the age of three.

Nice to see The Siege of Krishnapur on the list!

[peter]

TALK BY CHRISTOPHER CRIMES

Director of the Domaine d’O

Friday 2nd December at 6.30 at the Domaine d’O south at the indoor theatre area (théatre du sud)

Christopher Crimes became Director of the Domaine d’O in 2009. He set out to create a more coherent and structured organisation which his thirty years of experience as manager and director for several major theatres and arts venues has stood him in good stead. His Anglo-Saxon manner and a certain reserve could be deceptive but the fact he was elected in the face of fierce competition speaks for his experience. His commitment to projects centered on the arts, the environment and the importance of sustainable development is unfailing.
On the home front, Christopher likes to listen to an eclectic variety of music, father of two, he is married to a Frenchwoman, and he is a keen cook and likes to go shopping in the market looking for inspiration.

He will be talking to us on several topics concerning his cultural and educational experiences here in France leading up to his nomination at the head of Domaine d’O, and also about women writers.

After the talk the Domaine d’O bar will be open and we will be able to enjoy a drink together. If you are interested, you can buy tickets for a new play On se suivra de près, a theatrical and existential thriller, at a special price of 8 euros instead of 16 euros. The play starts at 8.30pm

This talk has been several months in the planning and has entailed a lot of perseverance on my part; CC is not an easy person to make contact with. One of the activities which we wish to maintain at FOAL is just this kind of talk but we can only continue if we have a good turnout. We are counting on you, members and supporters, to swell the numbers on December 2nd. The event is free but we need to know how many of you will be coming so please send an email to foal@dbmail.com before 22nd November so that I can let them know at the Domaine d’O how many people to expect for the talk. Please mention also if you want tickets for the play. Don’t hesitate to bring along friends.

You can get a tram to Château d’O, please try and arrive for 6.15

[peter]

DONATION FROM ABROAD October 2011


We have received a generous donation from abroad, a selection of recent books in very good condition, another significant contribution to the library.

Paul Auster Book of Illusions
Paul Auster Brooklyn Follies
Jane Austin Sense and Sensibility
Wilkie Collins The woman in white
Lewis Carroll Alice’s adventures in Wonderland
Béatrice Delapras The gifted eye of Jean Planque
Waris Dirie Desert flower
Elisabeth Gilbert Eat, Pray, Love
Hemingway Death in the Afternoon
Kazuo Ishiguro Nocturnes
Barbara Kingsolver The poisonous Bible (we have got the Lacuna)
*Steig Larrson The Girl who played with fire
*Steig Larrson The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest Harper Lee To kill a mockingbird (on the 100 Best Novels list )
Doris Lessing Alfred and Emily
Andrea Levy Small Island
Cormac McCarthy The Road (a masterpiece)
Iris Murdoch Under the Net (on the 100 Best Novels list)
Audrey Niffenegger The Time Traveler’s wife
Sidney Poitier The measure of a man (memoir)
Philip Pullman (trilogy) The Amber Spyglass
Philip Pullman (trilogy) The Subtle Knife
Philip Pullman (trilogy) Northern Lights
Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea (on 100 BN list)
Philip Roth The plot against America
Philip Roth Everyman
Salman Rushdie Midnight’s Children (on 100 BN list)
Anne Shatter and Annie Barrows The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
Beverly Swerling City of Dreams
Richard Yates Revolutionary Road

* (we now have all three volumes of Millenium)

These books are now on the shelves in their relevant places

Our shelves are filling up. Many of you have generously donated books, some of which we have added to the collection, some which have gone into the permanent Book Sale which raises funds for the library. As we are starting to be rather overwhelmed with books, in future
could you please send an email to foal@dbmail.com with a list of books, title, author and date of publication, before you bring them in. Given the lack of space, we prefer recent literature (say from 2009 onwards), we will have a good selection of “classics” once we get the “100 Best Novels of the XX century” (you will be receiving more info about this by post), but for the time being we shall focus on current fiction and non fiction.

[peter]

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER




If you have been down to the library recently, you will notice we have changed rooms and that the collection is growing thanks to several generous donations. We also try to order new books on a regular basis, concentrating on recent literature. The novel which won the Man Booker prize 2011 was on the shelves before the event!

We continue to organise events, coming up is the talk by Christopher Crimes, director of the Domaine d’O on Friday 2nd December at 6.30 (plan to arrive at 6.15). You can still sign up for this free event by sending an email to foal@dbmail.com before 22nd November.

Members of the dynamic board (and many thanks to them) keep busy, Philip Marchand is heading a team dedicated to collecting the 100 Best Novels of the XX century (you have received information about this). We will soon have a special bookcase for these books which will represent a significant contribution to the collection and good publicity for the library.
The first FOAL event of 2012 will be a Book Quiz with the American Women’s Group. A Book Chat team , headed by Caroline di Miceli, will be challenging a team picked by the AWG’s Book Club. The Quiz Master will be Jonathan James, who is already known to several of you as the lawyer who handled the case of alleged plagiarism, brought by two authors against Dan Brown. This will be a wide-ranging quiz to test the knowledge of discerning book readers. The quiz has been planned around such categories of questions as: Classics before 1900, Novels since 1900, Non-fiction books, Novels made into films, Genre and Popular Fiction to mention only four.
The evening event will take place at the Martin Luther King annexe (Boulevard Louis Blanc) in Montpellier from 6.00 pm to 8.15 pm on Friday 13th January. Liquid refreshments and nibbles will be served and it will be a pleasant opportunity to wish each other a Happy New Year.
Make an entry on your 2012 calendar now and come with friends. This is an open event and all bibliophiles are welcome.
For more information contact Katharine Claringbull on kath1977@gmail.com or Philip Marchand on mishex@wandoo.fr Even better, send an email to foal@dbmail.com to let us know if you will be attending so that we can plan for the refreshments.

Our shelves are filling up. Many of you have generously donated books, some of which we have added to the collection, some which have gone into the permanent Book Sale which raises funds for the library. As we are starting to be rather overwhelmed with books, in future could you please send an email to foal@dbmail.com with a list of books, title, author and date of publication, before you bring them in. Given the shortage of space, we prefer recent literature (say from 2009 onwards), we will have a good selection of “classics” once we get the “100 Best Novels of the XX century” but for the time being we are focussing on current fiction and non fiction.

[peter]

The Friends of the Anglophone Library

DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

Christopher Crimes

The evening was a success, CC was very interesting and there was a good turnout.


Coming soon: an event for bibliophiles
If you know your Shakespeare, your Scott Fitzgerald, your Graham Greene or your Raymond Chandler, you’ll enjoy attending the Book Quiz event which, as you know, is scheduled for 13th January 2012. In this brain-teasing competition FOAL’s BookChat enthusiasts will field a team to challenge an equally astute team drawn from a knowledgeable Book Club membership. The Quiz Master will be Jonathan James, the well-known barrister and Queen’s Counsel
This is an open event and all who enjoy literature in English are welcome. You’ll hear the teams deal with questions relating to Classics before 1900, Novels since 1900, Non-fiction books, Novels made into films, Well-known Quotations , Plays and Poems, and Thriller and Mystery Fiction.
And there will be opportunities for the audience to participate.
Refreshments will also be served. A thirst for wine can accompany a thirst for knowledge! It will be a pleasant way to wish each other “a Happy New Year”
The evening event will take place at the Martin Luther King annexe in Montpellier (27 Boulevard Louis Blanc) from 6.00 pm to 8.15 pm on Friday 13th January.

100 Best Novels

The project is taking shape, one of our board members has put his trip to the States to good use and has managed to collect a significant number of books on the list. A generous member is donating the shelves and Foal is helping with admin costs.

Facebook Site


The regular Newsletters keep you informed but you might like to have a look at our Facebook site @ Foal Friends of the Anglophone Library Montpellier
We plan to set up a website but to date we do not have anyone with the necessary skills. We would be delighted if someone could help, we already have a registered domain but it remains empty. Send an email to foal@dbmail.com if you can assist.


Library closing for Christmas

The library will be closed on December 21st and 28th so that you can do your Christmas shopping and then recuperate from your Christmas excesses. Members coming in on the 14th December will be able to take out an extra book or two to tide them over until the next opening on January 4th, from which date it will be business as usual.

New Books

A few recent books from generous donators:

Blue Monday The latest Nicci French
The Distant Hours Kate Morton
The Lotus Eaters Tatjana Soli
Before the poison Peter Robinson
The Fifth Witness Michael Connelly
The Cobra Frederick Forsyth
Never look away Linwood Barclay
The slap Christos Tsiolkas



A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR

[peter]

Winter 2011/2012 Newsletter

The Friends of the Anglophone Library



NEW YEAR GREETINGS

A very Happy New Year to you all


The library has been open for a full year now and thanks to your support we are keeping our head above water. We have been able to order over 100 new books and generous donations enable us to offer a good range of interesting literature. Readership is not very high and we would like you to make suggestions for the opening hours which would suit you best (see below )
Our dynamic board has allowed us to organise some interesting events:
The Christopher Crimes talk was well attended and enjoyed by everyone



The literary quiz
The evening was a real success thanks to the brilliant organisation of Katharine Claringbull and Philippe Marchand who had put an immense amount of work into the smooth running of the Quiz itself and the drinks and eats party before and after the event. We also thank the American Women’s Group, our partners in this venture. The Book Chat team won by a short margin against their worthy opponents from the AWG. Quiz Master Jonathan James played his role to perfection. Many people among the large turnout hope this might become an annual event.





We hope to have good news for you soon, the 100 Best Novels of the XX century project is coming along nicely and we think this will deserve
A GRAND OPENING

later on, in the Spring, you will be kept informed and with any luck, there will be A SURPRISE


 

We hope you will continue to give us your support in 2012 so that we can keep our library alive and thriving


Thanks to volunteers from the board and members, the library is currently open on Wednesday afternoons from 3pm – 6pm. Would different opening hours suit you better?
Send suggestions to foal@dbmail.com

Membership renewal You will be informed by email when your renewal falls due. You can then either send a cheque addressed to Foal with a stamped, self -addressed envelope to:
Sunshine Erickson Mas de Calage Chemin de Calage 34130 St Aunès
or renew at the library

New Books

You will receive shortly the list of new books on order

[peter]

BOOKS ON ORDER JANUARY 2012
You will find the complete Book Reviews in the library

PD James Death comes to Pemberly

Death comes to Pemberly begins six years after the close of Pride and Prejudice. Famed mystery writer PD James hasn’t simply dressed up a mystery in Austen style. Her book is very much an exploration of Elisabeth and Darcy’s characters, emotional lives and marriage. James’ writing style captures the cadences of Austen and it is a satisfying effort as a sequel to P & P

Hal Vaughan Sleeping with the enemy

Coco Chanel’s secret war, exploring the complexities of this woman, so very awful and so very talented makes for fascinating and enlightening reading. Chanel’s life offers biographers a trove of juicy material. She was a creative genius, her own expertly polished self-presentation perhaps the greatest triumph of her brilliantly inventive mind. A fresh contribution using a wealth of materials gleaned from wartime police files and intelligence archives

Penelope Lively How it all began

Ms Lively’s gift is for delving into the roiling uncertainty beneath her seemingly mundane choices and for rendering the consequences of those choices in crisp yet subtle terms. One of the most daring aspects of this novel is that Ms Lively is concerned with the hearts and problems of older characters. One of our most talented writers has written an elegant, witty work of fiction, deceptively simple, emotionally and intellectually penetrating.

Henning Mankell Man from Beijing

Obviously, he deals with crime, another page-turner thriller. The detail and believability of his characters and action is magnificent. If you are familiar with Henning Mankell’s other books (there are one or two in the library), you’ll like what you find here, people new to this writer will enjoy the book as well and if you like Stieg Larrson, you’ll like Mankell.

Esther Freud Lucky break

Ms Freud’s 7th novel which follows a group of actors for nearly 15 years, breezily charming and typically shrewd and she comes up with a new satirical edge. She is a superbly gifted writer, with a touch so light she’s often undervalued.
Justin Cartwright Other people’s money
This book tells the tale of a banking family caught in the web of a financial collapse. A family drama rather than a deep look at the ills that helped cause the recent financial crisis. The writing is magnificent, the characters finely drawn, a truly excellent read

Susan Hill The betrayal of trust

A compelling and somewhat disturbing novel, conducted with Susan Hill’s customary fluency. It features Simon Serailler, the author’s usual protagonist investigating a cold case of a missing teenager, but it also has a secondary theme, assisted suicide. Hypochondriacs are warned. A novel rather more serious than a superior page-turner, though it is that as well.

Michael Ondaaje The Cat’s table

On an ocean liner bound for England, Michael explores the ship and befriends eccentric passengers, a fascinating bunch that Michael Ondaaje keeps in motion like a master juggler, maintaining a perfectly balanced pace. Midway, the novel skips ahead from the 1953 voyage to events that occur 20 years later. A marvelously humane novel that works on a number of levels and is a joy to read.

Deborah Levy Swimming home

A subversive page-turner, merciless gaze at the insidious harm that depression can have on . apparently stable, well turned-out people. Set in a summer villa, the story is tautly structured, taking place over a single week in which a group of beautiful, flawed tourists on the French Riviera come loose at the seams. Linguistic virtuosity, technical brilliance, a new direction for a major writer with deep psychology and biting humour.

Philippa Gregory Lady of the rivers

This is the third novel in the series “The cousin’s war” (we have the Red Queen and the White Queen, the first two of the series in the library) The books are authentic, her characters do not use 21st century slang or mannerisms. PG has clearly researched her topic and does not hide or water down how conditions were in those days. A welcome addition to the series.

Kathy Reichs Flesh and Bones

Dr Temperance Brenner, like her creator, is a forensic anthropologist, she works in North Carolina, specializing in “decamps and floaters”, so plenty of authentic detail with your gore. But there is more to Reichs than insider info. She’s very good on character and her plots are delicately knotted and full of tension. The body count is reassuringly high, the denouement satisfactorily shocking plus advice on how best to bury a body!

Michael Connolly The drop

A fantastic continuation in the Harry Bosch series (thriller) Enthralling

Elisabeth Haynes Into the darkest corner

Picked by Amazon as 2011 book of the year, an unknown author’s first novel. A tale of obsession that hits all the right notes, spine-chillingly good If you like psychological thriller you`ll enjoy this one a lot.
It`s a haunting story! Imagine: You`re falling in love with a good looking, charming and charismatic man. Everything is fine. Your live seems perfect.
Suddenly you get the feeling that things, first small things, at your home are not on their original place. Then you get the feeling being stalked during your hours of work and during your shopping tours. You get the feeling that your phone is eavesdropped. And the worst of all, your wonderful dreamboat is changing as well. He starts to develop cruel behaviour and none of your friends believe you.
And then...you're in an nightmare....which, however you - somehow - survived. You start a new existence, find a new job, a new man who support you to start a therapy to overcome your fears. ... Until you get the feeling that HE is back....

David McCullough The Greater Journey – Americans in Paris

He follows writer, artists and thinkers from the New World to the Old in the 19th century, trying to learn something from the French. The innocents abroad are shocked at the bouts of savagery, as when the French violently turn on one another during the uprising of 1871. They like everything else. They return home renewed, and leave their marks on everything from sculptures in Central Park to modern medicine.

Sebastian Barry On Canaan’s Side

The story is narrated by Lilly Bere, an, 89 year-old Irish cook living on the East Coast of the US. After a jumble of memories the story starts to develop and pulls you in. If you enjoy sumptuous prose and compassionate stories then this is an absolute joy to read.

Robert Harris The Fear Index

This is a very topical thriller based around the current economic depression and its beginnings. The plot throws a different twist on Artificial Intelligence getting out of hand and plays on the human fear of computers taking over, as well as the AI using THE FEAR INDEX to determine where to invest. The book revolves around the main character Dr Alex Hoffman, a physicist who sets up a hedge fund which, using his self-learning programme, earns him a vast fortune. Strange things start to happen and Alex realises he is not as fully in control of his life as he thought and begins to doubt himself and events. The writing is good, the descriptions and dialogue spot on.

[peter]

NEWSLETTER March 2012



Quite a lot of news again.
As you can see, we have come up with a logo. The President has been working with a computer whizz to set up the Foal website (nearly completed) and in the course of this tedious and lengthy process, the whizz suggested this logo.

The website address will be :

http://www.friendsoftheanglophonelibrary.com and it should be up and running soon. Meanwhile, if you are interested, you can « google » Friends of the Anglophone Library and you will see that we are referenced on quite a lot of sites to which we send info regularly. We already have a Facebook site «https://www.facebook.com/pages/Foal-Friends-of-the-Anglophone-Library-Montpellier/169475696410130 » on which we post info

New books
The new books have arrived (see list below) and we are expecting a significant donation of about 150 books, good titles and good authors.

100 Best Novels of the XX Century
We have got there, the books are on their new shelf in the library. Many thanks to Philippe Marchand who initiated and followed the project through, Art Fell and the AWG who have donated generously and other members of Foal. (list of the 100 in attachment) These books will be on loan soon, once we have done some covering.

Comédie du Livre 1st, 2nd and 3rd June
The authors invited this year are British

Foal has been consulted by the Mairie who asked us to come up with some ideas. We have suggested doing the Quiz again with invited authors on the teams ; a Round Table, again with invited authors, focussed on the 100 Best Novels which will give wide publicity to the project; and possibly some form of audio event where the public could listen to readings from poets and authors past and present drawn from the BBC archives. The people at the Mairie like our ideas and this partnership will be a huge boost for our association. We will keep you informed about this Renewal

Renewal rates are good, thank you all for your support, if you haven’t renewed yet or when the time comes (renewal end of the same month you joined last year), you can send a cheque addressed to Foal for 25 euros or 40 euros (benefactor) with a stamped, addressed envelope to

Mrs S Erickson Mas de Calage Chemin de Calage 34130 St Aunès
Or drop by the library any Wednesday afternoon between 3pm-6pm
(29 rue Maguelone 1st floor Institut Méditerranéen de Langues)

Annual General Meeting
We already have a date : 20th June at 6pm at the Martin Luther King venue (drinks after) so make room in your diaries but we will remind you nearer the time.

Book Sale
We plan to have a BIG BOOK SALE soon as we are getting quite overwhelmed with books and a book sale is a good way for us to raise funds for new books. Don’t forget, we have a permanent Book Sale at the library

Books ordered January 2012
Fiction
PD James Death comes to Pemberly
Hal Vaughan Sleeping with the enemy
Penelope Lively How it all began
Esther Freud Lucky break
Justin Cartwright Other people’s money
Susan Hill The betrayal of trust
Michael Ondaaje The Cat’s table
Deborah Levy Swimming home
Philippa Gregory Lady of the rivers
Kathy Reichs Flesh and Bones
Michael Connolly The drop
Elisabeth Haynes Into the darkest corner
Sebastian Barry On Canaan’s Side
Robert Harris The Fear Index

Non Fiction
David McCullough The Greater Journey – Americans in Paris

[peter]

The Friends of the Anglophone Library



One of the recent projects of the Friends of the Anglophone Library (29 rue Maguelone at the Institut Méditerranéen de Langues, Montpellier, open every Wednesday from 3-6pm) has been to collect the 100 Best Novels of the XX century, chosen from various lists on the internet.
We have now reached our goal and the 100 books are available for loan at the library. This is a significant contribution to our collection although we continue to focus on current literature and order new books regularly.
If you wish to have the list of the 100 Best Novels and how they were selected or the list of books acquired by FOAL since our opening in December, contact foal@dbmail.com

[peter]

By email :

We have finally set up a website on which regular info about the association will be posted

“Google” http://friendsoftheanglophonelibrary.com (no spaces) and the site will be first on the list of several references for the Friends

Best wishes for Easter

Vicki Metherell

[peter]

I have had several meetings with Régis Penalva at the Mairie as he wished Foal to become involved with the Comédie du Livre (1st 2nd 3rd June), British authors invited this year. I put forward three suggestions, a Quiz, a Round Table and readings by British authors and poets from the BBC archives. Although I made these proposals at least a month ago, time has flown by, Régis became a proud father and took paternity leave and it is now too late to change the schedules of the authors to organise the quiz and the round table. However, he and Laurence Patri from the association “Coeur de Livres” do like my idea of readings. The plan is to set up some computers at the Ville de Montpellier stand so that people can come and listen (they would be informed that the selection was made by Foal so our name and logo will be somewhere at least). I have ordered the CDs and will make a first selection to be confirmed along with suggestions from Régis P and LPatri.
The better news is that they are going to organise for Foal members two breakfast meetings with two authors; Kate Summerscale and Roger Jon Ellory at la Maison des Rélations Internationales (I attach the bios of the two authors). This will be the Saturday and Sunday morning (2nd and 3rd June) so clear your diaries as we will need a good turnout. The Mairie is going to order some of the books of the two authors and donate them to Foal so that we can do some reading before we meet the authors.
They will need to know numbers in order to know how much coffe to make and how many croissants to order(!) so you will need to send me an email to confirm your presence (lets say by the end of April).

Best

Vicki Metherell

PS It is never too late to join! Just send a cheque made out to Foal with a stamped addressed envelope to
Mme S Erickson
Mal de Calage
Chemin de Calage
34130 St Aunès

Membership fees

25 Active member
40 Benefactor
15 Student

[peter]

Book Sale on 5th May

Sorry, folks, I have a lot on my mind at the moment. I should have told you that the Book Sale will be at the library 29 rue Maguelone at the IMLS (bottom buzzer) on 1st floor for those of you who have not been before. I am sure we will be able to offer coffe or tea!

Vicki Metherell

[peter]

This year the Comédie du Livre (1st 2nd and 3rd June) is devoted to British authors, you may have seen a list of the participating authors, some of them very well-known, some less so, but an interesting selection.
Foal was asked to participate and we came up with the idea of using historic recordings of British authors and poets drawn from the BBC archives. Foal bought the CDs and selected the recordings. These are in the process of being transcribed on to a couple of computers which will be located at the Accueil Stand under a Foal banner. (The association Coeur de Livres will be at the same stand which will be near the Office du Tourisme). We will recuperate the CDs and they will be available for loan at the library.
You will find attached details of the recordings which were chosen according to the interest of the interview or the poetry reading and “listenability” if such a word exists, some of the recordings were difficult to hear.

Best
Vicki Metherell

Some of these are fascinating :




HISTORIC RECORDINGS FROM THE BBC ARCHIVES

BRITISH WRITERS

Date of recording
Arthur Conan Doyle 1930
The « invention » of Sherlock Holmes
Somerset Maugham 1949
The freedom of old age and the role of the author
E.M.Forster 1946
Economics and socialism, role of the artist
P.G.Wodehouse (Interviewed by Alistair Cooke) 1963
Would Bertie Wooster and Jeeves be possible today ?
Aldous Huxley 1958
An essayist using the novel form ? On the benefits of heightened percep-
tion through the use of drugs
Graham Greene 1968
On his preferred book, « The Power and the Glory », the preoccu-
pations of the writer and his fascination with Russian roulette
Ian Fleming 1963
On his career, Sandhurst, Reuters which gave him his writing style,
the war and naval intelligence, good grounding for James Bond
John le Carré 1966
The solitude of the spy, the influence of other writers, of his time
at the Foreign Office and of the image of the construction of the Berlin Wall



BRITISH POETS
Date of recording
Walter de la Mare Sotto voce 1953
John Masefield Sea Fever 1941
Robert Graves The Terraced Valley 1949
Basil Bunting What the chairman told Tom 1969
Cecil Day Lewis Come live with me & be my love 1938
John Betjeman Eunice 1967
Intro Caprice & Caprice 1967
Stephen Spender Rough 1966
Dylan Thomas And death shall have no dominion 1950
Kingsley Amis After Goliath 1961
An ever-fixed mark 1961
Philip Larkin A study of reading habits 1964
Intro The Whitsun Weddings 1973
The Whitsun Weddings 1973
Ted Hughes Intro to Out 1965
Out 1965

[peter]

The Friends of the Anglophone Library


LIBRARY SCHEDULE JULY THROUGH DECEMBER
at 2 Place de la Chapelle Neuve Montpellier

JULY
Saturday 7th
Wednesday 11th SATURDAY OPEN 10 - 12.30
Wednesday 25th WEDNESDAY OPEN 3-6pm

AUGUST
Saturday 4th
Wednesday 8th
Wednesday 22nd

SEPTEMBER
Saturday 1st
Wednesday 12th
Wednesday 26th

OCTOBER
Saturday 6th
Wednesday 10th
Wednesday 24th

NOVEMBER
Saturday 3rd
Wednesday 14th
Wednesday 28th

DECEMBER
Saturday 1st
Wednesday 12th
Wednesday 19th

[peter]

The “Friends of the Anglophone Library” are organising their annual Book Quiz on Friday January 11th.

The format will be changed, there will be four teams competing and everyone in the audience will be able to participate

Date 11 January at 6pm Venue: Martin Luther King Annex, 27 Boulevard Louis Blanc

There will be a small charge of 5 euros which will also entitle you to drinks and nibbles. Please send an email to foal@dbmail.com before 5th January to let us know if you plan to attend so that we can organise quantities. This event is open to all.