vendredi 16 novembre 2018

The new catalogue is now online !!!

The new catalogue (Title Alphabetical Order) is now online. To download it, just click Here.
Also available : Author Alphabetical Order Here.

Click on “télécharger avec votre navigateur” (download to browser) and then on “ouvrir” (open) or "Enregistrer le fichier" (to save it on your computer).

mercredi 24 octobre 2018

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER



 

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2018
              

NEW BOOKS : the new books have arrived, been covered & are now on the shelves. A lot of happy reading in the offing

 
CHRISTMAS PARTY : an important date to put in your diaries ; Friday 14th December at 6.30pm at the library. As usual, you will bring sweet or savory (organiser to be confirmed), FOAL will provide the drinks & we will start off the party with the raffle draw.  Board members go to great lengths to find worthwhile prizes which are starting to come in.  Tickets are 1 euro each or ten tickets for 8 euros (a bargain !)  We shall start selling tickets in November but also on the day of the party       


DUES : (this does not concern new members since September whose dues are paid to end 2019). Dues to be sent to Mike Davison  13 rue de la Paix  34130  St Aunès at the beginning of January. We thank you all for your support

Dues : 30 euros individual   40 euros family   20euros student

 

NEW OPENING HOURS : we have come to the conclusion that we need to change opening hours, the kind volunteers who staff the library all agree that we should open on the Saturday mornings from 10-12am & on Wednesdays from 3-5.30pm. We shall be starting at the beginning of December.

 

dimanche 30 septembre 2018

NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2018



 

NEWSLETTER    OCTOBER 2018    

 
     Antigone des Associations

We had a lot of sign-ups for the « Welcome Drinks » but not a lot of takers on the evening of the event (21st September) so all the sign-ups were contacted (email & text message) for a replay on the 28th & two couples turned up. Conclusion : having a stand at the Antigone des Associations is a waste of time & effort of the volunteers who staff the stand. Next year, we will ask another association to put FOAL flyers on their stand & leave it at that.

 

Conversation sessions

Our friend Barbara Arhel has kindly agreed to hold conversation sessions on Tuesdays during term time from 14.30-15.30. These sessions are for Foal members & represent a plus but not the main reason for joining the library. Barbara is a volunteer & may not always be available. The sessions will start on Tuesday 2nd October

 

Opening hours

We would like to have your opinion on opening hours. We are thinking of changing them slightly because there are times when there are no visitors. We suggest closing half an hour early on Wednesdays (15-17.30) & opening half an hour later on the Saturday openings (10.30-12.30).

Please send an email to foal34@gmail.com with your opinion

 

New books

The new books will be in the library mid October. You will find a hard copy of the updated catalogue in the library & online. I know most of you have never visited the blog (all you need to do is click on the link at the bottom of the email). You will find the catalogue there

 

Donations children’s books

If you have any children’s books to donate to the library, please bring them along, any other books, please send a list


 

mercredi 19 septembre 2018


CONVERSATION SESSIONS

 

Foal offers conversation sessions for FOAL members

These will be held at the library every Tuesday afternoon from 2.30-3.30 (excluding school holidays)

Starting 2nd October

 

If you are interested, please send an email to : 

mardi 10 juillet 2018

The new catalogue

The new catalogue (Title Alphabetical Order) is now online. To download it, just click Here.
Also available : Author Alphabetical Order Here.

Click on “télécharger avec votre navigateur” (download to browser) and then on “ouvrir” (open) or "Enregistrer le fichier" (to save it on your computer).

mardi 22 mai 2018

Comédie du Livre newsletter


COMEDIE DU LIVRE SPECIAL

 

The Comédie du Livre takes place this weekend on the Esplanade. This year the main guests are Dutch & Flemish authors although, of course, other nationalities are invited too.

I have noted three events that might interest Foal members :

 

Friday 25th a « literary discussion » with the American author James Morrow at the Musée Fabre auditorium at 11am

 

An « English breakfast » with Jenny Colgan on Saturday 26th on the terrace of the Mercury hotel at 11am (we don’t know this author, from the description of her œuvre it sounds rather like « chick lit »)

 

Also on Saturday at 7pm at the Panacée auditorium a discussion with Herman Koch whose bestseller « The Dinner » we have in the library. He is Dutch but I imagine he will be interviewed in English.

 

The Bookshop will  have a stand & they usually have English-speaking authors  there.

 

 

dimanche 22 avril 2018

SPRING NEWSLETTER APRIL 2018


 

SPRING NEWSLETTER APRIL 2018

 
 
You will have seen the new books in the library, you will also find the relevant book reviews in a file on the new book shelf. We will be ordering more new books for the summer. The updated catalogue is online at our Facebook page & the blog.

 

AGM & PARTY 

 
This will take place on Saturday 30th June. Info for new members: we decided a few years ago to add a party to the AGM aiming to attract more people as attendance to this important event in the life of an association was very sparse. Our friend Anne-Marie has very kindly offered to hold the party in her garden (she lives in Les Aubes, directions nearer the time). After a brief AGM we get down to the serious businss of the day. FOAL provides the drinks & participants bring along the food which is usually delicious & plentiful (organisation nearer the time). Put this date in your diaries

 

FOAL events  When FOAL was set up there were only a few of us & no books (see how far we have come!). We needed to raise funds & thanks to our dynamic friend Philippe Marchand we organised events such as play readings & the quiz. Now Philippe feels he would like to take a rest.Thanks to increased membership we have less need to raise funds so for the moment we are slowing down on events. However, we are open to suggestions & offers of help & would be happy to see FOAL organising such events from time to time.

 

Antigone des Associations  on Sunday 9th September. We are giving it one more try. Past experience has shown that all the enthusiastic signups on the day come to nothing. This year we are going to ask people to sign up for a welcome drink at the library (21st September) in the hopes that once they have actually seen the library they will sign up for membership. We shall be offering 3months free for new signups. Do try & inform anyone who might be interested in your circle of this sensational offer!

Unfortunately, several of the board members including myself will be away on that day so we need volunteers for the following two slots:  9-11 &3-5pm. (two for each slot) Please send an email to foal34@gmail.com

 

Summer Closing Our last opening before the summer break will be on Saturday 21st July, we will then be closed until Saturday 1st September. You can take out more books for your summer reading.

 

mercredi 11 avril 2018

The new catalogue (Title Alphabetical Order) is now online. To download it, just click Here.
Also available : Author Alphabetical Order Here.

Click on “télécharger avec votre navigateur” (download to browser) and then on “ouvrir” (open) or "Enregistrer le fichier" (to save it on your computer).

dimanche 4 mars 2018

NEW BOOKS FEBRUARY 2018


The book reviews are in the library

NON FICTION

Mary Beard                           Women & Power        

Thurston Clarke                   JFK’s last hundred days  

Lizzie Collingham                 The Taste of Empire : how Britain’s quest for food shaped the modern world    

Simon Fenwick                      Joan : the remarkable life of Joan Leigh  Fermor     

Luke Harding                       Collusion  

Friedrich Keller                     My Opposition  

Robert Macfarlane                The Lost Words  

Daniel Mendelsohn               An Odyssey : autobio   

Leslie Pierce                           Empress of the East    

Alan Taylor                           Appointment in Arezzo : bio Muriel Spark 

Matthew Walker                   Why we sleep  

FICTION

Margaret Atwood                 The Heart goes last     

Julian Barnes                        The Only Story           

Benjamin Black                     Prague Nights             

Dan Brown                             Origin                          

Harlan Coben                       Don’t let go                           

Jennifer Egan                        Manhattan Beach       

Robert Harris                        Munich              

Alan Hollinghurst                 The Sparsholt Affair  

Joe Ida                                   IQ                                

Nicolas Montemarano           The Senator’s Chrildren      

Gin Phillips                            Fierce Kingdom          

Ali Smith                               Autumn                       

Ali Smith                               Winter                         

Edward St Aubin                  Dunbar                        

C L Taylor                             The Missing                 

Ruth Ware                             In a dark, dark wood          

Ruth Ware                             The woman in cabin 10                 

 

dimanche 7 janvier 2018

Happy New Year 2018


 

FOAL CHRISTMAS (12th night) PARTY

As the dates before Christmas were taken we decided to hold a 12th night party.
We had lots of sign ups & about 30 people attended (some had been prevented because of a nasty virus). There was a wonderful spread of delicious food (Foal members are excellent cooks) . Kath Claringbull organised a singalong to the carol « The 12th night of Christmas » which was quite à propos. Then our friend Phil Claringbull put on his Father Christmas hat & drew the raffle prizes which were numerous again this year. I actually took quite a lot of photos but my camera played up so I only have two, of the spread. This was taken before all the food had arrived by which time the table was almost too small to hold it all.
 
 
 
 
 
QUIZ

Our famous literary quiz will take place on Friday 2nd February at l’Espace Martin Luther King 27 Bvd Louis Blanc  Montpellier. Let’s hope we won’t have  the same misadventure as last year when we arrived at the venue to set things up to find it closed (we had not been warned). Luckily there is another venue not too far away & thanks to the brilliant work of our board  members we were able to hold the quiz there.

 

Doors open at 5.45pm so that you have time to get a drink in hand before the 6.15 start. You will be given a playing card which will indicate which team to join. After the quiz we will have time to socialise. Foal provides the drinks & nibbles & all we ask of you is a small contribution of 5 euros per person which you put in an envelope & pop into the donation box. We look forward to seeing you all then.