Newsletter April 2021

 

SPRING NEWSLETTER APRIL 2021

 

   

 

 

You haven’t heard from me for a long time. Now I am back in circulation I hope to resume more regular communications with you again. I have missed this terribly and I have missed seeing you . At our book choosing meeting last week we had a good chat afterwards and I realised how much I have missed our chats and friendly cups of tea ! I shall do a couple of mannings in July before the summer break and look forward to seeing you very much.

 

I am slowly recovering from my ordeal last year and my near death experience (you will have been told about this I think). I still have quite a long way  to go (lots of rehab) I will get there. I would like to thank the board and especially Mike for holding the fort during my absence.  We would never have managed without their dedication.

 

You will have heard that there will be some changes in the library ; the book sale room is going to become a meeting room & the book sale books will go on new shelves in the main library.

There are also going to be some changes in the statutes.

 

You will find below the list of new books which should arrive in the library quite soon. We shall be monitoring the books to see how often they go out so that we can change our approach if necessary. We are happy to accept suggestion for our purchases but remember, they should be suggested with the readership in mind and not necessarily personal choices.

I remind  you of the email address of Kath Claringbull who will be collating the suggestions :

kath1977@gmail.com

 

 

I wish you all a VERY HAPPY EASTER

 

Very best wishes

 

Vicki  (your chairperson)

 

New books April 2021

 

FOAL BOOK ORDER MARCH 2021

 

Non Fiction

Banville John                         Snow

Bren Paulina                           The Barbiton :  hotelthat setwomen free

Katz Catherine                       Diplomatic daughters behind the scenes at Yalta

Mount Ferdinand                   Kiss myself goodbye

Sanghera Sathnam                 Empireland : how imperalism has shaped modern Britain

Shepherd Richard                  Unnatural causes : life & death of Britain’s top forensic

                                               Pathologist

Williams Thomas                    Self portrait in black & white  2019

Fiction

Alderton                                 Ghosts

Adiga  Aravind                      Amnesty

Alex Berenson                       The power couple

Cumming Charles                  Box 88

Cummins Jeanine                   American Dirt

Frankel Glen                          Shooting midnight cowboy

French Nicci                           House of correction

Ishiguro Kazuo                      Klara & the sun

Lee Jonathan                          The great mistake

Leilani Raven                         Luster            

Rankin Ian                             Song for the dark times

Noon Jeff                               House with no doors

Spufford Francis                    Light perpetual

Swift Graham                        Here we are

Thanh Nguyen                       The committed

 

NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2021

 

First of all, a Happy New Year to you all. May 2021 be better than 2020

 

 

GOOD NEWS  😀

We held a Board Meeting last week & it was decided to reduce fees for 2021 to compensate for the 2020 lockdowns & eventual ones this year. If you have already paid your 30 euros, send a message to Mike Davison at mikedavison.fr@gmail.com  & he will refund you.  If you haven’t paid yet, send a cheque for 15 euros  (20 family) to Mike Davison  13 rue de la Paix 34130 St Aunès.

 

BAD NEWS   🥺

A nasty surprise when I went into the library last week, there was a pool of water down at the far end & some ceiling panels were drenched. I have contacted the insurance company & hopefully, the problem will be solved & they will put the damage back to rights. This will not prevent the Wednesday 13th opening

 

YOUR INPUT

We are wondering about increasing opening hours (an extra half day a week) If you think this is a good idea, send an email to foal34@gmail.com  with suggestions

We would also like you to suggest activities that you would participate in at FOAL. We are buying shelves for the Book Sale room so it will be easier to hold meetings or activites there.

 

NEW BOOKS

The new books will be in the library for 13th January. List attached

 

 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).

April Newsletter 2020

I hope you are all keeping safe & busy. Seems like a good time to do a spring clean !



There is not a lot of news. Below a list of the new books which will be in the library some day



If the Comédie du Livre takes place (pretty unlikely as it is normally held about the third weekend in May) one of the guest authors is Jonathon Coe.



The Foal Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday 20 June. It is also the excuse to have a meal together sitting round our friend Anne Marie’s pool. (She has kindly accepted to host again this year).



I hope you have all got plenty to read although you must be running out by now.

NEW BOOKS IN LIBRARY SOON

NON FICTION

Albert Costa                                    The Bilingual Brain    Hardback

 Matt Haig                                        Reasons to stay alive  Paperback,

Jack Fairweather                               The volunteer       Paperback

Hadley Freeman                               House of Glass     Hardback

FICTION

Isabelle Allende                                A long petal of the sea  Hardback,

Jessie Burton                                    The Confession    Hardback,

Piero Chaira                                               The Bishop’s bedroom  Paperback

Susan Choi                                       Trust Exercise      Paperback,

Bernadine Evaristo                           Girl, Woman, other  Hardback,

Jill Ciment                                        The body in question  Hardback

Joseph Kanon                                  The Accomplice   Hardback

Deborah Levy                                  The man who saw everything  Hardback,

Hilary Mantel                                   The Mirror & the Light  Hardback, Colum McCann                                          Apeirogone          Hardback

Kevin Nguyen                                  New Waves          Hardback

Ian Rankin                                       The West wind   Hardback

Gary Shteyngart                                Lake Success        Paperback

Elisabeth Strout                                Olive again Hardback

Kate Weinberg                                  The Truants



The Hilary Mantel book (which is the last in the trilogy and has taken three years to come out) is 784 pages…! (Wolf Hall & Bring up the Bodies)

Newsletter New Year 2020

May the New Year keep you « healthy, wealthy & wise »

Very best wishes for 2020 from the FOAL team. I take this opportunity to thank board members who, among other things, are diligent in manning the library

Coffee mornings  These will be starting on January 24. They take place from 10.30-12 at the library. Galette des Rois on that morning

Other dates : February 15  March 20  April 18 May 29

These mornings are open to Foal members



Easy reading We are going to add some « easy reading » books to the collection for non English speakers. We quite often get people coming in & asking if we have  anything « easy to read »



Reading to young children  Some young mothers would like to find sessions when someone would read aloud in order to habituate their young offspring to the music of the language. Volunteers please. These could take place a couple of times a month on opening Wednesdays



Armchairs  We have decided to have a couple of armchairs in the main library area to encourage convivial chats. If you have a small armchair to donate it/they are welcome  Send email to foal34@gmail.com



Montpellier Film Buffs  A sister association called Montpellier Film Buffs organises monthly viewing of selected films. For more info, send an email to

edwinhill@hotmail.com



Last but not least  You need to pay your dues  30 euros payable to Foal & sent to Mike Davison  13 rue de la Paix  34130 St Aunès. If you have joined & paid 30 euros in the last three months you are covered until end 2020. If you only paid 15 euros you need to pay for 2020. Of course, disregard this reminder if you have already paid (& some of you have)  Thank you for supporting the library

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).