Classes, Discussion Groups, and Workshops

Book Group: Another Side of Twain

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This discussion group, led by JoEllen Collins, will explore the life and works of Mark Twain, one of America’s best and most beloved writers. The group will explore some of the darker sides of Twain’s perspective, as well as questions of political correctness in the context of Twain’s era and how they fit into our picture of life today through a selection of Twain’s novels, short stories, and unfinished works.

The group will meet Thursday evenings, 6:00-8:00 p.m., April 23 to May 21 in the Program Studio (downstairs from the Children’s Library).

Attendees are asked to read Huckleberry Finn before the first class. During class, the group will read excerpts from Life on the Mississippi and other writings. Copies of these selections will be provided to attendees during the first class.

Syllabus:

April 23 – Introduction to Twain

April 30 – Huckleberry Finn

May 7 – Life on the Mississippi

May 14 – “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” and other satire

May 21 – Summary and introduction to The Mysterious Stranger

 

No registration is required. Drop-ins are welcome, but attendees are encouraged to attend as many of the classes as possible.

JoEllen Collins has spent her life in communication and as an English, ESL, and speech teacher at Santa Monica and Beverly Hills High Schools, Santa Monica College, the Peace Corps in Thailand, College of Southern Idaho, and the Sun Valley Community School. She has also taught adult classes in James Joyce and, recently, “The Poet in You” at The Community Library. Teaching great literature is a passion, and she is delighted to discuss a lesser known side of Mark Twain.

2020 Audacious Read: ULYSSES by James Joyce

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Third Tuesday of Each Month | 3:00-4:00 p.m. | Program Studio (downstairs)

James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) may be more talked about than read. It occupies an intimidating position within the literary canon as a byword for experimental modernism. Joyce helped to forge its reputation, mischievously claiming, “I’ve put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that’s the only way of insuring one’s immortality.” Even Virginia Woolf, reading shortly after publication, found Ulysses a struggle, dismissing it as “diffuse,” “brackish,” and “pretentious.” Prestige is evident in its perennial placing in lists of “Great Books,” and echoed in its value to collectors. In 2009, a first edition sold at auction for £275,000, the highest sum ever achieved for a 20th-century novel. Yet its reputation for difficulty masks the extent to which Ulysses is warm, welcoming and witty, granting a uniquely intimate perspective on what it is to be human.

– Dr. Katherine Mullin

Reading Schedule

January 21 – Introduction and Episode 1, “Telemachus” (roughly pages 1-23)

February 18 – Episodes 2-6,“Nestor” | “Proteus” | “Calypso” | “The Lotus-Eaters” | “Hades” (roughly pages 24-111)

March 17 – Episodes 7-8, “Aeolus” | “Lestrygonians” (roughly pages 112-175)

April 21 – Episode 9, “Scylla & Charybdis” (roughly pages 176-209) 

May 19 – Episodes 10-11, “Wandering Rocks” | “Sirens” (roughly pages 210-279)

June 16 – BLOOMSDAY! Episode 12, “Cyclops” (roughly pages 280-330)

July 21 – Episode 13, “Nausicaa” (roughly pages 331-365)

August 18 – Episode 14, “Oxen of the Sun” (roughly pages 366-407)

September 15 – Episode 15, “Circe” (roughly pages 408-565)

October 20 – Episode 16, “Eumaeus” (roughly pages 569-618)

November 17 – Episode 17, “Ithaca” (roughly pages 619-689)

December 15 – Episode 18, “Penelope” (roughly pages 690-732)

 

Resources

Recorded presentation by literary scholar Dr. Enda Duffy at The Community Library Lecture Hall on 7 December 2019: https://livestream.com/comlib/duffy

Free digital copy of Ulysses through Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4300/4300-h/4300-h.htm#chap15

British Library online introduction to Ulysses: https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/an-introduction-to-ulysses

Online guide to Ulysses by Dr. Patrick Hastings: http://www.ulyssesguide.com/

 

The Community Library Contact

Jenny Emery Davidson

jdavidson@comlib.org

(208) 806-2620

                                    

Photo courtesy of LitHub.

Winter Book Group: East to Exile

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In conjunction with the community-wide Winter Read of the novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, this year’s Community Library Winter Book Group will focus on three books about Japanese history and culture in the American West, with particular attention to the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans at camps throughout the West, including Minidoka in southcentral Idaho.

We will begin with the novel The Buddha in the Attic, which tells stories of young mail-order brides who traveled from the U.S. to Japan at the turn of the century. Then we will read the memoir Farewell to Manzanar for the account of a woman who was incarcerated as a young girl at a camp in California. We will conclude with the novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, a story that imagines the friendship between a young Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl in Seattle during WWII.

Collectively, these books invite us to consider themes of exile, civil liberties, and personal reinvention, as well as many other topics for discussion.

No advanced registration is required. Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of the book to each session.

The discussion will be led by Jenny Emery Davidson, jdavidson@comlib.org.

 

January 23        General introduction and first pages of The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

January 30        The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

February 6        Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

February 13      Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

February 20     Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

February 27     Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

March 12          Free presentation and book-signing by Jamie Ford. 6 p.m., Lecture Hall

VITA Walk-In Tax Preparation Assistance

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The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who generally make $66,000 or less, persons with disabilities and limited English speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers who have undergone a background check will provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals.

In 2020, the Community Library will offer this free, walk-in tax preparation assistance. Volunteers will be available to provide one-on-one aid in preparing tax returns, supporting low-income residents through the filing process to ensure all eligible credits are claimed. 

 

When: Saturdays from February 1 to April 11*, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

Where: The Community Library Learning Commons

Before coming, visit our FAQ page. Additional resources include Publication 3676-B for services provided and the What to Bring page from the IRS. Please review these resources, as they will help ensure you have all the required documents and information our volunteers will need to help you.

Note: Available services can vary at each site due to the availability of volunteers certified with the tax law expertise required for your return.

*The program will not operate on Saturday, February 15 due to President’s Day.

VITA Frequently Asked Questions

TV Discussion Group with Mimi Avins

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Ever wish you were in a book club, and wonder if you might be if you weren’t spending so much time watching addictive TV shows? Welcome to the best of both worlds. The next Community Library TV Discussion Group will meet weekly, on Wednesdays from January 8th through February 5th from 4:00 to 5:30, giving TV obsessives and skeptics a place to dissect the intricate plots and deep character development of season one of HBO’s Emmy-award winning series “Succession.”

The buzzed-about, provocative and highly discussable 10-episode show could be the love child of “Arrested Development“ and “King Lear.”  The satisfyingly nasty series about rich adult children clawing for control of their father’s media conglomerate has been called the best drama on TV by critics and fans. Or is it a dark-hearted comedy? Should we love or loathe its characters? Root for them or hope they fail? Find their fears and anxieties sympathetic or pitiful? Group members will share their reactions and insights, analyzing “Succession” in the way a book group critiques a novel.

Ketchum resident Mimi Avins, who covered pop culture in her years as a staff writer for The Los Angeles Times, will lead the discussion. Each session will explore two episodes.

The group works best if all the participants watch two episodes a week, so binge watching the entire season ahead of time is discouraged.

Attendance is free but advanced registration is requested. To sign up and receive the viewing schedule please contact Martha Williams at mwilliams@comlib.org or 208-806-2621.  

 

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