Books For You - Habemus Papam!

Habemus Papam, everyone!

And who would have thought our modest but ever-surprising Library held so many treasures on this topic?!

To start off with a jewel of a book: Rise, Let Us Be On The Way, by John Paul IIChronicling the years he spent as a bishop, and later Archbishop, in Krakow, though to his election as the first Polish Pope in 1978, he recounts everything from Communist attempts to suppress the Church in Poland to his efforts to adopt a new and more open style of pastoral ministry. With recollections about his life as well as his thoughts on the issues facing the world now, Pope John Paul II offers words of wisdom in this book that will appeal to people of any faith looking to strengthen their spirituality.

But wait, there's more:

How to join Bordeaux-USA

The Bordeaux-USA Association is waiting for you !
Come and join us !

MEMBERSHIP FORM
(Academic year 2009/2010)

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Businesses, organizations et donors : 100 Euros minimum.

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Please print this document and send it to :

ASSOCIATION BORDEAUX-USA
38 ALLEES d'ORLEANS , 33000 BORDEAUX
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Send check or international money order in Euros along with this form. A membership card will be sent to you.

“Ahoy there me shivering matey, heave-ho!”, as Queeny says in Blackadder...

Well, here we are once more with a Nautical theme since our dear Kevin Schwarz has picked up the book Longitude by Dava Sobel I recommended last week and finds it fascinating! Which one was that you ask?

Magic with Bordeaux-USA

March 14^th - Xavier Hornet has been a professional magician for 20 years. And yes, he has a French first name and an English surname. As he likes to say: “…in fact, I'm French on my mother's side and English on my father's best friend’s side!” But seriously, he has been passionate about magic since he was 10 years old and gained his professional experience by performing in vacation clubs all over the world. Join us tonight for an interactive magic show filled with delight and humor for all ages! In the meantime check out his website at: www.xavierhornet.com.

                                                    Photo de C. Rama

14 mars- Xavier Hornet est un prestidigitateurs depuis 20 ans maintenant. Et oui, il a un prénom français et un nom anglais. Comme il aime le dire: "...en fait, je suis français du coté de ma mère et anglais du coté du meilleur ami de mon père !" Plus sérieusement, il se passionne pour la magie depuis qu'il a 10 ans et il est devenu un professionnel en travaillant dans des club de vacances tout autour du monde. Joignez vous à nous pour un spectacle de magie interactif plein d'humour qui ravira les petits comme les grands.
En attendant, pourquoi ne pas jeter un coup d'oeil sue son site internet: 
www.xavierhornet.com 


Photo by C. Rama

Becoming a Mad Men with Bordeaux-USA

21 mars- Matthieu Garin du Whisper Sheel Bureau nous présentera "une initiation aux "politiques d'innovation des entreprises". Tout autour de la planète, les entrepreneurs cherche l' "idée du siècle", celle que tout le monde reçoit sous les applaudissements quand elle se concrétise sur le marché. Vous vous demandez peut-être comment les entreprises mène leur politiques d'innovation de telle sorte qu'une idée toute bête devient l' "idée du siècle". Sur un ton résolument nouveau, M. Garin nous parlera d'innovation sur le plan pratique et partagera avec nous la façon dont on élabore, créé et rend pérenne des produits et services innovants dans le marché mondialisé d'aujourd'hui.

Photo by Matt Taylor




March 21^st - Matthieu Garin of Whisper Shell Bureau will present “An Initiation to Innovation Management”. Around the globe, entrepreneurs seek “the great idea”, the one everyone applauds when it becomes available on the market. You may wonder how companies manage the innovation process in such a way that a “simple” idea becomes a “great” idea. In a totally original way, Mr. Garin will talk to us about innovation from a practical perspective and share with us how management can initiate, create, and maintain innovative products and services in today’s global market.

General Meeting of Bordeaux-USA

28 mars- Assemblée Générale: ceci est un évènement important et il demandé à tous les membres d’être présent. En plus d’être l'occasion d'élire les membres du Conseil d'administration, c'est un moment pendant lequel vous pouvez nous faire part de vos avis sur le fonctionnement de l'association et de vos suggestions pour que nous soyons au plus prêt de vos besoins. 
Seuls les membres s'étant acquittés de la cotisation annuelle peuvent participer.


March 28^th - Assemblée Générale (Annual General Meeting): This is an important event and all members are requested to attend. Not only is this the occasion to elect members of the Board (Conseil d'Administration), but also to let us know your thoughts about how the Association is run, and what we can do to best meet your needs. Only members in good standing – who have paid their dues – can attend.

Other activities at Bordeaux-USA

Our president in the newly inaugurated tram Los Angeles

Autres : L’association organise aussi des évènements ponctuels : célébration du Martin Luther King Day, inauguration du tram Los-Angeles Vente de livres…


“Second hand books […] have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack.” Virginia Woolf

La bibliothèque de Bordeaux-USA      revend des livres d’occasions; saisissez l’occasion de découvrir une multitude d’ouvrages (guides de voyages, encyclopédies, romans…), tous écrits en anglais.

Rendez-vous le 13 avril de 14H à 17H au 38

allée d’Orléans (Place de Quinconces) à

Bordeaux.

Other: the association organizes temporary events: celebrating the Martin Luther King Day, christening of the L.A. street-car, book sale…

“Second hand books […] have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack.” Virginia Woolf

The Library of Bordeaux-USA sells second-hand books; come and browse a wide range of books (travel guides, encyclopedias, novels…), all of them written in English.

We welcome you on the 14^th of April, from 2 to 5 pm at the 38 allée d’Orléans (Place des Quinconces).

Conférences with Bordeaux-USA

Conférences:

Tous les jeudis soirs entre 19h00 et 2oh00, des conférences sont proposées autour d’une thématique culturelle au sens large. Quelques exemples de thèmes abordés :

-Présentation du Football club américain « Les Lions », par David Chaissac.

-Dernière année présidentielle de Barack Obama, par Joe Mayburry, Consul américain.

-L’Ecosse indépendante en 2013 ? Par Moya Jones, professeur de civilisation britannique à Bordeaux 3.

Conferences:

Every Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00, you can attend a talk about any topics about the French or Anglo-Saxon cultural fact.

Some examples:

-Presentation of the American Football Club “the Lions”, by David Chaissac;

-Last presidential years of Barack Obama, by Joel Mayburry, American consul;

-Independent Scotland in 2013? By Moya Jones, professor of British Civilization in Bordeaux 3.

English at Bordeaux-USA

Conversation en anglais : chacun s’exprime sur le thème de leur choix. L’échange entre les participants permet d’améliorer l’expression orale tout en enrichissant le vocabulaire.

On écoute des chansons, on fait des jeux de rôle et d’autres activités ludiques.

Rebekah Tonnerieux: Every MONDAY from 6:30 to 8 pm:  will be facilitating a conversation group.

If you are thinking about joining us during a school holiday or public holiday, please contact Rebekah first to be sure that there will be a lesson.

Course fees:  25 euros for 4 classes (completed in 5 weeks) OR 8 euros per class.
For further information, please contact Rebekah at 06 26 20 78 65 or by e-mail at rebekahtonnerieux@gmail.com

Concetta Antonelli-Lapeyre: Every TUESDAY from 6:30 to 8 pm:  will be facilitating a conversation group. In general we focus on improving your speaking skills about every day events, interests of the participants and events in the news. 

Course fees:  There are 4 sessions from January - June 2013:

 March 19th – May 21st: 10 weeks ~ 60 euros for 10 classes OR 8 euros per class.

May 28th -June 18th:  Guest facilitator: Kathryn Larcher 4 weeks ~ 24 euros for 4 classes OR 8 euros per.

 For further information, please contact Concetta at 06 48 87 05 98 or by e-mail at camasf@gmail.com

Concetta Antonelli-Lapeyre

Anna Moraitis: Every WEDNESDAY from 7:00 to 8:15 pm: will be facilitating a conversation group for people with Basic English skills. 

Course fees:  60 euros for 10 classes OR 8 euros per class.

 The classes are aimed at those who want to practice and improve their English skills, all levels welcome. Classes will offer a mix of role play in groups of 3-4 people, group conversation, a quiz in team work, expanding your vocabulary, reading and listening activities based on people's interest, latest world news, seasonal topics or any juicy gossip. The focus is on getting everybody to participate in a supportive and fun environment.
Homework will be entirely optional and Anna is open to working with individuals on particular areas they might want to improve.
For further information you can contact Anna at anna.moraitis@gmail.com

Daniel Nibourel: Every THURSDAY from 5:00 to 6:30 pm:

Course fees: for FREE

                                                                      Daniel Nibourel

Enjoy: Independence Day Picnic with Bordeaux-USA

Pique-nique du 4 juillet: Début juillet, Bordeaux-USA organise un repas en plein air, le plus souvent sur les quais. Tout le monde partage les plats froids et les desserts apportés par chacun. Et entonne l’hymne américain.

4th of July Picnic: in July, the association organizes an outdoor meal. Everyone share courses and desserts brought by each of us. And we sing the American anthem.

Enjoy: Wine tasting

Dégustation de vin: Lors des pot-Luck et autres évènements culinaires, l’association en profite pour faire gouter les vins de la région (nous sommes à Bordeaux tout de même), il peut s’agir de grands crus comme de vins produits par de petits propriétaires.

Wine tasting: During the pot-Lucks or the other culinary events, the association seizes the opportunity to make people taste local wines (we’re in Bordeaux after all); we drink high-quality wines and modest wine from small properties as well.

Enjoy: Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving: En novembre, les membres et les étudiants californiens de Bordeaux 3 se réunissent et partagent un repas traditionnel de Thanksgiving; dans la cantine du lycée Alain Fournier.

Entrée : haricot au beurre et sa sauce d’airelles,

Plat principal : dinde farcie,

Dessert : part de tarte à la citrouille.

Le tout arrosé de bon vin.

Thanksgiving: In November, members and the Californian students of Bordeaux 3 gather and share a typical Thanksgiving meal in the dining-room of the Lycée Alain Fournier.

Starter: beans and butter with a cranberry sauce,

Main course: stuffed turkey,

Dessert: slice of a pumpkin pie.

The party is toasted with refined wine.

Enjoy: Pot-luck

Pot-Luck: A la Fortune du Pot en français, se passe tous les premiers jeudis du mois, les membres apportent leur propres plats (salés ou sucrés) et échangent entre eux, en anglais ou en français de façon informelle.

Pot-Luck: every first Thursdays, members bring their own food (savory or sweet) and talked together in an informal way, in French and in English as well.

History of Bordeaux-USA

Décembre 1968: l’association BORDEAUX-LOS-ANGELES est créée, suite au jumelage de Bordeaux et de Los-Angeles.

Pendant de 30 ans, notre premier Président a été Jacques Valade, Maire-Adjoint de Bordeaux.

Mars 1969 : premier voyage officiel, en Californie, avec une délégation de 220 personnes : chefs d'entreprises industrielles et agricoles, d'universitaires etc.

1973 : la Reader's Digest Foundation octroya à notre association le Prix International des Villes Jumelées avec les Etats-Unis.

De 1996 à 2000 : nos locaux ont reçu les diplomates américains et leurs ressortissants, après la fermeture du Consulat.
C’est avec fierté que nous gardons le Drapeau du Consulat Général, confié en souvenir.

Octobre 1998 et en juin 2002 : le Docteur Alan HEILPERN, Président de "Los Angeles 
Bordeaux Sister City Association", et son épouse étaient reçus par la Mairie de Bordeaux.

2005 : l'Association change de nom et devient : Bordeaux-USA.

26 octobre 2012 : inauguration du tram « Los Angeles » en présence de M. Rivkin, ambassadeur des Etats-Uniset M. Malbury, consul à Bordeaux.

 Visite officielle du Maire de Bordeaux à Los Angeles, 1978

December 1968: the BORDEAUX-USA association was created after the twinning of Bordeaux and Los Angeles.

For 30 years, our first president was Jacques Valade, Depute-Mayor of Bordeaux.

 March 1969: first official trip in California, with a delegation made of 220 people: CEOs of industrial and agricultural companies, scholars…

the Reader’s Digest Foundation awarded the association the International Prize of the twinning between foreign and American Cities.

From 1996 to 2000: our premises were used by the American diplomats to meet their fellow citizens, after the closing of the consulate.

Since then, we have been proudly keeping the Flag of the General Consulate, offered as a remembering.

2005: the Association Bordeaux-Los Angeles changed its name and became Bordeaux-USA.

26th of October 2012: Bordeaux-USA celebrates the christening of the « Los Angeles » tram with Mr. Rivkin, ambassador of the USA and Mr. Malbury, consul in Bordeaux.

Welcome to our Book Club

Approximatively every months, members of the Book Club, come together to discuss a book they have read.
This is the way we do:
Every members send quastions to our leader Daniel
During the meeting, Daniel asks the questions
This allows Every members to  give his/her point of view and to keep the discussion alive and enjoyable.


We tend to focus on American classic literature, but we are also interested in contemporary American novels and in fact in every kind of Anglo Saxon literature.
For instance, on the 21st of March, we study a post-colonial/murder novel written by the Cypran author Andriana Ierodiaconou: Women's Coffee Shop.

Of course, we work with our nice and hard-working librarian Anna Moraitis, why don't you scroll down the "library tab' to know more about our library.

Hello everyone,
thankfully March has brought some faint promise of warmer weather and in the spirit of this changing time, I whole-heartily recommend the following books:

Since last Thursday's theme was the re-build of a historical ship, the voyage across the Atlantic, and naval themes in general, here are the right reads for you.

Longitude by Dava Sobel
Attention, it's not a novel.
The complete book title is: "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time", a history book about John Harrison, an 18th century clockmaker who created the first clock (chronometer) sufficiently accurate to be used to determine longitude at sea—an important development in navigation.
Longitude represents the vertical lines on a map/geographical globe. Determining longitude at sea was vitally important to reach any destination. England in the 18th century was developing into the world's most powerful naval power and the biggest treasure everyone was after was to invent an accurate way to calculate and know your exact position at sea. The book has received numerous awards and I find it one of the most fascinating history books I've read. I also own it myself because it's such a well written account of all the context of what was involved in this search. If you're curious, here is the wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_(book)
But better yet - get the book from our Library!!

And if you are a Thriller addict, here are the two newest arrival for you.
Ordered by special request from your generous donation of your spare change in the Treat-For-A-Treat tin box.

Instruments Of Darkness by Imogen Robinson
A detective story set in the late 1700's in England. It is an intricate historical page-turner about a country estate with a secret past and the unlikely forensic duo who set out to uncover its deadly secrets. Harriet Westerman from the neighboring estate find a dead body on her grounds and she persuades reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther to help her solve the mystery. What secrets will they discover and what dangers will threaten them? Find out more in our Library!

And here is the second in the series: Anatomy Of Murder, also by Imogen Robertson.
The streets of London seethe with rumor and conspiracy as the King's navy battles the French at sea. And while the banks of the Thames swarm with life, a body is dragged from its murky waters. In another part of town, where the air seems sweeter, the privileged enjoy a brighter world of complacent wealth and intoxicating celebrity. But as society revels in its pleasures, a darker plot is played out. Harriet and Gabriel once again will attempt to find out the victim's identity and bring the murderer to justice.

Our own dear Kevin Schwarz called the thrillers "Un-put-downable!". Find out why next time you're in our Library!

And for those of you who caught the snowflake's dance one early morning in central Bordeaux last week, this is for you:
Louis MacNeice - Snow
The room was suddenly rich and the great bay-window was
Spawning snow and pink roses against it
Soundlessly collateral and incompatible:
World is suddener than we fancy it.

World is crazier and more of it than we think,
Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion
A tangerine and spit the pips and feel
The drunkenness of things being various.

And the fire flames with a bubbling sound for world
Is more spiteful and gay than one supposes -
On the tongue on the eyes on the ears in the palms of one's hands -
There is more than glass between the snow and the huge roses.

Beautiful, no? Stay warm and happy
Your Librarian
anna 

Hello everyone,
with wintery weather all around us, our thoughts still turn inwards. So let me start this week's recommendations with two books about people who face difficult experiences in their youth and spend their life seeking and offering redemption.
You might have heard of them already...
The first one is by Alice Walker The Color Purple(winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction)
Taking place mostly in rural Georgia, the story focuses on female black life in the 1930s in the southern United States, addressing numerous issues including their exceedingly low position in American social culture.
Perhaps something for the next book club discussion?


The second one is by Khaled Hosseini The Kite Runner.
The Kite Runnertells the story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father's young Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet invasion, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime. It is gripping story of a boyhood friendship destroyed by jealousy, fear, and the kind of ruthless evil that transcends mere politics.


Or if you're more romantically inclined and prefer shorter readings, why not try an Anthology of Love Letters, edited by Antonia Fraser?
This anthology has been compiled from the love letters of such famous people as Henry VIII, Zelda Fitzgerald, Keats and Napoleon. The fully illustrated collection also contains lesser-known but equally poignant correspondents, including a soldier in the trenches in World War I.


If, on the other hand, it is suspense and a twist at the end of a good read that you prefer, then go ahead and read Stone's Fall byIain Pears.
John Stone, a man so wealthy that in the years before World War One he was able to manipulate markets, industries and indeed whole countries and continents, has been found dead in mysterious circumstances. His beautiful young widow commissions a journalist to carry out an unusual bequest in his will but as he begins his research he soon discovers a story far more complex than he could have ever imagined...
As the story moves backwards through time, from London in 1909 to Paris in 1809, before concluding in Venice in 1867, the mystery of John Stone's life and loves begins to unravel. The result is a spellbinding novel that is both a quest for the truth, a love story that spans decades and a compelling murder mystery.

And to leave you with my musings of the weekend:
VITAE SUMMA BREVIS SPEM NOS VETAT INCOHARE LONGHAM
(The brief sum of life forbids us the hope of enduring long - Horace)
They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.
They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.
Ernest Dowson

I remain your faithful Librarian
anna

Hello everyone,
I trust you enjoyed the sunny weekend and had a pleasant time with your loved ones?
Here are two books about people who were never granted this simple pleasure in life:
As the song says:
I'll be looking at the moon,
but I'll be seeing you.

- The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, winner of the Booker prize
The story is set at the end of the Second World War and deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English patient, his Canadian nurse Hana, a Canadian-Italian thief named Caravaggio, and an Indian sapper in the British Army called Kip as they live out the end of World War II in an abandoned Italian villa.
Rescued by Bedouins from a burning plane, the English Patient, is anonymous, damaged beyond recognition and haunted by his memories of passion and betrayal. The only clue Hana has to his past is the one thing he clung on to through the fire - a copy of The Histories by Herodotus, covered with hand-written notes describing a painful and ultimately tragic love affair.

 - The Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton, winner of the first Pulitzer awarded to a woman
The story is set in upper-class New York City in the 1870s. Newland Archer, gentleman lawyer and heir to one of New York City's best families, is happily anticipating a highly desirable marriage to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. Yet he finds reason to doubt his choice of bride after the appearance of Countess Ellen Olenska, May's exotic, beautiful thirty-year-old cousin, who has been living in Europe. As he grows closer to Ellen, his match with May no longer seems the ideal fate he had imagined.

Miserable and cold?

Are you at home right now feeling depressed and melancholic after such a cold and rainy weekend? This need not be!

Come to our library and warm your minds with our many treasures...
Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro – Winner of the Booker prize.
In the summer of 1956, Stevens, the ageing butler of Darlington Hall, embarks on a leisurely holiday that will take him deep into the countryside and into his past. A beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a Great English House, of lost causes and lost love.

Portrait Of ALady by Henry James.First published in 1881, it is one of the great American Classics. Set in England and Italy, The Portrait of a Ladyis the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who challenges the destiny expected of her and desires to shape her own future.

Newest Arrival

The latest and proudest donation to our library is Life Of Pi by Yann Martel.
A fantasy adventure novel, coming soon to a cinema near you, explores issues of spirituality and childhood with humor and tenderness. A shipwreck survivor stuck in a life boat facing a bengali tiger. And it goes on from there...

Discover the Treasure
Here are two of my all time favorite books – whenever I re-read them I discover different truths about life. What will you discover?

13 Moons by Charles Frazier
Set in the American West, written with great power and beauty by a master of American fiction, Thirteen Moons is a stunning novel about a man's passion for a woman, and how loss, longing and love can shape a man's destiny over the many moons of a life.
At the age of twelve, under the Wind Moon, Will is given a horse, a key, and a map, and sent alone into the Indian Nation to run a trading post as a bound boy. It is during this time that he grows into a man, learning, as he does, of the raw power it takes to create a life, to find a home. In a card game with a white Indian named Featherstone, Will wins - for a brief moment - a mysterious girl named Claire, and his passion and desire for her spans this novel. As Will's destiny intertwines with the fate of the Cherokee Indians, including a Cherokee Chief named Bear, he learns how to fight and survive in the face of both nature and men, and eventually, under the Corn Tassle Moon, Will begins the fight against Washington City to preserve the Cherokee's homeland and culture. And he will come to know the truth behind his belief that 'only desire trumps time'.

Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler

A bittersweet comedy set in a Jewish Old People's home in New York, this is a comical and poignant story.
Comedy and tragedy combine as our hero. Otto Korner, directs his quirky, libidinous fellow residents in a chaotic production of HAMLET and looks back over his adventures in Germany, Zurich - where he met Lenin and inadvertently invented Dada - Auschwitz and America.

(Go on, look up “poignant”, already you've learned something new on a dreary Sunday evening.)