One class per month, on a Thursday.  Follow dates before each book title.

Read a book per month and join in lively discussion with your peers. (The second Thursday of each month).  All books are required.

Sept. 10 - Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts

Oct. 8 - A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly

Nov. 12 - Maria by Michelle Moran

Dec. 10 - The Heart of It's a Wonderful Life by Jimmy Hawkins

Is poetry, which has some reputation for being incomprehensible or even deliberately obscure, worth the trouble? If you have never read a poem that has deeply moved you or, as Emily Dickinson described it, "make you feel as if the top of your head is coming off," you may not really have experienced poetry. Poetry challenges us because it uses language differently than prose and strives to recreate experiences and emotions. Learn some tactics for decoding poetry and, hopefully walk away with at least one that literally sends chills up your spine. We will read a variety of poems from a variety of eras and traditions. Although this is a continuing class, no prior class is required.

Co-facilitator:  Roger Breisch

What types of experiences provoke us emotionally, are mysterious, and difficult to put into words? Such experiences cause us to wonder, remind us that life is expansive, hold promise that the passing of years notwithstanding, there is always a "child within", a possibility of being ever young. We will meet for five sessions. The first session will be dedicated to an overview of the discussion process, and to getting acquainted. Each of the following four sessions will be dedicated to exploring two categories of the Wonders of Life. Participants will be encouraged to bring personal stories and examples to show/share the experiences that delight them, provoking wonder.

Book:  AWE: The New Science of Everyday Wonder by Dacher Ketner (not required)

To read and discuss a sampling of Poe's work, particularly the tales of psychological terror and his creation of the modern detective in literature.

Book:  The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Stories by Edgar Allan Poe (REQUIRED) 

NOTE:  Classes will be held on 11/5, 11/12, 11/19 12/3, 12/10.  NO class on 11/26 (Thanksgiving Day).

This 2,500 year old book of 81 verses has been translated into the English language more often than any other piece of world literature. A slim volume entitled The Way and its Power/Virtue - uses pictoral language to show "letting go" of the actions of others. The text can be read as a spiritual/mystical work or as a manual on statecraft. We will use a rendering by Ursula K. Le Guin based upon translations from Chinese.

Our first session will be dedicated to getting acquainted. The subsequent four sessions will be devoted to open discussion of the effect upon our minds and hearts of these remarkable verses. Each session will feature a few verses as we move through the text.

Course prerequisites: an open mind, and intention to have fun.

Book:  Tao Te Ching Lao Tsu by Ursula K. Le Guin (purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble) (REQUIRED)

Critical Thinking for Everyday Life 1 covers claims, cognitive bias, media literacy, scientific thinking, persuasion, and manipulation. It presents critical thinking as a disciplined method for judging claims fairly and minimizing the chance of falling for and acting on misinformation, disinformation, and scams. It helps attendees recognize fallacies, decode statistics, evaluate sources, spot manipulation, and navigate AI-generated content.

This is the first of a two part series.

“Isola” is historical fiction based on the true survival story of Marguerite de la Rocque, a 16th century French noblewoman who, orphaned at the age of three, is subject to the management of a guardian. A distant cousin, Roberval, is granted guardianship of Marguerite, her lands and her fortune. Roberval is a “speculator” who gradually squanders her estate on his various naval adventures. Commissioned in 1542 by the King of France to establish colonies in New France (Canada), Roberval brings Marguerite along. When they fall out over her infatuation with his young male secretary, he cruelly abandons Marguerite, her lover, and her nurse on a barren island in the Gulf of St Lawrence.

Required Reading.  Isola:  A Novel by Allegra Goodman

Co-facilitator:  Donna Monti

Emily Dickinson says, “Hope” is the thing with feathers …That perches in the soul … And sings the tune without the words.” This two-week class will engage in group discussions focused on what hope means to each of us - including exploring hopeful activities and the benefits of hope. A variety of short readings and self-directed activities will allow us to have meaningful conversations and articulate our concept of hope.