Book Discussion Group

April 24th at 6:30PM "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

May 22nd at 6:30PM Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson

June 26th at 6:30PM In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

July 24th at 6PM Chautauqua Performance then discussion of "Brave Enemies" by Robert Morgan Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council

August 28th at 6PM Chautauqua Performance of Mary Todd Lincoln, then discussion of "The Emancipator's Wife by Barbara Hambly  Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council

NH Humanities Council Series:  Windows on the Muslim World

September 25th at 6PM "Nine Parts of Desire" by Geraldine Brooks will be discussed.

Having spent six years covering the Middle East for the Wall Street Journal, Brooks presents an exploration of the daily life of Muslim women and the often contradictory forces that shape their lives. We'll have NHHC scholar, Julia DiStefano, to walk us through this book and talk about the issues it brings up.

October 23rd at 6:30PM "Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil" by Deborah Rodriguez will be discussed.
A terrific opening chapter—colorful, suspenseful, funny—ushers readers into the curious closed world of Afghan women. A wedding is about to take place, arranged, of course, but there is a potentially dire secret—the bride is not technically a virgin. How Rodriguez, an admirably resourceful and dynamic woman, set to marry a nice Afghan man, solves this problem makes a great story, embellished as it is with all the traditional wedding preparations. Rodriguez went to Afghanistan in 2002, just after the fall of the Taliban, volunteering as a nurse's aide, but soon found that her skills as a trained hairdresser were far more in demand, both for the Western workers and, as word got out, Afghans. On a trip back to the U.S., she persuaded companies in the beauty industry to donate 10,000 boxes of products and supplies to ship to Kabul, and instantly she started a training school. (From Publisher's Weekly).  We'll be discussing this title on our own!

November 20th at 6:30PM "The Palace Walk" by Naguib Mahfouz will be discussed.

This extraordinary novel provides a close look into Cairo society at the end of World War I. Mahfouz's vehicle for this examination is the family of al-Sayyid Ahmad, a middle-class merchant who runs his family strictly according to the Qur'an and directs his own behavior according to his desires. Consequently, while his wife and two daughters remain cloistered at home, and his three sons live in fear of his harsh will, al-Sayyid Ahmad nightly explores the pleasures of Cairo. Written by the first Arabic writer to win the Nobel Prize, Palace Walk begins Mahfouz's highly acclaimed "Cairo Trilogy," which follows Egypt's development from 1917 to nationalism and Nasser in the 1950s. (From Library Journal)  We'll have NHHC scholar, Jennifer Lee, to walk us through this novel.

December 18th at 6:30PM "The Attack" by Yasmina Khadra will be dicussed.

Dr. Amin Jaafari, an Israeli Arab, seems fully assimilated into Tel Aviv society, with a loving wife, a successful career as a surgeon, and numerous Jewish friends. But after a restaurant bombing kills nineteen people, and it becomes apparent that his wife was the bomber, he plunges into the world of Islamic extremism, trying to understand how he missed signs of her intentions. Khadra (the nom de plume of Mohammed Moulessehoul) vividly captures Jaafari's anguish and his anger at the fanatics who recruited his wife. The Israelis don't escape lightly, either, as their army marches over law-abiding Arab citizens in an attempt to stamp out the militants. (From The New Yorker)  We'll be discussing this title on our own.

First Aid Class

Wednesday, March 11th 6-8PM

at the Barrington Public Library

They will cover bleeding and bandaging, allergic reactions, 
asthma, bites and stings, shock, heart attack, stroke, broken bones 
and splinting, burns, electricity, choking and chemicals.

30 Spaces Open