Albion News: Public library offers book group

The Albion Public Library has been selected by the Maine Humanities Council to offer “Let’s Talk About It”, a free reading and discussion group with copies of the books available through the library. This program is provided by the Maine Humanities Council’s Maine Center for the Book in cooperation with the Maine State Library.

The series, “The Gilded Age”, begins at 6 pm Tuesday, January 31 at the Albion Public Library.

Books to be read and discussed are: Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton; The Gilded Age, by Mark Twain & Charles Dudley Warner; The Rise & Fall of Silas Lapham, by William Dean Howell; Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson; and, Poland Spring, by David Richards.

The discussion will be led by David Richards, Director of the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. David holds M.A. in New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine, and a Ph.D in History from the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of Poland Spring, A Tale of the Gilded Age and is currently working on a project for the Kennebec Highlands History Project learning about Central Maine native and game maker, Milton Bradley, the “Man Who Taught America How to Play”.

“Exploring ideas and issues through literature has a unique and fun way of creating community” said Nicole Rancourt, director of Let’s Talk About It. “We find that there is great interest among adults in getting together to discuss what they’ve read with others. Having a discussion leader like David Richards can help deepen this experience.”

Books for the program are available for loan at the library. Go to the library, or call Roberta at 437-2019, to register. You can go to the library to pick up the first book of the series. The library is open Monday and Thursday 6 – 8 p.m., and Wednesday and Saturday, 9 – 11 a.m.