Winner of the English PEN Translation Award

In a surreal, but familiar, vision of modern day Egypt, a centralized authority known as ‘the Gate’ has risen to power in the aftermath of the ‘Disgraceful Events,’ a failed popular uprising. Citizens are required to obtain permission from the Gate in order to take care of even the most basic of their daily affairs, yet the Gate never opens, and the queue in front of it grows longer.

Food for Talk is a book club for anyone interested in cooking!  If reading about food, experimenting with new recipes and learning from other cooks sounds fun, then the Food For Talk Cookbook Book Club is for you! Chef Richard Witting has selected some beautifully delectable cookbooks. The first book is The New Kosher by Kim Kushner.  Signing up is as easy as 1.2.3....

1. To register, contact Programming Librarian, Barbara Shatara, at bshatara@burlingtonvt.gov

(“Mele” - Hawaiian word for song)

Join other Burlington-area Ukulele lovers in a group to learn and play the Ukulele together.  Starting with 2-3 chord songs, simple visual prompts will assist in learning 1 or 2 songs together each session.  A wide range of styles and genres are encouraged, from folk and rock ukulele to jazz, improv, multi-instrument duets, ukulele accompanied poetry, and other wild and wacky ukulele acts still to be created.

Ages: Adults and kids 10 and up.  Bring your own Uke.

Join us for a discussion of You as of Today: My Homeland Stories of War, Self, and Love by Tayseer al-Sboul; translated by Nesreen Akhtarkhavari.

Meets the 2nd Wednesday each month.

This month we'll be discussing Winter, by Karl Ove Knausgaard.

Limited copies of the book are available for checkout at the Main Desk.

Meets the 2nd Wednesday each month.

This month we'll be discussing Go, Went, Gone, by Jenny Erpenbeck.

Limited copies of the book are available for checkout at the Main Desk.

Meets the 2nd Wednesday each month.

This month we'll be discussing No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America, by Ron Powers

Limited copies of the book are available for checkout at the Main Desk.

Meets the 2nd Wednesday each month.

This month we'll be discussing An Odyssey: A Father, A Son and An Epic, by Daniel Mendelsohn.

Book Synopsis:

Instructor Mona Tolba teaches this six week basic Arabic-language course. By the end of this course, you will learn the Arabic alphabet, produce the sound of each letter and be able to read and write in Arabic. You will learn how to introduce yourself, talk about your family, your studies, ask about the weather and time and carry short conversation in Arabic. Also  (if time permitted)  you will learn some basic grammatical structures.

About the Instructor

Staff setup: not needed.