June Book Groups

Classics & Contemporary Book Discussion: Maurice by E.M. Forster

Tuesday, June 11, 10:30-11:30am, Adults, Auditorium

Set in the elegant Edwardian world of Cambridge undergraduate life, this story by a master novelist introduces us to Maurice Hall when he is fourteen. We follow him through public school and Cambridge, and into his father's firm. In a highly structured society, Maurice is a conventional young man in almost every way―except that he is homosexual.

Written during 1913 and 1914, immediately after Howards End, and not published until 1971, Maurice was ahead of its time in its theme and in its affirmation that love between men can be happy. "Happiness," Forster wrote, "is its keynote.…In Maurice I tried to create a character who was completely unlike myself or what I supposed myself to be: someone handsome, healthy, bodily attractive, mentally torpid, not a bad businessman and rather a snob. Into this mixture I dropped an ingredient that puzzles him, wakes him up, torments him and finally saves him." (From the publisher)

Copies of the book are available here. 

For those who would like to purchase a copy of Maurice, please support our local independent bookstore, The Book Stall at 811 Elm Street in Winnetka.

Walking Book Club Discussion for Older Adults: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Monday, June 24, 9:30-10:30am, Adults, Library Lawn 

This book was chosen in honor of the summer reading club theme: Read, Renew, Repeat. Read, walk, and experience the restorative nature of walking, the outdoors, and community. 

Registration is requested; meet at the flagpole in front of the library. In case of rain, the book club will be held in the Auditorium.

Obtain a copy of the book at the library, or as an ebook. For those who would like to purchase a copy of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, please support our local independent bookstore, The Book Stall at 811 Elm Street in Winnetka.