Breadcrumb Trail
Readers' Groups for Adults
A number of Readers Groups have been set up in Trafford with a view to promoting an interest in literature.
They are informal gatherings of people from all backgrounds who meet on a regular basis to talk about books and to share their enthusiasm for reading.
Each group has a slightly different approach to the content of the meeting and may discuss themes, fiction genres, favourite titles or perhaps a "Book of the Month".
In all cases the common thread is the sharing and enjoyment of books.
Reading groups are held at the following libraries:
- Altrincham Library
- Coppice Library
- Davyhulme Library
- Hale Library
- Old Trafford Library
- Partington Library
- Sale Library
- Stretford Library
- Timperley Library
- Urmston Library
- Woodsend Library
Altrincham Library
Telephone: 0161 912 5920
Second Tuesday of the month at 7.30pm
April 13 - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Bruno is nine years old, and the Nazis' horrific Final Solution to the 'Jewish Problem' means nothing to him. He is completely unaware of the barbarity of Germany under Hitler, and is more concerned by his move from his well-appointed house in Berlin to a far less salubrious area where he finds himself with nothing to do. Then he meets a boy called Shmuel who lives a very different life from him ... a life on the opposite side of a wire fence. And Shmuel is the eponymous boy in the striped pyjamas, as are all the other people on the other side of the fence. The friendship between the two boys begins to grow, but for Bruno it is a journey from blissful ignorance to a painful knowledge. And he will find that this learning process carries, for him, a daunting price.
Coppice Library
Telephone: 0161 912 3560
Group one - first Monday of the month 11.00am - 12.00 noon. Unfortunately the group is full and we cannot accept any new members at present.
April 12 - We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
This is the story of the rise, fall and redemption of an American family. The Mulvaneys live together in the picture perfect High Point Farm, just outside Mt Ephraim, New York. They are seemingly blessed and respected and liked by everyone. An incident involving their pretty sixteen year old daughter is hushed up in the town and never spoken about within the family. The truths of that night lead to tragic consequences and threaten the essence of family life.
Group two - second Thursday of the month 2.00 - 3.00pm - Killer-Thrillers @ Coppice
Group three - last Wednesday of the month at 2.00pm
Davyhulme Library
Telephone: 0161 912 2880
Third Monday of the month 6.00-7.00 pm - Davyhulme Crime and Mystery Reading Group.
March 22 - A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
A breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war and the struggle to survive, raise a family and find happiness.
Hale Library
Telephone: 0161 912 5966
First Monday of the month 2 - 3.30pm
Tuesday April 6 - Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Set in Papua New Guinea at the time of the civil war, this is the story of the only white man on the small island of Bougainville. It is told by an endearing teenage girl who admires the white man because he re-opens the school in spite of great dangers and deprivations. His only classroom aid is an old copy of Dickens' Great Expectations which he reads to his pupils and uses as an example of how to live through tribulations and eventually triumph as Pip did in the story. Mr Pip becomes a real person in the eyes of the children which leads to many complications when the island is eventually invaded. It is a book which captivates because of the sympathetically drawn characters and can be justifiably described as a page turner.
Old Trafford Library
Telephone: 0161 912 4650
Third Thursday of the month 10am
Partington Library
Telephone: 0161 912 5450
A junior reading group is held in the school holidays 2.00 - 3.00pm
Sale Library
Telephone: 0161 912 3008
Second Monday of the month 6.00 - 7.00pm.
April 12 - Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
This is the story of Ruby Lennox from the time of her conception in 1951 to 1992. Ruby is the third daughter of a working class couple living in York, England. The novel traces the major events in her life, with emphasis on her childhood and teen years. This is a coming of age story and the major theme of this novel is the relationship Ruby has with her mother and how she comes to accept the nature of this relationship. A secondary theme is the patterns of behaviour that are repeated from one generation to the next.
Stretford Library
Telephone: 0161 912 5150
Group one - third Wednesday of the month at 2pm
March 17 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
When her father leaves the Church, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the North of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice.
Group two - fourth Thursday of the month at 6pm.
March 25 - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby, she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappontment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love - and its threatened loss - the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.
Timperley Library
Telephone: 0161 912 5600
First Monday of the month 2.30 - 3.30pm
Urmston Library
Telephone: 0161 912 2727
Group one - First Thursday of the month 2.00 - 3.00pm
Group two - Last Thursday of the month 6.30 - 7.30pm - wine and light refreshments provided. If you would like to join this group please ask for details at the library counter. There is a waiting list to join.
March 25 - Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale
Woodsend Library
Telephone: 0161 912 2919
Third Monday of the month 2.00 - 3.30pm
March 15 - We Are All Made of Glue by Marina Lewycka
Georgie Sinclair's life is coming unstuck. Her husband has left her. Her son is obsessed with the End of the World. And now her elderly neighbour, Mrs Shapiro, has decided they are related. Or so the hospital informs her when Mrs Shapiro has an accident and names Georgie as next of kin. This, however, is not a case of a quick ward visit: Mrs Shapiro has a large rickety house, full of stinky cats, that needs looking after. A pair of estate agents seem intent on swindling the house from her. Then there is the social worker who wants to put her in a nursing home. Not to mention some letters that point to a mysterious, painful past. As Georgie tries her best to put Mrs Shapiro's life back together somehow she must stop her own from falling apart.
Who to contact
Email: libraries@trafford.gov.uk
This page was last reviewed on 10 March 2010
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