Membership is required before registering for your first class of the year. Membership year is from September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025. This membership entitles you to take classes at any of the 17 senior colleges in Maine. As a member you will also have an opportunity to participate in occasional free classes and functions throughout the year

Join a class that is filled with readers that long to give their opinion of  their reading. We will share various genre’s of literature from the classics to best sellers.  Insights into the author’s life and  their writing is  alive and connected to life today.

This class meets the second Wednesday of the month on ZOOM from 10-11:30 starting Sept 11 and ending June 11.

BOOK TALK BOOK LIST 2024-2025

September 11, Wednesday Small Mercies by Dennis LeHane

October 9 …Wednesday Women by Kristen Hannah

November 13, Wednesday My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

December 11, Wednesday Long Island by Colin Tobin

January 8, Wednesday Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

February 12, Wednesday How To Read a Book by Monica Wood

March 12, Wednesday Travels With George by Nathaniel Philbrick

April 9, Wednesday Heaven and Earth by James McBride

May 14, Wednesday Book to be determined

June 10, Wednesday Discussion about book selection for the next year

Your story matters.  You have experiences and wisdom valuable to others.  This class will help you recall, organize, and write these episodes. Sharing our stories and experiences with others in class often leads to unexpected rewards. Enjoy the encouragement and support of writing and sharing with others in a comfortable and safe atmosphere.  New writers, unsure writers, experienced writers, all are welcome.

 Mike Davis believes everyone has a story to tell and wisdom to share.  His goal is to create a safe and welcoming environment for persons to learn together.  Throughout his career he helped lead safe, respectful experiences of listening and sharing. He treasures each story and the opportunity to bring people together in transforming relationships.

IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO TAKE FIRST SESSION IN ORDER TO REGISTER FOR THE SECOND SESSION.

Session 2  Mon 1-3pm

Feb 3 - 17

Mar 3 -17 - 31

Apr 14 - 28

May 12

Your story matters.  You have experiences and wisdom valuable to others.  This class will help you recall, organize, and write these episodes. Sharing our stories and experiences with others in class often leads to unexpected rewards. Enjoy the encouragement and support of writing and sharing with others in a comfortable and safe atmosphere.  New writers, unsure writers, experienced writers, all are welcome.

 Mike Davis believes everyone has a story to tell and wisdom to share.  His goal is to create a safe and welcoming environment for persons to learn together.  Throughout his career he helped lead safe, respectful experiences of listening and sharing. He treasures each story and the opportunity to bring people together in transforming relationships.

IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO TAKE THE FIRST SESSION IN ORDER TO TAKE THE SECOND SESSION.

tHURSDAY 10-12 ON zoom

Feb 6 - 20

Mar 6 - 20

Apr 3 - 17

May 1-15

The Fight Against Fascism and the Nazis, a survey of individuals who couldn’t stand by but took action for their moral beliefs: Americans, Brits, Poles, Belgians, Dutch, Italians, etc.  It looks at the many ways people found to thwart and fight the Nazis and fascist ideology.  

8 weeks

Mondays March 17 1-3pm on ZOOM

First class (April 3) will look at Syria, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. April 10, 17, 24, Lou will share the history of Iraq.

Classes are 12-2 at Graves Memorial Library Kennebunkport ME

LOU SALOME  Lou is the author of "Violence, Veils and Bloodlines: Reporting from War zones in Europe, Asia and Africa" . He earned a BS from the College of the Holy Cross and a MA from Boston College. He is a retired COX Newspapers reporter who has covered the conflicts in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

 PARKING: Please park on the street as the library has limited parking spaces and needs them for staff and members.

Many of us might remember the title of a popular book based on an age-old question, Why do bad things happen to good people? An equally important question might be, Why are bad things done by good people? It’s a puzzling question that has been tackled by evolutionary science and psychology as mapped out in Richard Wrangham’s book “The Goodness Paradox” (suggested but not required), as well as by nearly every religious tradition, resulting in a number of interesting viewpoints. We will explore some of those viewpoints and perhaps in doing so we just might gain some insight into this age-old problem, and perhaps in the process some idea as to how we can live out this paradox in favor of the nice over the nasty in our own lives and times!

CLASS LEADERS:   PAUL DOHERTY and STEVE PIKER

STEVE PIKER is an anthropologist with fieldwork in Thailand and the US. He has spent 44 years at Swarthmore College and has offerred many courses at four of Maine senior colleges. His career long interests are human evolution and religion. 

Paul Doherty is an armchair theologian with experience in music, broadcasting, and ministry. He has also been teaching for several years at two Maine senior colleges, including South Coast.

Wednesdays   April 23 2023   -   May 28, 2023   1-2:30

6:00 News troubling? Think the culture’s coarse? Our moral compass lost? What are our own personal core values?  How do we arrive at them? A review and discussion of how to sustain a civil society in the realm of social harmony and fairness. Contemporary issues (social welfare, addiction. parental rights, education and aging well) viewed against a consideration of the methods for ethical decision-making. Recognizing ethics dilemmas in everyday life (whether right vs. wrong or right vs. right), let’s all discover if we’re ethically fit!

Lorraine Masure, an experienced instructor, has led senior college courses across four campuses, exploring philosophies and themes expressed through the transformative power of music and lyricism. In today's world, a deeper examination of how we live—and the role of ethics—has never been more essential. Drawing from Rushworth M. Kidder’s "How Good People Make Tough Choices", this discussion offers an invaluable framework for recognizing, understanding, and resolving life’s most challenging decisions. Join us and share your own perspectives!

Eight (8) Thursday mornings, 9:30 to 11:00, April 24 to June 12.