Join us for the ultimate armchair travel around Europe. The European Book Club is offered in partnership with European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) in Ottawa to promote contemporary European authors and their works. A book title from an EU country is selected for discussion each month.

We will be discussing "Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World" by Irene Vallejo.

IRENE VALLEJO

Irene Vallejo earned her European Doctorate from the Universities of Zaragoza and Florence. Papyrus was awarded the National Essay Prize, the Critical Eye Prize for Narrative and the Bookstore Recommendation Award, and will be published in thirty countries. She is a regular columnist for El País and Heraldo de Aragón, and is the author of two children’s books, two novels, and three collections of essays, articles, and short fiction.

PAPYRUS

Long before books were mass-produced, scrolls hand copied on reeds pulled from the Nile were the treasures of the ancient world. Emperors and Pharaohs were so determined to possess them that they dispatched emissaries to the edges of the earth to bring them back.

Papyrus, traces the dramatic history of the book and the fight for its survival. This is the story of the book’s journey from oral tradition to scrolls to codices, and how that transition laid the very foundation of Western culture. And it is a story full of heroic adventures, bloodshed and megalomania – from the battlefields of Alexander the Great and the palaces of Cleopatra to the libraries of war-torn Sarajevo and Oxford.

Join us for some great book discussions, tea and treats! 

La succursale Vanier de la Bibliothèque publique d’Ottawa invite les francophones et les francophiles de toutes générations à se joindre à un Cercle de Lecture. On y mettra l’accent sur les ouvrages écrits en français se rapportant à la francophonie canadienne. Chacune des personnes participantes aura le choix de présenter un livre de sa préférence, dans une atmosphère harmonieuse. Une animatrice en assurera le bon déroulement. Les rencontres du cercle auront lieu le dernier samedi de chaque mois (dès Octobre) de 19h à 20h15.

Meet new people and share the enjoyment of good books in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. All are welcome!

Drop-in every last Tuesday of the month between 6:30-7:30pm. 

January 30th, February 27th, March 26th, April 30th, May 28th, and June 25th. 

Books are available at the Metcalfe branch service hub.