A book club in the boonies?
I must confess I’ve never been part of a book club before, but as Colleen talked to me about her idea, I began to feel excited.
That’s Colleen McInerney. She moved to Saint-Malo from the Montreal area a few years ago during the Covid pandemic. Last week, she reached out to the Sawyerville Librarian, Ann Rothfels, who popped off an email to Rachel Writes: Are there any book clubs around here for people reading books in English?
I couldn’t think of any. Colleen emailed that she’d be interested in starting one up, and she offered a meeting space for the group. I called her to find out what she has in mind.
She said she’d never been in a book club either, so she’s been talking to people about how they run their book clubs. She discovered it can be hard to get enough books for everyone to read the same book at the same time. A library rarely has more than one copy. So, she thought, “why not just ask everyone to bring the book they’re reading, and have an exchange, kind of like CBC’s Canada Reads?”
“Just bring what you have read, and we can talk about it. We could do book exchanges, too. Or the members could discuss it, and maybe if everyone agrees, they could read something together on Kindle. Anything is possible. The main thing is to have an intellectual and social gathering of people who like books.”
Colleen used to live in the McGill Ghetto in Montreal, in a cooperative. She’s envisaging a book club along the lines of a little cooperative. “I know how to cooperate,” she laughed.
“We could meet once a month, or maybe once every three weeks, to follow the library’s schedule. We could decide at the first meeting how we want to do it.”
Basically, she is thirsty for the kind of cultural and social contacts she used to have in the Ghetto. She participated in the Literacy in Action “Migration” events in Eaton Corner and Lennoxville. “I know it’s fun to create with others,” she said. She’s eager to meet people who are also interested in the arts and literature.
On the other hand, Colleen has a lot of appreciation for her new surroundings. You can hear it in her voice, as she gives directions. “You just go up Route 253, it’s the next village over from Sawyerville. Then you go four kilometres on a dirt road. It’s beautiful, through the woods. I live on Lake Lindsay. A hundred years ago, there was a small lumber mill here, run by steam. It’s really a pleasant place to meet, outside on good days, or inside.”
She says she’s interested in getting to know writers as well as readers. I was supposed to be interviewing her, but very quickly, I found Colleen was asking me about my writing. I was able, though, to find out she has written and self-published “a little book with a big title: An A―Z Guide to Reinventing Yourself with Passion and Zeal in the 21st Century.”
“It’s amazing. A painting I did is on the cover, and now I’ve ended up living in a similar scene! It’s kind of synchronistic. The book is based on common sense, but also some life experiences and learning I had, and a near-death experience. But I did create a life I enjoy very, very much.”
Her book is for sale on Amazon, where you can preview the entries for A and B. Under “B” are “Balance” and “Beliefs.” I suspect if I read further, I would soon come to “Book Club!” It’s all part of creating a life you enjoy very, very much.
To find out more, contact Colleen at 819-658-1078 or colleenmcinerney51@gmail.com.
50th ANNIVERSARY
When Colleen began interviewing me, I had a chance to tell her about the Townships Sun, and that I am its editor. Did you know this year marks the 50th anniversary of this magazine? It started in 1972, and this month’s “legacy” edition is super fat―a full 52 pages. To fill those pages, I’ve been looking back through some 14,000 pages of the magazine from February 1974 to February 2024. And I’ve asked some long-ago contributors to write about their experiences. Altogether, it makes an engrossing story, the Townships English-speaking community and its little magazine.
So that’s why the March issue is late hitting the magazine stands. During the week of March 18th, look for your copy at the Cookshire IGA or the Dépanneur C.P.L. Lachance.
BILINGUAL TAX SERVICE
Last chance to use the bilingual income tax assistance program in Sawyerville, open to persons with limited income, free of charge. This service is organized by the Loisirs de Sawyerville, and is part of the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program organized by the Canada Revenue Agency. Danielle, Francine, and Suzanne will still welcome you on Wednesday afternoons, March 13 and 20, from 1 to 6 p.m. and March 27, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Catholic church in Sawyerville, Église Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire, 4 Randboro Road. Use the back door to enter the basement. Info: Danielle, 819-889-2614.
CHURCHES
Anglican. No services in Cookshire. To find services in the deanery, check the schedule at deaneryofstfrancis.com/calendar/. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Usual Sunday services are 9:30 a.m. at the Trinity United Church (Cookshire), and 11 a.m. at the Sawyerville United Church. On March 24, these will Palm Sunday services. On March 31st are planned a Sunrise service at the Eaton Corner Gazebo, at 6:15 a.m., and an Easter Sunday service with communion at 10:30 a.m. at the Trinity United Church. Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Baptist. Sunday Services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m., at the Sawyerville Baptist Church, 33 rue de Cookshire. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by March 18 for publication March 27.