Opening in Chicago during the Great Depression, this novel by Saul Bellow portrays the life of Augie March, a character who lives by his wits, dogged drive, and street smarts. From the first line, “I am an American—Chicago born,” Augie proclaims in his unique scrappy voice his point of pride that he can and will survive almost anything. The reason “adventures” features prominently in the title becomes quickly obvious: Augie and his brothers are raised by a boarding-house neighbor from Odessa when their visually impaired mother isn’t up to the job. As a young adult, Augie follows his crush Thea Fenchel and her eagle Caligula to Mexico where they hunt snakes and lizards. Later on, he even survives having his ship torpedoed during a stint in the Merchant Marines during WWII. For many readers, keeping up with Augie’s adventures remains one of the great pleasures of the novel.

The Adventures of Augie March won the 1954 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. In addition, during his long career, the acclaimed Canadian-American writer Bellow won the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts.

This six-week guided discussion series will be led by Holly Marihugh. Big Books is sponsored by the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library. Registration is required.

Want to receive the library's email newsletter? Brief-and-breezy GPL Weekly delivers library news--with handy program registration links--to your inbox every Monday morning.

The cosmos is full of transitory and fleeting phenomena that are wondrous to behold. Among the most awe-inspiring is a total solar eclipse, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. If you are standing in the path of the Moon's shadow as it obscures the Sun, day will become night. The face of the Sun will vanish, replaced with a streaming crown of light called the corona.

North America will be treated to two eclipses in the coming months. On October 14, an annular eclipse (a “ring of fire”) will be visible across the American West, from Oregon to the Texas coast. On April 8, a total solar eclipse will cross the continental United States, providing millions of people with the opportunity to see an eclipse in person. It will pass through Illinois on its way from Texas to Maine. 

In this slide program, astronomer Dr. Shane Larsen will return to explore some of the important ways that eclipses have historically helped us develop a better understanding of the Earth and its place in the cosmos. He'll review the basics of total solar eclipses and talk about what to expect and how to safely enjoy them.

This program will take place in the Forte Room on the first floor of the library, past the Reference Desk and to the left. Drop-ins are welcome!

The program will also be livestreamed on Zoom. TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY, REGISTER HERE TO RECEIVE A LINK. Please note that virtual attendees will be unable to ask the presenter questions. The program will be recorded and placed on the library's YouTube channel.

About the presenter: Dr. Shane Larson is a research professor of physics at Northwestern University, where he is the associate director of CIERA (Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics). He works in the field of gravitational wave astrophysics, specializing in studies of compact stars, binaries, and the galaxy. He works in gravitational wave astronomy with both the ground-based LIGO project and the future space-based observatory LISA. He was formerly a tenured associate professor of physics at Utah State University. He is an award-winning teacher and a fellow of the American Physical Society. He contributes regularly to a public science blog at writescience.wordpress.com and tweets with the handle @sciencejedi.

Want to receive the library's email newsletter? Brief-and-breezy GPL Weekly delivers library news--with handy program registration links--to your inbox every Monday morning.

Opening in Chicago during the Great Depression, this novel by Saul Bellow portrays the life of Augie March, a character who lives by his wits, dogged drive, and street smarts. From the first line, “I am an American—Chicago born,” Augie proclaims in his unique scrappy voice his point of pride that he can and will survive almost anything. The reason “adventures” features prominently in the title becomes quickly obvious: Augie and his brothers are raised by a boarding-house neighbor from Odessa when their visually impaired mother isn’t up to the job. As a young adult, Augie follows his crush Thea Fenchel and her eagle Caligula to Mexico where they hunt snakes and lizards. Later on, he even survives having his ship torpedoed during a stint in the Merchant Marines during WWII. For many readers, keeping up with Augie’s adventures remains one of the great pleasures of the novel.

The Adventures of Augie March won the 1954 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. In addition, during his long career, the acclaimed Canadian-American writer Bellow won the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts.

This six-week guided discussion series will be led by Holly Marihugh. Big Books is sponsored by the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library. Registration is required.

Want to receive the library's email newsletter? Brief-and-breezy GPL Weekly delivers library news--with handy program registration links--to your inbox every Monday morning.

Opening in Chicago during the Great Depression, this novel by Saul Bellow portrays the life of Augie March, a character who lives by his wits, dogged drive, and street smarts. From the first line, “I am an American—Chicago born,” Augie proclaims in his unique scrappy voice his point of pride that he can and will survive almost anything. The reason “adventures” features prominently in the title becomes quickly obvious: Augie and his brothers are raised by a boarding-house neighbor from Odessa when their visually impaired mother isn’t up to the job. As a young adult, Augie follows his crush Thea Fenchel and her eagle Caligula to Mexico where they hunt snakes and lizards. Later on, he even survives having his ship torpedoed during a stint in the Merchant Marines during WWII. For many readers, keeping up with Augie’s adventures remains one of the great pleasures of the novel.

The Adventures of Augie March won the 1954 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. In addition, during his long career, the acclaimed Canadian-American writer Bellow won the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts.

This six-week guided discussion series will be led by Holly Marihugh. Big Books is sponsored by the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library. Registration is required.

Want to receive the library's email newsletter? Brief-and-breezy GPL Weekly delivers library news--with handy program registration links--to your inbox every Monday morning.

Opening in Chicago during the Great Depression, this novel by Saul Bellow portrays the life of Augie March, a character who lives by his wits, dogged drive, and street smarts. From the first line, “I am an American—Chicago born,” Augie proclaims in his unique scrappy voice his point of pride that he can and will survive almost anything. The reason “adventures” features prominently in the title becomes quickly obvious: Augie and his brothers are raised by a boarding-house neighbor from Odessa when their visually impaired mother isn’t up to the job. As a young adult, Augie follows his crush Thea Fenchel and her eagle Caligula to Mexico where they hunt snakes and lizards. Later on, he even survives having his ship torpedoed during a stint in the Merchant Marines during WWII. For many readers, keeping up with Augie’s adventures remains one of the great pleasures of the novel.

The Adventures of Augie March won the 1954 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. In addition, during his long career, the acclaimed Canadian-American writer Bellow won the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts.

This six-week guided discussion series will be led by Holly Marihugh. Big Books is sponsored by the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library. Registration is required.

Want to receive the library's email newsletter? Brief-and-breezy GPL Weekly delivers library news--with handy program registration links--to your inbox every Monday morning.