Altamont Library Notes for Friday, February 19, 2016

On Monday, Feb. 22, the Penultimate Monday Book Club will be meeting to discuss “The Martian” by Andy Weir. This New York Times bestselling literary sensation of 2015 was the basis of the Oscar-nominated movie starring Matt Damon. It’s got adventure, suspense and lots of fun science, so there’ll be plenty to discuss. Please join us at 7 p.m., for this always fun book group. 

Potluck

It’s a Leap Day Potluck. Please join us at 6 p.m., on Monday, Feb. 29, for another in our series of fantastic Eat Around the World Potluck suppers, this month focusing on the food and drinks of Portugal and the Azore Islands.

Don’t know where the Azores are? Neither did I, but we’ve got some good friends returning home from a vacation there and hopefully they’ll bring some photos and stories from their trip to share.

Don’t forget to bring a dish to share, and if you don’t already have a favorite Portuguese or Azorian recipe, you can always pick up a cookbook here. 

Book discussion

On Monday March 7, at noon the First Monday Book Club will meet to discuss "The Elephant’s Journey" by Jose Saramago. Based on the true story of an elephant’s trip from Portugal across Europe to Austria in 1551 to be given as a present for the wedding of the Holy Roman Emperor, this delightful (and short!) novel was widely praised on its publication in 2008. Please join us.

Workshop

Have you been thinking about retirement? Are you unsure of how to maximize your income in your golden years? Do you have questions about Social Security? If so, please join us at 6:30 p.m., on Tuesday, March 8, for a free public information workshop called “Savvy Social Security Planning.”

This workshop is designed to help people better understand their Social Security retirement benefits and what they may be entitled to. Our presenter, Carol VanValkenburgh, is a representative of Foresters Financial and has extensive experience in shepherding folks through the Social Security process.