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Book Cover

Book Club for Adults

In-Person Program

2025-05-31 14:00:00 2025-05-31 15:30:00 America/Los_Angeles Book Club for Adults Join our book club for an engaging discussion of our latest selection, "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder" by David Grann. Copies of the book will be available at the Customer Service Desk. For Adults. Live Oak Library - Meeting Room

Saturday, May 31
2:00pm - 3:30pm

Add to Calendar 2025-05-31 14:00:00 2025-05-31 15:30:00 America/Los_Angeles Book Club for Adults Join our book club for an engaging discussion of our latest selection, "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder" by David Grann. Copies of the book will be available at the Customer Service Desk. For Adults. Live Oak Library - Meeting Room

Live Oak Library

Meeting Room

Join our book club for an engaging discussion of our latest selection, "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder" by David Grann. Copies of the book will be available at the Customer Service Desk. For Adults.

Synopsis:

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as "the prize of all the oceans," it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. But then ... six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death-for whomever the court found guilty could hang. The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. 

AGE GROUP: | Older Adults | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Books, Poetry, & Writing |

TAGS: | Book Club |

Live Oak Library

Phone: 626.446.8803

Hours
Mon, May 19 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Tue, May 20 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Wed, May 21 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Thu, May 22 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Fri, May 23 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, May 24 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Sun, May 25 Closed

About the branch

Live Oak Library was founded in 1917. As the business areas along Live Oak Avenue were incorporated into the city of Arcadia, the library site moved eastward until it came to its current location in 1964 in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County.

Upcoming events

Tue, May 27, 12:00pm - 12:30pm
Meeting Room
Let’s get ready for school! Enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun. For ages 2 - 5 with their parent or caregiver.

Wed, May 28, 10:30am - 10:50am
Meeting Room
Come enjoy bonding with your baby through rhymes, fingerplays, and books.  For babies up to 24 months and their parent or caregiver.

Thu, May 29, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Meeting Room
LA County Department of Public Health is partnering with LA County Library to provide FREE flu vaccinations and the updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine. Health insurance is not required but will be requested if insured. 
Register

Thu, May 29, 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Meeting Room
Join us as we discuss Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods by Grace Lin. For ages 8 – 12 with parent or guardian

Sat, May 31, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Meeting Room
Join our book club for an engaging discussion of our latest selection, "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder" by David Grann. Copies of the book will be available at the Customer Service Desk. For Adults.

Mon, Jun 02, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Meeting Room
Understanding child development and adolescent behavior will be presented along with parenting techniques and self-care tips.

Tue, Jun 03, 12:00pm - 12:30pm
Meeting Room
Let’s get ready for school! Enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun. For ages 2 - 5 with their parent or caregiver.

Wed, Jun 04, 10:30am - 10:50am
Meeting Room
Come enjoy bonding with your baby through rhymes, fingerplays, and books.  For babies up to 24 months and their parent or caregiver.

Tue, Jun 10, 12:00pm - 12:30pm
Meeting Room
Let’s get ready for school! Enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun. For ages 2 - 5 with their parent or caregiver.

Wed, Jun 11, 10:30am - 10:50am
Meeting Room
Come enjoy bonding with your baby through rhymes, fingerplays, and books.  For babies up to 24 months and their parent or caregiver.

Thu, Jun 12, 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Meeting Room
John McLean Allan will play the bagpipes in full Scottish regalia! Learn how to do a basic Scottish dance! He will also give a brief history of how it influenced the culture and tradition of Scotland. For ages 5 – 12 with parent or caregiver.

Fri, Jun 13, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Meeting Room
Learn about electric circuits and the art of paper folding. Then, design and decorate your own papercraft robot—complete with lights and motion! For Teens 13 – 17

Tue, Jun 17, 12:00pm - 12:30pm
Meeting Room
Let’s get ready for school! Enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun. For ages 2 - 5 with their parent or caregiver.

Wed, Jun 18, 10:30am - 10:50am
Meeting Room
Come enjoy bonding with your baby through rhymes, fingerplays, and books.  For babies up to 24 months and their parent or caregiver.

Wed, Jun 18, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Meeting Room
Use the engineering design process to create a unique toy with moving parts. For ages 7 – 12.

Sat, Jun 21, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Meeting Room
Unleash your inner artist! Join us for this fun activity that will allow toddlers and their caretakers to explore their creativity. All materials will be provided by the library.

Tue, Jun 24, 12:00pm - 12:30pm
Meeting Room
Let’s get ready for school! Enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun. For ages 2 - 5 with their parent or caregiver.