Chuck Jones Essential Reading Book Club to Meet April 24

"Cabbages and Kings" by O. Henry (his only novel) will be the topic of discussion at the meeting of the Chuck Jones Essential Reading List Book Club this coming Wednesday, April 24 at 7 PM. Held at the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, 3321 Hyland Ave., Suite A, Costa Mesa, California, the book club was started by Chuck's daughter Linda. This month's book, by O. Henry, is available free either through Google or through Amazon, no digital reader necessary. The title, "Cabbages and Kings" is a line from a poem by Lewis Carroll published in 1872, "The Walrus and the Carpenter," a delightful bit of nonsense...shall we consider its use as foreshadowing by O. Henry? The book traces the travails of a beauty from New Orleans, Isabel Guilbert, and her life as it takes her around the globe. There are dashing deposed dictators, missing cash, and rich American landowners, all of whom are mesmerized by the charms of Miss Guilbert, an operetta diva and a life so complex only O. Henry will be able to unravel it.

Join us on Wednesday, a suggestion donation of $15.00 goes toward defraying the costs of the non-profit Center's public programs. Plus there'll be tea and crackers. (And maybe oysters...but you'll have to be there to find out.) If you can't be here in person, but would like to listen in on the discussion, please follow this link for a live broadcast. At some point in the near future we hope to have the club on a g + broadcast, details to follow.

The Chuck Jones Essential Reading List Book Club & Discussion Group!

The Chuck Jones Essential Reading List Book Club and Discussion Group(Served with Tea & Cake)

New Program at Chuck Jones Center for Creativity Launches in February

Costa Mesa, CA: Linda Jones Clough, daughter of legendary animation director and creator, Chuck Jones, and founding trustee of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity located at 3321 Hyland Ave., Suite A, Costa Mesa, CA—in South Coast Collection (SoCo), announced today the formation and first meeting date of theChuck Jones Essential Reading List Book Club & Discussion Group for Wednesday, February 27 from 7 to 8 PM at the Center. A suggested donation to the Center for participating is $15.00 per meeting.

“Many years ago, my father made a list of what he considered to be an essential reading list for any literate, English-speaking person. He felt that all 49 books should be read at least once, if not more often.The Chuck Jones Essential Reading List Book Club & Discussion Group will work its way through the list one book per month,” said Mrs. Clough, “we’ll start with James Stephens’ “The Crock of Gold”, a rich mix of folklore and philosophy by one of Ireland’s renowned authors.”

No one is too old or too young to join the club as long as they are willing to read the book and participate in the discussion. The book club will meet every fourth Wednesday of the month from 7 to 8 PM at the Center. Participants are expected to read the book or story prior to the discussion meeting and be prepared to share ideas, inspiration, or short passages of interest. The leader for the discussion will rotate among participants; each leader for the next month’s meeting will volunteer the prior month.

The books selected for the first half of 2013 from the Chuck Jones Essential Reading List are: February 27, “The Crock of Gold” by James Stephens; March 27, “Cabbages and Kings” by O’Henry; April 24, “Farewell My Lovely” by Raymond Chandler; May 22, “The Red Pony by John Steinbeck; June 26, “Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter. The entire year’s worth of books and meeting dates can be found at the Center’s website calendar of events, www.ChuckJonesCenter.org/calendar.

Many of the books are available for free by downloading them to your Kindle or other tablet/computer or for a few dollars through Amazon and other venues for those who prefer the sweet smell of paper and turning actual pages instead of virtual ones.

The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity is  a not-for-profit 501(c)3 charity located at 3321 Hyland Ave., Ste. A, Costa Mesa, CA. Founded in 1999 by four-time Academy Award recipient and legendary animation creator and director, Chuck Jones, the Center’s vision is to inspire the innate creative genius within each person that leads to a more joyous, passionate, and harmonious life and world.