SPOTLIGHT

MANUSCRIPTS BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Remember English class, where everyone read the same book and then

talked about it for hours and hours? OK, so maybe that was mandatory. And

maybe the books weren’t always fun . . . but still, wasn’t there

something exciting about it?

The people who run the Manuscripts Book Discussion Group at the

Newport Beach Library certainly think so. The group will start its

2001-02 season of chats this Wednesday with a morning session on John

Berger’s “Pig Earth,” “Once in Europa” and “Lilac and Flag.” On Wednesday

evening “The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimmer Bradley will be up for

discussion.

Other books to be discussed this season include “On Gold Mountain: The

One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family” by Lisa See (Oct.

10), Bernard Malamud’s “The Natural” (Oct. 10), Dave Eggers’ “A

Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” (Nov. 14), “Oscar Wilde” by

Richard Ellman (Nov. 14), Myla Goldberg’s “Bee Season” (Dec. 12) and

‘Nine Stories” by J.D. Salinger (Dec. 12).

FYI

What: Manuscripts Book Discussion Group

Where: Newport Beach Central Library’s Friends Meeting Room, 1000

Avocado Ave.

When: 9:15 a.m. Wednesday for John Berger’s trilogy, 7 p.m. for Marion

Zimmer Bradley’s “The Mists of Avalon”

Cost: Free

Contact: (949) 717-3800

Can you say yummy, yummy, yummy?

TASTE OF NEWPORT

More than 30 of Newport Beach’s restaurants are expected to provide

food, wine, beer and cocktails for the Taste of Newport, which begins

Friday and ends Sept. 15 at Fashion Island. Yummy fun and it gets better.

KC & the Sunshine Band will perform Friday, followed by the Bangles on

Saturday and Toto on Sept. 16.

FYI

What: Taste of Newport

Where: Fashion Island on Newport Center Drive

When: 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m.

Sept. 16.

Cost: $15. Children under 12 will be admitted free on Saturday and

Sept. 16.

Contact: (949) 729-4400 or https://www.TasteofNewport.com.

PLANNING AHEAD

CAFE LUDWIG

Celebrate the chamber music of Beethoven with the Pacific Symphony

Orchestra’s Cafe Ludwig at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Sunday, Sept. 16

WALK FOR PEACE

Triangle Square will be the home base for the eighth annual Orange

County Peace Walk/Jam to celebrate the United Nations’ International Day

of Peace.

Saturday, Sept. 22

NUMERICALLY SPEAKING

50: Days until Daylight Savings Time ends.