Online 

The Book Discussion Group continues a long Gold LEAF tradition and will meet four times during the Summer Term to discuss works of fiction and non-fiction. Our sessions are open and casual, but also stimulating and informative - we learn from each other. 

The group meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

July 8: Time of the Child by Niall Williams

August 12: Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale by Linda Rutledge

September 9: Master, Slave, Husband, Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

October 14: The God of the Woods: A Novel by Liz Moore

Each of the facilitators has participated in this book group previously. Both newcomers and past participants are encouraged to join us for this Fall/Winter Term.

In-Person

The South Solon Meeting House (1 Meeting House Rd, Solon) deserves to be called the “Sistine Chapel of Maine”: between 1952 and 1956, courtesy of the nearby Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, its interior was completely covered in frescoes depicting Biblical subjects, along with a few secular depictions in the lobby. A dozen artists, many at the time in their twenties, participated. Most of them went on to become famous, often in other media, such as beloved writer and illustrator of children's books, Ashley Bryan. Come learn how this extraordinary place came about in the middle of rural Maine and discover the messages its frescoes convey. Please dress warmly for this lecture!

For more on the Meeting House: https://web.colby.edu/southsolonmeetinghouse/

Driving directions from Famington, ME  https://tinyurl.com/3ezefstc

October 9, 2025

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Location: South Solon Meeting House

1 Meeting House Rd, Solon, ME 04979

Carpooling: TBD

Véronique Plesch is the James M. Gillespie Professor of Art at Colby College. Born in Argentina and raised in Switzerland, she holds advanced degrees from the University of Geneva and from Princeton University, where she received her Ph.D. in 1994, the year she joined the Colby faculty. Plesch is the author and editor of nine books and over 100 articles in English, French, Italian, and Spanish, among others, on the topic of religious fresco cycles. She is one of the editors of the Maine Arts Journal: Union of Maine Visual Arts Quarterly, to which she regularly contributes. In 2022, she taught a semester-long course on the South Solon Meeting House.

Online 

The Book Discussion Group continues a long Gold LEAF tradition and will meet three times during the Fall/Winter Term to discuss works of fiction and non-fiction. Our sessions are open and casual, but also stimulating and informative - we learn from each other. This term, each book has been chosen and will be facilitated by a member of the group.

The group meets on the second Tuesday of each month except December.

November 11: The Book Binder: A Novel by Pip Williams

January 13: The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes

February 10: Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles

10:00 am - 11:30 am

Each of the facilitators has participated in this book group previously. Both newcomers and past participants are encouraged to join us for this Fall/Winter Term.

Online

Oh NO! Our list of accomplished women is growing rather than shrinking, and our study groups were making such progress! To make matters worse, some very important women, such as Harriet Tubman, are being erased from U.S. history. Continue with us to bring these women to light and learn the stories of their discoveries, scientific work, and trailblazing.

Come blaze a trail with us.

January 22 and 29, 2026

10:00 am

Mary Frank has been an active participant in our prior study group on this subject, which was known as Hidden Figures Revealed.  She will send to all participants a list of possible women from which to choose.  Mary will work with Eileen Kreutz, and the two will co-present this offering.