Celebrate the Jane Austen bicentenary with Top Shelf Book Club. We will read "Pride and Prejudice" with guests Ruth Smillie, Yvonne Petry and moderator, Jeff Barber.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader with a good book must be in want of someone to discuss it with.
Top Shelf is not your typical book club. Enjoy the book on your own, then join local celebrities to talk about it. This month we discuss that timeless classic, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Join our local celebrity guests, Ruth Smillie, Artistic Director & CEO of the Globe Theatre and Yvonne Petry, Saskatchewan Regional Coordinator for the Jane Austen Society of North America. Jeff Barber, RPL Library Director and CEO, will lead the discussion.
Use your library card to check out a copy of the book, or bring your own copy. This event is held after-hours at the branch. Please use the Flex Room door to enter.
About the Panelists
Jeff Barber, RPL Library Director & CEO
Jeff joined RPL in 2003. Prior work in libraries included two years in an academic library and over ten years in a regional public library system. Jeff is, in some ways, an accidental librarian but it has turned out to be an excellent fit for his book-loving, community-driven, education-addicted, business-oriented self.
Ruth Smillie, Artistic Director & CEO, Globe Theatre
Ruth Smillie is a director, playwright, teacher and actor. She has been the Artistic Director and CEO of Globe Theatre since 1998. Prior to moving to Regina, Ruth was the Artistic Director of Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton for ten years and the Artistic Director of Persephone Youtheatre from 1981 to 1984. Ruth Smillie has directed more than 100 productions during the course of her career. Ruth Smillie was presented with the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Award in 2000, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, the YWCA Women of Distinction Arts Award in 2004, and the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal in 2005. In 2008, Ruth was named as one of ten Women of Influence by SaskBusiness Magazine. In 2011, Ruth Smillie received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province’s highest honour.
Yvonne Petry Saskatchewan Regional Coordinator for the Jane Austen Society of North America
Dr. Yvonne Petry has taught history at Luther College at the University of Regina since 1998. Her field is Early Modern European history, with a particular interest in the relationship between magic, religion, and science in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France. She supervises both masters and honours students in early modern history and teaches at all levels. She also serves as Assistant Dean of Luther College at the University of Regina. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan with her husband, Gary Diver. She is an avid fan of opera, nineteenth-century literature and Scottish country dancing. She and her husband participate in Scottish and multicultural events in Regina, Saskatchewan on a regular basis.
George Bothwell Branch first opened its doors to the public in 1995, and operates as a full-service branch within the Regina Public Library system.
