The council periodically hosts one-day mini-retreats that feature lively discussions in congenial settings. In recent years mini-retreats have often been held in February at the Mechanics Institute Library, 57 Post Street, San Francisco. Recent events have typically featured discussion of a novel in conjunction with viewing of a film adaptation.
The next mini-retreat will take place on February 7, 2009. Check back later on this site for more information about this and future mini-retreats, or contact event chair Claudia O'Callaghan at (415) 584-7504 or callcoc@aol.com.
Mini-retreats in recent years have featured discussions of great works of fiction as well as discussion of works on human rights and privacy. These have sometimes been paired with tours of our surroundings, including the Academy of Sciences, the Arboretum, the Main Library and the Museum of Modern Art, or with film adaptations of the works being discussed, which have recently included The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 1984, The End of the Affair, Death in Venice and Lolita.