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"I am completely smitten with the Lunch with Books patrons...who welcomed me like a long-lost cousin. It takes two to have a successful reading: an enthusiastic presenter and an engaged audience, and boy did the stars align for us." -Marie Manilla, Still Life with Plums

"Lunch With Books is an outstanding program -- one of the best in the country." -NPR Journalist Matthew Algeo, The President is a Sick Man


"With a new book in hand, I’ve visited a lot of libraries lately, and I think the Ohio County Public Library is my all-time favorite. People are kind and welcoming, and deeply appreciate a visiting writer." -Jaimy Gordon, Lord of Misrule (National Book Award)

“I wanted the book launch to be at Lunch With Books because it is the best library book program in West Virginia and because Wheeling and the Wheeling area was centrally involved in so many of the firsts in West Virginia sports.” –Bob Barnett, Hillside Fields: A History of Sports in West Virginia

This blog is being discontinued.

This blog is being discontinued.
Please visit: www.ohiocountylibrary.org/calendar

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Feb 5 "Bills of Lading Freight on Board Wheeling, West Virginia" with Author John Bowman

Author John Bowman will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at noon. His new book documents over 750 products manufactured in and shipped from Wheeling between 1790 and 1915 — products like Marsh Wheeling Stogies, Mail Pouch Tobacco and La belle Nails. The book features more than 500 images, including business letterheads and steamboat and railroad Bills of Lading. It includes Wheeling’s cigar manufacturing history (for the first time), plus an index of over 4,000 names. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Art History at People's University

People’s University Offering Art History Classes

The Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling will offer a free three-part series on Art History and Appreciation through its People’s University program. The classes will meet on successive Tuesday evenings at 7 PM, beginning February 12 and will cover the major periods of art and architecture from Romanesque through cubism.

“Art history offers us a visual record of our human history,” said Ellen Culler, art educator for Ohio County Schools and instructor for the series.  “The purpose of this Art History beginner’s class is to touch on the highlights of the different eras of history through art exploration.”

According to Culler (who also teaches art at Wheeling Jesuit University), participants will be taken on a brisk walking tour of cultures and countries throughout the world, exploring art and architecture through a variety of periods of history. They will explore the interesting facts, beautiful objects, and vocabulary that art history offers. 

The series will begin with the Romanesque Period 1000 Ad – 1150AD, which reflected the Roman influence in the building of churches. This was an intense period that saw the invention of the “barrel vault,” allowing churches to become cathedrals.  Sculptures became an integral part of architecture during this time and carvings were elongated.

The Gothic Period 1140-1400, featured the “gothic” arch, which allowed cathedrals to soar to great heights and the new technology of stained glass adorned the buildings. Much of the art work was based on Christian religion.

The Golden Age of Florence was termed the Renaissance (1400-1520). The artists of this time took many of the principles developed by the Greeks and their “classic” style. It was the age of Humanism.   Money was lavishly spent by the wealthiest family, the Medici’s, to beautify their Republic by some of the world’s most well-known and remembered artists, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael and Botticelli. Humanistic features were becoming evident in art. These Great artists set the stage for so many artists to follow, making it acceptable to be an “artist.”

From 1590-1750 the Baroque period developed almost as a reaction to Renaissance art. It was meant to appeal to the viewer’s emotions. Many magnificent artists came out of this period, including Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Velazquez and Caravaggio.

Rococo Art (1700-1800) refers to the decorative arts in the time of Louis XV of France. Designs were of nature reflecting plants, shells, and flowers. Many people view this period as a “visual gluttony,” referring to the excessive use of ornament in the decorative arts.

Finally, the series will cover the “Isms,” including Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Art Nouveau, Post Impressionism, Expressionism, and Cubism. During the late 1800 – early 1900s, styles seemed to swing back and forth from naturalistic (romantic) to classical (restrained) and back to naturalistic. The best American painters were still being trained in Europe.

The People’s University was created based on the philosophy that public libraries are meant to be sanctuaries of free learning for all people. It is a free program for adults who wish to continue their education in the liberal arts. The People’s University features courses — taught by experts in each subject — that enable patrons to pursue their goal of lifelong learning in classic subjects such as art, history, philosophy, literature, and government.

Please call the library at 304-232-0244 to RSVP for the People’s University, Arts History series.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Wheeling Film Society: The Godfather

The Wheeling Film Society will offer a free Conversation about the classic film, The Godfather, on Tuesday January 29 at noon at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling. (See the film for free at Towngate Cinema on Friday Jan. 25 at 7 pm.) John Whitehead, professor of film studies at Wheeling Jesuit University will host.

Debates about The Great American Movie usually vacillate between Coppola’s blockbuster and Orson Welles’ 1941 Citizen Kane.  Each is an epic panorama that both reflects and critiques the values of the American political and economic systems.  Each is ultimately a tragic masterpiece.  Coppola’s depiction of the promise and problems of post-WWII prosperity are brought to life by one of the great ensemble casts of Hollywood history, including Marlon Brando, who won Best Actor for the title role; James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Al Pacino, all of whom were nominated for Best Supporting Actor; and Diane Keaton, scandalously neglected in the nominations. The Wheeling film society is a partnership among the library, Wheeling Jesuit University’s Fine Arts Department and Oglebay Institute’s Towngate Cinema.

Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A Bagpipe Tribute to Bobby Burns...

Bagpiper Betsy Bethel-McFarland will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday January 22 at noon to provide a musical tribute to Scotland’s Bard (the Ploughman Poet), Robert Burns, in honor of his January 25, 1759 birthday. Burns is the composer of the New Year’s Eve anthem, “Auld Lang Syne.” Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

January 15: The Essay by Robin Yocum

Jimmy Lee Hickam grew up along Red Dog Road, a dead-end strip of gravel and mud buried deep in the bowels of Appalachian Ohio. It was the poorest region of the state. The poorest county in the region. And the poorest road in the county.

To make things worse, the name Hickam was synonymous for trouble throughout Southeastern Ohio. Jimmy Lee hailed from a heathen mix of thieves, moonshiners, drunkards, and general anti-socials that for decades had clung to both the hardscrabble hills and the iron bars of every jail cell in the region. This life, Jimmy Lee believed, was his destiny.

The only two constants in Jimmy Lee’s life are football and the misery of his situation. When Jimmy Lee wins the school essay writing contest, there are no accolades. In fact, it creates nothing but resentment and doubt.

No one believes this 17-year-old, wrong-side-of-the-tracks kid is capable of creating such a paper. When the school attempts to strip him of the award, his English teacher risks her job to stand up for him, showing him a path away from the cycle of poverty and alcoholism that has defined his family for years.

Robin Yocum will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday January 15 at noon to discuss his new novel, The Essay, about a young man who uses his talent for writing to find a path out of the hills of Appalachia. Surprising revelations and an unforgettable cast of characters born of the worn-out landscape of southeastern Ohio make The Essay a powerful and moving novel. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Jan 8 Corruption & Colorful Characters: Wheeling in the Progressive Era


Historian Hal Gorby will discuss his latest research on the Progressive Era in West Virginia and Wheeling. By focusing on how the city officials, immigrants, and other groups tried to adjust to the rapid industrialization of the era and the problems it created, Gorby will explore various reform efforts. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Top Ten Lunch With Books Programs

Program; Presenter; Attendance; Date

1. SAENGERFEST; Eintracht German Singing Society; 200; 07-17-10

2. A Lucky Child; Auschwitz Survivor Judge Thomas Buergenthal; 198; 03-04-11

3. Fashion Show; Civil War 150; 194; 11-20-11

4. Ruanaidh; Art Rooney, Jr. and Jim O'Brien; 168; 06-15-10

5. Follow the River; James Alexander Thom; 160; 06-05-08

6. Warwood Memories; 157; 12-18-12

7. The Quiet Man Pub Reading; 150; 08-30-12

8. Wheeling Then and Now; Sean Duffy; 146; 09-07-10

9. Bloch Brother Tobacco; Stuart Bloch; 131; 04-27-10

10. Reasons to Believe; Dr. Scott Hahn; 126; 08-21-07

Book Discussion Groups

The Ohio County Public Library facilitates book discussion groups for both young adults and adults. Currently, the OCPL offers two adult groups, which meet on the first Monday and third Thursday of each month.

In addition to its own growing collection, the OCPL has access to the book discussion collection of the West Virginia Library Commission.

To join or form a book discussion group, or for more information, please call 304-232-0244.

Meeting of the Minds Philosophy Group

The Meeting of the Minds Philosophic Inquiry Forum is facilitated by David Weimer. The group meets virtually every Tuesday at 6 PM. Call the library for meeting room locations.

For more information, visit www.firstknowthyself.org/m&mphilosophy.htm or contact group organizer, David Weimer, at 740 526-0985 or by email at dwwweimer@comcast.net..