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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

Wednesday, February 27, 2013


Author and West Liberty University history professor Richard Owens will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, March 5 at noon to discuss his novel Potomac: A Story of America in the1940's, a political, military and diplomatic portrait of the U.S. on the eve of WWII, featuring Nazi activity, a series of mysterious murders, and an attempt to assassinate the president. The book is available at the West Liberty campus bookstore. 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.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

What's in a Street Name?


Ever wonder why Wheeling’s streets have names like Chapline, Jacob, Eoff and McColloch? Researcher Kate Quinn will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, February 26 at noon to discuss the origins of Wheeling’s street 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.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Feb 19: Meet Jackie Robinson...


Actor Greg Kenney returns to Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at noon to portray baseball legend Jackie Robinson, who courageously opened the door for African Americans in America's game. Mr. Kenney is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Education Advisory Board. His appearance is part of the library's Black History Month observance. 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, February 5, 2013

Next: African American Faces of the Civil War


Lunch With Books to Host Noted New York Times Blogger and Civil War Author

As part of its 2013 Black History Month programming, Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library will host New York Times blogger and author Ronald S. Coddington on Tuesday, February 12 at noon. Coddington will discuss his new book of rare photographs titled, African American Faces of the Civil War.

A renowned collector of Civil War photographs and a prodigious researcher, Coddington combines compelling archival images with biographical stories that reveal the human side of the war. This third volume in his series on Civil War soldiers contains previously unpublished photographs of African American Civil War participants—many of whom fought to secure their freedom.

During the Civil War, 200,000 African American men enlisted in the Union army or navy. Some of them were free men and some escaped from slavery; others were released by sympathetic owners to serve the war effort. African American Faces of the Civil War tells the story of the Civil War through the images of men of color who served in roles that ranged from servants and laborers to enlisted men and junior officers.

Coddington discovers these portraits—cartes de visite, ambrotypes, and tintypes—in museums, archives, and private collections. He has pieced together each individual's life and fate based upon personal documents, military records, and pension files. These stories tell of ordinary men who became fighters, of the prejudice they faced, and of the challenges they endured. African American Faces of the Civil War makes an important contribution to a comparatively understudied aspect of the war and provides a fascinating look into lives that helped shape America.

"Coddington's use of African American-owned newspapers and pension records is groundbreaking" said Publisher's Weekly in its Starred Review. "It does nothing to diminish the depth and precision of Coddington's research to say that each compelling vignette prompts the reader to hurriedly flip to the next one."

While other kids in his Middlesex, New Jersey neighborhood were collecting baseball cards, fourteen-year-old Ron Coddington was browsing flea markets looking for old photographs. Little did he realize after he purchased his first photo in 1977 that collecting historic images would become a lifelong pursuit.

In 2001, he began writing Faces of War, a regular column in the Civil War News. Each month, Ron profiles a soldier, each illustrated with an original, wartime carte de visite photograph. His subjects are enlisted men and non-commissioned officers, and officers below the rank of colonel. Ron believes that appreciating the role of the volunteer soldier is key to understanding America's greatest conflict. He writes, "The history of the Civil War is the stories of its soldiers."

In 2004, a collection of columns became part of Ron's first book, Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories. A companion volume, Faces of the Confederacy: An Album of Southern Soldiers and Their Stories, was published in 2008. Four years later, the publication of African American Faces of War: An Album marked the conclusion of the series. All three books were published by The Johns Hopkins University Press. Coddignton will have copies of all three books with him for sale ($20.00 each) and signing at the February 12 Lunch With Books event.

In 2011, Coddington became a contributing author for the New York Times Disunion series. He has participated as a speaker at numerous Civil War-related events, and at meetings for round tables and other organizations. He is currently assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education, and his work has appeared in USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the San Jose Mercury News.

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..