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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, May 28, 2014

June 3: Meet Author David O. Stewart

David O. Stewart, nationally known for his award-winning nonfiction works on Aaron Burr and the U.S. Constitution, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, June 3 at noon to discuss his first novel, The Lincoln Deception. Blending real and fictional characters, the book is a gripping historical mystery exploring the endless fascination with Lincoln’s assassination and the conspiracy behind it. A death bed confession and a long-hidden conspiracy are at the heart of The Lincoln Deception, a historical mystery centered on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln – the only real conspiracy to kill a president in American history. In March 1900, as former Congressman John Bingham of Cadiz, Ohio lies dying, he tells a strange tale to his physician, Dr. Jamie Fraser. Thirty-five years earlier, when Bingham prosecuted eight members of John Wilkes Booth's plot to kill Lincoln, conspirator Mary Surratt divulged a secret so explosive it could shatter the republic.  Though Bingham takes the secret to his grave, Fraser cannot let go of the mystery. Bored with small-town medical practice, he begins to investigate, securing an unlikely ally in Speed Cook, a black, college-educated professional ballplayer and would-be newspaper publisher. Though a mismatched pair, Cook and Fraser agree that the accepted version of Lincoln's assassination rings false. Was Booth truly the mastermind or were other, more powerful forces pulling the strings? David O. Stewart’s talk will explore what we know about the Booth Conspiracy but tend to forget, and also what we still do not know. After practicing law for many years, David O. Stewart began to write history, too.  His first book,The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution, was a Washington Post bestseller and won the Washington Writing Award as Best Book of 2007.  Two years later, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy, was called “by all means the best account of this troubled episode” by Professor David Donald of Harvard.  David’s latest work is American Emperor, Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America, an examination of Burr’s Western expedition, prompted the Society of the Cincinnati to award David its 2013  History Prize.  The Lincoln Deception, an historical mystery about the John Wilkes Booth Conspiracy, was released in late August 2013.  Bloomberg View called it the best historical novel of the year, while Publishers Weekly called it an “impressive debut novel.”   David also is president of the Washington Independent Review of Books, an online book review. A book sale and signing will follow. 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 visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Wheeling Film Society Presents: JAWS



May 24 – Towngate at 7 (Special Saturday Night Screening): Screening: Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975) - 124 mins.

May 27 - Library at Noon: Conversation: Jaws

Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster would be important if for no other reason because of changing forever the way Hollywood does business: it did for beaches what Hitchcock had once done for showers, and it did for cash registers even more than The Godfather had done. Yet to think about Jaws merely as a Hollywood thrill ride calculated to drum up dollars is to miss Spielberg’s artful adoption of many of the cinematic storytelling conventions learned studying Hollywood auteurs like Hitchcock and Ford. Spielberg’s film divides neatly, almost to the second, into two genres: the noir conspiracy thriller (á la Hitchcock) and the threatened-community Western (á la Ford). In hindsight, of course, we understand Jaws for what it truly is: Spielberg’s first masterpiece.

All programs – screenings and conversations – are free of admission charge. Attend as many or as few programs as your schedule allows. All are welcome, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Parental Guidance is recommended for all screenings and conversations.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

May 20: EAST WHEELING MEMORIES

The Neighborhood Nostalgia Series continues at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, May 20 at noon with East Wheeling Memories. Share your memories and bring photos of life in East Wheeling to have them scanned. 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 visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.


And don't miss the East Wheeling Reunion on July 13 at Sonnenborn Shelter. Click HERE for details.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

2 Programs on May 13--Anna Jarvis (noon) and Ellis Dungan (6 PM)



Kate Quinn will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, May 13 at noon to portray the founder of Mother’s Day. One of WV's little known heroes, Jarvis led an interesting life. From the Civil War to the 1940's she tells tales of her family and their many contributions to our state. UPDATE: L. Wayne Sheets, author of Mother’s Day: The Legacy of Anna Jarvis will join Kate on stage to talk about and will sign copies of his book. 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 visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.


On Tuesday evening, May 13, beginning at 6:00 pm, the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling will host a screening of a new documentary,  "An American in Madras," by Indian filmmaker Karan Bali about the early work of Wheeling filmmaker Ellis Dungan and Dungan’s surprising contributions to Indian cinema. 

Ellis R. Dungan was born May 11, 1909 in the small town of Barton, Ohio. After studying at USC’s cinema department, he went to India in 1935. Intending to stay there for six months, he ended up staying for 15 years, making quite a name for himself in the Tamil Film Industry in South India and helping it in its developing years. Even after he left India he continued to return, working on jungle adventure films.  He moved to Wheeling in 1958 and, through his own Ellis Dungan Productions, produced and directed industrial, business, and public relations films for entities like West Virginia University, Wheeling Steel Corporation, Consolidation Coal Company, and The Wheeling Ironmen. He resided in Wheeling until his death in 2001. Mr. Dungan is best remembered in his home state and hometown as a talented producer of regional documentary films such as “Wild Wonderful West Virginia,” “Time’s Runnin’ Out,” and “High Speed Steel,” to name just a few. He was also instrumental in producing “For Liberty and Union,” a film about West Virginia Statehood, which is shown daily at West Virginia Independence Hall and “Wheels to Progress,” a film about Wheeling in its 1959 heyday. 

Karan Bali is an Indian Filmmaker who became interested in the early history of Cinema produced in the Tamil region of India and realized the contribution Ellis Dungan had made to changing the nature of Tamil Films. Through reading Ellis Dungan’s Autobiography “A Guide to Adventure” which he co-authored with Wheeling author Barbara Smik [one of the daughters of country music singing legend Doc Williams and Aunt to Wheeling Mayor Andy McKenzie], Mr. Bali realized that Ellis Dungan had given his collection of films, photographs and papers to the West Virginia State Archives.  Working with the staff of the State Archives, Mr. Bali found many of the materials he needed to make his documentary.  He also searched archives in India and Malaysia to find other archival materials.

Recently, Mr. Bali has been showing his film at many film festivals in India and elsewhere.  He is currently scheduled to appear at the prestigious New York Indian Film Festival in early May and wished, after that, to visit Wheeling where Mr. Dungan had lived and worked to show his documentary, talk about its making and possibly meet people who knew Mr. Dungan.  "Ellis Dungan's fascinating story was one just waiting to be told,” said Bali. “I'm surprised no one else did it earlier but I’m glad I could make this film and bring to light, however belated, the efforts and achievements of a true pioneer of the Tamil (and Indian) film industry. I especially wanted the people of Wheeling, many of whom would have known Mr. Dungan personally and who might have only heard about his adventures in India to actually see the huge contribution he made while in India - not just to the Indian film industry but also to the War Effort from 1941-45 in addition to photographing historic events around Indian Independence from the British."

A reception featuring light refreshments will begin at 6 pm in the library's auditorium. The screening of "An American in Madras" will begin at 6:30 pm, and a discussion with the filmmaker, Karan Bali, will take place after the screening. The program is free and open to the public. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Reception-6PM: Screening-6:30 PM; Discussion after film.

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..