January 6 (2009)-Mystery Writer Jean Gillespie

Jan 6—The Road to St. Cecilia’s by Jean Gillespie

Raised by a single mother in upstate New York, Susan Foster is both stunned and outraged when she accidentally discovers a French birth certificate bearing the same birth date as her own. But it is the discovery of a second one that sends Susan on a search for a sister she never knew existed. From New York to France to rural West Virginia, Susan is relentless in her quest to uncover the web of secrecy her mother has spun to conceal their true identity. Revelations of sacrilege, murder and mental illness do nothing to deter Susan from uncovering the secrets of her mother’s life and her own birth. Susan’s own sanity is kept intact by the loyalty of her best friend and the love of Georges, a young French architect. Susan’s road to St. Cecelia’s Academy is guaranteed to hold your attention from beginning to end.

JIM O'BRIEN: PITTSBURGH PROUD

Veteran Pittsburgh sportswriter and author Jim O’Brien returns to talk about his new book, Pittsburgh Proud, featuring sections on Sidney Crosby, Troy Polamalu, and Myron Cope among others. Jim will be sharing stories about numerous Pittsburgh sports figures and some about Ohio Valley athletes as well. A book signing will follow, and Jim has promised to personalize all requests.

December 9 at Noon: Wheeling's Immigrants

A new book about Wheeling's immigration history will be discussed on Tuesday, December 9th at noon, at the Ohio County Public Library. Through oral histories and photographs, The Wheeling Family: A Celebration of Immigrants and Their Neighborhoods explores the history of immigrant groups in Wheeling from the mid-19th through the mid-20th centuries. The book, published by Creative Impressions, explores the diverse mix of nationalities drawn to Wheeling because of industry and opportunity and how and why these groups settled in certain neighborhoods and stayed together. The presentation will also include a look at the cherished traditions and customs people brought from the old country and continued in their new Ohio Valley home. Patrons who bring a canned good for donation to the Salvation Army will be entered in a drawing to win a new winter quilt. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are offered. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday, December 2: Steamboats

Local author John Bowman will discuss his new book, Wheeling—The Birthplace of the American Steamboat. Through stories and photographs, Bowman delivers a comprehensive look at the steamboats that were built in Wheeling as well as those that served the city. Publication of the book was made possible by Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation.

November 25: Wheeling's Future

Wheeling’s Future

Meet Wheeling’s new Mayor, Andy McKenzie and new City Council members, Gene Fahey, Don Atkinson, and James Tiu.

Tuesday, Oct 28: The Halloween Queen & Castle Halloween!

The Halloween Queen

Pamela E. Apkarian-Russell, known to the world as "The Halloween Queen" ®, has been a collector of vintage Halloween pieces for almost 40 years, and is the foremost authority on Halloween memorabilia in the world.. She and her husband Chris Russell have been full-time antique dealers for almost 35 years. Together they run a unique museum called Castle Halloween, http://www.castlehalloween.com/.

Located in the old Boggs Run Elementary School, the museum claims the largest collection of Halloween memorabilia, research, antique art, postcards, and collectibles on the planet. Pamela is the author of several books, including Postmarked Yesteryear, More Halloween Collectibles, and her latest book, Washington’s Haunted Past. She has also published articles in Antiques Journal, Postcard Collector, & Joy of Halloween, among many others. Pamela and Chris also publish a newsletter, The Trick or Treat Trader.

October 14th: The Search for Negotiated Peace

The Search for Negotiated Peace

Author Davis S. Patterson will discuss his book, The Search For Negotiated Peace: Women’s Activism and Citizen Diplomacy in WWI. Patterson is the former chief editor of the “Foreign Relations of the United States” series, and has published numerous books on peace history.

Tuesday, October 14 at Noon

On Tuesday, October 14th at noon, Ron Miller will present a program on the Ye Olde Alpha restaurant and bar at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Library. Mr. Miller will discuss the storied history of the legendary Wheeling establishment. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees are invited to bring a bag lunch. Free beverages will be served.

Tuesday, September 30th

Kate Quinn will review A People’s History of the United States: 1492-present, Howard Zinn’s classic, revisionist look at American history from perspectives not found in most textbooks.

Tuesday, September 30

Wheeling Jesuit University's Mary Ellen Cassidy will review Thomas L. Friedman’s book, Hot, Flat, & Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America at the Ohio County Public Library's Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, September 30 at noon. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Free beverages are provided.

A Capital Night in Wheeling

On Tuesday, September 23 at noon, local artist Dave Barnhouse will be at the Ohio County Public Library's Lunch With Books program to discuss his work. In particluar, Mr. Barnhouse will talk about his painting "A Capital Night in Wheeling." Mr. Barnhouse says the painting depicts, “...A Saturday night at the jamboree. The streets, shops, and restaurants on 10th and Main are filled with happy people waiting to enter the Capital Music Hall . One of their favorites, Doc & Chickie Williams and the Border Riders will be filling the air with melodious tunes of country music. What a great night of entertainment at the crown jewel of Wheeling , W.Va. ” The painting has been made into a limited edition print.

Dave Barnhouse is a self-described "country boy" from Richmond , Ohio who grew up in small towns and has no intention of leaving their environs either physically or emotionally. "I want my art to make people feel as if thay were back home on a Friday evening, so thay can experience the warmth of a cozy fire and smell the homemade bread and cookies coming from the oven," he says.As soon as he could hold a pencil, the artist started expressing his artistic talents. One of his first drawings was a threshing machine on his grandfather's farm in Ohio . "He drew all the little details," remembers his mother, who encouraged her son to pursue his art.Currently, Barnhouse has settled into the Americana genre, constantly working with illumination and adding a nostalgic touch to make viewers feel they are actually present and a part of the painting.

Barnhouse's works have earned many awards and honors. He was voted America 's third most popular print artists of 1995 and 1996 in dealer surveys conducted by U.S. ART magazine. He was included in InformArt's "Top 10 Hottest New Artists" in 1995 and moved into number three position in 1996. He has been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles.Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday, September 16 at Noon

Glass Towns with WVU Professor Ken Fones-Wolf

West Virginia history professor Dr. Ken Fones-Wolf will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday September 16th at noon to discuss his book, Glass Towns. Through case studies of glass production hubs in Clarksburg , Moundsville, and Fairmont (producing window, tableware, and bottle glass, respectively), the book examines the impact of industry on local populations and immigrant craftsmen. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday, September 9 at Noon

A Tribute to the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s

Actor Gregory Gibson Kenney performs as Tank Sreleets, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tank shares the story of a team that went from losing to winning in more ways than one. Experience how they accomplished their goal by working hard, refusing to quit, doing whatever it took and believing in each other to become a team that was the first to win four Super Bowl trophies. Take a journey back in time and experience how they captured the heart of a city by bringing diverse cultures together making Pittsburgh the City of Champions.

Next Week: WWII Veteran Melvin Salter

Melvin Salter, who joined the U.S. Army in 1943 at the age of 18, will discuss A Life Well Lived: the Mel Salter Story, the memoir he has written with his daughter, Barbara Salter Gurian. Salter’s story has been placed in The Library of Congress as a part of the Veterans History Project. Salter was a rifleman in the European, African, and Middle Eastern Theaters from 1943-45. He was wounded three times and was awarded the Purple Heart with two Clusters and the Bronze Star for bravery.

Next Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Aug 26 Bridge Building in WV with Terry Lively

Terry Lively of the WVDOT will discuss the documentary film, Crossings: Bridge Building in WV and the new companion coffee table book. Both the Elm Grove stone arch bridge and the Wheeling suspension bridge are featured in the film, which shows the formidable terrain our forebears faced and how they overcame these transportation barriers with innovative, award-winning structures. Lively was the writer and executive producer for the film.

Next Week--Tuesday August 19: Nicaragua

Aug 19 Nicaragua: Religion & Politics

WJU Political Science professor Dr. John Poffenbarger will discuss the effect of religion on politics in Nicaragua, namely how new evangelical movements and changes in the Catholic Church are affecting the political environment. Dr. Poffenbarger lived in Nicaragua in 2003, studying civil society through survey research.

Fetherling to Visit Lunch With Books

August 12: Wheeling's Own George Fetherling

Originally from Wheeling, George Fetherling is one of Canada’s premier poets, novelists, and essayists. He is the editor and publisher of Subway Books, an independent publishing house based in Vancouver, British Columbia. His column, 'Books this Week,' appears in Seven Oaks magazine, an online journal, www.sevenoaksmag.com.

Mr. Fetherling will discuss his work, including a new edition of a brief history of Wheeling.

M & M PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy Group Holding Meetings at Library

The Meeting of the Minds Philosophic Inquiry Forum (M&M Philosophy) serves as a weekly forum for examining issues that further our understanding of ourselves and the world that we live in. M&M Philosophy meets every Tuesday, at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling. Meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. and are free an open to the public. The group’s organizer, David Weimer, assures the continued, regular operation of this philosophic discussion group. Group participants are encouraged to lead topic discussions. At the beginning of each meeting, general introductions are made, new participants are welcomed, program notes are shared and the evening's agenda is explained. The facilitator for each meeting will be scheduled at least one week in advance. Meetings often include discussions of topics, walks along the river, thought experiments, meditation techniques, and watching films, among other things.

The M&M Philosophy meeting schedule for August 2008:

Tuesday, Aug. 5: Razor’s Edge. Lecture recorded circa 1994 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with speaker Bart Marshall, Green Beret Vietnam veteran and philosopher.

Tuesday, Aug. 12: Life Changing War Experiences: We invite veterans of any war to share their perspective on what they have lived through.

Tuesday, Aug. 19: Atheism. A stand against something or for something? Discussing and discovering the ins and outs of this alternative human position on metaphysics.

Tuesday, Aug. 26: Book Review of Practical Mysticism; A Little Book for Normal People, published in 1914 by author and British Christian philosopher Evelyn Underhill.

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..

New Programs Announced

Aug 19 Nicaragua: Religion & Politics

WJU Political Science professor Dr. John Poffenbarger will discuss the effect of religion on politics in Nicaragua, namely how new evangelical movements and changes in the Catholic Church are affecting the political environment. Dr. Poffenbarger lived in Nicaragua in 2003, studying civil society through survey research.

Aug 26 Bridge Building in WV

Terry Lively of the WVDOT will discuss the documentary film, Crossings: Bridge Building in WV and the new companion coffee table book. Both the Elm Grove stone arch bridge and the Wheeling suspension bridge are featured in the film, which shows the formidable terrain our forebears faced and how they overcame these transportation barriers with innovative, award-winning structures. Lively was the writer and executive producer for the film.

Sept 2 WWII Veteran Melvin Salter

Melvin Salter, who joined the U.S. Army in 1943 at the age of 18, will discuss A Life Well Lived: the Mel Salter Story, the memoir he has written with his daughter, Barbara Salter Gurian. Salter’s story has been placed in The Library of Congress as a part of the Veterans History Project. Salter was a rifleman for Company K, 15th Infantry, 3rd Division which served in the European, African, and Middle Eastern Theaters from 1943-45. He was wounded three times during his service, and was awarded the Purple Heart with two Clusters and the Bronze Star for bravery.


Sept 9 Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s

Actor Gregory Gibson Kenney performs as Tank Sreleets, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tank shares the story of a team that went from losing to winning in more ways than one. Experience how they accomplished their goal by working hard, refusing to quit, doing whatever it took and believing in each other to become a team that was the first to win four Super Bowl trophies. Take a journey back in time and experience how they captured the heart of a city by bringing diverse cultures together making Pittsburgh the City of Champions.

July 29: The Ohio River, History and Travel

Former riverboat captain and world traveller Rick Rhodes will discuss his book, The Ohio River in American History and Voyaging on Today’s River. The book covers more than 300 years of American history from the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, Lewis and Clark, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, the Steamboat Era, the evolution of the current lock and dam system, and rise and decline of 20th & 21st Century river industries, as well as the colorful local histories of 200 river towns.

July 22: Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History

Historian Deborah R. Weiner will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books Program on Tuesday, July 22 at noon to discuss her book, Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History. Professor Weiner is a research historian and family history coordinator at the Jewish Museum of Maryland and director of Historic Jonestown, Inc., both in Baltimore. The book is the first extended study of Jews in Appalachia. It explores the mass migration of Eastern European Jews to America and the effects of the coal boom (1880-1920) on their settlements and culture. The book provides a holistic portrayal of Jewish communities using oral histories and archival sources. It won the Southern Jewish Historical Society Award “for the book making the most significant contribution to the field of Southern Jewish history published during 2003-2006.” Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday July 15: Author Don Stansberry, Inky and the Missing Gold

WV native Don Stansberry is an elementary school teacher. Mr. Stansberry will discuss his latest book, Inky & the Missing Gold, which has a suggested reading level of grade 4 & up. The book tells the tale of a very small wizard named Inkydomus who lives in the ruins of an abandoned castle. After nearly a hundred years of hiding, he finds someone is searching for him. Inky & the Missing Gold is excellent reading for the middle school to high school set. Medieval fiction at it’s best, Don Stansberry captures not only castle life but includes historical information like the Knights of the Templar. The book is the first in a series.

Mr. Stansberry’s appearance is part 2 of a two week joint summer program brought to you by the library’s adult and children’s programming departments. All ages are welcome.

Don Stansberry has been in the public school system since 1984 and has always had an interest in writing. He was the head coach for the Parkersburg High Girls’ Basketball team for 16 years and retired from that position with four state championships. He is currently working on his next novel, Inky, Oglebee, and the Witches, due for release Fall 2008.

July 8: Storyteller Alan Irvine

Storyteller Alan Irvine will appear at the Ohio County Public Libray’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, June 8th at noon. Irvine will present Anasasi the Spider. The appearance is part 1 of a two week joint summer program brought to you by the library’s adult and children’s programming departments. All ages are welcome. Alan Irvine is an Outreach performer for the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, and a popular speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s Speakers Bureau. He appears at elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the year, as well as colleges and universities. For libraries he has put together summer Reading Club programs for kids, ghost stories for teens, and tales of Pennsylvania history and current events for adults. He performs at numerous festivals, including the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival, the Toronto Festival of Storytelling, and the Smoky Mountain Storytelling Festival. He performed Shakespearian stories for the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival and western Pennsylvania historical stories for the National Pike Festival, the Ligonier Valley Historical Society and others.

He has appeared at Renaissance Festivals, Irish Festivals, and science fiction conferences, and regularly performs on the Saturday Light Brigade radio show and web cast. In addition to performing, Alan teaches numerous workshops and classes on storytelling. In 1988, he helped found the storytelling group StorySwap, and continues to serve as its President. He has numerous Tellabration concerts and his own, one-man shows. Most recently he was the chair of the planning committee for the 2006 National Storytelling Conference. Alan has numerous recordings, including NAPPA Honors winning Goldilocks and Company, and Storytelling World Honors winning The Red Dragon: Tales of King Arthur.

Tuesday: July 1

July 1—Marianne Novy, Reading Adoption: Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama

University of Pittsburgh professor Marianne Novy will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, July 1 at noon. Novy will discuss her book, Reading Adoption - Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama. From the book description: “Reading Adoption explores the ways in which novels and plays portray adoption, and suggests how these representations have contributed to general perceptions of adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth parents. Novy reads a range of authors, including Sophocles, Shakespeare, George Eliot, Dickens, Barbara Kingsolver, Edward Albee and others, to observe how these works address the question of what makes a parent. She identifies repeated themes such as differences between adoptive parents and children, fantasies of mirroring between adoptees and their birth parents, and the relationship between nature and nurture. She meditates on how her relationships with her adoptive parents, her birth mother, and her own daughter affect her reading, and ultimately finds issues in much adoption literature relevant to parenting in any kind of family. Engagingly written from Novy's dual perspectives as critic and adult adoptee, the book combines the techniques of literary and feminist scholarship with memoir, shedding new light on familiar texts. Marianne Novy is Professor of English and Women's Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She is author or editor of numerous books, including Imagining Adoption: Essays on Literature and Culture.” Lunch with books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Revisit Woodsdale's Days of Yore

Local historian Kate Quinn will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, June 17 at noon to present a program called "Woodsdale Kids."

In an era of innocence and freedom, children who grew up in the Woodsdale neighborhood enjoyed a lifestyle that today's child will never know. "Woodsdale Kids"highlights the myths that the children believed, the unique ways they entertained themselves, and the characters who were part of their lives.

With humor and wit, Quinn will recall the activities that made life in this area so different from that of today's children. "Mothers of today would not think of allowing their children the freedom that we enjoyed," said Quinn. "Imagine sending your child off to play in the woods with a beebee gun and a peanut butter sandwich and not expecting to see him or her again until the streetlights came on (the universal curfew)!. No cell phones, and no worries."

In this period of 1945 to 1960 most mothers did not work outside the home and children enjoyed a freedom unseen today. There were no "helicopter" mothers hovering over a child, so children were forced to make their own decisions and become much more responsible. Children knew every neighbor and even more important, they knew that the neighbors not only knew them, but probably went to school with their parents! They would not hesitate to call the parents of a misbehaving child.Quinn has interviewed more than 60 former or present residents of Woodsdale and collected photos from many families.

For free, fun entertainment and a walk through yesterday, join Lunch with Books as we stroll down memory lane.

Thanks to Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation.

James Alexander and Dark Rain Thom Pack the House!

Last Thursday evening, James Alexander Thom and Dark Rain Thom gave us a presentation for the ages. The eager, near capacity crowd shattered the old attendance record. It was an enjoyable, informative experience for all and one we will not soon forget. Thanks to all who attended.

Next Tuesday

Tuesday June 10 at NOON-- Father Kevin Quirk, Review of The God Delusion

Father Kevin Quirk, JCD, Rector of St. Joseph Cathedral Parish in Wheeling, will review The God Delusion by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. The book explores the historic conflict between religion and science from an atheist’s perspective. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring their own lunch and free beverages will be provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Next Thursday Evening, June 5, 6:30 pm

James Alexander Thom and Dark Rain Thom

James Alexander Thom, the national bestselling author of Follow the River and Saint Patrick's Battalion will appear at a special Thursday evening edition of LWB on June 5, 2008 at 6:30 pm. Mr. Thom will be accompanied by his wife, Dark Rain Thom, Clan Mother of the East of the River Shawnee, and the co-author of Warrior Woman: The Exceptional Life Story of Nonhelema, Shawnee Indian Woman Chief, and the author of The Shawnee: Kohkumthena's Grandchildren.A meticulously researched novel of historical fiction, Follow the River is a very popular book locally and in the entire state of West Virginia as it deals with events in the history of both the Kanawha and Ohio River Valleys. Over the years it has been read and discussed by several book discussion groups at the Ohio County Public Library and by many local high school students. In addition, the West Virginia Library Commission used the book for its inaugural One Book, One West Virginia Reading Project in 2005.

A Biography of James Alexander Thom from His Website

James Alexander Thom is Indiana's best selling author. His seven novels have sold more than 2 million copies. His bestselling novel Follow the River is now in its 37th printing and still sells 30,000-40,000 copies a year. James Alexander Thom lives with his wife, Dark Rain, a Shawnee in a 130-year-old cabin he moved and reconstructed.

In the early days, James Thom was a reporter and columnist at the Indianapolis Star. "Even then I knew that my heart and mind were in the things I wanted to say in books," says Thom.He began a journey that took him back to his native Owen County, where he built a his log cabin home with his own hands. The journey also took him through swamps and forests to research , a novel about Revolutionary War, Long Knife.

One thing that sets Thom apart is his commitment to research, something he takes very seriously. He believes that in order to talk or write about something accurately you have to experience it. Therefore, one can find him hiking old Indian trails and canoeing Mid-western rivers recreating the experience of travel.He traveled the entire route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition while writing From Sea to Shining Sea. To convey the experience of the frontier soldiers in Long Knife, his first historical novel, he mastered the use of eighteehth-century tools and weapons and waded the icy waters of the wabash. During his research for Follow the River he traced Mary Ingles' 1000 mile escape from the Shawnee Indians. He traveled the Ohio, Kanawha and New Rivers and lived off the land to accurately recreate her story.

James Thom is also often at work as an environmental spokesman. Dark Rain is always at his side in this work.

Dark Rain is the Water Panther Clan Mother of the East of the River Shawnee of Ohio.Dark Rain is a voting member of Council and is a teacher, respected by her people, in the ancient Shawnee oral and historical traditions. She has given traditional presentations on behalf of her people for over twenty-five years.Much of her family's history came from Dark Rain's grandmother, who was a healer and midwife in her community, and Dark Rain's father who was also knowledgeable in many of the Great Laws and other traditional teachings. An aunt who was related on both sides of her family was her traditional teacher.

Comments From Other Authors About JA Thom's Work

"James Alexander Thom is one of the finest historical novelist writing today....he cares passionately about getting it right, and has a gift for illuminating those forgotten but fascinating corners of the American past...." ----John Sugden Author of Tecumseh, A Life

"He puts flesh and blood on forgotten names and breathes life into the stale past. He is probably, the most important author of American historic novels written today because he helps to interpret the distant past for the mind and interest of the modern reader." -----Jack Weatherford Author of Indian Givers

Sign Talker, is a fictional account of George Drouillard, the french-Shawnee hunter and scout who led the Lewis and Clark expedition.

"Anyone who thinks there's nothing left to be said about the Lewis and Clark expedition should read this book." ----John Sugdon Author of Tecumseh, A Life

Tuesday, June 3 at NOON

June 3—Peggy Hanna, Patriotism, Peace, & VietnamPeggy Hanna, author of Patriotism, Peace, & Vietnam, will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, June 3, 2008. Peggy Hanna’s Vietnam story comes from a unique angle – that of a Midwestern Catholic homemaker and “hawk” turned peace activist. Hanna gives a fascinating inside look at just how far the outposts of the peace movement stretched. Join Ms. Hanna for a discussion of the book Phil Donahue called a “beautifully rendered story…Peggy Hanna probably didn’t plan it this way, but the timing of this brutally honest memoir is better than even she could have imagined."

Tuesday, May 27: Appalachian Dialects

May 27: Dr. Kirk Hazen, WVU English Professor, Dialects in West Virginia: Fact and Fiction and How to Learn from Both.

Are you interested in West Virginia and Appalachian dialects? West Virginia University English professor, Dr. Kirk Hazen will appear at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, May 27 at noon to present a program entitled, “Dialects in West Virginia: Fact and Fiction and How to Learn from Both.” Dr. Hazen will lead this interactive presentation on the myths and realities of West Virginia dialects, present findings from recent research on dialects in West Virginia, and answer a wide range of questions about English in Appalachia. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

May 20th: Tom Lipinski

TOM LIPINSKI, a mystery writer and the creator of the Carroll Dorsey series, set in Pittsburgh, will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, May 20th at noon. Lipinski will discuss his books, including, THE FALL-DOWN ARTIST, A PICTURE OF HER TOMBSTONE, STEEL CITY CONFESSIONS, and DEATH IN THE STEEL CITY. Lipinski is the chair of the English and Creative Writing Department at Edinboro University. He was featured as the "L" in the WQED documentary, Pittsburgh A to Z. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday, May 13th at Noon: Dr. Bonnie Thurston

POETRY OF CELTIC LANDS & PEOPLE

Dr. Bonnie Thurston will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, May 13th at noon. Thurston will present "Poetry of Celtic Lands and People." Her first book of poetry, The Heart's Lands, featured Celtic saints. The poems she will be reading at Lunch With Books are a new sequence based on the Isle of Iona, a root place of Celtic Christianity. It is the home of St. Columba and probably the place of origin of the Book of Kells. Dr. Thurston’s newest book, The Spiritual Landscape of Mark, will be released by Liturgical Press in October, 2008.

A native of West Virginia, Bonnie Thurston currently lives in solitude near Wheeling, having resigned the William F. Orr Professorship in New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2002. She earned a B.A. in English from Bethany College, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. The subject of her dissertation was Thomas Merton. She has done post-doctoral work in New Testament at Harvard Divinity School; Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen, Germany; and the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem. Bonnie has written eleven theological books and over 100 articles, has contributed to reference works in New Testament, and taught at the university level for 30 years. Her scholarly interests in New Testament include the gospels of Mark and John and the Deutero-Pauline canon and, more generally, the history of Christian Spirituality and prayer. Her church affiliations include the Episcopal Church and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She was ordained in 1984 and has served as co-pastor, pastor, or interim of five churches and twice in overseas ministries. She is a spiritual director and retreat speaker. Her poetry frequently appears in religious periodicals, and she has authored two volumes of verse.

Bonnie is a widow, an avid reader, gardener and cook, enjoys classical music (especially the opera and liturgical music) and loves the West Virginia hills.

Bonnie wrote her doctoral dissertation on Thomas Merton and is particularly interested in his poetry and inter-religious thought. She was a founding member of the International Thomas Merton Society and served as its third president. She has written more than 20 scholarly articles on Merton, given retreats, and lectured on Merton widely in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Europe. She is the editor of Thomas Merton And Buddhism (Fons Vitae Press, 2007).

Lunch with books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch, and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

UP NEXT Tuesday: HISTORIC ELM GROVE

April 29th: Jack Maynard, Historic Elm Grove: An Outstanding American Community

Local historian and author Jack Maynard will be at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, April 29th at noon. Mr. Maynard will discuss the new book he penned with his wife Barbara, entitled, Historic Elm Grove: An Outstanding American Community. The Maynards have taken their research to new levels with this, their second book about Elm Grove. Featuring approximately 500 photos and a lot more information, the book focuses on the human side of the town, with information about families, business owners and general familiar faces around Elm Grove over the years. It's a perfect companion to the Maynard’s first book, Elm Grove: A History in Pictures…On the Road to Wheeling. Both books are published by Creative Impressions Studios, http://www.cre8m.com/, and will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch, and free beverages are provided. For more information, please call the library at 304-232-0244.

NEXT WEEK...

April 22nd 2008, Classical Guitarist Kevin Hubbard

Massachusetts based Classical guitarist Kevin Hubbard will visit Lunch With Books on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at noon. Hubbard will perform "Classical Guitar with a Taste of Jazz," featuring classical pieces from various eras by composers from Europe (Spain & Italy in particular), Asia, and the Americas, a jazz standard, and originals that combine classical with other styles such as jazz and folk. The program will include a brief spoken history of the guitar, composers' backgrounds, and anecdotes. Hubbard is also a successful artist, an author, and the 1996 World Table Hockey Champion. His debut CD, entitled Aspirations, will be available for purchase.

Then on Saturday April 26th 2008, Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes with Jeff Wamsley

Jeff Wamsley, curator of the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, WV, will be at the Ohio County Public Library for a special Saturday Lunch With Books program on April 26th at noon. Wamsley will discuss his book, Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes, which look deeper into the mystery of the Mothman legacy with the most extensive collection of data ever assembled. Research materials include firsthand eyewitness accounts, rare documents & press archives, UFO/Men in Black encounters, the Silver Bridge disaster, TNT Area archives, illustrations, maps, photos, and more. The book, along with other Mothman souvenirs, will be available for sale. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Two New Book Discussion Groups Forming

Two new book discussion groups will be forming soon at the Ohio County Public Library.

The groups will be reading and discussing Follow the River by James Alexander Thom and Warrior Woman: The Exceptional Life Story of Nonhelema, Shawnee Indian Woman Chief, also by Thom and co-authored by his wife Dark Rain.

The discussion groups are being formed to take advantage of the Lunch With Books appearance by J.A. Thom and Dark Rain Thom scheduled for Thursday evening, June 5th at 6:30 pm at the library. Group members will have the rare opportunity to read and discuss these bestselling works of historical fiction and then to meet and perhaps ask a question of the authors.

The organizational meeting for both groups will be held on Tuesday May 6th, beginning at 6:30 pm at the library. Please call the library at 304-232-0244. Ask for the adult programming coordinator to register to join one or both of the groups. The discussion dates and times will be chosen and the books will be distributed at the organizational meeting.

Book descriptions:

FOLLOW THE RIVER: Mary Ingles was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement, killed the men and women, then took her captive. For months, she lived with them, unbroken, until she escaped, and followed a thousand mile trail to freedom--an extraordinary story of a pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her people.

WARRIOR WOMAN: A bestselling master of historical fiction, James Alexander Thom has brought unforgettable Native American figures to life for millions of readers, powerfully dramatizing their fortitude, fearsomeness, and profound fates. Now he and his wife, Dark Rain, have created a magnificent portrait of an astonishing woman–one who led her people in war when she could not persuade them to make peace.Her name was Nonhelema. Literate, lovely, imposing at over six feet tall, she was the Women’s Peace Chief of the Shawnee Nation–and already a legend when the most decisive decade of her life began in 1774. That fall, with more than three thousand Virginians poised to march into the Shawnees’ home, Nonhelema’s plea for peace was denied. So she loyally became a fighter, riding into battle covered in war paint. When the Indians ran low on ammunition, Nonhelema’s role changed back to peacemaker, this time tragically.Negotiating an armistice with military leaders of the American Revolution like Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark, she found herself estranged from her own people–and betrayed by her white adversaries, who would murder her loved ones and eventually maim Nonhelema herself.Throughout her inspiring life, she had many deep and complex relationships, including with her daughter, Fani, who was an adopted white captive . . . a pious and judgmental missionary, Zeisberger . . . a series of passionate lovers . . . and, in a stunning creation of the Thoms, Justin Case–a cowardly soldier transformed by the courage he saw in the female Indian leader. Filled with the uncanny period detail and richly rendered drama that are Thom trademarks, Warrior Woman is a memorable novel of a remarkable person–one willing to fight to avoid war, by turns tough and tender, whose heart was too big for the world she wished to tame.

April 15th: Dr. Scott Shalaway

Travelogue: Galapagos Islands, Mexico, & Panama

Naturalist Dr. Scott Shalaway will return to Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday April 15th at noon. Dr. Shalaway will present a travelogue including wildlife slides from his travels to the Galapagos Islands, Mexico, and Panama. For more information, please call the library at 304-232-0244.

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008: EBAY DAY, v. 2.0

Would you like to learn how sell your Extra stuff on eBay? You are invited to a free class at the Ohio County Public Library. Ebay day at the library is back by popular demand on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 beginning at noon and ending at 2:30 pm. Sponsored by the United States Postal Service and the OCPL’s Lunch With Books program, the class will be taught by Kim Horrell and Nancy Cheskey of the USPS. The class will include an introduction to buying and selling on eBay, the world’s largest and best known internet auction web site. Attendees will learn how to: register and get started; develop listings; use shipping labels through eBay/Paypal; pay for postage online; and use smart U.S. Postal Service shipping solutions, like free carrier pick-up at your home or office. Free educational materials designed to help you with your listings will also be available. For more information, please call the library at 304-232-0244.

Read about it on Ebay!

Two New Programs Added

June 3—Peggy Hanna, Patriotism, Peace, & Vietnam

Peggy Hanna, author of Patriotism, Peace, & Vietnam, will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, June 3, 2008. Peggy Hanna’s Vietnam story comes from a unique angle – that of a Midwestern Catholic homemaker and “hawk” turned peace activist. Hanna gives a fascinating inside look at just how far the outposts of the peace movement stretched. Join Ms. Hanna for a discussion of the book Phil Donahue called a “beautifully rendered story…Peggy Hanna probably didn’t plan it this way, but the timing of this brutally honest memoir is better than even she could have imagined."



July 1—Marianne Novy, Reading Adoption: Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama

University of Pittsburgh professor Marianne Novy will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, July 1 at noon. Novy will discuss her book, Reading Adoption - Family and Difference in Fiction and Drama. From the book description: “Reading Adoption explores the ways in which novels and plays portray adoption, and suggests how these representations have contributed to general perceptions of adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth parents. Novy reads a range of authors, including Sophocles, Shakespeare, George Eliot, Dickens, Barbara Kingsolver, Edward Albee and others, to observe how these works address the question of what makes a parent. She identifies repeated themes such as differences between adoptive parents and children, fantasies of mirroring between adoptees and their birth parents, and the relationship between nature and nurture. She meditates on how her relationships with her adoptive parents, her birth mother, and her own daughter affect her reading, and ultimately finds issues in much adoption literature relevant to parenting in any kind of family. Engagingly written from Novy's dual perspectives as critic and adult adoptee, the book combines the techniques of literary and feminist scholarship with memoir, shedding new light on familiar texts. Marianne Novy is Professor of English and Women's Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She is author or editor of numerous books, including Imagining Adoption: Essays on Literature and Culture.” Lunch with books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call 304-232-0244 for more information.