THIS WEEK IN FEBRUARY

1. Friday Feb 14 VALENTINE BEATNIK CAFÉ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14; 7 PM VALENTINE BEATNIK CAFÉ. Members of the Western Ohio Writers Association will read their original stories featuring the theme of love---an appropriate topic for Valentine’s Day!...

HOT BOOKS

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  THE LOWLAND: A NOVEL by Jhumpa Lahiri
  
  This fascinating story about two brothers takes place in India and in America. Raised in Calcutta, they were inseparable as youngsters. As they grew, their paths took them in different directions; one toward active social revolution in India and the other toward a quiet life in scientific research in America. When the brother in India is killed because of his activism, Subhash returns home to offer comfort to his family and his brother's wife. It is not to be an easy task. And it is that endeavor that makes up a key ingredient of this engrossing story. What does one owe a beloved brother... in this life and beyond?
  
  This story is beautifully written. You'll find yourself rereading particular passages for their beauty and inspiration. Jhumpa Lahiri has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Literature.

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  THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND: A NOVEL by JoJo Moyes
  
  The story begins in France in 1916 when artist Edouard Lefebre has left his wife, Sophia, to fight in WWI, leaving behind the portrait he has painted of her. During the course of the war, Sophie's small town falls to the Germans and her modest hotel is essentially taken over by the Germans. When the Kommandant takes notice of the portrait, he becomes obsessed with it and Sophia makes a decision that gravely impacts her and the entire family. Nearly a century later, the portrait has been sold to a young man who presents it to his bride, Liv. As Liv learns the history of the painting, she must find out who the true owner is? Was it an art piece that was stolen during the war? If so, is retribution due? Is Liv truly the rightful owner of it? With fascinating twists and turns, you'll find this a potent story of love, loss, and redemption.

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  RUSH REVERE AND THE BRAVE PILGRIMS by Rush Limbaugh
  
  In this time-travel adventure for children, Rush Revere is a modern day history teacher who travels back in time and relays images of what he finds there to his classroom using his smart phone. He is accompanied by his "talking" horse, Liberty, and two of his students, Freedom and Tommy. Together they witness the hardships the pilgrims had as they made their way across the ocean to America in the 1600s, enduring illness, lack of water and food, seasickness, no privacy, no sanitation, cramped quarters on the ship, excessive boredom, and the uncertainty of the success of their voyage. Then when they landed there was nothing ready for them. They had to cut down trees to make shelters, hunt for food, learn to plant crops, and do all the necessary things to survive, plus learn to live with the Indians who were already there. The book shows young readers the courage and determination it took for people to leave their homeland and travel across the ocean to start a new country.

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  THINGS THAT MATTER: THREE DECADES OF PASSIONS, PASTIMES AND POLITICS by Charles Krauthammer
  
  If you like your topics presented succinctly and varied, you'll enjoy this book. It is a collection of Mr. Krauthammer's columns over the decades. Whether he's talking about political topics, manners, Border Collies, Outer Space, Beauty, Constitutionalism, Empathy, Drones, or Stem Cells, you'll sure to find a topic that intrigues you. The book can be read in snippets. Get a cup of coffee or tea, and sit down with one of his 2-3 page essays on the topic of your choosing.
  
  Charles Krauthammer, a syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician, is also a Pulitzer Prize winner.
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