7:30pm

Set the Night on Fire

 Someone is trying to kill Lila Hilliard. During the Christmas holidays she returns from running errands to find her family home in flames, her father and brother trapped inside. Later, she is attacked by a mysterious man on a motorcycle, and the threats don't end there. As Lila desperately tries to piece together who is after her and why, she uncovers information about her parents' involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement. Part thriller, part historical novel, and part love story, Set the Night on Fire paints an unforgettable portrait of Chicago during a turbulent time: the riots at the Democratic Convention.

7:30pm

Courage Grows Strong at the Wound

In Koehler's hilarious and addictive collection of writings, the Chicago Tribune columnist ponders single parenting, the wonder of life, war and peace, grief, and more. Ultimately a quest for both inner and outer peace, Courage Grows Strong at the Wound weaves a dream for our fragile future. In her forward to the book, Marianne Williams says, "Koehler's points are made with a combination of journalistic acumen and spiritual precision. He takes you by the brain and will not let you go to sleep, will not let you shut down, will not let you look away - and yet, in the same essay - will not let you lose hope, and will not let you stop believing in the spirit of goodness that lies within us."

7:30pm

The Mikvah Queen

In the anti-everything hippie culture of the early 1980s, what rituals can a girl borrow, steal, or invent to make sense of puberty? Jane Schwartz, a lonely, Talmud-quoting, disco-worshipping eleven-year-old builds a mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) in the porta-sauna of her middle-aged neighbor in hopes of saving her from the ravages of cancer. Will Jane also save her fierce, fragile self? Winner of the Dana Award for the Novel, The Mikvah Queen is a remarkable exploration of postmodern Jewish identity, cancer, the confusion and promise of '70s alternative culture, and the power of ritual.