The year 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Arguably one of this country's greatest presidents, there are many questions left to be answered about what happened that day in Dallas, Nov. 22, 1963. Although his assassination casts a long shadow over his time on this planet, there is much more to his life and brief time spent in the Oval Office. A recent book by Jim Rasnberger, The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs, delves into how the Bay of Pigs debacle challenged the young president in a way that had a long-lasting effect on U.S. foreign policy. The Fireside Book Group, which meets on the first Thursday of every month at Orca Books in Olympia, will discuss Rasnberger's tome when they gather Thursday, Jan. 2. It was the group's pick from November, so if you haven't started reading all 480 pages, you'd better get cracking! The group welcomes new members, and Orca offers a 10 percent discount on new copies of group titles.

FIRESIDE BOOK GROUP, 7 p.m., Orca Books, 509 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, free admission, 360.352.0123