Eight first choices featured at Book & Culture Fair

Five of the organizers of Milwaukee’s Jewish Book & Culture Fair heard some 250 authors speaking about their books at the Jewish Book Council’s conference this past May.

Of them, they made their first choices and invited what they regarded as the eight best of them to come to speak at this year’s fair, which runs through November.

And they got all eight, said Dorene Paley, director of community services at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, where the events will be held.

“We were excited about these books and topics, and the authors all presented so well,” said Paley in a telephone conversation Sept. 20. She attended the conference with fair co-chairs Tracy Askotzky and Sharyl Paley, JCC Judaic educator Judy Hirsh, and committee member Cathy Goldman.

The result will be a “very diverse year” of topics and authors, from fiction to Bible scholarship to cooking to Mideast events. Authors, books, dates, and times are:

         • Dani Shapiro, “Devotion: A Memoir,” Monday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m. Shapiro tells how family and personal issues led her to search for answers via such means as yoga, meditation, and visits with her Orthodox relatives.

         • Myla Goldberg, “A False Friend,” Wednesday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m. The author of “Bee Season” presents her new novel about a pre-teen girl bully who returns home as an adult to confess to a lie she told, only to find that many don’t believe her new story.

         • Joel Hoffman, Ph.D., “And God Said: How Translation Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning,” Wednesday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m. Holder of a degree in linguistics and chief translator of “My People’s Prayer Book,” Hoffman’s new book describes how inaccurate or misleading are most English translations of the Jewish and Christian Bibles.

         • Laurel Snyder, “Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to be Kosher,” Thursday, Nov. 11, 6 p.m. This children’s book will be the focus of a special familiy program that will include a buffet supper at 5 p.m., and a PJ Party.

         • Louisa Shafia, “Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life,” Monday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m. Chef and caterer Shafia will demonstrate how to integrate “green” food ethics into affordable and delicious meals.

         • Daniel Levin, “The Last Ember,” Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m. Levin, a former clerk for the chief justice of Israel’s Supreme Court, will present his thriller about a former archeologist turned attorney caught up in the search for a 2,000-year-old artifact.

         • Joel Chasnoff, “The 188^th Crybaby Brigade: A Skinny Jewish Kid from Chicago Fights Hezbollah,” Sunday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m. Comedian and writer Chasnoff recounts his hilarious and harrowing experiences serving for a year with an Israeli tank brigade.

        • Thanassis Cambanis, “A Privilege to Die: Inside Hezbollah’s Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel,” Tuesday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m. Cambanis, a journalist and teacher at Columbia University, spent three years interviewing members of this Muslim fundamentalist, Israel-hating terror organization to produce this book.

Tickets are $5 per person per program, except for the Nov. 11 family program, which requires one ticket per family. Tickets can be purchased at the JCC or by calling 414-967-8228.

The fair is a program of the JCC in partnership with Boswell Book Company and in association with the Jewish Book Council. It is partially funded by the Dr. Gary & Judy Guten Jewish Book Foundation and the Alex & Ilsa Neurath Malkin Endowment Fund, both at the Jewish Community Foundation of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.