LA JOLLA, California (Press Release) – San Diego’s internationally recognized San Diego Jewish Book Fair celebrates its 21st year with many leading authors in their fields including: Steve Katz, David Gregory, Fern Mallis, Arlene Alda, Barney Frank, Jennifer Teege And Mitch Albom. Book Fair events will run from November 7 through November 16, and are presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus.
North County events are scheduled for November 7 through November 9 at Temple Solel in Cardiff. On November 9, North County Hub in Encinitas will present Gourmet Food Day with additional North County locations on November 10. From the evening of November 10 through November 16, including the free-of-charge Family Day Book-a-Palooza, on Sunday, November 15, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. events, will be held at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla.
Opening night of the San Diego Jewish Book Fair takes place at Temple Solel in Cardiff, starring the founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears, Grammy-winning musician and author Steve Katz. Come rock the night away with storytelling and music as we hear Steve Katz talk about his memoir Blood, Sweat, and My Rock ‘n’ Roll Years: Is Steve Katz a Rock Star? He did it all: performed at Woodstock, jammed with Hendrix, produced records for Lou Reed, and partied with everyone from Janis Joplin to Groucho Marx. He had it all…and then lost it all. It’s a dizzying, delicious, head-spinning, heart wrenching tale of the Sixties. Hear personal accounts of this unlikely story about a nice Jewish boy turned rock star as he plays some of the most popular rock n’ roll songs.
Saturday, November 7 at Temple Solel at 7:30pm; Price: $20.50 / JCC Member Price $17.50
Additional Headliners
On Tuesday November 10 at 7:30pm at the Lawrence Family JCC, come meet David Michael Gregory an American television host, and former moderator of NBC News’ Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press. He is the author of the forthcoming book How’s Your Faith? Like so many of us, David Gregory has been a man conflicted about his faith. When then-President George W. Bush would from time to time ask then-White House reporter David Gregory, “How’s your faith?” He rarely knew what to say. Raised Jewish, and surrounded by Jewish culture, Gregory simply did not hold much in the way of Jewish belief. Now, after a decade of studying with an Orthodox Jewish scholar, he does. This spiritual autobiography details his exploration and embrace of the religious beliefs that fueled his cultural identity. Gregory uses his journalistic curiosity to engage Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders about belief and surrender, in an effort to encourage all of us to live a more spiritually engaged life. How’s Your Faith?: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey is David Gregory’s first book.
Tuesday, November 10 at Lawrence Family JCC at 7:30pm. Price: $18.50 / JCC Member Price: $15.50
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Fashion lives at the Lawrence Family JCC on Thursday November 12 at noon. From the fashion world of New York, meet Fern Mallis as she dishes out over lunch all we ever wanted to know about the famous designers and the famous fashion trends that defined our market from Oscar De La Renta to Donna Karan to Marc Jacobs. Nineteen interviews Mallis has done at the famed 92nd Street Y in New York are featured in this exquisite coffee table book, Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis. Thursday, November 12 at Lawrence Family JCC at 12:00pm Price: $21.50 / JCC Member Price: $18:50 (Price includes lunch)
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Next up, a bit of the Bronx in La Jolla. Join Arlene and Alan Alda at the Lawrence Family JCC on Thursday, November 12 at 7:30pm. What is it about this NYC borough that makes it unique? Depends on who you ask. And that’s what Arlene Alda does in Just Kids from the Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was: An Oral History, when she interviews some famous Bronx natives—such as Robert Klein, Carl Reiner, Maira Kalman, and Colin Powell—about what it was like growing up in the Bronx. Join Arlene and Alan as they share fascinating stories that are rich with details about life in the Bronx during the Depression, World War II and its aftermath. President Bill Clinton calls Alda’s collection, “A down-to-earth, inspiring book about the American promise fulfilled.” But Barbara Walters may have reviewed it best: “Made me wish I had been born in the Bronx.”
Thursday, November 12 at Lawrence Family JCC at 7:30pm. Price: $18.50 / JCC Member Price: $15.50
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And now for Politics…. Meet former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank on Saturday, November 14 at the Lawrence Family JCC at 7:30. Growing up in Bayonne, New Jersey, the fourteen-year-old Barney Frank made two vital discoveries about himself: he was attracted to government, and to men. He resolved to make a career out of the first attraction and to keep the second a secret. Now, sixty years later, his sexual orientation is widely accepted, while his belief in government is embattled. He discusses his memoir Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage. Gay, Jewish, reliably intellectually combative and even more reliably disheveled, Barney Frank is an iconoclast in every sense of the word. In his fast-paced, moving, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny memoir, we meet the man more closely than ever before, coming face to face with someone “acerbic, pugnacious, saucy, and ferociously, intimidatingly smart… dedicated students of government and trivia-obsessed political geeks shouldn’t miss [Frank].” (The New York Times). Meet Congressman and author Barney Frank as he discusses his personal memoir.
Saturday, November 14 at Lawrence Family JCC at 7:30pm. Price: $20.50 / JCC Member Price: $17.50
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Join us Sunday evening, November 15 at 7:30pm at the Lawrence Family JCC to hear an unforgettable story! At age 38, Jennifer Teege, a German-Nigerian woman, received the shock of a lifetime when she learned she was the granddaughter of infamous Nazi commandant, Amon Goeth (portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List). Her acclaimed memoir My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers her Family’s Nazi Past, shares the personal repercussions of the Holocaust felt by a woman who realizes that her grandfather “…shot hundreds of people for being black. He would have shot me, too.” Included with admission will be a showing of the film Inheritance (optional), which details the story of Monika Goeth, daughter of Amon, mother of Jennifer.
Price: $20.50 / JCC Member Price: $17.50. Ticket includes screening of “Inheritance” from 5:30–6:45 p.m. Author Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m.
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An inspiring night with best selling author Mitch Albom will close out the Book Fair, appearing on Monday, November 16 at the Lawrence Family JCC at 7:30pm. He is a bestselling novelist, a screen-writer, a playwright, and an award-winning journalist. He is the author of six consecutive number-one New York Times bestsellers and has sold more than thirty-four million copies of his books in forty-two languages worldwide. Tuesdays with Morrie, which spent four years atop the New York Times list, is the bestselling memoir of all time. Join us to discuss his new novel about the greatest (fictional) guitar player who ever lived. Frankie Presto is a war orphan sent to America at the tender age of nine, his only possessions being a guitar and six magical blue strings, each string with the power to change a life. Peopled by legendary musicians ranging from Duke Ellington to Elvis to Carole King to KISS—and ethereally narrated by “The Spirit of Music”—Albom’s novel is moving, musical, and Magical. Don’t miss Albom’s talk on his newest book, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto.
Price Includes Book: $32.00 / JCC Member Price $27.00. Alternative Price: Two Tickets, One Book: $50.50JCC Member Two Tickets, One Book: $42.50
For a complete list of programs and prices, visit www.sdjbf.org or call the JCC Box Office at 858-362-1348.
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Book Fair Venues
Temple Solel, 3575 Manchester Avenue, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA 92007
Seacrest Village, 211 Saxony Road, Encinitas, CA 92024
Lululemon at The Forum, 1923 Calle Barcelona, Carlsbad, CA 92009
North County Hub, 441 Saxony Road, Encinitas, CA 92024
Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037
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Family Day Book-A-Palooza
Sunday, November 15, 10:00am-1:00pm, Lawrence Family JCC.
10:00am- 1:00pm:
Children’s books store and Book Nook open
Spend some quiet time with your child and read a book!
10:30-11:00am:
Activity sponsored by PJ Library
11:00am-11:30am:
Dawn Wynne
The Miracle Mitzvah Moose
Story, Crafts, Meet & Greet and Book Signing
11:30am-12:00pm:
Jerald Altman,M.D.
Don’t Stick Sticks Up Your Nose! Don’t Stuff Stuff in Your Ears!
Nancy Gordon, MSW
Pink, The 3-Legged Dog Who Lost Her Leg and Found Her Courage
Marcia Berneger
Buster the Little Garbage Truck
Local Author’s Readings and Book Signings
12:00pm – 1:00pm
KIDS ZONE
J*Company performs musical selections
Mitzvah Activities
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Preceding provided by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture