Ten Days of Literary Goodies

The Book Festival of the MJCCA starts tonight. You don’t have to be either Jewish or a bookworm to find a lot to interest at this cultural and literary event. There’s humor, history, philosophy, religion and mystery by some well-known and some soon-to-be well-known authors. Events include storytelling, meals, movies and of course, book discussions and readings by authors. Attending these discussions is a great way to find out things about a book that you won’t find in the blurb – like why the author wrote about it, or who the main character was based on. This is the 18th year of the festival.

Harold Kushner will speak about his new book.

Tonight Rabbi Harold Kushner will discuss his book, Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World.

Among the other notables – Gerald Schroeder, author of God According to God: A Physicist Proves We’ve Been Wrong About God All Along, Susie Essman, What would Susie Say? BullSh*t Wisdom and Life, Love and Comedy, Daniel Levin, author of The Last Ember, S. J. Rozan, author of The Shanghai Moon and Dara Horn, author of All Other Nights (sometimes referred to as the Jewish Gone with the Wind.)

What will Susie Essman say?

The Rape of Europa, a movie about the theft of art from Jewish families during World War II will be screened November 22. Following that Sara Houghteling will discuss her book Pictures at an Exhibition – her first novel about a man driven to recover his family’s masterpieces, looted in Paris. On November 24, three authors will discuss the untold stories of World War II – including Jewish soldiers in Hitler’s army, the Mossad’s search for and capture of Adolf Eichmann and the secrets uncovered by one woman who requested her family’s secret police files in Hungary.

Tickets for non-members are very reasonable, (some are $12, some free) but should be ordered as early as possible – the  venue at Zaban Park (see map) has limited seating. Please note that Alicia Silverstone has canceled and will NOT at this year’s festival.

(Photos courtesy Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. Used with permission.)