Revelry for Readers Book lovers can help celebrate the Jewish Book Fair's 36th — double chai— anniversary Volunteers helping Cultural Arts Director Adele Silver, back row, center, are, from left: Harriet Berlin, Nina Schneyer, Donna Sklar and Gertrude Lahr; and seated, Joyce Burkoff. Donna Sklar, left, and Nina help review books in order to choose authors to appear at the annual event. MONA GRIGG Special to The Jewish News I f it's November it must be Jewish Book Month, and this year the Jewish Book Fair organizers at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield have double reason to celebrate. This is the book fair's 36th year — lucky double chai — made even more significant since it falls during Michigan's Sesquicentennial year. The nine-day book fair, held at the main Jewish Community Center Saturday through Nov. 15, draws some 25,000 book lovers each year and offers nearly 2,000 selections of recently published Judaica. Thirty-one speakers and per- formers will be on hand Saturday through Nov. 15 with programs for everyone from scholars to humor- 7.1 1.1 • .% PSI _ IJA M seekers, from singles to mixed- marrieds, from children to senior citizens. Several programs will be presented in Yiddish and Hebrew. Robert St. John, author of the re- cent biography Ben-Gurion, Builder of Israel, opens the book fair tomor- row at 8 p.m. in a special program commemorating double chai. St. John, the author of ten other books on the Middle East and a former war cor- respondent, was honored as a "Righteous Gentile" by the U.S. Holocaust Council and is the reci- pient of Israel's highest award to a non-Jew, the Medallion of Valor. At least six of the scheduled authors have Michigan ties; former Free Press staffer John Weisman, now TV Guide's Washington Bureau chief, discuses his novel, Blood Ties, the story of an American reporter whose own Jewishness is tested as he is caught in the shadowy world of Israeli ten and read — and especially to en- politics. courage new authors." Native Detroiter Susan Dworkin Silver says the organizers try to has penned Miss America, 1945 - Bess balance topics and authors so that Myerson's Own Story, a collaborative each fair is unique. Though fair effort with Myerson, who, despite her guidelines state that showcased books present New York Grand Jury woes, must have been published within the is scheduled to appear with Dworkin. last year and reflect Jewish content, George Gershwin, America's there are always plenty of books to musical genius, is the subject of choose from. Saginaw native Edward Jablonski's "Twenty-five people work all year lively, meticulously researched long scouring magazines like biography, Jablonski's friendships Publishers Weekly, reading reviews, with Gershwin's family and friends — ordering review copies and reading especially his late brother, Ira — gave them — doing anything they can to the author access to personal cor- make the right selections," Silver respondence, rare documents from the said, "and by the time they're finish- Gershwin archives and photographs ed, we've got the cream of the crop!" never before published. Silver, a ten-year book fair Other Michigan-linked Book Fair veteran, says this year is no exception, authors include former Oak Parker, and though she's reluctant to Rabbi Lawrence Kushner (Book of highlight any one author or book Miracles), and native Detroiters Alan ("They're all special"), she takes a Tigay The Jewish Traveler) and moment to talk about Holocaust sur- Elaine Serling (Sing and Celebrate). vivor Henry Orenstein, author of the Cultural Arts Director Adele just-published I Shall Live. Silver says the book fair, the oldest Continued on Page 42 and largest in the nation, will add something new this year. On Friday, Nov. 13 (yes, a Friday opening. Silver says they'll try it this year and see how it goes) grandparents can buy a book and read it aloud before video cameras. "A lot of grandparents read to their grandchildren on audio tapes already," Silver said, "so we decided to take it one step further. Most peo- ple have VCRs, but not everyone has a camera. So from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday we'll have a studio open for taping." Besides the price of the book, tap- ing is $15 for a half-hour, by appoint- ment only (616-1000, ext. 341) Silver says that, despite the lack of speaker fees or honoraria (transpor- tation and lodging costs are picked up by sponsors), the book fair has no trouble drawing author-speakers. "This is a showcase for them and we're happy to provide it. Our aim is Adele Silver coordinates the authors and to encourage Jewish books to be writ- sponsors and oversees the entire book fair.