Book Fair volunteers Sharon Silverman and Teri Sinkoff unpack books.

Talking Volumes

From truth to fiction and everything in between,
the 46th annual Jewish Book Fair has it all.

JULIE EDGAR

Senior Writer

T

his was a big year for mem-
oirs and fiction by and
about Jews.
Not that the current crop
isn't challenging. But it sets a lighter
tone for this year's Jewish Book Fair,
which begins tomorrow and runs
through Sunday, Nov. 16, at the
Jewish Community Centers in West
Bloomfield and Oak Park.
"It was not a year for heavy politics
because politics in Israel are changing
so quickly," said Carrie Kushner, co-
chair of the event.
Besides, the geopolitical and histor-
ical tracts and collectors' books on

Israel are being held for release until
next year, when Israel celebrates its
50th birthday, said Nancy Lipsey,
Book Fair coordinator for the JCC.
Even without the celebrities that
were featured last year — Neil Simon
and Dr. Ruth — the 46th annual
Jewish Book Fair is a treasure trove of
ideas and personalities, a melting pot
of the American Jewish experience.
This year's fair features fewer scribes
— about 35 — but more of them will
speak in Oak Park than last year. And,
in an effort to bring in younger visi-
tors, the Jimmy Prentis Morris branch
of the JCC will become a concert
stage twice during the week.
Also on tap:
First-time novelist Josh Henkin of

Ann Arbor will speak-on Sunday,
Nov. 9, about his first book,
Swimming Across the Hudson, in
which a nice adopted Jewish boy
learns he wasn't born Jewish.
Financial whiz Michael
Bloomberg opens the Book Fair
on Saturday night, Nov. 8, with a
talk about Bloomberg by Bloomberg,
an account of his ascent to the top
and all the speed bumps along the
way.
Pete Hamill, a gifted journalist
who served as editor-in-chief at
the defunct New York Daily News,
will speak next Thursday, Nov. 13,
about his novel, Snow in August,
which recounts the poignant
friendship between an Irish-Catholic

Book Fair co-chairperson Carrie
Kushner takes a much-needed break.

11/7
1997

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