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The
Dish On

Book Fair

The Jewish Community Center's 63rd Annual
Jewish Book Fair promises a lot of spice, tastes of
history, sweet fiction and plenty of delicious fun.

Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News

I

magine, if you dare, that curious place
where a woman obsessed with her
weight, her career and her tumultuous,
angst-filled love life comes together with
an eccentric gay artist famous for painting
soup cans and celebrities, and who always
wore silver wigs (and then eventually dyed
his hair the same color).
"It's Bridget Jones meets Andy Warhol:'
Andy Cohen says of his new book, The

Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a
Shallow Year (Henry Holt).
"It's pop culture in a time capsule:' a
rollicking journey about dating and New
York City and delicious little tidbits about
Madonna, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga
and Mariah Carey. Actually, Cohen says,
"Everybody is in this book. It's pretty
dishy."
Bravo Network TV producer and talk-
show host Andy Cohen will be among
the more than 30 authors at the Jewish
Community Center of Metropolitan
Detroit's 63rd Annual Jewish Book Fair,
which opens Nov. 5 and continues through
Nov. 16.
The host of Watch What Happens Live,
Cohen was born and raised in St. Louis
and had childhood dreams of growing up
and doing exactly what he's doing, he says.
"I wanted to produce, and I wanted to be
able to be myself on TV:"
Being Andy Cohen means being quite
unlike any other talk-show host on televi-
sion. First, there's that set. Cohen sits in
front of a colorful cacophony of all of kinds
of stuff — bobble heads and photos and
toys — while he chats with top celebrities.
The format is relaxed, live and uncen-
sored. Guests often appear with a cocktail
in hand, which might come in handy
because while Cohen is a charming and
sensitive host, he says that absolutely noth-
ing is off limits in interviews.
In a recent chat with Jennifer Lopez,

The Andy Cohen Diaries: "Pop culture in

a time capsule."

for example, Cohen brought up former
fiance Ben Affleck and asked about her
alleged spats with other leading divas. "She
answered everything; he says, "and I was
shocked!"
Meanwhile, Cohen's beloved dog wan-
ders all about the TV set, free to gaze con-
tentedly at J.Lo or Kim Kardashian West,
or sit at the feet of Daniel Radcliffe.
Cohen, also the first gay host of a major
talk show — it airs at 11 p.m. Sundays-
Thursdays on Bravo — explains of the for-
mat: "It's meant to feel like you're coming
into my home:'
One of the big-name celebrities Cohen
invited to his TV home, and the most
impressive, he says, was Oprah Winfrey,
whom he described as "very present and
open and honest and cool and game:' The
guest he would most like to have: Michelle
Obama.
From Oprah to those housewives: Yes,
Cohen is executive producer of The Real
Housewives and says that the series, along
with Top Chef are the two shows of which
he's most proud.
Whether it's interviewing a movie star,
watching chefs battle it out over vegan
lasagna or considering the impending jail
sentence of New Jersey Real Housewife
Teresa Giudice, Cohen says that one factor

Andy Cohen on the set of Watch What Happens Live

is critical to all his work: creativity.
He loves fresh ideas and working with
talent that is anything but ordinary. When
casting shows, he looks for "someone who
is different, who is unique and fun, who I
would want to spend time with:'
Meanwhile, though it might be difficult
to actually make it onto an Andy Cohen-
produced show, there's always the opportu-
nity to get very cozy with a little bit of that
Cohen magic.
In conjunction with his "Mazel of the
Day" that ends each Watch What Happens
Live show, Cohen has his own "Mazel" line
that includes glasswear, blankets, T-shirts
and, most important, low-rise thongs, all
with the word "mazel."
When not working, Cohen — who will
appear at Book Fair in West Bloomfield
at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16 ($25-$35) —
likes to watch movies (All About Eve and
Brokeback Mountain are favorites), "run
around New York City:' read autobiog-
raphies and travel. He belongs to Beit
Simchat Torah, a LGBT congregation in
New York.
This year's Jewish Book Fair is chaired
by Terry Hollander and Sue Lutz, and
the director is Rachel Ruskin. The steer-
ing committee includes Leslie Bash, Ruth
Beitner, Leslie Black, Roz Blanck, Brenda
Brook, Heidi Budaj, Julie Chaiken, Janice
Cohen, Susie Feldman, Nancy Finkel, Gail
Fisher, Carol Weintraub Fogel, Vera Gell,
Shelley Goldin, Sarah Gottlieb, Wendy
Heller-Kippelman, Helayne Kaplan, Phyllis
Kessler, Cheryl Kirsch, Lois Langberg,
Salljo Levine, Jennifer LoPatin, Sandi Matz,
Maida Frank Portnoy, Elaine Robins, Rona
Rones, Candy Rosen, Lauren Rosenberg,
Karen Rouff, Sheri Schiff, Steve Showfer,
Pam Siegfried, Lynn Silverman, Cheri
Victor, Judy Yunas and Linda Zlotoff.

❑

Elizabeth Applebaum is marketing director at

the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan

Detroit. Unless otherwise noted, she is the

writer of all Book Fair stories in this section.

Jewish Book Festival

Ann Arbor event
coincides with
Detroit's book fair.

Gail Zimmerman
Arts Editor

T

he Jewish Community Center of
Greater Ann Arbor presents its
annual Jewish Book Festival Nov. 5-16.
The event shares not only the same dates
but many speakers with Detroit's Jewish
Book Fair, including Robert Mankoff, car-
toons editor at the New Yorker, on opening
night; and authors Oliver Horovitz, Zieva
Konvisser, Ayelet Waldman, Liel Leibowitz,
Barbara Winton, James Grymes, Yochi
Dreazen and Annabelle Gurwitch.
Unique to Ann Arbor is Gail Sheehy,
who will present her new book, Daring:
My Passages. The book festival also fea-
tures a local authors fair, a film day and a
story day for children.
All events are open to the public, and
most are free. All lunch/brunch events
are $10 advance purchase and $15 at the
door. For more information and a com-
plete schedule, including ticketed events,
go to www.jccannarbor.org .

❑

The Jewish Community Center's
63rd Annual Jewish Book Fair runs
Nov. 5-16 at the Berman Center for
the Performing Arts or the Jewish
Community Center in West Bloomfield,
6600 W. Maple Road, or the JCC
in Oak Park,15110 W.10 Mile Road.
Unless otherwise noted, all events are
free. To view the complete brochure,
go to www.jccdet.org/bookfair.
To purchase tickets or for infor-
mation about becoming a Book Fair
Patron, call (248) 661-1900, visit the
Berman box office or go to
www.theberman.org .

October 30 • 2014

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