ARTS&LIFE
BOOKS

F

rom fun-resulting 
secrets of magicians to 
serious strategies for 
those with autism, the 70th 
anniversary year of the Detroit 
Jewish Book Fair continues its 
mission of featuring a range 
of Jewish authors and subjects 
through new additions to the 
literary market. 
Because of the pandemic, 
the presentations are accessi-
ble virtually.
“I always look forward to 
the many different authors 
and topics featured during 
Book Fair, and in some ways, 
Zoom makes it better for me,” 
said Suzanne Simon, co-chair-
person. 
“The presentations are 
all on the web after the live 
appearances, so I can watch all 
of them. I don’t have to choose 
between sessions scheduled at 

one time as I did when the fair 
ran live for two weeks instead 
of virtually throughout the 
year.”

A PEEK BEHIND THE 
CURTAIN
Magician Joshua Jay, who reg-
ularly appears on late-night 
talk shows, will discuss his 
latest book, How Magicians 
Think: Misdirection, 
Deception and Why Magic 
Matters, at 7 p.m. Monday, 
March 7. 
Jay believes this book is 
one of the only truly honest 
accounts about his craft writ-
ten for the public.
“Magicians are extremely 
secretive, and the few who 
write books about magic for 
the public romanticize or dis-
tort things for personal gain,” 
said Jay, whose talents have 

been performed around the 
world, including throughout 
three visits to Israel.
“This is my love letter to 
magic, and I think readers will 
have a good understanding of 
the creativity and hard work 
involved.”
Jay, who has designed illu-

sions for stage and screen with 
a recent assignment for TV’s 
Game of Thrones, intends to 
enlarge his presentation with 
talk about mystery and decep-
tion encountered in life and 
looks forward to answering 
audience questions. 
This Book Fair presenter 
was chosen the 2020 Magician 
of the Year by the Society of 
American Magicians Parent 
Assembly. 

LEARN ABOUT LIVING 
WITH AUTISM
It took decades for Tracey 
Cohen, 50, to be diagnosed 
with autism, but along the 
way, she graduated from 
Berkley High School as well 
as the University of Michigan 
and filled many hours writing 
three books about her experi-
ences.

The 
Next 
Great 
Read

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

48 | FEBRUARY 17 • 2022 

