Authors

Ariel Sabar

My Father’s Paradise:
A Son’s Search for his Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq
(Denver Jewish Community Book Read 2009)
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 7:00 p.m. Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
An ancient land. A lost language. This is a true story of a wayward son who never knew what he and his father shared until they embarked on an epic journey into their family’s extraordinary past. Ariel Sabar’s father, Yona, was born in a mud hut in the remote Kurdish region of Northern Iraq. They travel to today’s war-torn Iraq in a quest to rediscover a forgotten land. As Ariel retraces his father’s footsteps, he brings to life the eccentric characters, extraordinary determination, and fascinating historical odyssey of the Kurdish Jews.
www.arielsabar.com
Examiner.com Article
Sponsored by Kathy Neustadt Hankin and the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature

Facilitated Discussion of My Father’s Paradise with Dr. Robert Hazan
Monday, Nov 16, 7 pm, FREE, Social Hall
Come listen to others and share your thoughts about this award-winning memoir that has one foot in ancient Iraq and the other in today’s United States. No charge for this event.

Ray, Reflected
Saturday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Phillips Social Hall
$5 General Admission

“Ray, reflected” is a young adult novel by Denver author Eric Elkins.

Ray Pearlman has a list. It’s everything he wants to accomplish before summer ends, and now he has just a week before middle school begins. In the beautiful and weird surf town of Santa Cruz, stuff like his parents’ custody schedule, his dog who eats everything, his two best friends, a mysterious gold Corvette, and even a ghost or two just keep getting in the way. Will Ray be ready in time?

Author Bio:
Think you know everything about Eric Elkins? Fat chance!
Eric Elkins used to be a scientist. And he used to be a cook in restaurants. And he was once an elementary school teacher. And then he was youth content editor at The Denver Post, where he met lots of young readers and writers who loved funny, quirky, interesting books. Now he has his own company, WideFoc.us, where he plays on his computer all day, helping businesses with social media tools like blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter, etc. He lives in Denver with his super-cool daughter (who loved his book, by the way) and his super-annoying cat (who didn’t). He also writes about being a single dad at DatingDad.com.

Jacqueline Dembar Greene

The American Girl ® Rebecca Book Series
Sunday, Nov. 1, 4:30 p.m.
Shwayder Theatre
Adults/$6, Children/$2
For Families
Rebecca Rubin is the newest American Girl® doll and the feisty heroine of Meet Rebecca (and five other new Rebecca ™ books). Come meet the author and learn about the history and grand adventures of this young Jewish girl on New York’s Lower East Side in 1914.

In addition to the Rebecca™ book series, Ms. Greene’s soulful new picture book about a brave young boy during the Spanish Inquisition, The Secret Shofar of Barcelona, will be available for sale in our book store.
http://www.jdgbooks.com/

Betsy Carter

The Puzzle King
Sunday, Nov. 1, 7:00 p.m.
Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
How does an ordinary person become a hero? In The Puzzle King, two young immigrants fall in love, marry, and seek to make better lives for themselves in America. Heroism is not part of their story, and yet, they become obsessed with worry about their loved ones left behind in Nazi Germany. The choices they make and the risks they take make this tale one you will long remember.
http://www.betsycarter.net/
Sponsored by Carol & Irwin Wagner

Ian Pear

The Accidental Zionist
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m.
Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
The Accidental Zionist: What a Priest, a Pornographer and a Wrestler named Chainsaw taught me about being Jewish, Saving the World and Why Israel Matters to Both. What do Israel and Zionism mean to the Jewish people today? Pear offers a fresh, new, fascinating perspective. Told with wisdom, an ample supply of hilarious stories, and a crew of interesting characters, this book is for anyone who has ever wondered why Israel matters—to individuals, to the Jewish people, or to the world.
http://accidentalzionist.wordpress.com/
Sponsored by Bob & Robyn Loup

Martin Indyk

Wednesday Nov. 4, 7:00 p.m.
Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East. The quest for peace in the Middle East seems an unending journey. Join Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Middle East advisor to President Clinton, as he describes and analyzes past attempts to achieve success. In his gripping new book, he speaks of lessons learned and offers advice to the current administration as it also takes up this daunting challenge. Indyk is currently vice president and director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C.
Sponsored by The Denver Springboks

Sara Houghteling

Pictures at an Exhibition
Sunday, Nov. 8, 11 a.m.
Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
If you loved Sarah’s Key, this book is for you. Set in a Paris darkened by World War II, Sara Houghteling’s debut novel, Pictures at an Exhibition, tells the story of a son’s quest to recover his family’s lost masterpieces, looted by the Nazis. A captivating mystery.
http://www.sarahoughteling.com/Site/A_Novel.html

Carol Liefer – Saturday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. – CANCELED: Please call (303) 316-6360 with any questions regarding previously purchased tickets. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Daniel Asa Rose

Larry’s Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China with my Black-Sheep Cousin and his Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant…and Save his Life

Sunday Nov. 8, 7 p.m.
Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
Larry’s Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China With My Black-Sheep Cousin and His Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant…and Save His Life is a hilarious and heartwarming true story of star-crossed cousins – with unique insight into the world of medical tourism.
http://www.danielasarose.com/. Read more about the book.

Peter Duffy

Monday, Nov 9, 6:30 pm
Shwayder Theatre
Community-wide Kristallnacht commemoration.
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews.
Simply reading the title of this incredible book is enough to bring a spark of joy and hope to the human heart. This is the story of three brothers who undertook a mission, first of saving their own family, and then expanding it to rescuing Jews from ghettos, Jews who wandered bravely into the forest, and Jews wherever they encountered them. And succeed they did. This book is a bright spot in the dark history of the Holocaust and it dispels the notion that all went like sheep to their deaths.

In many ways, this book reads like an adventure tale, but no write of fiction could have imagined the horrific war years. In addition to saving lives, the Bielski partisans also conducted some of the most significant Jewish resistance against the Nazis. Even so, they were not recognized or honored in their lifetime. Their story is now being shared throughout the world. Peter Duffy is a freelance journalist who’s written for the New York Times, Newsday, New York Post, and other publications.

The movie Defiance, based on the Bielski story, will be screened following the author appearance and is included in your ticket price for this event.

Sponsored by Julie & Brent Morse
Co-sponsored by Holocaust Awareness Institute, Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver

Jump Start your Morning with Mr. Bagel himself: Noah Alper

Breakfast.
Business Mensch
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7:30 a.m.
Phillips Social Hall
$10.00
Join the author of Business Mensch, Noah Alper (founder of the West Coast chain Noah’s Bagels, now part of Einstein Noah Restaurant Group which also owns Einstein Bagels) as he describes what led to his success and how entrepreneurs can thrive using ancient Jewish wisdom as a guide. In this inspirational book, Alper blends memoir, Jewish knowledge, and professional insight.
http://www.businessmensch.net/

Peter Manseau

Winner of the 2008 National Jewish Book Award for fiction
The American Library Association’s Sophie Brody Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Jewish Literature and the 2009 Harold U. Ribalow Prize for Jewish Fiction.

Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter
Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m.
Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
Winner of the 2008 National Jewish Book Award for Fiction
Peter Manseau’s Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter introduces us to two people who meet towards the end of the 20th century. First, Itsik Malpesh, a 90-something Russian immigrant who’s the self-proclaimed Greatest Yiddish Poet in America. “To be the greatest poet one only needs to be the last.” he declares. Next, you have the 21-year-old Translator. How does a 21-yea-old lapsed Catholic seminary student wind up working in a Yiddish book warehouse? (Ah! There’s a another story.) And it’s told alongside that of Itsik Malpesh.

Peter Manseau’s much-acclaimed third book, this story is at once an immigrant’s epic saga, a love story, and a Yiddish-inflected laughing-through-tears novel of faith lost and hope found in translation. It is most interesting to note that Manseau actually worked as a “packen trager,” collecting books for the National Yiddish Book Center in Waltham, Mass.
http://www.petermanseau.com/

David Sax

Luncheon.
Save the Deli
Friday, Nov. 13, noon

Phillips Social Hall
Price $20
Save the Deli! Stay for Lunch! On a journey across the world to find an authentic deli, Sax set out to bring back a cuisine that once sat at the very center of Jewish life. Join us for lunch as the author of Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen regales us with tales about the history, current state, and next generation of the Jewish deli: its culture, people, and foods. Come savor the flavors! Read about the author at JTA.
http://www.davidsax.ca/

Edward Kritzler

Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean
Sunday Nov. 15, 11 a.m.
Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
Shiver Me Timbers! Jewish pirates? Unheard of – until now. Think Jamaica, Jewish ship owners, buccaneers, plunder and rage against the Spanish Inquisition which forced Jews to escape, convert, or die. Now you have the setting for Kritzler’s historic saga, Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean. Adjust your eye patch, tuck that sword into your belt, hoist the Jolly Roger, and join us for a fun, fascinating trip back in time.
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl/9780385513982.html

David Shneer and Gregg Drinkwater

Torah Queeries
Sunday Nov. 15, 4 p.m.
Shwayder Theatre
$8/general admission; $6/senior, student, JCC member
Following ancient tradition, Torah Queeries brings together some of the world’s leading rabbis, scholars, and writers to interpret the Torah. It unites the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight-allied writers, including some of the most central figures in contemporary American Judaism