Story within a story
Best-selling author Jodi Picoult’s new book is about Sage Singer, a loner who befriends retired teacher and Little League coach Josef Weber. Weber is loved by the community, but one day he confesses to Sage that he was a Nazi SS guard, says he deserves to die, and asks Sage to kill him. Sage, whose grandmother is a Holocaust survivor, is faced with a life-or-death question: Would killing this man be murder, or justice? The author will speak about her book in the North Bay.
7 p.m. Tuesday, March 12 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $15, or free with purchase of book for $32. www.jccsoco.org
sunday/10
“The House that Herring Built.” Live streaming of sold-out brunch and book talk by Mark Russ Federman, third-generation owner of New York’s Russ & Daughters deli. Broadcast from JCC of San Francisco. 12 p.m. www.jccsf.org/arts-ideas/live-online.
tuesday/12
“Jacob’s Folly.” Rebecca Miller talks about her novel about an 18th-century Parisian Jew who is reincarnated as a fly in 21st-century America. At A Great Place for Books, 5701 Thornhill Drive, Oakland. 7 p.m. Free. Also March 13 at Copperfield Books, 140 Kennedy St., Petaluma. 7 p.m. Free. www.rebecca-miller.com.
thursday/14
“Hot Mamalah.” Lisa Alcalay Klug discusses her book on Jewish women and their strengths, idiosyncrasies and challenges. At Addison-Penzak JCC, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos. 7 p.m. $5. www.siliconvalleyjcc.org.
monday/18
“The Spinoza Problem.” Psychiatrist Irvin Yalom discusses his book about an imagined encounter between Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza and Nazi ideologue Alfred Rosenberg. At Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. 7:30 p.m. $15-$25. www.paloaltojcc.org.
tuesday/19
“Jewish Megatrends: Charting the Course of the American Jewish Future.” Rabbi Sid Schwarz discusses his book of essays by leaders in the Jewish community. At UpStart Bay Area, 332 Pine St., S.F. 12 p.m. Free. RSVP [email protected]. http://tinyurl.com/cegdsnh.