East Bay Book and Arts Festival
All events at Contra Costa JCC, 2071 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek. For full schedule, visit www.jfed.org/bookfestival.
Saturday, Nov. 5
“Comedy Night with Carol Leifer.” 8 p.m. $20.
Sunday, Nov. 6
“The Perfect Alibi” author Sheldon Siegel. 10 a.m. $8.
“Is the Demise of Books Coming Soon?” Author Alan Jacobson on the future of book publishing. 11:30 a.m. $8.
“Kosher Nation” author and j. editor Sue Fishkoff. Includes lunch. 12:30 p.m. $15.
“Portnoy’s Restraint: The Changing Face of Jewish-American Fiction.” Writer-journalist Rebecca Spence examines Jewish literature. 2:30 p.m. $8.
Monday, Nov. 7
“Anya’s War” author Andrea Alban. 3:40 p.m. $8.
Tuesday, Nov. 8
“Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention” author Katherine Ellison. 10 a.m. $8.
Wednesday, Nov. 9
“Two Books That Will Change Your Child’s Life … and Yours!” With Lori Geismar Ryan, Contra Costa JCC’s director of early childhood education. 9:30 a.m. Free.
“Poetry Out Loud at the Chocolate Café.” Poetry readings and Belgian chocolates. 4:30 p.m. $8.
“A Comedic Deep Roast of the World of Food.” With comedian-cartoonist Michael Capozzola. 7:30 p.m. $15.
Thursday, Nov. 10
“He Said What? Women Write About the Moments When Everything Changed” editor Victoria Zackheim. With author Kathi Kamen Goldmark. 10 a.m. $8.
“The List” author Martin Fletcher. 7:30 p.m. $15.
Friday, Nov. 11
“Historical Fiction Morning.” With “Pictures at an Exhibition” author Sara Houghteling at 10 a.m. and “The Oracle of Stamboul” author Michael David Lukas at 11:30 a.m. $10.
Wednesday, Nov. 30
“Spiritual Envy: An Agnostics Quest” author Michael Krasny. Congregation Beth Emek, 3400 Nevada St., Pleasanton. 7:30 p.m. $10.
JCC of San Francisco
Upcoming book events at JCC of San Francisco, 3200 California St., S.F. For more details, visit www.jccsf.org. Bookfest is scheduled for Feb. 23-28, 2012.
Monday, Oct. 31
“The Table Comes First” author Adam Gopnik. 7 p.m. $30-$40, includes book.
Wednesday, Nov. 2
“Sharon: The Life of a Leader” author Gilad Sharon in conversation with Middle East analyst and journalist Linda Gradstein. 7 p.m. $10-$25.
Monday, Nov. 7
“Thinking, Fast and Slow” author and 2002 Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman. 7 p.m. $10-$25.
Tuesday, Nov. 8
“My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner” author Meir Shalev. 7 p.m. $10-$25.
BJE Library
Upcoming book events at the Bureau of Jewish Education’s Jewish Community Library, 1835 Ellis St., S.F. For more details, visit www.bjesf.org.
Sunday, Nov. 6
“Yiddishkeit and Its Artists.” With Paul Buhle, co-editor of “Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land.” 1:30 p.m. Free.
Tuesday, Nov. 15
“The History of the Map of Israel.” With Rachel Havrelock, author of forthcoming book “River Jordan: The Mythology of a Dividing Line.” 7 p.m. Free.
Thursday, Nov. 17
“Keep Your Wives Away from Them” author Miryam Kabakov. 7 p.m. Free.
Monday, Nov. 21
“Out of Left Field: Jews and Black Baseball” author Rebecca T. Alpert. 7:30 p.m. Free.
Other Bay Area
Friday, Oct. 28
“1,000 Mitzvahs” author Linda Cohen. JCC East Bay, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley. 12:30 p.m. $5-$10 suggested. (510) 848-0237.
Saturday, Nov. 5
“Spiritual Envy: An Agnostics Quest” author Michael Krasny. Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon. 7:30 p.m. Free. RSVP to (415) 388-1818 ext. 111.
Sunday, Nov. 6
“American Corporate Complicity in the Holocaust.” With Edwin Black, author of “Nazi Nexus.” Includes bagel lunch. Chai House, 814 St. Elizabeth Drive, San Jose. 10 a.m. $7 suggested. www.hillelsv.org.
Monday, Nov. 7
“My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner” author Meir Shalev. 7 p.m. $10-$15. Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. (650) 223-8699.
“Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict” author Jonathan Spyer. Congregation Beth Emek, 3400 Nevada St., Pleasanton. 7:30 p.m. $12. (510) 318-6453.
Wednesday, Nov. 9
“How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less” author Sarah Glidden talks about her graphic novel at 3:15 p.m. Free. She leads a gallery tour of the exhibit about her book and a workshop on creating your own comics at 7 p.m. $8. Peninsula JCC, 800 Foster City Blvd, Foster City. RSVP to (650) 212-7522.
Wednesday, Nov. 16
“Crises of Israel Democracy.” With Gershom Gorenberg, author of forthcoming “The Unmasking of Israel.” Congregation Beth El, 1301 Oxford St., Berkeley. 7:30 p.m. Free. www.bethelberkeley.org.
Thursday, Nov. 17
“God vs. Gay: The Religious Case for Equality” author Jay Michaelson. Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave., Berkeley. 7:30 p.m. www.netivotshalom.org.
Sunday, Nov. 20
“God vs. Gay: The Religious Case for Equality” author Jay Michaelson. Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon. 10 a.m. Free. RSVP to (415) 388-1818 ext. 111.
Tuesday, Nov. 22
“How Jews and Christians Read Scripture Differently.” With Amy-Jill Levine, author of “The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us.” JCC East Bay, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley. 7:30 p.m. $5-$10 suggested. www.jcceastbay.org/arts_culture.