October @ Books & Books

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS…

imagePAUL HENDRICKSON: 10/19, 8pm @ GABLES & 10/20, 6pm @ MOA
The National Book Critics Circle Award winner examines a key period in the famed writer’s life in Hemingway’s Boat (Knopf, $30). more»
imageAMY STEWART: 10/26, 6:30pm @ FAIRCHILD GARDEN
A bestselling author of books on the natural world gives us a darkly comic look at six- and eight-legged creatures in Wicked Bugs (Algonquin, $18.95). Tickets required. more»
imageSIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE: 10/27, 7:30pm @ TEMPLE JUDEA
A great historian of Russia draws on new archives to illuminate the universal city of Jerusalem (Knopf, $35). Tickets required. more»
imageDAVE BARRY and RIDLEY PEARSON: 10/29, 2pm @ GABLES
Take The Bridge to Never Land (Hyperion, $18.99) and go on a new adventure with the co-creators of the Starcatchers series. [K] more»
imageMICHAEL CONNORS: 10/29, 7pm @ GABLES
An expert in Caribbean antiques turns his knowing eye to The Splendor of Cuba (Rizzoli, $85) and 450 years of architecture and interiors. more»
image GILAD SHARON: 10/30, 6pm @ TEMPLE ISRAEL
Ariel Sharon’s youngest son delivers the definitive biography of his father, Sharon: The Life of a Leader (HarperCollins, $29.99). Tickets required. more»

THE COMPLETE CALENDAR…

Saturday, October 1, Gables

imageimagearrowIn Magpies (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, $17.95) buy, Lynne Barrett’s characters move through the past decade’s glitter and darkness. From the Internet’s fragmented pages to a gossip columnist’s sweet poison to an ABCs of a hurricane season, these stories explore story forms and storytelling as a means of connection, betrayal, and survival for characters who learn, sometimes too late, the value of what’s grasped and what’s lost. Barrett is the award-winning author of the story collections The Secret Names of Women, The Land of Go, and, most recently, Magpies. Her work has appeared in many anthologies and journals. She has received the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best mystery story from the Mystery Writers of America, the Moondance International Film Festival award for Best Short story, and fellowships from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. She teaches in the M.F.A. program in Creative Writing at Florida International University and edits The Florida Book Review. 7pm
arrowLive Music in the Courtyard 8pm to midnight.

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Monday, October 3, Gables

imagearrowMarshall Ulrich has run more than 100 foot races averaging over 100 miles each, completed 12 expedition-length adventure races, and ascended the Seven Summits. Yet his run from California to New York- the equivalent of running two marathons and a 10K every day for nearly two months straight – proved to be his most challenging effort yet. In Running on Empty (Avery, $26) buy, he shares the gritty backstory, including brushes with death, run-ins with the police, and the excruciating punishments he endured at the mercy of his maxed-out body. Ulrich also reached back nearly 30 years to when the death of the woman he loved drove him to begin. Filled with mind-blowing stories from the road and his sensational career, Ulrich’s memoir imbues an incredible read with a universal message for athletes and nonathletes alike: face the toughest challenges, overcome debilitating setbacks, and find deep fulfillment in something greater than achievement. 6:30pm
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On the evening of September 17, 1992, eight leading members of the Iranian and Kurdish opposition had gathered at a little-known restaurant in Berlin when two darkly-clad men burst through the entrance. Within moments, the roar of a machine gun filled the air. Two rounds of fire and four single shots later, four of the men were dead. One of the survivors of that shooting, along with the widow of one of the victims and a handful of reporters, attorneys, and fellow exiles, began a crusade that would not only pit them against Tehran but against some of the greatest powers in Germany. Roya Hakakian’s The Assassins of the Turquoise Palace (Grove, $25) buy is an incredible book of history and reportage, and an unforgettable narrative of heroism and justice. Presented in collaboration with The Center at Miami Dade College. 8pm

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Tuesday, October 4, Gables

imagearrowSeven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.
The second book in Rick Riordan’s bestselling The Heroes of Olympus series – The Son of Neptune (Hyperion, $19.99) buy – arrives today! And this time Percy Jackson gets in on the action, as the answer to this prophecy begins to unfold … What a perfect reason for a party – join us for the Books & Books’ Son of Neptune Release Party! Wear your favorite orange T-shirt, pack up your demigod gear and get ready to party with The Heroes of Olympus. There will be games and prizes: Find out which demigod you are. Play Capture the Flag – Olympus style. Get trading cards and other cool prizes. Plus – the first 50 kids to buy The Son of Neptune at the release party will receive an autographed copy of the book (one per kid). Don’t miss out. We’ll see you on the mountain top… 6pm
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Note: This event is in Spanish. En Detén el Tiempo (Urano, $23.95) buy, Lupita Jones (Miss Universo 1991) y Diego Di Marco (exitoso hombre de negocios y posicionador de marcas en campañas de Universal, L’Oreal Paris, Coca Cola, Sony, etc.) revelan secretos para que te encuentres más joven, más sano y más sexy, a traves de entrevistas a expertos internacionales en Medicina Antiedad. No importa tu edad, te invitamos a sentirte y verte más joven y saludable cada dia.! También asistirán prestigiosos médicos especialistas en antienvejecimiento y conocidos aristas. 8pm

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Tuesday, October 4, Miami Beach at Design Within Reach

imagearrowIn Party Girls (Autumn House Press, $17.95), her third collection of short stories, Diane Goodman deftly explores community, class and culture through the allure of the party — the desire to throw one, the work it takes to pull it off, and the surprising and sometimes devastating ways these seemingly light-hearted events can alter the lives of the people who attend them. Goodman’s writing displays the finesse of a professional hostess. She mixes intimacy, expectation and protocol into an adept examination of how contemporary manners and mores battle against the fundamental needs of friendship, acceptance and belonging. 7pm

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Wednesday, October 5, Gables

imagearrowHard Light: The Work of Emilio Sanchez (Prestel Publishing, $45) buy by Rafael Díazcasas, John Angeline and Rudi C. Bleys, edited by Ann Koll, is the much anticipated and beautifully compiled monograph, the first to bring to light the prolific career and life of this imaginative and spirited twentieth century Cuban American artist. This volume collects Sanchez’s acclaimed paintings, watercolors, and drawings, which are celebrated for their architectural forms, brilliant palettes, hard lines, and striking use of light and shadow. Sanchez’s paintings reflect a dialogue with North American post War abstraction, as well as Latin American geometric abstraction. Offering diverse perspectives on this multifaceted painter, three compelling essays discuss Sanchez’s work—from its relevance to aspects of modernism in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S., to a glimpse into his private world and art through the lens of queer theory and aesthetics. 8pm

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Wednesday, October 5, Museum of Art

imagearrowMy stars and garters—Hollywood has descended on little ol’ Himmarshee, Florida. As animal wrangler for a cowboy film, Mace is on the set when she discovers the arrogant executive producer shot dead, his body on display in the horse corral. With everyone from spoiled starlets to conniving crew members cursing the man’s name, who in blue blazes didn’t want to kill Norman Sydney? As Mama’s head swells to diva proportions, thanks to her miniscule movie role, Mace shines an unwelcome spotlight on the big-city film folk to reveal a killer. Discover what happens to Mama in Mama Sees Stars (Midnight Ink, $14.95) buy the newest book by Deborah Sharp. 6:30pm

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Thursday, October 6, Gables

imageimagearrowAbove all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first and poisoned the second; incest and assassination were family specialties. She had children by Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, two of the most prominent Romans of the day. With Antony she would attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled both their ends. Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Her supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In Cleopatra: A Life (Back Bay Books, $16.99) buy, a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Tonight, Mark Trowbridge (who may…just may have been Cleopatra in another life) talks with Schiff about the many aspects of the cultural icon and inexhaustible shape shifter. What do you think when you hear the name Cleopatra? 8pm

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Thursday, October 6, Miami Beach at Design Within Reach

imagearrowIn The Last Au Pair (Createspace, $9.99) by Michael Sincere, three young European women have come to South Florida for adventure, romance, and excitement. Expecting easy work, the women agree to become au pairs – live-in nannies for affluent American families. The first au pair is Monique, a pleasant French girl who is looking for fun. Next is Eline, a tall, blond Norwegian who will do almost anything to get a modeling contract. The third is Sorina from Denmark, whose naivety always seems to get her into trouble. When the three au pairs meet David Knight, a local high school teacher, their adventures get both complicated and comical as he tries to save them from their daily dramas. 7pm

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Friday, October 7, Gables

imageimagearrowCoral Gables Gallery Night Opening: Books & Books presents artists Lynn Davison, Jeff Birdsill and Cindy Birdsill in an art exhibition showcasing their responses to family, place and community: Three artists have through extraordinary circumstances come  together in the last few years to find that they are now a family.  Lynn Davison, an accomplished artist with more than a three-decade career, was featured earlier this year by the Naples Museum of Art with a retrospective. Davison was re-united with her son Jeff Birdsill, 40, in 2006 through the Soundex Reunion Registry.  Both Davison and Birdsill had been trying to find each other after Birdsill was adopted as a baby.  Birdsill was also a professional artist, having attended the Chicago Art Institute, and obtained his MFA from Pratt Institute.  In 2008, Birdsill moved to Naples, Florida to get to know Davison, as well as his birth father, whom Davison eventually married, and his full blooded sister, Meagan and her family.  Through Facebook, Birdsill also re-connected with a high school girlfriend, Cindy Stewart who had moved to Florida in 2007. They married in 2009 and now reside in Coral Gables.  In addition to her career as a real estate attorney, Cindy Birdsill, now serves as the Economic Sustainability Director for the City of Coral Gables. This exhibition on view at Books & Books through October 30th, is the first time all three artists are showing work together, exploring their connections to each other, and trying to integrate their new relationships.  Lynn Davison’s figures have been said to show the scars of real life, and her portraits of the family juxtapose the delicacy of their inner lives with the struggles they have had.  Jeff Birdsill’s work continues to explore where he fits in his family tree, blending an architectural sensibility with his two dimensional work.  Since moving to Coral Gables, Cindy Birdsill has been trying to find her home in this tropical environment by connecting with the unique trees of Coral Gables, each of which has its own personality, through her paintings that employ swaths of color to express and define form, light, and the innate quality of each subject. 7-10pm
arrowLive Music in the Courtyard 7pm to midnight.

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Saturday, October 8, Gables

arrowLive Music in the Courtyard 8pm to midnight.

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Monday, October 10, Gables

imagearrowWhat does it mean to suffer? What enables some people to emerge from tragedy while others are spiritually crushed by it? Why do so many Americans think of suffering as something that happens to other people-who usually deserve it? These are some of the questions at the heart of this powerful book. Combining reportage, personal narrative, and moral philosophy, Peter Trachtenberg tells the stories of grass-roots genocide tribunals in Rwanda and tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka, an innocent man on death row, and a family bereaved on 9/11. He examines texts from the Book of Job to the Bodhicharyavatara and the writings of Simone Weil. The Book of Calamities (Little, Brown, $23.99) buy is a provocative and sweeping look at one of the biggest paradoxes of the human condition–and the surprising strength and resilience of those who are forced to confront it. Presented in collaboration with The Center @ Miami Dade College. 8pm

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Tuesday, October 11, Gables

imageimagearrowThe Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected-and most popular-of its kind. Edited by the award-winning and critically acclaimed Edwidge Danticat, The Best American Essays 2011 (Mariner, $14.95) buy showcases the year’s best from Hilton Als, Katy Butler, Toi Derricotte, Christopher Hitchens, Pico Iyer, Charlie LeDuff, Chang-Rae Lee, Lia Purpura, Zadie Smith, Reshma Memon Yaqub, and others. Danticat is the author of several books, including Brother, I’m Dying, which was a 2007 finalist for the National Book Award and a 2008 winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. She is also the author of After the Dance, a travel narrative, as well as Create Dangerously, a collection of essays. 8pm

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Wednesday, October 12, Gables

imagearrowCaptain John Jacobsen, a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, spent fifteen years plying the world’s oceans as a ship’s officer on cargo and passenger vessels. Today, Jacobsen is a harbor pilot in the Port of Miami and the chairman of the Biscayne Bay Pilots. His notes and diaries over the years inform his writing. A Commodore of Errors (Arcade, $22.95) buy is his bawdy, sea-going romp full of lively oddballs and convoluted plot twists in the P. G. Wodehouse vein. Commodore Thomas Dickey, the pompous second in command at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, desperately wants the top job, presently occupied by the skirt chasing Admiral Johnson. Dickey goes into cahoots with Mogie Mogelefsky, the imperious, bullying mayor of neighboring Great Neck to oust Johnson. When they succeed in exposing him in yet another peccadillo, Mogie suddenly reneges on their deal. Mogie is tired of dealing with the WASPs at the Academy and declares he wants a Jew instead. 6:30pm
imagearrowThe Spirits and the Law (University of Chicago Press, $49.50) buy examines the history of vodou in Haiti, asking why, from 1835 to 1987, Haiti banned many popular ritual practices. To find out, Kate Ramsey begins with the Haitian Revolution and its aftermath. Haitian governments, seeking to counter the image of Haiti as primitive as well as contain popular organization and leadership, outlawed “spells” and, later, “superstitious practices.” While not often strictly enforced, these laws were at times the basis for attacks on Vodou by the Haitian state, the Catholic Church, and occupying U.S. forces. Ramsey examines the ways communities across Haiti evaded, subverted, redirected, and shaped enforcement of the laws. Analyzing the long genealogy of anti-Vodou rhetoric, Ramsey thoroughly dissects claims that the religion has impeded Haiti’s development. 8pm

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Thursday, October 13, Gables

imagearrowFor the past 50 years the Cuban immigrant group has established a historical importance, political significance, and economic influence on the city region of Miami. Cubans fleeing in exile and political turmoil not only made a mark on a cosmopolitan region but an explosion. Such a historical, political, economic, social, and cultural phenomenon of the Cuban Diaspora has shifted the character of a city and placed Miami in the frontiers of international cities globally and the “Latinization” of the United States. But how was it done? And why is it important? Cuban America, a documentary film by African-born filmmaker Adelin Gasana, explores the continuing Cuban-American story as a concentrated exile group’s impact on transforming a sleepy, tourist town into a major, metropolitan community. Tonight, join us for a screening of the film, followed by a discussion with the director and some of its subjects. 6pm
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Jane Leavy, delivers the definitive account of Mickey Mantle’s life, mining the mythology of The Mick for the true story of a luminous and illustrious talent with an achingly damaged soul. The Last Boy (Harper, $27.99) buy is a baseball tapestry that weaves together episodes from the author’s weekend with The Mick in Atlantic City, where she interviewed her hero in 1983, after he was banned from baseball, with reminiscences from friends and family of the boy from Commerce, Oklahoma.  Leavy transcends the hyperbole of hero worship to reveal the man behind the coast-to-coast smile, who grappled with a wrenching childhood, crippling injuries, and a genetic predisposition to alcoholism. It is an uncommon biography, with literary overtones: not only a portrait of an icon, but an investigation of memory itself. How long was the Tape Measure Home Run? Did Mantle swing the same way right-handed and left-handed? What really happened to his knee in the 1951 World Series? What happened to the red-haired, freckle-faced boy known back home as Mickey Charles? 8pm

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Thursday, October 13, Miami Beach at Design Within Reach

imagearrowSouth Beach Star (Gramercy Park Press, $14.95) buy by James Cubby is a modern day Valley of the Dolls set in South Beach. Life is sweet for Jamie Kidd, a thirty-something writer, till he wakes up one morning to discover that his lover has left town after cleaning out the bank account and leaving Jamie heartbroken, penniless, and somewhat suicidal. Jamie makes the entirely sensible, or so he believes, decision to escape to South Beach. South Beach opens its arms to Jamie, who, like an actor taking on a new role, throws himself into his fabulous new lifestyle covering the notorious celebrity-studded party scene where nightly he mingles with beautiful shallow fashionistas, famous models, and wealthy jet-setters. His coveted lifestyle masks an out-of-control roller-coaster ride of late-night parties and photo-ops, fueled by a gradual addiction to crystal meth. Like many before him, Jamie loses control and falls victim to his fast lifestyle. 7pm

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Friday, October 14, Gables

imagearrowCelebrate the release of ZooMiami’s 2012 Calendar ($10) with Books & Books. Animals are shown in intimate portraits with natural surroundings – no bars, fences, or other man-made structures. From the vibrant pinks of the Caribbean flamingos to the graphic patterns of the zebras, the calendar has been carefully designed to display the wonderful and stunning diversity of the animal kingdom. In addition, several ever-popular babies are prominently featured. Interesting facts about each animal featured are included, as well as a conservation message. Ron Magill, Zoo Communications & Media Relations Director, will give a presentation on the zoo animals, wildlife photography and show images from his adventures from the Galapagos to Africa. And don’t miss Mr. October, a stunning King Vulture, live at Books & Books. He is a spectacular bird with incredible colors and a wingspan of close to 5 feet! 8pm
arrowLive Music in the Courtyard 7pm to midnight.

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Saturday, October 15, Gables

imagearrowBob Goldstein has made a notable go at making us laugh at our own foibles. His book, Your Head’ll Turn Into A Ball (Lulu.com, $19.47) buy, turns out to be a “very funny” memoir. Goldstein was a young, Jewish lad who grew up in the Midwest and dreamt about being a famous sportscaster someday. The author set his own course and thought he was on the way to fulfilling his sportscasting dream. What Goldstein did find, however, was a large collection of belly laughs; stories taken from his years in radio and a second career as a political activist. A lot of “accidentally funny” people appear throughout this book: an over-eager movie usher, chauvinist Buckeyes, a gung-ho brother who administers “The Audie Murphy Test,” the bookie who didn’t bother with Yom Kippur niceties, and a Troubador. Your Head’ll Turn Into Ball’s rich anecdotes evoke a simpler time in our country. 5pm
imageimagearrowNote: This event is in Spanish. Los padres de Lucía han decidido cambiarla de colegio. “Es por tu bien”, le dicen, sin sospechar que esa decisión será algo de lo que todos se arrepentirán. Ella, una niña tímida y ensimismada, se encuentra de pronto en un entorno extraño y un tanto hostil, donde el único refugio será su profesora de alemán, Alicia Witz, una bella y desenfadada austriaca que, quizá de manera premeditada provocará en Lucía una creciente obsesión. En su segunda novela, Hay una chica en mi sopa (Planeta, $14.99), Silvia Nuñez del Arco da muestras de oficio narrativo y de un hábil manejo de la tensión, construyendo una trama que captura al lector desde las primeras páginas hasta el final. Nuñez del Arco se entrega al ejercicio de la ficción con la intensidad de queien confiere a lo que escribe un poder liberador. Hay una chica en mi sopa es un relato de un doble despertar: el despertar de Lucia, la chica de la historia, y el de Silvia su creadora: la joven revelación del panorama narrativo en nuestro país. 8pm
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Live Music in the Courtyard 8pm to midnight.

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Sunday, October 16, Gables

imagearrowAuthentic Cuban Cusine (Pelican Publishing Company, $25) buy is a traditional collection of Cuban recipes includes a range of favorite dishes––more than one hundred in all––to provide a culinary tour of the classic Cuban foods from starters and salads to mains, meats, and desserts. Created for home cooks by a home cook, Martha Cortina, the recipes include step-by-step instructions to preparing and presenting such dishes as arroz con pollo (chicken with rice), ropa vieja (shredded beef), poliche (pot roast), flan, and fried sweet ripe plantains. Each recipe is titled in both Spanish and English, and a bilingual index allows for easy reference when searching for preferred dishes. From black beans and ham croquettes to roast pork shoulder with mojo and sweet potato pudding, each entry offers an authentically Cuban gastronomic experience. 8pm

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Sunday, October 16, Bal Harbour Shops

imagearrowBeatrice Bottomwell has NEVER (not once!) made a mistake…Meet Beatrice Bottomwell: a nine-year-old girl who has never (not once!) made a mistake. She never forgets her math homework, she never wears mismatched socks, and she ALWAYS wins the yearly talent show at school. In fact, Beatrice holds the record of perfection in her hometown, where she is known as The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes (Sourcebooks, $14.99) buy. Life for Beatrice is sailing along pretty smoothly until she does the unthinkable she makes her first mistake. And in a very public way! Find out what happens to Beatrice in The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett. 12:30pm

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Sunday, October 16, Museum of Art

image arrowBeatrice Bottomwell holds the record of perfection in her hometown, where she is known as The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes (Sourcebooks, $14.99) buy. Beatrice Bottomwell has NEVER (not once!) made a mistake. She’s a nine-year-old girl who has never (not once!) made a mistake. She never forgets her math homework, she never wears mismatched socks, and she ALWAYS wins the yearly talent show at school. Life for Beatrice is sailing along pretty smoothly until she does the unthinkable she makes her first mistake. And in a very public way! Find out what happens to Beatrice in The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett. 3:30pm

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Monday, October 17, Gables

imageimagearrowTigertail, A South Florida Annual: Florida Flash, edited by Lynne Barrett, features fifty-four authors with connections to Florida with contributions in prose poetry, flash fiction, and flash nonfiction. For each piece, Barrett set a maximum word count of 305—a number representing the original South Florida area code as well as the limits of a single page—and the result is an exuberant collection that captures both scintillant moments and the faceted turnings of memory. Many of the book’s 54 authors will participate in tonight’s reading. The cover of the book is by Miami visual artist Brian Reedy. 8pm

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Tuesday, October 18, Gables

imageimagearrowGet the inside scoop on the annual literary event not to be missed from the ultimate insider: Join Mitchell Kaplan for his Miami Book Fair Preview. Find out which authors are coming to the Miami Book Fair International and which ones you simply won’t want to miss – from bestsellers to beginners, Nobel laureates to novices. Plus learn how you can become an insider too as a Friend of the Book Fair. The Evenings With begin on Sunday, Nov. 13, and the Street Fair on Friday, Nov. 18, but you can jump to front of the line tonight! 6pm
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Casey Sciezka and Steven Weinberg met and sparked a relationship while studying abroad in Morocco their junior year, and after finishing college, they found that they shared three postgraduation goals: “One: get out of the country. Two: pursue our creative interests (visual art for him, writing for her). And three: be together.” This unique travelogue, To Timbuktu (Roaring Brook Press, $19.99) buy, documents their two-year international jaunt teaching English in China; traveling through Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam; and, finally, living in Mali, where Casey studied the role of Islam in education on a Fulbright grant. For teens itching to get out into the world, this is a road map, and Casey and Steven make for eminently pleasant traveling companions. Presented in collaboration with The Center at Miami Dade College. 7pm

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Tuesday, October 18, Bal Harbour Shops

imageimagearrowDexter Morgan is not your average serial killer. He enjoys his day job as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department … but he lives for his nighttime hobby of hunting other killers. Dexter is therefore not pleased to discover that someone is shadowing him, observ­ing him, and copying his methods. Dexter is not one to tol­erate displeasure … in fact, he has a knack for extricating himself from trouble in his own pleasurable way. Like the previous five best-selling novels in the Dexter series, Double Dexter (DoubleDay, $24.95) buy showcases the witty, macabre origi­nality that has propelled Jeff Lindsay to international suc­cess. Double Dexter is raucously entertaining … full of smart suspense and dark laughs. 7:30pm

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Wednesday, October 19, Gables

imagearrowIn, Demon Fish (Pantheon, $26.95) buy, this eye-opening adventure that spans the globe, Juliet Eilperin investigates the fascinating ways different individuals and cultures relate to the ocean’s top predator. Along the way, she reminds us why, after millions of years, sharks remain among nature’s most awe-inspiring creatures. From Belize to South Africa, from Shanghai to Bimini, we see that sharks are still the object of an obsession that may eventually lead to their extinction. Yet we also see glimpses of how people and sharks can exist alongside one another: surfers tolerating their presence off Cape Town and ecotourists swimming with sharks that locals in the Yucatán no longer have to hunt. With a reporter’s instinct for a good story and a scientist’s curiosity, Eilperin offers us an up-close understanding of these extraordinary, mysterious creatures in the most entertaining and illuminating shark encounter you’re likely to find outside a steel cage. 12pm
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Focusing on the years 1934 to 1961—from Hemingway’s pinnacle as the reigning monarch of American letters until his suicide—Paul Hendrickson traces the writer’s exultations and despair around the one constant in his life during this time: his beloved boat, Pilar. Whenever he could, he returned to his beloved fishing cruiser, to exult in the sea, to fight the biggest fish he could find, to drink, to entertain celebrities and friends and seduce women, to be with his children. Drawing on previously unpublished material, including interviews with Hemingway’s sons, Hendrickson shows that for all the writer’s boorishness, depression, and alcoholism, and despite his choleric anger, he was capable of remarkable generosity—to struggling writers, to lost souls, to the dying son of a friend. Hemingway’s Boat (Knopf, $30) buy is both stunningly original and deeply gripping, an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this great American writer, published fifty years after his death. 8pm

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Thursday, October 20, Gables

imagearrowIn Practical Genius: The Real Smarts You Need To Get Your Talents and Passions Working For YOU (Touchstone, $24.99) buy, Gina Rudan lays out a life-changing plan to help readers tap into practical, street-level, everyday genius that can unleash hidden potential and bring extraordinary success and satisfaction to work and life. Every one of us has a capacity for genius. Anyone is capable of achieving something so extraordinary that it could change the game for them, their business, and every aspect of life. In Practical Genius, Rudan shows us how. 6pm
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Art & Soul (Filipacchi Publishing, $40) buy is a large-format glossy coffee-table book, featuring intimate portraits of celebrities from the entertainment industry including TV, music, film and stage. The stunning images, shot by Pulitzer prize-winning photographer Brian Smith, are accompanied by personal testimonials from each artist expressing the importance of the arts in our culture and the positive impact it has on our lives. The book was created in partnership with the Creative Coalition, the premier public advocacy charity, founded by prominent figures in the entertainment industry.8pm

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Thursday, October 20, Miami Beach at Design Within Reach

imagearrowIn this heart-stopping story of adventure and discovery, The Unconquered (Crown, $26) buy takes the reader into the very heart of the jungle, on the trail of one such tribe – the mysterious flecheiros, or “People of the Arrow,” seldom-glimpsed warriors known to repulse all intruders with showers of deadly arrows. On assignment for National Geographic, author Scott Wallace joins Brazilian explorer Sydney Possuelo at the head of a 34-man team that ventures deep into the unknown in search of the tribe. Along the way, Wallace uncovers clues as to who the Arrow People might be, how they have managed to endure as one of the last unconquered tribes, and why so much about them must remain shrouded in mystery if they are to survive. Laced with lessons from anthropology and the Amazon’s own convulsed history, and boasting a Conradian cast of unforgettable characters—all driven by a passion to preserve the wild, but also wracked by fear, suspicion, and the desperate need to make it home alive—The Unconquered reveals this critical battleground in the fight to save the planet as it has rarely been seen, wrapped in a page-turning tale of adventure. 7pm

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Thursday, October 20, Museum of Art

imageimagearrowFocusing on the years 1934 to 1961—from Hemingway’s pinnacle as the reigning monarch of American letters until his suicide—Paul Hendrickson traces the writer’s exultations and despair around the one constant in his life during this time: his beloved boat, Pilar. Whenever he could, he returned to his beloved fishing cruiser, to exult in the sea, to fight the biggest fish he could find, to drink, to entertain celebrities and friends and seduce women, to be with his children. Drawing on previously unpublished material, including interviews with Hemingway’s sons, Hendrickson shows that for all the writer’s boorishness, depression, and alcoholism, and despite his choleric anger, he was capable of remarkable generosity—to struggling writers, to lost souls, to the dying son of a friend. Hemingway’s Boat (Knopf, $30) buy is both stunningly original and deeply gripping, an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this great American writer, published fifty years after his death. 6pm

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Friday, October 21 Gables

imageimagearrowMy father dives in and swims off across the bay, tries to swim all the way to the other side, swims past slag islands of mucky-drift and mangrove crowded with birds that don’t notice him. If he makes it to the other shore he will walk home, barefoot and dripping …Using natural imagery and the disjunctive ease of jazz, Michael Hettich imagines a way through isolation, longing, and the haunting unexplained loss of his father in The Animals Beyond Us (New Rivers Press, $13.95) buy. 8pm
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Live Music in the Courtyard 7pm to midnight.

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Saturday, October 22 Gables

arrowNote: This event is in Spanish. Alentando el encuentro desde múltiples perspectivas, para explorar cómo vivimos los efectos de la globalización, Letra Urbana junto a la Escuela de Periodismo y Comunicaciones de la Universidad Internacional de la Florida, presentan: Los Dueños del Periodismo, Presentación del libro del Dr. Ramón Reig, Ed.Gedisa, Barcelona. El periodismo tiene dueños y, por tanto, los periodistas, también. La famosa frase de Thomas Jefferson “Prefiero periódicos sin gobierno, a gobierno sin periódicos” suena muy atractiva pero a estas alturas de la historia no es rigurosa: detrás de los medios de comunicación no sólo está la influencia política (y más cuando se trata de alta política de Estado) sino, sobre todo, la influencia económica, unida a la financiera y a la empresarial en general. Todos los sectores productivos de relevancia quieren invertir en las empresas de comunicación que ya no son tales sino elementos de un sistema, el mercado. Los dueños del periodismo provocan crisis y sus medios callan. ¿Qué le ha pasado al periodismo de investigación? ¿Qué le ha ocurrido al propio reportaje de denuncia? ¿Por qué los medios recogen las filtraciones de Wikileaks pero, sobre todo, las relacionadas con escándalos políticos? 5pm
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The image of Marilyn Monroe standing on a subway grate as her dress is blown above her knees–from “The Seven-Year Itch” is so deeply embedded in popular consciousness that it’s easy to forget a single stills photographer was responsible for it. The photographer’s name was Sam Shaw, and he portrayed virtually every major Hollywood star of his day. Born and raised on New York’s Lower East Side, and closely identified with the city’s visual iconography, Shaw shot countless cover pictures for “Life” and “Look” in the 1950s and 60s, and later also took the still photographs for movies that he produced himself, initially for Paul Newman on “Paris Blues,” but most notably for movies directed by John Cassavetes. This fantastic survey of Shaw’s work, Sam Shaw, A Personal Point of View (Hatje Cantz, $75) buy was written by author Lorie Karnath, a close friend of Shaw’s and the photo editing was done by Shaw Family Archives. 7pm
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Live Music in the Courtyard 8 to midnight

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Sunday, October 23 Gables

imagearrowPJ Library Story Time: Share stories, crafts and Noah’s Ark fun today as we get ready for! The national PJ Library program supports families in their Jewish journey by sending Jewish-content books and music on a monthly basis to children. Presented in collaboration with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. 10:30am
imagearrowVictoria Warrick has always known she was different. An outcast at school, she is no stranger to adversity. But when she receives an old journal for her seventeenth birthday, nothing prepares her for the dark secrets it holds–much less one that reveals she’s a witch with unimaginable power. What’s more, when she meets the dazzling but enigmatic Christian Devereux, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. Enemies will hunt her. Friends will turn on her. The terrible curse that makes her blood run black will stop at nothing to control her. And Christian has a sinister secret of his own … Without knowing whom to trust, can Victoria survive her blood’s deadly desires? Or will she lose everything, including herself? Find out what happens to Victoria in Bloodspell (Langdon Street Press, $15.99) buy by Amalie Howard. 5pm

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Sunday, October 23, Bal Harbour Shops

imagearrowPJ Library Story Time: Climb aboard Noah’s Ark for stories, crafts and fun as the PJ Library returns! The national PJ Library program supports families in their Jewish journey by sending Jewish-content books and music on a monthly basis to children. Presented in collaboration with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and the Lehrman Community Day School. 12:30pm

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Monday, October 24 Gables

imageimagearrowIn this eye-opening work, Susan N. Herman, the president of the ACLU takes a hard look at the human and social costs of the War on Terror. A decade after 9/11, it is far from clear that the government’s hastily adopted antiterrorist tactics are keeping us safe, but it is increasingly clear that these emergency measures in fact have the potential to ravage our lives. From the Oregon lawyer falsely suspected of involvement with terrorism in Spain to the former University of Idaho football player arrested on the pretext that he was needed as a “material witness” (though he was never called to testify), this book is filled with unsettling stories of ordinary people caught in the government’s dragnet. Taking Liberties (Oxford University Press, $24.95) buy is a wake-up call for all Americans, who remain largely unaware of the post-9/11 surveillance regime’s insidious and continuing growth. 6:30pm
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Note: This event is in Spanish. En La mujer del coronel de Carlos Alberto Montaner, Nuria, una atractiva psicóloga cubana de cuarenta años, es la mujer del Coronel Arturo Gómez, quien se encuentra al frente de sus tropas en Angola. Ella nunca se imaginó que un breve viaje a Italia, donde acude a dictar una conferencia, cambiaría su vida. Allí, Nuria conoce al profesor Martinelli y los dos se pierden en un juego cargado de erotismo y sensualidad. A cada encuentro amoroso le seguían cartas eróticas que Nuria pensó había destruido. Ella nunca pensó que esas cartas caerían en manos de la contrainteligencia cubana. 8pm
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Note: This event is in Spanish. En El poder de tu historia (Aguilar, $16.99) buy de Alberto Sardiñas ha reunido cuarenta de los relatos más impactantes de su trayectoria radial, así como también relatos propios, reflejando a la naturaleza humana en sus más varias facetas. El libro presenta lecciones aprendidas, ofrece un espacio para la reflexión y una ayuda para el sendero de lo cotidiano. Al igual que en la radio, Alberto entabla con sus lectores conversaciones con aquel ser querido que todos anhelamos y brinda un intercambio de experiencias que orienta, fortalece y ayuda a enfrentar los retos diarios que se nos presentan con páginas que surgen de la vida misma. 8pm

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Tuesday, October 25 Gables

arrowBlending history and architecture with literary analysis, this ground-breaking study, Imagining Women’s Conventual Spaces in France, explores the convent’s place in the early modern imagination. The author, Barbara Woshinsky, brackets her account between two pivotal events: the Council of Trent imposing strict enclosure on cloistered nuns, and the French Revolution expelling them from their cloisters two centuries later. In the intervening time, women within convent walls were both captives and refugees from an outside world dominated by patriarchal power and discourses. The convent also spurred ‘feminutopian’ discourses composed by women: convents become safe houses for those fleeing bad marriages or trying to construct an ideal, pastoral life, as a counter model to the male dominated court or household. Presented in collaboration with the Center for the Humanties at the University of Miami. 8pm

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Wednesday, October 26, Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden

imageimagearrowIn Wicked Bugs (Algonquin, $18.95) buy, a darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Amy Stewart has tracked down over one hundred of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the “bookworms” that devour libraries, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses. With wit, style, and exacting research, Stewart has uncovered the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild. Intricate and strangely beautiful etchings and drawings by Briony Morrow-Cribbs capture diabolical bugs of all shapes and sizes in this mixture of history, science, murder, and intrigue that begins—but doesn’t end—in your own backyard. Join us for a “bug-watching tour” and reception with the author in the perfect setting to spot six-and eight-legged creatures: Fairchild Garden. Tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members, available at all Books & Books locations and at Fairchild Garden. Include a copy of the book, tour, reception with the author and talk/signing. Tickets will be available beginning Oct. 4. The fun starts at 6:30pm.

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Wednesday October 26 Gables

imageimageimagearrowAs a part of the Wonders of Learning Series, join The Melissa Institute for an evening with two members of their esteemed Scientific Board, Dr. Debra J. Pepler and Dr. Wendy Craig as they discuss the research on bullying prevention and the initiatives of The Melissa Institute to create a world without bullying. Drs. Pepler and Craig are international experts in bullying and childhood aggression and designed and co-direct the Preventing Violence and Promoting Relationships Network (PREVNet), Canada’s national initiative for bullying prevention. PREVNet’s partners include sixty-two expert researchers from twenty-seven Canadian universities and forty-nine national organizations reaching children and youth from early childhood into adulthood.Bullying is wrong and hurtful. It affects not only the children and youth who are bullied but also those who bully others and those who know it is going on. Every child and youth has the right to be safe and free from involvement in bullying. 8pm

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Thursday, October 27, Temple Judea

imageimagearrowJerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today’s clash of civilizations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence. How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the “center of the world” and now the key to peace in the Middle East? In a gripping narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city in its many incarnations, bringing every epoch and character blazingly to life. Drawing on new archives, current scholarship, his own family papers and a lifetime’s study, Montefiore’s Jerusalem (Knopf, $35) buy illuminates the essence of sanctity and mysticism, identity and empire in a unique chronicle of the city that many believe will be the setting for the Apocalypse. This is how Jerusalem became Jerusalem, and the only city that exists twice—in heaven and on earth. TICKETS REQUIRED. Free tickets available at Books & Books stores in Coral Gables, Bal Harbour Shops, and Miami Beach. Tickets will be available beginning Oct. 4. 7:30pm

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Thursday, October 27, Gables

imageimagearrowJoin us for a book signing and conversation between Thomas Collins, director of the Miami Art Museum, and artist Enrique Martínez Celaya to celebrate the release of Enrique Martínez Celaya: Collected Writings & Interviews, 1990-2010 (University of Nebraska Press, $) this book includes over seventy writings, from essays, lectures, and statements to sketchbook notes and correspondence, tracing the development of the artist’s thought over two decades. Collins’ and Martínez Celaya’s wide-ranging conversation will include the role of writing in the development of artistic practice. In addition, they will talk about Martínez Celaya’s acclaimed exhibition, entitled Schneebett, which makes its U.S. Debut at the Miami Art Museum this fall. Originally created for the Berliner Philharmonie in 2004 and reinstalled at the Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig in 2006, the environment is on view at museum as a promised gift from the well known German collector Dieter Rosenkranz. Presented in collaboration with Miami Art Museum. 8pm

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Thursday, October 27, Bal Harbour Shops

imageimagearrowJump to front of the line tonight with the inside guide to this year’s Miami Book Fair International. Get the scoop on the annual literary event that astounds from the ultimate insider: Join Mitchell Kaplan for his Miami Book Fair Preview. Find out which authors are coming to the Miami Book Fair International and which ones you simply won’t want to miss – from bestsellers to beginners. Plus learn how you can become an insider too as a Friend of the Book Fair. The Evenings With begin on Sunday, Nov. 13, and the Street Fair on Friday, Nov. 18, but you can start planning today. 7:30pm

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Friday, October 28, Gables

imagearrowIn 1984, Def Jam introduced a new kind of music and lifestyle–hip-hop–through aspiring record producer and punk-rocker Rick Rubin and party promoter/artist manager Russell Simmons. It has become the sound of young America, akin to Motown in the sixties. This is the first book to see the label whole: through an oral history woven from interviews (some exclusive) with its founders and artists such as LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Ja Rule, Rihanna, Ashanti, and Kanye West, as well as through rare memorabilia from personal archives of the label’s movers and shakers: behind-the-scenes photos, flyers, advertisements, movie posters, album cover art, magazine covers, and press clips from around the world. Def Jam Recordings (Rizzoli, $60) buy by Bill Adler and Cey Adams is the story of Def Jam in the words of its artists and top executives, taken from interviews and seamlessly told as a narrative of no-holds barred recollections and anecdotes. 8pm
arrowLive Music in the Courtyard 7pm to midnight.

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Saturday, October 29 Gables

imageimagearrowDave & Ridley are back, so it’s party time! Don’t wait for Halloween – join us for a costume party celebrating The Bridge to Never Land (Hyperion, $18.99) buy — the latest book from Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson, the mad geniuses behind the bestselling Peter & the Starcatchers series. In this new book, Aidan and Sarah Cooper have no idea what they’re getting into one afternoon when they discover a mysterious coded document in a secret compartment of an antique English desk their father recently bought at an auction. Something about the document seems familiar to Sarah, and that night she realizes what it is: the document seems to be referring to some books she has read—the Starcatchers series, about the origin of Peter Pan. But how could that be? The document seems far older than the books. And of course, the books are just stories. Curious, Sarah and Aidan begin to decipher the mysterious document. At first it’s a game—unraveling the mystery piece by piece, each piece leading them to a new, deeper puzzle. But soon the game turns strange—and scary. Pursued by a being that can take any form and will stop at nothing to get what it wants from them, Aidan and Sarah embark on a desperate, thrilling quest for help—a quest that leads them to some unforgettable people in some unlikely places, including one that’s not supposed to exist at all. 2pm
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Recipe for Marriage: Take two adventurous newlyweds and place them on a floundering yacht where the wife is the chef, and her boss, the captain, is also her husband. Add two inexperienced crew members, an anorexic diva and her bully of a husband, a CEO who thinks he’s in charge, a drunken first mate, and a randy wife looking for diversion. Stir with a violent storm and a rapidly flooding engine room. Apply pressure and watch the situation simmer to a boil. Sprinkled with over 30-mouthwatering recipes and spiced with tales of adventure, SEAsoned (Norlightspress.com, $15.95) buy is the hilarious look at a yacht chef’s first year working for her husband while they cruise from the Bahamas to Italy, France, Greece and Spain, trying to stay afloat. 5pm
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The Splendor of Cuba (Rizzoli, $85) buy by Michael Connors gives an unprecedented tour of stunning and architecturally significant Cuban palacios, mansions, and private homes that have been meticulously preserved, previously un-photographed, and inaccessible to visitors. It presents not the picturesque Cuba of Castro’s era, with its derelict buildings and peeling paint, but the opulent world of the Spanish Creole aristocracy of the colonial period, with its Mudejar craftsmanship and baroque palacios, the sugarcane plantations (ingenios) and coffee plantations (cafetales), and classically inspired grand mansions. Exceptional preservation work has kept these villas in the magnificent state in which they were first envisioned. The photographs, shot exclusively for this book, show examples in each area of the island-from the interiors and exteriors in Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, and Pinar del R’o to close-up details of courtyards, balconies, galleries, balustrades, grilles, and louvered doors in Trinidad, Matanzas, and Holguin. One featured home is Finca Vigia (“lookout house”), the former residence of Ernest Hemingway. Connors, an expert in Caribbean antiques, is a contributor to numerous publications, including Art & Antiques, Antiques and Fine Art, and The Magazine Antiques. He has written many books, including British West Indies Style and Caribbean Houses: History, Style, and Architecture. Don’t miss his visual presentation of images from the book this evening. 7pm
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Live Music in the Courtyard 8pm to midnight.

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Sunday, October 30, Temple Israel

imageimagearrowFrom his youth as a soldier to his service in government, Ariel Sharon personified Israel’s unyielding drive for security. Within months of becoming prime minister, a series of tumultuous events shook his country deeply—a daily barrage of suicide bombings throughout the country, 9/11, the Iraq War, and Iran’s nuclear program—and thrust the controversial leader into the white hot center of international affairs. From 2001 until his stroke in 2006, Sharon walked a fine line between waging war on Israel’s enemies and accommodating demanding allies, a precarious balancing act that was often subject to public misperception. During that time, Sharon kept a meticulous personal record of events as they occurred, as well as actions in the past. Gilad Sharon, the prime minister’s youngest son and close confidant, has combed through those private notes as well his father’s vast archive—diaries, daybooks, military directives, correspondence, and thousands of other documents—to offer a rare, intimate, and compellingly written look at the man and his evolution into one of the world’s most powerful and influential figures. Filled with news-making revelations, Sharon: The Life of a Leader (HarperCollins, $29.99) buy is the anatomy of being Prime Minister, offering a rare glimpse into the Israeli leader’s private discussions with major heads of state, from George W. Bush to Vladimir Putin, Hosni Mubarak to Jacques Chirac and King Abdullah, and provides an unparalleled view of global politics in action. A dazzling portrait of a legendary man and the nation he helped build, Sharon is a masterful biography and an illuminating analysis of modern Middle Eastern politics and the forces that have shaped this volatile region. TICKETS REQUIRED. Free tickets available at Books & Books stores in Coral Gables, Bal Harbour Shops, and Miami Beach. Tickets will be available beginning Oct. 4. 6pm


Monday, October 31, Gables

imagearrowThis book is much more than an authoritative and compelling look at the cultural history of the supernatural over the last century in America—it also explains why we want to believe. Supernatural America: A Cultural History (Praeger, $53.94) buy by Lawrence Samuel is the first book to examine the cultural history of the supernatural in the United States, documenting how the expansion of science and technology coincided with a rise in supernatural/paranormal beliefs. From the flourishing of “spiritism” in the 1920s to the early 21st century, when the paranormal is bigger than ever, this entertaining and educational book explains the irresistible allure of the supernatural in America. 8pm

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