A FEW HIGHLIGHTS…
 HARLAN COBEN: 9/7, 7pm @ GABLESThe internationally bestselling author weaves a tale of suspense and intrigue in his first young adult novel, Shelter (Putnam, $18.99). Free Tickets Required. [YA] more» |
 DIANA ABU-JABER: 9/8, 8pm @ GABLESBirds of Paradise (Norton, $25.95) is a multilayered, beautifully textured novel about family set against the vivid background of contemporary Miami. more» |
 PEREZ HILTON: 9/17, 2pm @ BHSThe blogger-extraordinaire delivers his first book for children, The Boy with Pink Hair (Celebra, $17.99). Tickets Required. [K] more» |
 TYRA BANKS: 9/19, 6pm@ BHS The international entertainment and media icon brings us her brand new young adult fantasy novel, Modelland (Delacorte, $17.99) Tickets Required. [YA] more» |
 DYAN CANNON: 9/23, 8pm @ GABLESIn Dear Cary (It Books, $25.99) the film and television actress shares the story of her magical romance and stormy marriage to screen legend Cary Grant. more» |
 RUSSELL BANKS: 9/26, 8pm @ GABLES Lost Memory of Skin (Ecco, $25.99) is a provocative new novel that illuminates the shadowed edges of contemporary American culture. more» |
In Miami: Mistress of the Americas (Univ. of Penn Press, $22.50) 
, author Jan Nijman connects different historical episodes and geographical regions to illustrate how transience has shaped the city to the present day, from the migrant labor camps in south Miami-Dade to the affluent gated communities along Biscayne Bay. Nijman likens the city itself to a hotel; people check in, go about their business or pleasure, then check out. Locals, born and raised in the area, make up only one-fifth of the population. Exiles, those who have come to Miami as a temporary haven due to political or economic necessity, are typically yearning to return to their homeland. Mobiles, the affluent and well educated, who reside in Miami’s most prized neighborhoods, are constantly on the move. Presented in collaboration with the University of Miami College of Arts & Sciences Center for the Humanities. 8pm
Coral Gables Gallery Night Opening: The Children’s Trust Miami Heart Gallery is a traveling, museum-quality exhibit featuring portraits of children in Miami-Dade’s foster care system who are available for adoption. This year’s photos have a Mediterranean flare that accentuates the locations throughout Coral Gables that served as backdrops for the photo shoots, including the iconic Biltmore Hotel. Adopting a child out of foster care can be the most rewarding experience of a lifetime, both for your family and your new child. Legal adoption means that the child becomes a member of your family and is no longer a part of the foster care system. As an adoptive parent, you make all decisions for your adopted child, just as you would for your biological children. Almost anyone can adopt. You don’t have to be married. You don’t have to make a lot of money. You just need to be willing to love and provide for a child in need. For additional information visit us on www.miamiheartgallery.org. 7-10pm
Live Music in the Courtyard: Emmet Cohen Trio, 7-midnight
Live Music in the Courtyard: Juanita-Marie Franklin, 8-midnight
Join UM visiting writers John Murillo and Cristina Garcia in an evening of conversation, sweet desserts and after dinner drinks! In conjunction with the University of Miami Creative Writing Program‘s reading series, Polyglot Writers: Writing Across Languages, this Writers’ Salon welcomes writers, readers and lovers of good books to participate in a discussion on the writing life and the play of language in all its forms. For more information about Polyglot Writers go to this link. 8:30pm
Runaway No. 1 bestselling novelist Harlan Coben turns his thrilling literary touch to young-adult novels, and he’s created a suspenseful tale in Shelter (Putnam, $18.99) that keeps adults of all ages – young, old and everyone in between – turning the pages: Mickey Bolitar’s year can’t get much worse. After witnessing his father’s death and sending his mom to rehab, he’s forced to live with his estranged uncle Myron and switch high schools. A new school comes with new friends and new enemies, and lucky for Mickey, it also comes with a great new girlfriend, Ashley. For a while, it seems like Mickey’s train-wreck of a life is finally improving – until Ashley vanishes without a trace. Unwilling to let another person walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley’s trail into a seedy underworld that reveals that this seemingly sweet, shy girl isn’t who she claimed to be. Soon, Mickey learns about a conspiracy so shocking that it makes high school drama seem like a luxury – and leaves him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew. Harlan Coben fans, bring your teen readers into the intriguing world of Coben’s novels. YA readers, dive into the world of Coben’s rip-roaring thrillers. Bring your parents along for he ride, too! FREE TICKETS REQUIRED – available at our Coral Gables, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour Shops store. 7pm
Books & Books Bal Harbour Shops is on FIRE for Fashion’s Night Out! Good thing we’ll have the hunky and heroic men from the South Florida Firefighters Calendar to keep us all safe – and keep our temperature rising. Buy your 2012 calendar tonight and get the muscular men to sign the calendar and smile for photos. Proceeds from the calendar go to A Safehaven for Newborns, and Here’s Help. Plus enjoy the big, bold fruit-forward taste of wine from Rex Goliath and the always delicious South Florida flavors of Chef Bernie Matz’s food from The Café at Books & Books – all complimentary – on this night that celebrates shopping for a good cause. Limited edition Fashion’s Night Out T-shirts will be sold EXCLUSIVELY at Books & Books. 6:30-10pm
Birds of Paradise (Norton, $25.95) by Diana Abu-Jaber is a multilayered, beautifully textured novel about family and self, self-indulgence and generosity. In the tropical paradise that is Miami, Avis and Brian Muir are still haunted by the disappearance of their ineffably beautiful daughter, Felice, who ran away when she was thirteen. Now, after five years of modeling tattoos, skateboarding, clubbing, and sleeping in a squat house or on the beach, Felice is about to turn eighteen. Her family will be forced to confront their anguish, loss, and sense of betrayal. Meanwhile, Felice must reckon with the guilty secret that drove her away, and must face her fear of losing her family and her sense of self forever. 8pm
El Centro Cultural Argentino y el Centro de Estudios Gardelianos de Buenos Aires presentan una “Semana de Gardel” en Miami. Esta noche, el Dr. Norberto Reguiera presentará su libro, Gardel, el mito y ofrecerá una conferencia sobre el cantante, acompañado por la Dra. Laura Orsi. 6:30pm
Raised under racial segregation, Norma Watkins grows up listening at doors, trying to penetrate the secrets and silences of the black help and of her parents’ marriage. Groomed to be an ornament to white patriarchy, she sees herself failing at the ideal of becoming a southern lady. Once integration is court-mandated, her beloved father becomes a stalwart captain in defense of Jim Crow as a counselor to fiery, segregationist Governor Ross Barnett. His daughter flounders, looking for escape. A sexually bleak marriage only emphasizes a growing emotional emptiness. When a civil rights lawyer offers love and escape, does a good southern lady dare leave her home state and closed society behind? With humor and heartbreak, The Last Resort (University Press of Mississippi, $28) , her compelling memoir conveys at once the idyllic charm and the impossible compromises of a lost way of life. 8pm
Live Music in the Courtyard: Gaby Yidi has been singing since she was in the 6th grade and started professionally training her voice at 14 with Jocelyn Melnicov. She also trained in Musical Theatre under the direction of Michelle Garcia and Minette Perez. After winning FIU’s Golden Idol competition, she has started singing at public events and specializes in covering songs that carry the essence of what music is about ranging from boleros, jazz standards, or even popular pop songs. She is pursuing a career in Hospitality Management at FIU with a minor in Marketing. 7pm-midnight
Story Time Concert with Alina Celeste: Join us for this very special morning performance for kids and their families from musician, musical teacher and Miami native Alina Celeste. After years of teaching kids, hanging with kids, playing with kids, Alina decided to make some music just for them! With a fun and eclectic mix of genres and styles, Alina emphasizes traditional songs with a modern twist and original songs aimed at bringing families together and providing joy and self-expression to kids everywhere. Born in Miami “a hootin’ and a hollerin,” and she’s been singing ever since. She studied Music Theater at Barry University, and spent two years working as an actress in Musical Theater, especially children’s theater. 10am
Middle-grade author doubleheader: Two outstanding authors – Margaret Peterson Haddix and Lisa McMann — come together to bring us their new books and an awesome afternoon. Torn (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, $16.99) , the fourth book inMargaret Peterson Haddix’sMissing series is finally here! Still reeling from their experiences in Roanoke in 1600, Jonah and Katherine arrive in 1611 only moments before a mutiny on Henry Hudson’s ship in the icy waters of James Bay. But things are messed up: they’ve lost the real John Hudson, and they find what seems to be the fabled Northwest Passage, even though they are pretty sure that that route doesn’t actually exist. Will this new version of history replace the real past? Is this the end of time as we know it? With more at stake than ever before, Jonah and Katherine struggle to unravel the mysteries of 1611 and the Hudson Passage – 
before everything they know is lost… In Lisa McMann’s newest book, The Unwanteds (Aladdin, $16.99) , thirteen-year-olds in Quill are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths. Alex’s fate is announced as Unwanted, and his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination, Alex discovers a stunning secret — behind the mirage of the “death farm” there is instead a place called Artime. In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. But as Alex and Aaron’s bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle. 3:30pm
In the second book in the YA series Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie, Antonio would do anything for his beloved fighting partner Jenn. He protects her, even suppresses his vampire cravings to be with her. Together, they defend humanity against the Cursed Ones. But tensions threaten to fracture their hunting team and his loyalty – his love – is called into question. Jenn aches for revenge against the Cursed One who converted her sister. And with an even more sinister power on the rise, she must overcome her personal vendettas to lead her team into battle. Antonio and Jenn need each other to survive, but evil lurks at every turn. With humanity’s fate hanging in the balance, they must face down the darkness… or die trying. Discover what happens to Antonio and Jenn in Damned (Simon & Schuster, $9.99) . 4:30pm
From life inside Guantanamo Bay to the politics of street vending in Tunisia, Granta 116: Ten Years Later ($16.99) explores how the world has changed since 11 September 2001. Fourteen new works of fiction, reportage, poetry and memoir, as well as photographic essay on refugees in Libya by Nadia Shira Cohen, explore what we remember and forget in the wake of terror and how we tell the stories of our time. At Books & Books this afternoon, M. Evelina Galang will moderate a panel of writers – Edwidge Danticat, Diana Abu-Jaber and Cristina Garcia – that will reinvigorate the conversation about morality, politics and aesthetics post-9/11 in Miami. 5pm
Live Music in the Courtyard: Luvnauts, 8pm-midnight
Join renowned author/illustrator Loren Long for the brand-new Otis adventure – Otis and the Tornado (Philomel, $17.99) . Otis and his farm friends are enjoying a summer’s day playing their favorite game, follow-the-leader. Suddenly the day turns frightening: the birds stop chirping, the wind picks up, and the sky turns dark and stormy. It’s a tornado! Otis rouses a game of follow-the-leader to get all of the farm animals safe and sound in the dried-up riverbanks of Mud Creek. But Otis hears a cry in the distance – it’s the bull, still locked in his pen! Quick as his tires will take him, Otis putt puff puttedy chuffs back to the farm to save the day. The story is a perfect accompaniment to any Otis lover’s bookshelf and story time. And Loren Long’s visit this day will be filled with art, illustration and stories in the perfect Museum of Art setting. 3:30pm
Story Time (Very) Special with Loren Long! Award-winning and bestselling author/illustrator Loren Long brings his delightful stories and magical illustrations to us with this brand new Otis tale – Otis and the Tornado (Philomel, $17.99) . Otis and his farm friends are enjoying a summer’s day playing their favorite game, follow-the-leader. Suddenly the day turns frightening: The birds stop chirping, the wind picks up, and the sky turns dark and stormy. It’s a tornado! Otis rouses a game of follow-the-leader to get all of the farm animals safe and sound in the dried-up riverbanks of Mud Creek. But Otis hears a cry in the distance – it’s the bull, still locked in his pen! Quick as his tires will take him, Otis putt puff puttedy chuffs back to the farm to save the day. It’s a story any South Florida child – and parent — will appreciate during this hurricane season. Don’t miss this special day! 12:30pm
Bestselling and award-winning author/illustrator Loren Long and his beloved Otis to us with a brand-new story with Otis and the Tornado (Philomel, $17.99) – perfect for South Florida families! Otis and his farm friends are enjoying a summer’s day playing their favorite game, follow-the-leader. Suddenly the day turns frightening: the birds stop chirping, the wind picks up, and the sky turns dark and stormy. It’s a tornado! Otis rouses a game of follow-the-leader to get all of the farm animals safe and sound in the dried-up riverbanks of Mud Creek. But Otis hears a cry in the distance – it’s the bull, still locked in his pen! Quick as his tires will take him, Otis putt puff puttedy chuffs back to the farm to save the day. 3:30pm
Author and avid motorcyclist James Hesketh takes you with him on the ‘straight and twisty’ road he’s traveled from addiction to recovery–his motorcycle with him every inch of the way. Drawing from archival information, cultural references, and interviews, Hesketh chronicles the changing history of motorcycle culture, beginning with the infamous 1947 Hollister Rally that inspired the ‘biker image,’ and progressing to the recovery lifestyle and motorcycling. Riding a Straight and Twisty Road: Motorcycles, Fellowship, and Personal Journeys (Central Recovery Press, $16.95) features ‘insider’ accounts by clean and sober riders, and is illustrated with vivid photographs. This book is a must-read, not just for those who ride, but for anyone interested in recovery. 8pm
Americas Society/Council of the Americas is hosting a policy discussion on What’s Next for Haiti? addressing governance, investment and development in the country. The program is in partnership with the City of Miami and Miami Dade College and in conjunction with a launch of a recent work on Fixing Haiti: MINUSTAH and Beyond (United Nations University Press 2011, $36.75) . Co-editor of the book Dr. Jorge Heine, CIGI Chair in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs and former Ambassador of Chile, will participate in a panel together with former Prime Minister Gérard Latortue, renowned Caribbean scholar Dr. Anthony Maingot, and John Yearwood, World Editor at The Miami Herald. The program is free and open to the public and books will be available for purchase. To register, please visit www.as-coa.org.6pm
Edgar-nominated author Paul Levine delivers his most powerful thriller yet in Lassiter (Bantam, $25) . Jake Lassiter, low-rent lawyer, is cynical about the law, but if you hire him, he’ll take a punch for you… and maybe a swing at the prosecutor, too. Amy Larkin–beautiful, angry, and mysterious–accuses Lassiter of involvement in the disappearance of her sister eighteen years earlier. Seeking to atone for his own past, Lassiter follows the cold trail of the missing Krista and butts head with the powerful men who also knew her. The evidence leads to a long-ago night of kinky sex, designer drugs–and possible murder. But before Lassiter can nail the truth, a gun goes off, a suspect falls dead, and Amy is charged with murder. The state has an eyewitness and a slam-dunk case. Lassiter has a client he doesn’t trust and a case he can’t win. Did Amy shoot the man who killed her sister? Or the wrong man? And what really happened to Krista? 8pm
In The Arrogant Years (Ecco, $25.99) , Lucette Lagnado tells the story of her mother, Edith, coming of age in a magical old Cairo of dusty alleyways and grand villas inhabited by pashas and their wives. Then Lagnado revisits her own early years in America–first, as a schoolgirl in Brooklyn’s immigrant enclaves, where she dreams of becoming the fearless Mrs. Emma Peel of The Avengers, and later, as an “avenging” reporter for some of America’s most prestigious newspapers. A stranger growing up in a strange land, when she turns sixteen Lagnado’s adolescence is further complicated by cancer. Its devastating consequences would rob her of her “arrogant years” – the years defined by an overwhelming sense of possibility, invincibility, and confidence. Lagnado looks to the women sequestered behind the wooden screen at her childhood synagogue, to the young coeds at Vassar and Columbia in the 1970s, to her own mother and the women of their past in Cairo, and reflects on their stories as she struggles to make sense of her own choices. Presented in collaboration with the Inter-American Chapter of Hadassah. 7:30pm
A Cluttered Life (Seal Press, $17) chronicles Pesi Dinnerstein’s touching, quirky, and often comic search for order and simplicity amid an onslaught of relentless interruptions. When a chance encounter with an old acquaintance opens her eyes to the extent to which disorder has crept into every corner of her existence, she begins a quest to free herself from the excess baggage she carries and finds–to her great surprise–that the meaning she’s spent years searching for is right there in her own piles of clutter. In the end–with the help of devoted friends, a twelve-step recovery program, and a bit of Kabbalistic wisdom–her struggle with the things of this world is transformed from a distraction into its own journey of healing and personal growth. 8pm
Note: This event is in Spanish. Después del espectacular éxito de su primer libro Twitter para todos: Su negocio en 140 caracteres, la periodísta colombiana Ana María Jaramillo llega con un segundo título: Redes Sociales para todos: Su Negocio en la Web 2.0. La autora, en 13 capítulos y 202 páginas, explica la diferencia entre la Web 1.0 y la 2.0. Igualmente, hace una estupenda recopilación del poder y manejo de las principales redes sociales aplicado a las empresas, marcas y negocios. De una manera simple y didáctica muestra como elaborar un plan de social media, sencillo y eficáz. Posteriormente, explica, paso a paso, como tener un blog corporativo, como abrir un perfil en Twitter, una página empresarial en Facebook, una cuenta en Linkedin y Foursquare y un canal en YouTube. Todo enfocado en visibilizar su marca, empresa o negocio en la Web y construir un diálogo sincero con sus usuarios. 6:30pm
In The Arrogant Years (Ecco, $25.99) , Lucette Lagnado tells the story of her mother, Edith, coming of age in a magical old Cairo of dusty alleyways and grand villas inhabited by pashas and their wives. Then Lagnado revisits her own early years in America–first, as a schoolgirl in Brooklyn’s immigrant enclaves, where she dreams of becoming the fearless Mrs. Emma Peel of The Avengers, and later, as an “avenging” reporter for some of America’s most prestigious newspapers. A stranger growing up in a strange land, when she turns sixteen Lagnado’s adolescence is further complicated by cancer. Its devastating consequences would rob her of her “arrogant years”–the years defined by an overwhelming sense of possibility, invincibility, and confidence. Lagnado looks to the women sequestered behind the wooden screen at her childhood synagogue, to the young coeds at Vassar and Columbia in the 1970s, to her own mother and the women of their past in Cairo, and reflects on their stories as she struggles to make sense of her own choices. 8pm
In Demon Fish (Pantheon, $26.95) , 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 objects 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. 6:30pm
A special week-long series of events highlighting the work of Spanish filmmaker / screenwriter / novelist David Trueba opens tonight at the Centro Cultural Español with a talk in Spanish by David Trueba entitled A Polyhedral Look from the Other Side of the Atlantic. (Una mirada poliédrica desde el otro lado del Atlántico), introduced by Nat Chediak. This is also the inaugural event at the Centro’s just opened space, in downtown Miami at 1490 Biscayne Boulevard, adjacent to the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and will be followed by a garden wine reception. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.ccemiami.org or call 305-448-9677. Talk begins at 7pm.
Books & Books is delighted to welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz back to Miami as he becomes the first Stanford Distinguished Professor in the 2011-2012 academic year at the University of Miami School of Arts & Sciences. Tonight UM’s Center for the Humanities will host a talk by Cruz titled, “Theatre Accompanied by Light: Searching for Poetry in the Theatre”. The event will be followed by a book signing, with books provided by Books & Books. For further information on Mr. Cruz’s lecture please call 305-284-1580. Nilo Cruz was born in Cuba in 1960, and immigrated to Miami with his family when he was nine years old. He grew up in Little Havana, and studied theater at Miami Dade Community College; he earned his MFA from Brown in 1994. As playwright-in-residence at the New Theatre in Coral Gables, he wrote Anna in the Tropics (Theatre Communications Group, $14.95) , which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001 and has been performed on Broadway and in theaters across the country. His most recent play, The Color of Desire, premiered at the Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables. Cruz has taught drama at various universities, including Brown, Yale, and the University of Iowa. 7pm
Dorette Darby has been preparing tropical, exotic dishes for her family, friends and co-workers for many years. Through their referrals, she began catering and she and her husband opened a successful neighborhood restaurant that serves Jamaican food. Once again, her friends urged her to compile her recipes and Tropical Palate: Taste of the Islands (Xlibris Corporation, $31.99) was born. The recipes emphasize tropical and international fruits, vegetables and spices that give these dishes their unparalleled taste and sensuality. She later went on to create recipes for her 11-year old son, Chazz, and together they published an interactive cookbook for kids called My Own Food. 8pm
Live Music in the Courtyard: Federico Britos, 7-midnight
AUTOGRAPHING ONLY: Meet blogger-extraordinaire Perez Hilton as he signs his new children’s book – with an important lesson for us all – The Boy with Pink Hair (Celebra, $17.99) . He was born that way — The Boy with Pink Hair. He had a cotton candy colored mop that no one had ever seen before… Life is not easy being pink. Adults stare at you, little children giggle behind your back and some kids are just mean. But when you have a best friend who appreciates your uniqueness and parents who are loving and supportive, you can do just about anything. Perez brings us the story of a boy who is not afraid to be who he is and how his difference makes a difference. TICKETS REQUIRED: You will receive one (1) ticket with the purchase of one copy of The Boy with Pink Hair from Books & Books. Tickets will be available beginning Monday, Sept. 5 at our Bal Harbour Shops, Miami Beach and Coral Gable bookstore. Or click here to purchase your ticket online. Please pay online now and then choose the store pick-up option. Each person must have a ticket to enter the signing line. Perez will pose for photos and personalize books. 2pm
Film icon Nat Chediak in conversation with Spanish filmmaker and writer David Trueba. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, David Trueba – at age 42 – has become an essential presence in Spanish culture as award-winning novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker as well as media columnist for El País, Spain’s leading daily. David Trueba: Recent Work showcases his various interests, focusing on films that are new to South Florida, as is the presentation of his third novel, the first translated into English. Soldiers of Salamina (2003) is one of the great Spanish films of the decade, an exploration – in present and past tense – of the burden of memory as it shapes the legacy of the Spanish Civil War. In stark contrast, Welcome Home (2006) is a choral comedy that follows a young man on the road to adulthood, as he leaves the home he was born into and finds another in the workplace. ¿Qué fué de Jorge Sanz? (2010) is a three-hour, six-part miniseries that blithely blends fact and fiction as it chronicles, with biting irony, the seriocomic travails of a child actor nobody seems to want as he stares middle age in the face. Recent Work is a portrait of a major artist on the move. Nat Chediak is the dean of South Florida specialized film exhibitors. First at the Cinematheque (1973-1988), later at the Miami Film Festival (1984-2001), the work of some of today’s major international filmmakers received their first American exposure. In 2000, at the age of 50, he entered the recording studio for the first time. In the past decade, as music producer, he has won 6 Grammy awards. He is the author of the biographical Diccionaro de jazz latino, the first book published (in 1998) about Latin Jazz. At present, Mr. Chediak is working on a second book, Of Life and Laughter that will mark his return to Film. 1pm
The conversation continues with Nat Chediak highlighting the literary work of David Trueba – one of Spain’s most celebrated contemporary writers – as he discusses his first novel to be translated into English. Set against the maze of Madrid’s congested and contested streets, Learning to Lose (Other Press, $16.95) follows four individuals as they swerve off course in unexpected directions. It is Sylvia’s sixteenth birthday, and her life as an adult is about to begin–not with the party she had been planning, but with a car accident and a broken leg. Behind the wheel is a talented young soccer player, just arrived from Buenos Aires and set for stardom on and off the field. As their destinies collide and a young romance is set in motion, across town, Sylvia’s father and grandfather are finding their own lives suddenly derailed by a violent murder and a secret affair with a prostitute. Each of them is dodging guilt and the fear of failure, but their shared search for happiness, love, purity, redemption, and, above all, a way to survive forms a taut narrative web that binds the characters together. This event is part of a weeklong series, Nat Chediak presents… David Trueba: Recent Work, highlighting the Spanish artist’s diverse artistic output and presented in collaboration with the Centro Cultural Español and the Coral Gables Art Cinema, with support from the Betsy Hotel. 2pm
Join us for the third in a series of four, free community forums sponsored by the ACLU of Florida with panelists: Nan Rich, State Senator, Democrat (Minority) Leader; Kendall Coffey, Attorney; Phillip Hubbart, Judge; Rosemary Barkett, Judge, former Chief Justice Florida Supreme Court; Moderated by: Howard Simon, Executive Director, ACLU of Florida. The U.S.Constitution and the Accompanying Bill of Rights form the foundation of our society. The principles embedded in these documents provide the guideposts for civil liberties, which the ACLU has sworn to protect since its founding in 1920. Our panelists, who represent the legislative and judicial branches of our government, act on our behalf to advance these principles and to protect the civil liberties contained within these documents. Good government is alive today because of the marriage between our representatives and the ACLU. Any separation of these partners could lead to the decline of the Republic for which we stand! Issues from freedom of assembly to voting rights will be open for discussion, particularly as they apply to the citizens of the State of Florida. 5pm
Ken Esrig‘s Start From Where You Are (Authorhouse, $15.49) , is a guide for you, the entrepreneur, to a place that will help you reach your personal goals, both financially and emotionally. Learn how to take your current situation and turn it into success. Follow your heart and learn how to create a business through simple to understand and fun examples. The lack of jobs and crash of the housing market have left an entire country looking for ways to pay their bills. The internet has helped turn ordinary people into entrepreneurs, forced to find new sources of income. Americans are weighing their options and starting businesses at unbelievable rates. Rather than being hardcore entrepreneurs, these are regular people surviving financial crisis and potential foreclosure. You are the hero in your story. You will be given simple clues to how you can make your life exciting and fulfilling. Too much you say? Then you do not believe in yourself and your ability. Regardless of where you have been in the past you now find yourself where you are. Start From Where You Are by taking a personal assessment of who you really are and what you enjoy doing. I have included a worksheet called the 1,2,3’s of Short Term Goals, which can be completed while you read. You should pay attention to the thought process that has been laid out for you. Thinking like an entrepreneur is natural for some, yet seemingly impossible for others. There are no guarantees in life and your journey will not be easy. If you assume the role of hero and muster your brains, heart and courage, you can Start From Where You Are. You must begin by believing that the hero always wins; with the right plan. So: Start From Where You Are. 7pm
Live Music in the Courtyard: Emmet Cohen Trio, 8-midnight
Hear the latest debut authors from Florida International University’s Creative Writing Program. Norma Watkins comes with her memoir, The Last Resort: Taking the Mississippi Cure, about the idyllic charm and impossible compromises of a lost way of life. Jen Bartman reads poems from her recent chapbook, Remote, published by Pudding House Press. Plus, some of FIU’s newest MFA alums: find out what will be published next. 4pm
Tyra’s MODELLAND Book Tour: A Fierce Experience! International entertainment and media icon Tyra Banks will share her wit and wisdom, insight and humor during this interactive evening – as she brings us her brand new young adult fantasy novel, Modelland(Delacorte, $17.99) at our next-door neighbor, Neiman Marcus. Complimentary “mocktails” will be served. Join Tyra Banks in an engaging author appearance that will include heart felt and fantastic discussions, lively group interactions (yes, YOU are part of the program!) and of course a fun-filled Q&A from the audience. This impactful one hour event will expose all attendees to Tyra’s core mission to expand the definition of beauty, while inviting them into the wonderful, mysterious and awe-inspiring world of Modelland – her debut fantasy novel for young adults. Come prepared to share, to be moved, and entertained! TICKETS REQUIRED: You will receive one (1) FREE SIGNED COPY of Modelland with the purchase of one (1) TICKET to Tyra Banks’ event from Books & Books. (The cost of the ticket is $17.99, which is the price of one copy of Modelland.) Each person attending must have her own ticket. You will receive your autographed copy of Modelland at the event. Click here to purchase your ticket now online. Or you can purchase the tickets at Books & Books Bal Harbour Shops – on the second level, next door to Neiman Marcus — or at our bookstores in Coral Gables and Miami Beach. 6pm
The Everglades Wilderness Waterway winds an enthralling path through rivers, bays, and streams on the southwestern edge of Everglades National Park. Rich with wildlife and scenic beauty, it also poses many challenges for paddlers. Canoeists and kayakers must deal with wind, waves, limited campsites (in the form of “chickee” platforms over the water and historic groundsites), and no fresh water. As veterans of this complex passage, authors Holly Genzen and Anne Sullivan turn those limitations into glorious, safe adventure in Paddling the Everglades (Menasha Ridge Press, $15.95) . Some out-and-back paddles lead to the rivers and bays of the Everglades National Park’s interior; others wind to Gulf Coast sites; still others loop around islands, mangrove forests, or other natural phenomena. The authors provide marker-by-marker route descriptions (both north to south and south to north), and comprehensive information on safety, supplies, campsites, and navigation. They also chronicle the waterway’s wildlife, social history, and origin of place names encountered along the way. 6:30pm
Common Law, History, and Democracy in America, 1790-1900: Legal Thought Before Modernism (Cambridge University Press, $89.25) argues for a change in our understanding of the relationships among law, politics, and history. Kunal M. Parker shows that the world of the nineteenth century looked rather different. Democracy was itself constrained by a sense that history possessed a logic, meaning, and direction that democracy could not contravene. In such a world, far from law being seen in opposition to democracy, it was possible to argue that law specifically, the common law did a better job than democracy of guiding America along history’s path. Presented in collaboration with the University of Miami College of Arts & Science Center for the Humanities. 8pm
Swine flu, tsunamis, terrorists, magic bullets, stress, peanut allergies or simply old age – the end is inescapable. Therefore, it’s imperative to start living consciously. We are responsible for creating our own destiny. Our gut, the GPS we’re born with, can always be trusted and will never lead us astray. Silver linings will be found if we’re willing to look. And as Paul and John once said, love is all you need. If you’ve read The Secret and still feel unfulfilled, Live Like a Fruit Fly (HCI, $14.95) is what you’ve been searching for. Author Gabe Berman claims it’s the last book you’ll need to create the life you deserve. The life you hoped for starts today. “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” – Henry David Thoreau 6:30pm
During World War II, German U-boats prowled the Atlantic, sinking hundreds of U.S. ships along the east coast. Nazi agents even landed on Long Island with explosives and maps of railways, bridges, and defense plants. Desperate to secure the coast, the Navy turned to Meyer Lansky, the Jewish Mob boss. A newly naturalized American whose fellow Eastern European Jews were being annihilated by Hitler, Lansky headed an unlikely fellowship of mobsters Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel, Frank Costello, and naval intelligence officers. The Mob caught Nazi agents, planted propaganda with the help of columnist Walter Winchell, and found Mafia spies to plot the invasion of Sicily, where General Patton was poised to strike at the soft underbelly of the Axis. Lansky’s men stopped at nothing to sabotage Hitler’s push toward American shores. Written by Eric Dezenhall and based on real events, The Devil Himself (Thomas Dunne, $25.99) is a high-energy novel of military espionage and Mafia justice. 8pm
The Architecture of Alfred Browning Parker: Miami’s Maverick Modernist (University Press of Florida, $50) is Randolph Henning’s overview of the life work of this modernist master. It features sixty-nine of the more than five hundred residential and commercial structures Parker created between 1942 and 2001. The descriptions are accompanied by nearly 400 color photographs, more than a third of which are vintage images from renowned photographer Ezra Stoller. Alfred Browning Parker is one of the twentieth century’s most famous Florida-based architects. A principal leader of the “Coconut Grove School” of tropical organic architecture, he is arguably the most renowned and honored architect in the history of Florida architecture, and his influence has been felt throughout the United States and the Caribbean. 6:30pm
The Architecture of Alfred Browning Parker: Miami’s Maverick Modernist (University Press of Florida, $50) is Randolph Henning’s overview of the life work of this modernist master. It features sixty-nine of the more than five hundred residential and commercial structures Parker created between 1942 and 2001. The descriptions are accompanied by nearly 400 color photographs, more than a third of which are vintage images from renowned photographer Ezra Stoller. Alfred Browning Parker is one of the twentieth century’s most famous Florida-based architects. A principal leader of the “Coconut Grove School” of tropical organic architecture, he is arguably the most renowned and honored architect in the history of Florida architecture, and his influence has been felt throughout the United States and the Caribbean. 8pm
Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable – until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank to a place unlike anything he’s ever seen. In the past, the people of Lyrian welcomed visitors from the Beyond, but attitudes have changed since the wizard emperor Maldor rose to power. The brave resistors who opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail. In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor, and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes. A World Without Heroes (Aladdin, $19.99) is the first book in the newest series by bestselling middle-grade author Brandon Mull. 6pm
Rarely does one hear about the experiences of German children during World War II. Born in Berlin in 1941, Sabina de Werth Neu knew little during her earliest years except the hardships and fear of a war refugee. She and her two sisters and mother were often on the run and sometimes homeless in the bombed-out cities of wartime Germany. At times they lived in near-starvation conditions. And as the Allies stormed through the crumbling German defenses, the mother and children were raped and beaten by marauding Russian soldiers. After the war, the family wrapped themselves in a cloak of deafening silence about their recent national and personal history, determined to forget the past. A Long Silence (Prometheus Books, $19) not only recalls the experiences of a now-distant war but brings to mind the disturbing realities of present-day refugee children. 8pm
With honesty and heart-rending emotion, actress and filmmaker Dyan Cannon tells the story of her topsy-turvy relationship with Hollywood legend Cary Grant. Cannon’s captivating narrative takes the reader behind the scenes of Hollywood’s Golden Age, inside America’s high court of glamour and notoriety in which Cary Grant was king. In his private life alongside Cannon, however, a story that began with all the romance of his famous films–Charade, To Catch a Thief, An Affair to Remember or The Philadelphia Story–would end up taking a series of tragic and unpredictable twists and turns. In sharing Grant’s inside story for the first time, Dear Cary (It Books, $25.99) is exactly what Hollywood is always looking for… the next blockbuster, and a story for romance lovers of all ages. 8pm
Live Music in the Courtyard, 7pm-midnight
FREE FILM SCREENING: I AM is a prismatic, probing, and utterly engaging non-fiction film that poses two provocative questions: what’s wrong with our world and what we can do to make it better? The filmmaker asking these questions is Tom Shadyac, one of Hollywood’s leading comedy practitioners and the creative force behind such blockbusters as “Ace Ventura,” “Liar Liar,” “The Nutty Professor,” and “Bruce Almighty.” Armed with nothing but his innate curiosity and a camera crew to film his adventures, Shadyac set out on a twenty-first century quest for enlightenment. The result is a fresh, energetic, and life-affirming film that challenges our preconceptions about human behavior at the same time that it celebrates man’s innate ability to be better. For more information visit www.iamthedoc.com.
Strides of Destiny (Library Tales Publishing, $15.99) by Loly Trelles Garriga is a true love story that gives new meaning to the words love, fate and destiny. Alex and Loly’s adolescent romance begins during the 1950’s when life’s cadence on the exuberant and exotic Caribbean Island is mixed with flowers’ fragrances and sea breeze. The island of paradise suddenly suffers a social and political metamorphosis imposed by the new regime of Fidel Castro. Lack of freedom and human rights generates drastic decisions and each day people leave behind their property and assets, and their families and loved ones. Uncertain if they will ever see each other again, many families cannot bear the tests and trials of the separation. Alex and Loly’s love and faith help them hope and persevere, even though their reunion seems distant and unattainable. 5pm
Author Danielle Joseph returns with another colorful YA book that draws you in and stays with you for a long time – Pure Red (Flux, $9.95) : I, Cassia Bernard, do solemnly swear to find pure red–my passion–this summer. Dad’s passion is art. When he’s painting, no one can reach him, not even me. My mom’s passion was the ocean. She said the ocean allows you to see whatever you want to see. That was one of the last things she ever said to me… Sometimes what your heart desires isn’t what it needs. Over the course of a hot Miami summer, sixteen-year-old Cassia discovers that sometimes it takes bullies and basketball, a best friend, and a gorgeous guy to help you understand what you actually need – and to help you see that, maybe, everything isn’t so black and white. Maybe everything is Pure Red.7pm
In celebration of Danielle Joseph’s artful new book, join us for a special Gallery Show from the Education Fund.
Live Music in the Courtyard, 8pm-midnight
THE RUMI CONCERT is a stunning collaboration of artists, poets and translators of the 13th century mystic poet RUMI, featuring Coleman Barks, the author of numerous Rumi translations and a student of Sufism since 1977; iconic world percussionist Glen Velez; Grammy award-winning cellist David Darling; and internationally-acclaimed storydancer, Zuleikha. Together they bring to life the rapture and longing of Rumi’s ecstatic poetry in a performance of poetry, music, dance, story and humor. For more information and tickets, visit www.stopbreatheandsmile.org. The performance will be followed by a book signing with Coleman Barks, books provided by Books & Books. 7:30pm
Ah-choo! Uh-oh, Llama Llama’s nose is feeling tickly, his throat is feeling scratchy, and his head is feeling stuffy. Back to bed, no school today for Llama Llama! Instead, he’s home with Mama. By lunchtime, though, he’s beginning to feel a tiny bit better. But now someone else has the sneezes… Mama! And who will help her feel better? Why, Llama Llama, of course! Bestselling children’s author/illustrator Anna Dewdney‘s fun-to-read rhymes in Llama Llama Home With Mama (Viking, $17.99) are sure to help children and their parents get through those under-the-weather days. 11am
For fans of his bestselling middle-grade novels Travel Team and Million-Dollar Throw, Mike Lupica delivers a feel-good sports story that will have readers cheering where they sit with in The Underdogs (Philomel, $17.99) . Will Tyler can fly on a football field. He may not be the biggest running back around, but no one can touch him when it comes to hitting the hole and finding the end zone. And no one can match his love of the game. When Will has a football in hand, he may as well be flying for real because life can’t touch him. All of which does him no good if the football season is canceled. With no funding for things like uniforms and a cared-for playing field, with seemingly every other family moving to find jobs, there simply isn’t enough money or players for a season. Unless one kid can rally an entire town and give everyone a reason to believe. 4:30pm
Everyone’s favorite llama isn’t feeling well. Ah-choo! But we’ve got just the cure – a special visit from bestselling author/illustrator Anna Dewdney with her newest Llama Llama book – Llama Llama Home With Mama (Viking, $17.99) . Here fun-to-read rhymes are sure to help children and their parents get through those under-the-weather days. Uh-oh, Llama Llama’s nose is feeling tickly, his throat is feeling scratchy, and his head is feeling stuffy. Back to bed, no school today for Llama Llama! Instead, he’s home with Mama. By lunchtime, though, he’s beginning to feel a tiny bit better. But now someone else has the sneezes… Mama! And who will help her feel better? Why, Llama Llama, of course! 3:30pm
Suspended in a strangely modern-day version of limbo, the young man at the center of Russell Banks’ new novel must create a life for himself in the wake of incarceration. Known in his new identity only as the Kid, and on probation after doing time for a liaison with an underage girl, he is forbidden to live within 2,500 feet of children. With nowhere to go, the Kid takes up residence under a south Florida causeway, in a makeshift encampment with other convicted sex offenders. Enter the Professor, a man who has built his own life on secrets and lies. A university sociologist of enormous size and intellect, he finds in the Kid the perfect subject for his research on homelessness and recidivism among convicted sex offenders. A mature and masterful work of contemporary fiction from one of our most accomplished storytellers, Lost Memory of Skin (Ecco, $25.99) unfolds in language that is both powerful and beautifully lyrical and showcases Banks at his most compelling, his reckless sense of humor and intense empathy at full bore. 8pm
Mike George is a best selling author, spiritual teacher, management tutor and an inspirational speaker. Mike is one of the leading voices in the ‘awakening spirituality’ that is now happening in many parts of the world. He guides, coaches and facilitates the personal and executive development of people in communities and companies in over thirty countries. With a unique blend of wisdom, insight and humor, Mike brings together the three key strands of the 21st century: emotional intelligence, spiritual awareness and continuous ‘unlearning’. In The Seven Myths About Love… Actually! (O Books, $19.95) , he takes us on a journey to the very heart of our lives where love lives and has always lived. Along the way he dispels the myths about love, clearly defines and locates love, and reveals exactly why we are all so emotionally confused about love. 8pm
Note: This event is in Spanish. LETRA URBANA ENCUENTROS at Books & Books: Arte y Ecología, M Thereza Negreiros, presentación a cargo de Francine Birbragher y Adriana Herrera, curadoras y escritoras independientes. María Thereza Negreiros nació en Maués, Amazonas, Brasil, en 1930. Realizó sus estudios en la Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes de la Universidad de Brasil, en Río de Janeiro, donde conoció al arquitecto colombiano Ernesto Patiño Barney. Luego de contraer matrimonio, la pareja se radico en Cali, Colombia, donde María Thereza se distinguió como una de las principales figuras de la vanguardia artística en los años sesenta y setenta. Circunstancias personales la llevaron de regreso al Amazonas dónde residió por varios años. Sus experiencias en la selva la llevaron a cuestionar su papel como artista latinoamericana. Abandonó entonces su trabajo experimental y retomó la pintura al óleo para representar lo que denomina la Serie Amazónica, compuesta por lienzos de gran dimensión, impregnados con colores vivos representativos de la selva tropical vista desde una experiencia personal. A su regreso a Colombia a finales de los años setenta, María Thereza fue fuertemente criticada por abandonar la línea vanguardista y dedicarse a la pintura. Sin embargo, tres décadas después, esa misma obra repunta como pionera de un tema que actualmente cobra importancia y trasciende límites geográficos y culturales: Arte y Ecología. 6:30pm
Mara Dyer doesn’t believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is… She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love. She’s wrong. Follow Mara’s life in The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Simon & Schuster, $16.99) by debut YA author and South Florida native Michelle Hodkin. 8pm
Swami Chidananda is a senior disciple of Yogi Gupta, one of the great Yoga Masters from India. She has been studying, practicing and teaching the higher forms of Yoga for more than a decade in Florida and Massachusetts. In 108 Pearls of Wisdom ($14) she offers us a spiritual and motivational call for people to look inside their hearts where the truth is and tap the tremendous power of the inner source to fulfill their material and spiritual needs and ultimately the peace that passes all understanding. The author is presenting these universal truths in a highly appealing poetic form, which provides not only food for thought but also stirs the heart and soul of the reader. 8pm
Live Music in the Courtyard 7pm-midnight