2020 Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival offers 25 authors over 20 days

WRITTEN WORD PREVIEW

2020 Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival books

I've increased my reading tenfold since the beginning of the pandemic.

Of course, most of that reading is doom scrolling on Twitter, but nevertheless, words were seen by my eyes.

But my desire to consume books hasn't waned even if my attention span has, and the 2020 Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival (AAJBF) has provided a host of authors and titles to add to my unconquerable to-read list.

From December 2 to 22, the AAJBF will present 25 authors discussing 22 books, which is a lot more than usual for this 33-year-old festival. If there's any benefit to the whole world being on lockdown and Zoom calls becoming a part of our collective DNAs, it means festivals like this and others are able to schedule more authors (or performers, etc.) because they don't have to travel to the events in person. While the arts and culture side of the AAJBF will be muted this year because of the pandemic, there's now an increased chance to engage with a wide range of authors writing about Jewish subjects or that have Jewish connections—and most of the talks are free of charge.

Here's the calendar for the 2020 Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival; click on the authors' names for event links on the AAJBF website:

December 2 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
HOWARD BLUM
Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler’s Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin

December 3 @ 1:30 pm
DAN PERES
As Needed for Pain: A memoire of addiction

December 3 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
JASON ROSENTHAL
My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me: A Memoir

December 4 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
JONATHAN KAUFMAN
The Last King of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China

December 5 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
TOVAH FELDSHUH
Lilyville: Mother, Daughter, and Other Roles I’ve Played

December 7 @ 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
DANIELLE RENOV
Peas Love & Carrots: The Cookbook

December 8 @ 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM
RAFFI BERG
Red Sea Spies: True Story of the Mossad’s Fake Diving Resort

December 9 @ 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
MAURICE SAMUELS
The Betrayal of the Duchess: The Scandal That Unmade the Bourbon Monarchy and Made France Modern

December 10 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
ANDREI MARKOVITS AND KENNETH GARNER (LOCAL AUTHORS NIGHT)
The Boundaries of Pluralism: The World of the University of Michigan’s Jewish Students from 1897 – 1945 

December 12 @ 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
STEFANIE LEIBOVITZ, LIEL BUTNICK, AND MARK OPPENHEIMER
The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar’s and Everything in Between

December 13 @ 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
MIRIAM UDEL
Honey on the Page: A Treasure of Yiddish Children’s Literature

December 13 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
DAVID SCHOENBAUM
The Lives of Isaac Stern

December 14 @ 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
MYLA GOLDBERG
Feast Your Eyes: A Novel 

December 14 @ 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
ESHKOL NEVO
The Last Interview: A Novel

December 15 @ 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
DAVID HOPEN
The Orchard

December 15 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
SARAH STEIN
Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century

December 16 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
STEVEN LEVY
Facebook: The Inside Story

December 17 @ 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
ESTHER SAFRAN FOER
I Want You To Know We’re Still Here: A Post-Holocaust Memoir

December 17 @ 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
JONATHAN SARNA
Cosella Wayne: Or, Will and Destiny

December 21 @ 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
CLEO STILLER
Modern Manhood: Conversations About the Complicated World of Being a Good Man Today

December 21 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
ANDREW BLAUNER
The Peanut Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life

December 22 @ 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
URI ADONI
The Unstoppable Startup: Mastering Israel’s Secret Rules of Chutzpah


Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.