Fundraiser luncheon will kick off Jewish book fair

The St. Paul JCC will kick off the 2010 Twin Cities Jewish Book Fair with a pre-event fundraiser luncheon featuring renowned cookbook author Joan Nathan. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, of American Public Media’s “The Splendid Table,” will interview Nathan 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19 at FACES on Mears Park, 380 Jackson St., St. Paul.

Nathan is the author of 10 cookbooks, including the forthcoming Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France (Knopf). Tickets for the luncheon are $45 for St. Paul JCC members (pre-sale for members only through Oct. 4) and $55 for the community (tickets on sale starting Oct. 5).

The book fair will begin with a keynote reception with Rabbi Harold Kushner 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 at the JCC, 1375 St. Paul Ave. Kushner will discuss his 12th book, Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World (Knopf).

Click “Keep Reading” for the rest of the book fair’s lineup (all events take place at the St. Paul JCC, unless otherwise noted).

• Gregory Levey, How to Make Peace in the Middle East in Six Months or Less Without Leaving Your Apartment, 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4.

• Yale Strom, Dave Tarras: The King of Klezmer, 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7.

• Lucy Rose Fischer, I’m New at Being Old, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9.

• Gal Beckerman, When They Come For Us We’ll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry, 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11.

• Daniel Levin, The Last Ember (2010 Community Reads Selection), 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13.

• Jennifer Gilmore, Something Red, 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 (Rimon Artist Salon, co-sponsored by Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council).

• Sue Fishkoff, Kosher Nation: Why More and More of America’s Food Answers to a Higher Authority, 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011.

For tickets and information, contact the JCC at: www.stpauljcc.org or 651-698-0751.