For more than five decades, Judy Collins has thrilled audiences worldwide with her superlative soprano and her unique blend of interpretative folksongs and contemporary themes. Enjoying a career full of accolades, including a Grammy Award and an Academy Award nomination, she continues to perform globally, and almost constantly, at age 70, while making time for social activism. She is also the author of several books, both fiction and nonfiction, and has recently
collaborated on a delightful and uplifting children’s book. Over the Rainbow (Peter Yarrow Books, $17.95) is an enchanting picture book and 3-song CD set, featuring Judy Collins’ version of the beloved song that Judy Garland made famous. Working on this project gave Collins “great pleasure.” She was named for Judy Garland four months before “Over the Rainbow” came out on the radio in 1939. Her parents adored the song and played it at home, over
and over, so it became little Judy’s favorite lullaby. Now, Collins admits that “Over the Rainbow” has followed her, “like a bluebird,” all her life and continues to make her feel “young and free and hopeful.” A self-described “dreamer” and a woman of rare grace, strength, and faith Collins visits us this afternoon to discuss the experience of working on a children’s book published by folksinging icon Peter Yarrow; her take on the message of “Over the Rainbow” for kids in the digital age; her work with UNICEF and other social causes for children; and her spiritual
devotion and enduring passion for music. A treat for the eyes, ears, and imagination, Over the Rainbow weaves a charming spell of music and visual imagery. Renowned painter Eric Puybaret's wonderful, colorful magical artwork transports children from a little red farmhouse on a stormy gray day to castles high in the clouds and a dream-come-true escape, complete with star beams, chuckling moons, and glorious rainbows that span pages. 1pm

More information to come...

Miami Architecture (Univ. of Florida, $29.95) grew out of the Miami Architecture Project, a community-based, nonprofit association that organized more than a dozen local forums to develop deeper appreciation of architecture and the role of architecture in community revitalization. Ideal for residents, professionals, vacationers, and day-trippers, this authoritative guidebook provides a broad, accessible architectural overview of the notable buildings that can be found in the core of downtown Miami, Miami Beach, and Coconut Grove. Randall C. Robinson Jr. is former executive director of the North Beach Development Council and coauthor of MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed. He works for the City of Fort Lauderdale Planning & Zoning Department. Allan T. Shulman is founding principal of Shulman + Associates and assistant professor of architecture at the University of Miami. He is editor and co-author of Miami Modern Metropolis: Paradise and Paradox in Midcentury Architecture and Planning. James F. Donnelly is chair of the City of Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board and a contributor to Tourist Nation. 8pm

Lin Arison invites readers on a journey through Umbria, in the company of Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony orchestra in Feast for the Senses (Chronicle, $40). Part memoir, part travelogue, this lushly illustrated volume features the sites, foods, crafts, and festivals that give Umbria its unique character. Included are three DVDs: the celebrated MTT on Music; a short documentary on the musicians in Umbria; and a filmed conversation between Thomas and architect Frank Gehry, designer of the orchestra's new Miami campus, opening in 2011. 8pm

Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned From My Emails ($11.99) is a delightful compilation of the best emails circulating on the internet over the course of the last ten years. This collection of funny jokes, heartfelt anecdotes of the human condition and interesting facts and trivia will have you laughing, crying and looking at things in a whole new way. For computers users and non-users alike, it is a must read account of the email phenomenon from Helene Layne, a Telly and regional Emmy Award-winning writer. 7:30pm

In her quest for the best of the Keys’ recipes, best-selling author and renowned media personality Linda Gassenheimer has traveled everywhere from waterfront beach shacks to resort dining rooms. Along the way, she has collected the stories of the men and women behind the recipes—the eccentric artists and writers, the local fishermen, and the bon vivants captured by the magical atmosphere of the Keys. Travel the Keys with The Flavor of the Florida Keys (Atlantic Monthly, $27.50) by your side, and discover its hidden treasures and its colorful history; keep a copy stove-side to bring the sunlight and spirit of the Keys to your dining table. It is hard to imagine more informed and entertaining dinner companions than Linda and the chefs and other local characters from the Keys that she will introduce to you. Preview Reception at 7pm: Taste several of the recipes from The Flavors of the Florida Keys as prepared by Chef Allen Susser, served along with a special Keys Sangria. Tickets for the reception with signed copy of the book - $40/Reception only - $20. For reservations, please email cristina@booksandbooks.com Reserved seating is available for preview launch reception guests. Book Launch Party at 8pm:
Enjoy Linda Gassenheimer’s tour of the food, sites and characters of the Florida Keys. Taste Keys samples by chefs from Hawks Kay Resort and Marina, along with Margaritaville’s Tropical Margarita’s. Entrance is free and open to the public.

Live Music in the Courtyard1

Meet Sara Rose, Kid Lawyer (AuthorHouse, $12.50) – America's newest super-hero, a tenacious fourth-grader girl who likes to argue. She argues with her parents, teachers, friends and little brother, Nory. One day, her teacher tells her that when she grows up she would make a great lawyer. Before too long, Sara Rose ends up finding herself involved in a real case representing her class in front of the school board. Along the way, Sara Rose learns what lawyers do, who the famous lawyers are in history and how to become a real lawyer when she does grow up. attorney Spencer Aronfeld’s Sara Rose, Kid Lawyer is an empowering and educational book that is fun to read for any kid thinking of a becoming a lawyer. 5:30pm

Organizational behavior and leadership research has traditionally been deeply influenced by positive psychology and appreciative inquiry. Yet, in recent times, a wave of corporate scandals and spectacular organizational failures has forced management and organizational theorists to rethink this approach. Unethical CEO behavior, white collar crime, property deviance, employee grievances and lawsuits, organizational terrorism, and workplace violence have all provided the impetus for an examination of the darker side of leadership. In Destructive Leaders and Dysfunctional Organizations (Cambridge University, $43.99) , Alan Goldman draws on his extensive experience as a management consultant and executive coach to provide a fascinating behind-closed-doors account of troubled leaders and the effect they have on their organizations. Featuring clinical case studies, ranging from the fashion industry to an aeronautical engineering corporation, the book explores the damaging effects of destructive leadership on organizations and provides the tools necessary for early recognition, assessment, and treatment. 8pm

Susan Jacoby, an unsparing chronicler of unreason in American culture, now offers an impassioned, tough-minded critique of the myth that a radically new old age—unmarred by physical or mental deterioration, financial problems, or intimate loneliness—awaits the huge baby boom generation. Combining historical, social, and economic analysis with personal experiences of love and loss, Jacoby turns a caustic eye not only on the modern fiction that old age can be “defied” but also on the sentimental image of a past in which Americans supposedly revered their elders. 
 
Never Say Die unmasks the fallacies promoted by twenty-first-century hucksters of longevity—including health gurus claiming that boomers can stay “forever young” if they only live right, self-promoting biomedical businessmen predicting that ninety may soon become the new fifty and that a “cure” for the “disease” of aging is just around the corner, and wishful thinkers asserting that older means wiser.
 
The author offers powerful evidence that America has always been a “youth culture” and that the plight of the neglected old dates from the early years of the republic. Today, as the oldest boomers turn sixty-five, it is imperative for them to distinguish between marketing hype and realistic hope about what lies ahead for the more than 70 million Americans who will be beyond the traditional retirement age by 2030. This wide-ranging reappraisal examines the explosion of Alzheimer’s cases, the uncertain economic future of aging boomers, the predicament of women who make up an overwhelming majority of the oldest—and poorest—old, and the illusion that we can control the way we age and die.
 
Jacoby raises the fundamental question of whether living longer is a good thing unless it means living better. Her book speaks to Americans, whatever their age, who draw courage and hope from facing reality instead of embracing that oldest of delusions, the fountain of youth.

Susan Jacoby is the author of nine books, most recently The Age of American Unreason, Alger Hiss and the Battle for History, and Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. She writes The Spirited Atheist blog for On Faith, a website sponsored by The Washington Post. She lives in New York City. For more information, visit www.susanjacoby.com.

WordSpeak –Tigertail’s award-winning 2010 WordSpeak teen team brings you the leading edge of new work in spoken word with this book launch event. These incredible teens spit poems that will rivet you to your seat. Book cover is designed by Chris Meesey. The teen book editor is Sandrina Seraphin. Join these outstanding teen poets for an evening of passionate performance. 8pm

Achy Obejas is the author of various books, including the award-winning novel Days of Awe and the best-selling poetry chapbook This Is What Happened in Our Other Life. She is the editor of Akashic's critically acclaimed crime-fiction anthology Havana Noir, and the translator (into Spanish) for Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Ena Lucía Portela’s One Hundred Bottles (University of Texas Press, $50) which is the subject of her talk this evening. "Full of imagination and narrative power, One Hundred Bottles is the most brilliant account of the Cuban crisis of the 90s that I know of. The bearded Moisés, at once pathetic and terrifying, inspires indignation and pity, and the cast of female characters is extremely memorable. Ena Lucía Portela is without doubt one of the best writers that Cuba has produced in recent years." –José Manuel Prieto, author of Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire and Rex. Junot Díaz, winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, describes Obejas’ gifts as a translator: “Brodsky once said that poetry is what's gained in translation but that poetry must be put there by a translator of the first order, by a word-alchemist of uncommon gifts and sensitivity, all of which Achy Obejas is.” 7pm

Martin Lemelman's elegiac and bittersweet graphic memoir Two Cents Plain collects the memories and artifacts of the author's childhood in Brooklyn. The son of Holocaust survivors, Lemelman grew up in the back of his family's candy store in Brownsville during the 1950s and '60s, as the neighborhood, and much of the city, moved into a period of deep decline. In Two Cents Plain (Bloomsbury, $26), Lemelman pieces together the fragments of his past in an effort to come toterms with a childhood that was marked by struggle both in and outside of the home. But his was not a childhood wholly without its pleasures. Lemelman's Brooklyn is also the nostalgic place of egg creams and comic books, malteds and novelty toys, where the voices of Brownsville's denizens—the deli man, the fish man, and the fruit man—all come to vivid life. Two Cents Plain is a wholly unique memoir and a reading experience not soon forgotten. 7:30pm

New Year’s Day Sale – Toast the 2011 with a little complementary bubbly and New Year cheer with your friends at Books & Books for our annual sale. Enjoy special savings throughout the Gables bookstore today (excluding special orders, books on hold and periodicals). 11am-6pm

Maureen Sherry's page-turning debut novel for middle-graders, Walls Within Walls (Katherine Tagen Books, $16.99), is filled with adventure, intrigue, and heart. After their father, a video-game inventor, strikes it rich, the Smithfork kids find they hate their new life. They move from their cozy Brooklyn neighborhood to a swanky apartment on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. They have no friends, a nanny who takes the place of their parents, and a school year looming ahead that promises to be miserable. And then, one day, Brid, CJ, and Patrick discover an astonishing secret about their apartment: The original owner, the deceased multimillionaire Mr. Post, long ago turned the apartment itself into a giant puzzle containing a mysterious book and hidden panels — a puzzle that, with some luck, courage, and brainpower, will lead to discovering the Post family fortune. Unraveling the mystery causes them to race through New York City — and to uncover some long-hidden secrets of the past. 4:30pm

Nick Santini would have made a good living as a medium if his manager wasn't a thief and he didn't operate in a world of endlesscorruption. With a TV show cancelled in murky circumstances, a crew member dead on his tour and the police and his past fast catching up with him, Santini is a man on the edge. The medium's job is to lie and lie well and
only Santini's talent can save him while his life steadily unravels. Neil Forsyth's Let Them Come Through is a darkly comic investigation of celebrity, illusion, and the lower strata of this world and the next.
 

Neil Forsyth was born in Scotland in 1978. After growing up in Dundee he worked in a number of jobs before a career in journalism that led to him discovering the Scottish fraudster Elliot Castro. Other People's Money tells the story of Castro's remarkable life. It was serialised in The Guardian newspaper, has been released so far in six countries and is being developed as a feature film. Forsyth has also written the critically acclaimed Bob Servant humour books and the novel Let Them Come Through.

"Not just a funny and perceptive insight into the world of the professional psychic, also hilariously on the ball in its depiction of the nether world of show-biz generally. I enjoyed it immensely" - Martin Kelner, The Guardian

Books & Books’ Florida Authors Series and the Village of Bal Harbour present a journey through Umbria and into delight: Lin Arison invites readers on a trip to Italy, in the company of Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony orchestra. Part memoir, part travelogue, Feast for the Senses (Chronicle, $40) features the sights, foods, crafts, and festivals that give Umbria its unique character. And tonight you’ll get to enjoy the sounds of their journey with a musical interlude by fellows of the New World Symphony. The book also includes three DVDs: the celebrated MTT on Music; a short documentary on the musicians in Umbria; and a filmed conversation between Thomas and architect Frank Gehry, designer of the orchestra's new Miami campus, opening in 2011. 7:30pm

Wendell Potter is the insurance industry's worst nightmare. In June 2009, he made national headlines with his scorching testimony before the Senate panel on health care reform. This former senior VP of CIGNA explained how health insurers make promises they have no intention of keeping, how they flout regulations designed to protect consumers, and how they skew political debate with multibillion-dollar PR campaigns designed to spread disinformation. Potter walked away from a six-figure salary and two decades as insurance executive. The last straw: when he visited a rural health clinic and saw hundreds of people standing in line in the rain to receive treatment in stalls built for livestock. In Deadly Spin (Bloomsbury, $26), Potter takes readers behind the scenes to show how a huge chunk of our absurd healthcare spending actually bankrolls a propaganda campaign and lobbying effort focused on protecting one thing: profits. Deadly Spin tells us why—and how—we must fight back. 8pm

Gene Stone, a bestselling health-savvy journalist, has investigated virtually every regimen, diagnostic test, therapy, and fad. He has done the research firsthand and met the people, so now we, too, can know The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick, (Workman, $23.95). Secrets tells the stories of 25 people who each possess a different secret of excellent health, and it explains the science and shows how we can all use these insights to better our lives. Meet Bill Thompson, an entrepreneur in his early sixties who has the EKG of a 20-year-old and hasn't had a cold in over two decades. Bill's secret? Every morning he dunks his head in a basin of warm water and hydrogen peroxide, a powerful natural germ killer that has the added benefit of making Bill feel as invigorated as a teenager when he comes up for air. After you meet these fascinating, healthy people, learn the science --with experts' conflicting opinions on if and how it really works --, and the nuts and bolts-how to bring each secret into your own life. Come for your health! 7:30pm

With Steak with Friends (Andrews McMeel, $35), celebrated chef and noted cookbook author Rick Tramonto personally invites readers into his home to share a dazzling array of 150 steak and seafood recipes with all the trimmings. In this cookbook, Rick places special emphasis on choosing and preparing steaks, and provides beef and temperature charts, drink recipes, and even suggestions for what music to play while you cook. These sophisticated yet simple-to-prepare recipes show home cooks how to reproduce the flavors and great steakhouse food from Rick's steak and seafood restaurants in the Chicago area. Steak with Friends is for anyone who loves grilling or cooking at home with friends and family. 8pm

Book Club New Year’s Party with Kim Edwards: Celebrate 2011 and 12 months of good reading ahead with the author of book clubbers’ beloved The Memory Keeper’s Daughter – Kim Edwards. With revelations that prove as captivating as the deceptions at the heart of her bestselling phenomenon The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Edwards now gives us the story of a woman's homecoming, a family secret, and the old house that holds the key to the true legacy of a family in The Lake of Dreams (Viking, $26.95). At a crossroads in her life, Lucy Jarrett returns home from Japan, only to find herself haunted by her father's unresolved death a decade ago. Late one night, as she paces the hallways of her family's rambling lakeside house, she discovers a collection of objects that first appear to be useless curiosities, but soon reveal a deeper and more complex family past. As Lucy explores the traces of her lineage --from an heirloom tapestry and dusty political tracts to a web of allusions depicted in stained-glass windows throughout upstate New York -- the family story she has always known is shattered. With surprises at every turn, brimming with vibrant detail, The Lake of Dreams is an arresting saga – one you’ll certainly want to add to your club’s selections this year. And we’ll have book suggestions, guides and even some FREE advance copies of other titles to her you and your club pick the best reading for the coming year. This is your chance to mingle with the books to read and the people who read them. 6:30pm

Live Music in the Courtyard: Sirens & Sealions, 7-11pm

Coral Gables Gallery Night: Elyse Littenberg – Living Series: “My landscape paintings focus on abstract aerial views of the earth. These mixed media artworks combine oil, acrylic, water colors, markers,glues, etc. on canvas, paper, glass and other mediums. The landscapes are also depicted in collages which include pieces from my mono-prints, paintings and found objects. These pieces are reassembled to depict aerial landscapes on paper, canvas and various mediums.” 7-10pm

"My abstract paintings focus on the topography of the land aerially.  There is an emphasis on the flat and raised two-dimensional picture plane.  The abstract landscapes are created by paintings, mono-prints and collage. They are faceted with color and depth.  The mixed medium artworks are combined with paint, strips, squares and organic forms borrowed from old mono-prints and paintings and reassembled to form the aerial landscape on paper and canvas.  These artworks are conceptualized as imaginary environments that can resemble reality. Recent artworks consist primarily of oil on canvas," says Littenberg.  

In the novel Chosen (Harper, $25.99), young caseworker Chloe Pinter becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of adoptive and birth parents, with devastating results: the Novas, well-off college sweethearts who suffered fertility problems but are now expecting their own baby; the McAdoos, a wealthy husband and desperate wife for whom adoption is a last chance; and Jason and Penny, an impoverished couple who have
nothing—except the baby everyone wants. When a child goes missing, dreams dissolve into nightmares, and everyone is forced to examine what he or she really wants and where it all went wrong. Told from alternating points of view, Chosen reveals the desperate nature of desire across social backgrounds and how far people will go to get the one thing they think will be the answer. Author Chandra Hoffman has been an orphanage relief worker in Romania, a horse trainer in the Caribbean, a short-order cook in a third world hospital, the director of a U.S. adoption program, and an event planner for Philadelphia's Main Line elite. 7pm

Bestselling health-savvy journalist Gene Stone has investigated, firsthand, virtually every form of regimen, diagnostic test, therapy, and fad, for The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick," (Workman, $23.95). This fascinating and original book of science tells the stories of 25 people who each possess a different secret of excellent health -- and shows how we can all use these insights to change our lives for the better.
Meet Dr. Robert Fulford, whom Andrew Weil considered one of the world's greatest healers, and who, even into his nineties, continued to see patients and was healthier than most people half his age. His secret: a daily set of stretching exercises that he claims stimulate the body's life force, a force too easily blunted by illness, trauma, and even bad breathing habits. Meet Barbara Pritzkat, a now 83-year-old archaeologist with incredible stamina and health, who attributes her well-being to a morning tonic of brewer's yeast. The stories make it personal; then comes the science, the authority (with experts' conflicting opinions on if and how it really works), and the nuts and bolts-how to bring each secret into your own life. From probiotics to veganism to a daily dose of garlic, from yoga to cold showers, it's an invaluable list: 25 secrets to health, and how to make each work for you. 8pm

Junior Orange Bowl Creative Writing Awards presentation. 10am

With personal stories paired with authoritative science – including  experts' conflicting opinions on if and how it really works -- The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick (Workman, $23.95) tells the stories of 25 people who each possess a different secret of excellent health and shows how we can all use these insights to change our lives for the better. Meet Barbara Pritzkat, a now 83-year-old archaeologist with incredible stamina and health, who attributes her well-being to a morning tonic of brewer's yeast-a treasure trove of B vitamins that's also protein-rich and a good source of selenium, copper, iron, zinc, and other minerals. and the nuts and bolts-how to bring each secret into your own life. Meet Bill Thompson, an entrepreneur in his early sixties who has the EKG of a 20-year-old and hasn't had a cold in over two decades Bill's secret? Every morning he dunks his head in a basin of warm water and hydrogen peroxide. Bestselling health-savvy journalist Gene Stone has investigated, firsthand, virtually every form of regimen, diagnostic test, therapy, and fad. From probiotics to veganism to a daily dose of garlic, from yoga to cold showers, it's an invaluable list: 25 secrets to health, and how to make each work for you. 7pm

His love affair became international headline news. Now, South Florida’s own Father Albert Cutié shares his explosive story in his own words. In his deeply personal and controversial memoir, Dilemma (Celebra, $23.95), Father Cutié tells about the devastating struggle between upholding his sacred promises as a Roman Catholic priest and falling in love. Already conflicted with growing ideological differences with the Church, Cutié was forced to abruptly change his life the day that he was photographed on the beach, embracing the woman who is now his wife. Once a poster boy of the Church, loved and admired by millions, Cutié found that he was not happy and able to live as a celibate priest, especially having to defend the number of positions he was no longer in agreement with. For years he kept his relationship a secret, while he soul-searched and prayed for answers. The love that he deemed a blessing was bringing him closer to God, but further from the Church. Cutié tells about breaking that promise, reigniting the very heated debate over mandatory celibacy for Catholic priests, beginning a new way of life and discovering a new way of serving God. 7pm

It is within America's technical and financial power to help end world hunger in our lifetime, if we set our hearts and minds to the task. Contrary to what many people believe, the world has made measurable advancements against hunger and poverty over the last several decades. But too often the binding constraint on further progress is a simple lack of political will. As a result, one of the most powerful ways to affect change is often the most neglected--political activism. In the powerful and hopeful book, Exodus from Hunger : We Are Called to Change the Politics of Hunger (Westminister John Knox Press, $14.95), David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and a leading anti-hunger activist, looks at the causes of hunger, presents case studies of countries that have made great strides against it, and puts a human face on the problem by sharing stories of people who are, quite simply, hungry every day. The problems can seem overwhelming but Beckmann lays out a clear and workable plan for effectively using political channels to make great progress. He not only challenges us to get involved, he shows us how. 4pm

As Professor of Medicine and Faculty Dean for Continuing Medical Education at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Sanjiy Chopra provides rigorously proven, evidence-based medical information to thousands of doctors from throughout the country and abroad. In DOCTOR CHOPRA SAYS: Medical Facts & Myths Everyone Should Know (Thomas Dunne, $26.99), he separates true medical news from media hype to reveal authoritative advice that everyone should know and follow.  Ranging from food and drink to drugs, vitamins and supplements to health risks, he counsels readers on virtually every major medical topic currently under debate. For example, he proposes that we drink a lot of coffee; take aspirin daily to prevent an host of serious diseases and always carry it so you're ready if “the big one” strikes; take vitamin D3 supplements daily but disregard virtually all other supplements; eat fish twice a week and not worry about mercury poisoning; vaccinate all children, which he argues is not a cause of autism; and regularly have a colonoscopy when you turn fifty. Also, he cautions women not to rely on self-breast examinations. 8pm

Fifty years and many changes have ensued since an international English language newspaper in Rome was founded by an enigmatic millionaire, and now, amid the stained carpeting and dingy office furniture, the staff’s personal dramas seem far more important than the daily headlines in The Imperfectionists (The Dial Press, $25). Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, Tom Rachman’s wry, vibrant debut follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language newspaper as they struggle to keep it—and themselves—afloat. Kathleen, the imperious editor in chief, is smarting from a betrayal in her open marriage; Arthur, the lazy obituary writer, is transformed by a personal tragedy; Abby, the embattled financial officer, discovers that her job cuts and her love life are intertwined in a most unexpected way. Out in the field, a veteran Paris freelancer goes to desperate lengths for his next byline, while the new Cairo stringer is mercilessly manipulated by an outrageous war correspondent with an outsize ego. And in the shadows is the isolated young publisher who pays more attention to his prized basset hound, Schopenhauer, than to the fate of his family’s quirky newspaper and the surprising truth about its founder’s intentions. Spirited, moving, and highly original, The Imperfectionists will establish Tom Rachman as one of our most perceptive, assured literary talents.  6pm

What is Jewish cooking in France? That is the question that has haunted Joan Nathan over the years and driven her to unearth the secrets of this hidden cuisine. Now she gives us the fruits of her quest in Quiches, Kugels and Couscous (Knopf, $39.95), a treasure trove of delectable kosher recipes and the often moving stories behind them, interlaced with the tumultuous two-thousand-year history of the Jewish presence in France. All across France she finds that Jewish cooking is more alive than ever. Traditional dishes are honored, yet many have acquired a French finesse and reflect regional differences. The influx of Jewish immigrants from North Africa following Algerian independence has brought exciting new flavors and techniques that have infiltrated contemporary French cooking, and the Sephardic influence is more pronounced throughout France today. Nathan translates these wonderful dishes – and so many more – for our home kitchens: try a Brioche for Rosh Hashanah; a baconless quiche Lorraine; Brisket with Ginger, Orange Peel, and Tomato; Southwestern Cassoulet with Duck and Lamb; Tongue with Capers and Cornichons; and Almondeguilles (Algerian meatballs); and a Hanukkah Apple Cake. 8pm

Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, Tom Rachman’s wry, vibrant debut -- -- The Imperfectionists (The Dial Press, $25) -- follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language newspaper as they struggle to keep it — and themselves — afloat. Kathleen, the imperious editor in chief, is smarting from a betrayal in her open marriage; Arthur, the lazy obituary writer, is transformed by a personal tragedy; Abby, the embattled financial officer, discovers that her job cuts and her love life are intertwined in a most unexpected way. Out in the field, a veteran Paris freelancer goes to desperate lengths for his next byline, while the new Cairo stringer is mercilessly manipulated. And in the shadows is the isolated young publisher who pays more attention to his prized basset hound, Schopenhauer, than to the fate of his family’s quirky newspaper. As the era of print news gives way to the Internet age and this imperfect crew stumbles toward an uncertain future, the paper’s rich history is revealed, including the surprising truth about its founder’s intentions. 8pm

 John Wilmerding, former Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Art and highly respected authority on American art, speaks about the exhibition Tom Wesselmann Draws. Free admission, however reservations are requested.  Call Holly Guiliano (954) 262-0241.

The curious story of the unlikely relationship between a champion boxer and a celebrated man of letters.  Gene Tunney, the world heavyweight-boxing champion from 1926 to 1928, seemed an unusual companion for George Bernard Shaw, but Shaw, a world-famous playwright, found the Irish-American athlete to be "among the very few for whom I have established a warm affection.” The Prizefighter and the Playwright (Firefly, $35) chronicles the legendary -- but rarely documented -- relationship that formed between this celebrated odd couple. From the beginning, it seemed a strange relationship, as Tunney was 40 years younger and the men could not have occupied more different worlds. Yet it is clear that these two famous men, comfortable on the world stage, longed for friendship when they were out of the celebrity spotlight. Full of surprises and revelations about Shaw and Tunney, this handsome book is also a fascinating look at their times. Author Jay R. Tunney is the son of the famous fighter, and his book is a beautifully woven and often surprising biography of the two men. 8pm