Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Brad Meltzer to talk latest best-seller
The Diane & Barry Wilen Jewish Book Festival at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center continues this month with a local — and national — favorite, Brad Meltzer. Best-selling author Meltzer will discuss his latest thriller, “The House of Secrets,” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at the JCC, 5850 S. Pine Island Road, Davie. Tickets are $15 for members, $18 nonmembers. For information or tickets visit dpjcc.org/culturalarts or call 954-434-0499, ext. 336.
Mandel book festival
The Mandel Jewish Community Center continues its annual book festival with two events this month. The Mandel JCC is at 8500 Jog Road in Boynton Beach and at 5221 Hood Road in Palm Beach Gardens. For more information or to register for events, visit JCCOnline.com/bookfestival. Tickets for each event are $16 for Literary Society Author & Reader Levels; $20 for nonmembers.
Marisa Scheinfeld discusses her book “The Borscht Belt,” a series of essays and photographs of the abandoned sites where resorts, hotels and bungalow colonies once boomed in the Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York. The evening includes a dessert reception. The discussion begins at 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Boynton Beach JCC.
Josh Aronson discusses his book “The Orchestra of Exiles,” a biography of the violinist who founded the Palestine Symphony Orchestra and saved hundreds of people from Hitler. The book is based on Aronson’s documentary “Orchestra of Exiles.” The discussion begins at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Mandel JCC in Palm Beach Gardens.
Discussions
Palm Beach author Randy Rawls will moderate a panel of mystery writers who live in South Florida, including Charles Todd, Joanna Campbell Slan, Vicki Landis and Harriet Ottenheimer at 2 p.m. Dec. 10 at Murder on the Beach, 273 Pineapple Grove Way, Delray Beach, 561-279-7790. The panel is sponsored by the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America.
Back in the day, Miami — and South Florida in general — was the place for mobsters seeking a vacation. Of course, they also used that so-called rest to seek out profitable “business” opportunities. Avi Bash will discuss those days of mobsters’ involvement in South Florida and their impact on the area in his book “Organized Crime in Miami” at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 at Murder on the Beach.
A month in verse
While this month is filled with packed stores and family gatherings, the Palm Beach Poetry Festival has a couple of free events. The Bards of a Feather round robin poetry reading begins at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Green Cay Nature Preserve, Community Room, 12800 Hagen Ranch Road, Boynton Beach; bring up to four poems, original or not, to share with the group. Alzheimer’s Poetry Project featuring a holiday poetry reading and sing-along begins at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 14 at the Sunrise Assisted Living, Brighton Gardens, 6341 Via De Sonrisa Del Sur, Boca Raton. The Palm Beach Poetry Festival’s 13th annual festival kicks off Jan. 16-21 at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. More than 15 top poets will participate in workshops, readings, interviews and panels. For more information on the Palm Beach Poetry Festival 2017, visit palmbeachpoetryfestival.org.
Broward College speakers series
Now in its fourth year, the Broward College Speaker Series continues to bring in notable speakers. The series, which begins in January, will feature CNN political contributor and Republican strategist Ana Navarro; broadcast journalist Ted Koppel; and TEDx speaker and author Angela Duckworth. But don’t wait until January to get tickets, which are going fast. Individual tickets are $60 and can be purchased at BrowardCollegeSpeakerSeries.com.