BEST BETS
• Night with Nikki: Anyone who attended the poet Nikki Giovanni's last appearance at the Miami Book Fair International -- when she spoke passionately about her Tupac tattoo -- can tell you that Giovanni, who teaches English at Virginia Tech, is one of the most vibrant and entertaining speakers around. She returns to the fair Nov. 8 for ``An Evening with Nikki Giovanni.''• Literary Laughs:Judith Viorst, the funny, prolific children's author, returns to tell us all about Alexander and -- hurray! -- his Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days. Catch her Oct. 19 at the Alper JCC Jewish Book Festival.• The Other Side: Still mad about the 2000 election? Still want someone to blame? Ralph Nader, the author of The Seventeen Traditions, bravely faces the left-leaning Miami Book Fair International crowd Nov. 10.-- CONNIE OGLE
BOOK CALENDAR27th Annual Alper JCC Jewish Book Festival: Oct. 18-Nov. 13; Alper JCC at Jay Morton-Levinthal Campus, 11155 SW 112th Ave., Kendall. 305-271-9000, ext. 268 or alperjcc.org.• Michael Oren: Oct. 18.• Judith Viorst: Oct. 19.• Phil Rosenthal: Oct. 21.• Dalia Sofer: Oct. 23.• Leonard Getz: Oct. 24.• Ambassador Dennis Ross: Oct. 25.• Michael Bar-Zohar: Oct. 29.• Alana Newhouse: Oct. 30.• Judy Gold and Kate Moria Ryan: Nov. 1.• Ben Orbach: Nov. 13.Jewish Book Month: Oct. 22-Nov. 14; David Posnack Jewish Community Center, 5850 S. Pine Island Rd., Davie. 954-434-0499, ext. 336:• Phil Rosenthal: Oct. 22.• Martin Lemelman: Oct. 29.• Naomi Ragen: Nov. 1.• Sally Koslow: Nov. 5.• Mitchell G. Bard: Nov. 13.• Benjamin Orbach: Nov. 14.• Susie Fishbein: Dec. 17.Miami Book Fair International: Nov. 4-11; Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami. 305-237-3258 or miamibookfair.com.Pan African Bookfest: April; African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, and other Broward County Libraries. Venues TBA; 954-357-7348.With a presidential election looming next year, politics are on just about everyone's minds, and this year's Miami Book Fair International lineup reflects that preoccupation.
Politics usually play well at the fair: Last year's event with Barack Obama was the toughest ticket to get, and on closing night, Doro Bush Koch -- introduced by her brother Jeb -- entertained the crowd with warm memories of her father, George H.W. Bush.
This year, the fair offers another Bush appearance -- this time it's presidential daughter Jenna, with her book about a young woman living with HIV -- as well as appearances by Caroline Kennedy, Ralph Nader and a host of other authors writing on a variety of politically diverse subjects: Robert Draper on the Bush White House; Jeffrey Toobin on the Supreme Court; Paul Krugman on The Conscience of a Liberal.
But readers cannot exist on nonfiction alone, and the fair, which runs from Nov. 4-11 at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus, also will feature a swoonworthy array of novelists and poets, Blair Underwood (speaking of swooning) and, yes, Dave Barry, who gets his very own category. We're just not sure what it is. The full schedule isn't set yet, but for now we can look forward to a rare visit from Andrea Barrett, author of The Air We Breathe and myriad other breathtaking works; Ana Castillo, whose heartbreaking The Guardians touches on the human side of immigration; Richard Russo and his Bridge of Sighs. Can it possibly be as wonderful as Empire Falls? We'll see.
The big fair isn't the only game in town this fall, however: The Dave and Mary Alper Jewish Community Center in Miami and the David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie also host book fairs from October through November, with authors ranging from Martin Lemelmen (Mendel's Daughter: A Memoir) and Sally Koslow (Little Pink Slips) at the Posnack to Michael Oren (Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present) and Judith Viorst (Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific, Ninety Days) at the Alper to Phil Rosenthal, creator of TV's Everybody Loves Raymond, who appears at both.
So take a look at what's on your shelves, and start reading. It's never too early to get in the mood.
Connie Ogle is the Miami Herald's Books editor.
