Are you keeping count?

Five authors and 2 months done, 11 more authors and 3 more months to go

By Gayle Dorio, Jewish Book Festival Chair

January has three authors at three events; one is a brunch! Two are on Zoom!

February has four authors at three events; two are in person, one is on Zoom!

By the way, Happy New Year! (The second one, of course!)

We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to present the 8th Jewish Book Festival sponsored by Jewish Federation of Greater Naples! With support from our sponsors, patrons and the public, it’s exciting to share 16 authors and their books! We hope you’ve enjoyed the authors and books thus far. We are extremely excited to “be together” — able to meet carefully in person and continue on Zoom!

There are so many interesting books, written by so many talented authors. How could one possibly choose which to read? I love finding cartoons about books, reading, etc. And what could be more interesting than some fun facts courtesy of Pinterest and the website digital.imprint.co.uk.

Here are 10 fun facts:

No. 1 – “Did you know, the fear of running out of something to read is called Abibliophobia? You really don’t have to worry about this fact. With all the different reading material in the world, it’s doubtful this is even possible.

No. 2 – The world’s smallest book is “Teeny Ted from Turnip Town.”

No. 3 – There are four law books bound in human skin at the Harvard University Library. This is a very interesting fact. Anthropometric bibliopegy is the term given to binding books in human skin. There are actually several books known to be bound in human skin. Interestingly, it was mainly doctors who bound these books. There are also several books bound in animal skin.

No. 4 – Fact has it that former American President Theodore Roosevelt read one book a day. An interesting fact, for sure. With today’s distractions, we would find it difficult to read this much. There are plenty of people that read a lot of books in a week but one a day is an achievement. The fact is, reading every day can reduce your stress levels and help with depression.

No. 5 – People say the longest sentence to ever be printed in literature belongs to Victor Hugo. The claim is that in Les Misérables there is a sentence that is 823 words long.

No. 6 – 1 in 5 adults around the world cannot read or write. This fact is a little sad. In the Western world, we take for granted our education system and sometimes forget about people in less privileged parts of the world.

This fact has led us to find out about School Aid, a charity providing sustainable literacy development for children and young people in Africa. If you have a few spare minutes, give their website a read.

No. 7 – Up to 50 books can be made from one tree.

No. 8 – The most expensive book in the world is “Codex Leicester” by Leonardo Da Vinci. It was purchased by Bill Gates for $30.8 million in 1914. When you add inflation, the book would cost $53.3 million. If Bill Gates was to sell this book today, we reckon the book would sell for a lot more.

No. 9 – In America, the most banned books are Harry Potter. The apparent reasons are because they promote witchcraft, they set bad examples and are too dark.

No. 10 – “The Holy Bible,” “Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung” and “Harry Potter” are the three mostread books in the world.”

And then there are the puns and jokes about books. Don’t get me started. Everyone knows I love comedy. I also love books and puns. “Book puns are not only good for a laugh or an eye roll. They’re great for libraries, for teachers and for other book lovers who want to find clever, catchy ways to draw attention to books and reading.”

Thanks to the internet! Here are a few worthy puns that may even elicit a groan or two. You decide:

• What do you call 2,000 mockingbirds? Two kilo mockingbird.

• Tequila Mockingbird

• Never read Fitzgerald? You Gatsby kidding me!

• “Never mind” – a passiveaggressive Raven.

• Why is John Milton a terrible guest at game night? Because when he’s around, there’s a pair of dice lost!

• Bronte? What a breath of fresh Eyre. • Forever Jung.

• Did you hear about the chemist who was reading a book about helium? He couldn’t put it down.

• What’s the best thing to read in the woods? Poe-tree!

• Why did the kid always sit in his wardrobe when reading a book? Narnia business!

• Have you read the book about hands? It’s a real page turner.

• What do planets like to read? Comet books!

And my favorite:

• Why did the Romanian stop reading for the night? To give his Bucharest.

Someone asked me recently if I enjoy spending about six months planning the Jewish Book Festival, then executing each event another fi ve months, from November to March? That’s practically a whole year! Yup! My answer was, “It’s a labor of love!” Clearly, when I hear from you about authors and events, that you enjoy what is being presented, it’s defi nitely worth it! I know the whole committee and the amazing Reneé Bialek agree with me. We are delighted to offer these events for you

On behalf of myself, all the members of the JBF Committee and Reneé Bialek, we hope to see you at all the events. Feel free to email us and let us know your thoughts. We hope you are enjoying the Jewish Book Festival!