Mark it on your calendars! Join us on October 30th at the Yale Club for our Annual Book and Author Luncheon! This year we will be welcoming three authors to talk to us about three of their books, in which they examine different facets and the resiliency of human nature.

A.O. Scott, a New York Times film critic and writer for the New York Times Magazine and Book Review, explores the necessity and instinct to criticize in his book Better Living Through Criticism. In this book Scott reveals the nature of and motivations behind criticism as well as the role it plays in creativity. Through humor and cutting insight Scott takes us on a ride through the human psyche.

Lesley Stahl, award-winning TV journalist and co-editor of 60 Minutes, explores the trials and joys of grandmotherhood in Becoming Grandma: The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting. Her book explores an incredibly personal journey that is sure to strike close to home for many of us. Through personal experience and interviews Stahl pinpoints the aspects of grandparents that are so transformative.

Min Jin Lee, prize-winning novelist and lawyer, takes us on a multi-generational ride in her novel Pachinko. In this book, through the story starting in Korea in the early 1900s, Lee paints a picture of human struggle, triumph, faith and identity as one family is swept along through the river of history. Through this saga, we see the grit and resiliency of mankind as we hold onto those important to us.

Help us welcome these authors in appreciation of their works while supporting Brandeis University. All proceeds from this event will go towards BNC. Invitations will be sent out soon and more details can be found in the Bulletin.

Come kick off the BNC year with us and bring a friend! Join us on September 6th for our “Brandeis and You” opening Membership Brunch. Reconnect with good friends and introduce the chapter to some new ones! Prospective members can come meet the chapter, learn about what we do for Brandeis University, learn about what programming we offer our members, and BNC’s history.

Our speaker for this brunch will be Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz about her book On the Chocolate Trail. In her book Prinz takes us around the globe examining the historically religious connections chocolate has to both Judaism and other religions. The book is an adventure through history, culture, countries, and beliefs, drawing from Prinz’s travels sure to enchant chocolate lovers from all walks of life.

Don’t forget to send in your reservation as soon as possible! More details can be found in the Bulletin.

University on Wheels with Professor Don Katz for March 31 in New York City

How does the Good Housekeeping test products? Come visit their labs, meet their experts, to learn how their engineers, chemists, textile professionals, and other scientists evaluate thousands of products each year, from vacuums to cosmetics to swimwear and more. Tour their test kitchens (where every Good Housekeeping recipe is triple tested), meet with their nutrition department to learn how they assess if a food lives up to its claims, and visit the famous Good Housekeeping dining room, which has been host to dozens of presidents, first ladies, celebrities, and other famous figures. After the tour, we will have lunch across the street at the organic Bareburger Restaurant.

March 10th- 11:15 am

Limited to 20 members at $46 per person

For more information, contact Linda M Schain, lmschain@gmail.com

Ruth Brayer, handwriting analyst, certified graphologist and forensic expert witness qualified by the Supreme Court of the State of New York, will speak to us about how handwriting reveals our personality traits. As a past president of the National Speakers Association (New York chapter) and a former Adjunct Professor at Hofstra University, she has many years of experience, and we look forward to a fascinating afternoon.

This event is limited to members only, and costs $30 per person. Please contact Phyllis Chasin at phylchasin@aol.com, for more information.

We will meet at the south end of the lobby at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. Join us in going behind the scenes for an exclusive look at what it takes to make operatic magic. Our tour includes visits to the scenic and carpentry shops, rehearsal rooms, costume and wig departments, dressing rooms and stage areas. The Metropolitan Opera House building is a work of art within itself, displaying costumes and photos throughout its hallways and filled with memorabilia of past performances.

Note: There will be long periods of standing, walking and stairs during this 75 minute tour. Totes and shopping bags will not be allowed on the tour, so please carry small handbags only. There are no checkroom facilities or restrooms available during the tour.

February 28th- 2:30 pm

For further information contact Maxine Schweitzer at mjrs141@gmail.com

$35 per person. Limited to 30 people

If you know anyone who may be interested in joining our chapter, bring them to our opening Membership Brunch! Come and eat delicious food with us, and get to know more about BNC’s vibrant history, the exciting events and the study groups we have planned! There are so many more to choose from this time.

We have a guest speaker: Susan L. Schulman, “True and Dishy Tales from a Theater Press Agent” As one of Broadway’s best press agent, Susan L. Schulman has worked with some of the theatre’s most talented and creative people — who sometimes behaved badly and often with astonishing grace – as they struggled to create theater magic. She turns the spotlight on what goes on behind the show curtain, sharing true tales of her life in the theater. Make your reservation now by sending your $25 check, payable to BNC, to Pat Glickman, 301 East 48th Street, #15F, New York 10017. For further information, call Pat 212-486-3976 or Francoise 212-787-0811

If your guest joins BNC by October 1st, 2016, you will be entitled to a FREE full year (8 sessions) of Study groups.

Join us at The Yale Club, The Grand Ballroom, 50 Vanderbilt Avenue on November 7th, 2016, for our annual Book and Author Luncheon!

Invitations will be sent out at the end of summer, and we have some exciting authors presenting their dynamic work!

Kati Marton is the author of True Believer: Stalin’s Last American Spy; Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist; Paris – A Love Story; The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World; Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History; Wallenberg; The Polk Conspiracy; A Death in Jerusalem; and An American Woman. She is an award-winning former NPR and ABC News correspondent and lives in New York City.

Letty Cottin Pogrebin, a Brandeis graduate, is an award-winning writer, lecturer, and founding editor of Ms. Magazine. She is the author of eleven books, including her most recent title Single Jewish Male Seeking Soul Mate, as well as How to Be a Friend to a Friend Who’s Sick and Deborah, Golda and Me. Her numerous articles have been published in The New York Times and the Washington Post, among other publications. Ms. Pogrebin is a leader in many social justice causes. She is on the board of Brandeis University’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program.

Michael Riedel is the theater columnist for The New York Post and co-host of Theater Talk on PBS. His book Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway won the 2015 Marfield Prize from the Arts Club of Washington. He appears regularly on the Imus in the Morning program, The Mark Simone Show, The Mike Gallagher Show, and Fox News’ Red Eye. Mr. Riedel lives in New York City. He is a graduate of Columbia University.

Stephen M. Silverman author of The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America is a twenty-year veteran of Time Inc. and was the first editor of People.com. His books include biographies of the filmmakers David Lean and Stanley Donen, and his work has appeared in Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times, The Times of London, Vogue, and The Washington Post. He lives in New York City.

All event proceeds will go to the BNC Scholarship Campaign, and we encourage everyone to attend!