Back in January 2021, when people were still isolating during the COVID epidemic, Shelley Nadel put together and produced a chicken pot pie cooking program on Zoom. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had a blast doing this cooking class,\u201d said Nadel.<\/p>\n
In her professional life, Nadel is a certified financial planner. \u201cOne acquaintance suggested, why not do a food and finance show? Everyone who heard the idea thought it was fantastic, although nobody knew what it entailed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust as a successful meal requires knowing what you want to cook and the ingredients you will need, financial success relies on understanding all your assets and how they function in tandem,\u201d explained Nadel.<\/p>\n
Out of that chicken pot pie video Nadel founded Food & Finance With Shelley. She also authored \u201cThe Wealth Recipe: A Culinary Guide to Financial Power.\u201d She will share the story behind her book at this year\u2019s Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival\u2019s Local Literati program on Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m., in the Kaplan Theatre at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC.<\/p>\n
Local Literati features presentations by Houston-based authors and followed by book signings. Program headliner this year is Adam Chandler, author of \u201c99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most financial industry presentations are boring, says Nadel. Financial planning is serious business, but performance charts are few people\u2019s idea of fun. \u201cIn my book, \u2018The Wealth Recipe,\u2019 we put financial advice in plain language that people can use. You get a cooking lesson along with financial information.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, one of my first videos was making Mac and Cheese. When you\u2019re making a cheese sauce, you\u2019ve got to pay attention to the sauce, constantly stirring it. It\u2019s the same concept with your 401(k).\u201d<\/p>\n
Local Literati is hosted by Gerald Blumenthal. He will present his seventh book, \u201cInside the Minds of Serial Killers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blumenthal believes the reason so many people are drawn to books, movies and television shows about serial killers is morbid curiosity. \u201cPeople love to see death in the security of their homes. Cable television keeps showing these shows about crime and criminals and people keep watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
In researching his book, Blumenthal found there are common warning signs that most potential serial killers display early in life. These include the killing or persecution of small animals, fire-starting, petty theft, bed-wetting and peeping tom-ism. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean if you wet your bed, you\u2019ll become a serial killer,\u201d cautions Blumenthal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
True accounts from Holocaust survivors serve as background for two Local Literati novels. Darlene P. Campos\u2019 \u201cThe Center of the Earth,\u201d aimed at middle-graders, tells the story of a daughter of an Ecuadorian diplomat who rescues her Jewish friend in Nazi Germany. Jeff Lefkowitz\u2019s \u201cFor Three Lines,\u201d aimed at high schoolers and adults, tells the story of Zionist youth groups that resisted the Nazis in Poland.<\/p>\n
Dr. David Sandberg takes readers inside the uncertainty that comes with being a pediatric neurosurgeon in his book, \u201cBrain and Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former President and CEO of Sakowitz Robert T. Sakowitz portrays 30 years of transformations in culture, fashion, business and Houston society in \u201cMore Than a Store.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laurie Bricker remembers the rich life of her grandmother, who was the last known survivor of the 1900 Galveston Storm, in \u201cMy Grandmother\u2019s Ring.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Local Literati offers our youngest readers a choice of illustrated picture books. Dottie Lee, author of \u201cThe Adventures of Frances Flamingo\u201d series, presents her latest, \u201cRainbows and Roller Skates.\u201d Joy Preble explores the feelings of dislocation kids experience when their family moves to a new city in \u201cLost and Found Hanukkah.\u201d The bonds between humans and dogs is the subject of Manizeh Mirza-Gruber\u2019s \u201cMama, I Will Send You a Purple Flower.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Family Promecene (Melanie, Chris and their son, Noah) create stories together as a family. In \u201cClaire & the Astronaut,\u201d a first-grader\u2019s life takes a new direction after meeting an astronaut at her school.<\/p>\n