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The Smartest Woman I Know
Ilene Beckerman’s first book “illuminates the experience of an entire generation of women,” wrote the New York Times Book Review in a full page of praise for Love, Loss, and What I Wore . It became a bestseller and inspired the hit Off-Broadway play by the same name. Now, Gingy returns with her fifth illustrated treasure, The Smartest Woman I Know ―a tribute to the insightful woman who raised her.
It’s been said there’s nobody as smart as an old woman. That’s Gingy’s grandmother, Ettie, though she had no more than a third-grade education. She dispensed unforgettable wisdom to Gingy and her sister, Tootsie, as well as to the customers at her and (her husband) Mr. Goldberg’s stationery and magazine store, where customers ranged from Irish nannies to Sara Delano Roosevelt to Marlene Dietrich. Clever about life and love, food and men, Ettie had advice for everyone, and it didn’t hurt that she got some of her best ideas from talking things over with God, out loud.
Known for bringing wit and emotion to issues that concern women, depth and poignancy to subjects as seemingly trivial as clothes, beauty, and bridesmaids, Gingy now magically brings the irrepressible Ettie Goldberg to life.
It’s been said there’s nobody as smart as an old woman. That’s Gingy’s grandmother, Ettie, though she had no more than a third-grade education. She dispensed unforgettable wisdom to Gingy and her sister, Tootsie, as well as to the customers at her and (her husband) Mr. Goldberg’s stationery and magazine store, where customers ranged from Irish nannies to Sara Delano Roosevelt to Marlene Dietrich. Clever about life and love, food and men, Ettie had advice for everyone, and it didn’t hurt that she got some of her best ideas from talking things over with God, out loud.
Known for bringing wit and emotion to issues that concern women, depth and poignancy to subjects as seemingly trivial as clothes, beauty, and bridesmaids, Gingy now magically brings the irrepressible Ettie Goldberg to life.
- GenresNonfictionMemoirHumor
103 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2011
4 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 25, 2018
Charming little book, nice quick read. She tells truths, she shares wisdom, she induces smiles, chuckles, and even laughter. A sweet respite from the same old or same scary or same boring stuff. Thank you!
June 30, 2017
The author writes about her Jewish grandmother, who is very funny. She is someone you wish you could have known. A short book at a little over 100 pages.
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June 17, 2020Lovely story about Beckerman’s grandma and her growing up.
January 15, 2024
A fun book and quick read. I enjoyed reading it cover to cover but the short chapters would make it a good bathroom book too.
March 1, 2012
A darling read. Ms Beckerman's grandmother, Ettie, is a hoot! I probably missed a bit of the inside jokes not being Jewish but in general Ettie was a grandmother you certainly will find interesting. This book is filled with Ettie's cute adventures and wisdom about love and life that the author recalled while she lived with Ettie since she was twelve years old. Also included was Ettie's brief history ..Russia, New Orleans, then New York --the setting for this book starting in the late 1940s. Four main characters here are Ettie, Mr. Goldberg (Ettie's husband), Tootsie (author's older sister) and Gingy (the author).
Check out a few excerpts:
"A husband is like buying new shoes. You might see something you fall in love with right away, but if it's not a good fit, it will never make you happy."
"You got a minute, God? I'm not really complaining but it says in the Talmud that a man has 613 mitzvahs to do but a woman only has 3. So how come i am busy from the minute I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night, and Mr. Goldberg (her husband), who has 613 mitzvahs to do, has enough time to go upstairs at four o'clock every afternoon and take a nap?"
"Everyone needs to believe in something. I have always been able to count on my faith in the power of Vaseline, chicken soup, and the Talmud"
"So you listening, God? Boils, blood, lice, wild beasts, pestilence, hail, locusts, darkness, slaying the firstborn --that's nothing compared to what I go through in a week with Mr. Goldberg."
But Mr. Goldberg could be fun too, check this out --"Oy, oy, oy. It hurts. I can't breathe. I'll have to wash the and iron the sheets again."
And my favorite --"So I'll give you some free advice how to lose weight. Don't eat so much."
Simply a light, funny, and miss-your-grandma kind of read.
Jinky is Reading
Check out a few excerpts:
"A husband is like buying new shoes. You might see something you fall in love with right away, but if it's not a good fit, it will never make you happy."
"You got a minute, God? I'm not really complaining but it says in the Talmud that a man has 613 mitzvahs to do but a woman only has 3. So how come i am busy from the minute I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night, and Mr. Goldberg (her husband), who has 613 mitzvahs to do, has enough time to go upstairs at four o'clock every afternoon and take a nap?"
"Everyone needs to believe in something. I have always been able to count on my faith in the power of Vaseline, chicken soup, and the Talmud"
"So you listening, God? Boils, blood, lice, wild beasts, pestilence, hail, locusts, darkness, slaying the firstborn --that's nothing compared to what I go through in a week with Mr. Goldberg."
But Mr. Goldberg could be fun too, check this out --"Oy, oy, oy. It hurts. I can't breathe. I'll have to wash the and iron the sheets again."
And my favorite --"So I'll give you some free advice how to lose weight. Don't eat so much."
Simply a light, funny, and miss-your-grandma kind of read.
Jinky is Reading
September 3, 2011
I really wasn't sure what to expect with this one, and when I heard it was coming to me was a little hesitant to give it a try. But it wound up being a really pleasant surprise and I'm glad I gave it a chance.
While I haven't actually read it, I would imagine this book is a lot like Sh*t My Dad Says except from a Jewish grandmother. The book is filled with all types of insights and knowledge from the author's grandmother, Ettie, that sure learned while her grandparents raised her in New York in the 1940s and 50s. Wisdom like while talking about "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, "Irving Berlin, a Jew wrote that song. So would it have been so terrible if he'd dreamed about a white Hanuka, instead?"
Next to all the insights are cute little doodles or pictures that help the illustrate and hit home the point. For example, when we hear the story of how Ettie knew Sara Delano Roosevelt, there's pictures of each women each on top of a doodle of a folding chair.
Overall it's a quick and entertaining book. (It probably took me about an hour to read the hundred pages.) It feels a little bit like spending time with a treasured Jewish grandmother, and I think this has the potential to be a great gift.
Disclosure: I was provided this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own.
While I haven't actually read it, I would imagine this book is a lot like Sh*t My Dad Says except from a Jewish grandmother. The book is filled with all types of insights and knowledge from the author's grandmother, Ettie, that sure learned while her grandparents raised her in New York in the 1940s and 50s. Wisdom like while talking about "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, "Irving Berlin, a Jew wrote that song. So would it have been so terrible if he'd dreamed about a white Hanuka, instead?"
Next to all the insights are cute little doodles or pictures that help the illustrate and hit home the point. For example, when we hear the story of how Ettie knew Sara Delano Roosevelt, there's pictures of each women each on top of a doodle of a folding chair.
Overall it's a quick and entertaining book. (It probably took me about an hour to read the hundred pages.) It feels a little bit like spending time with a treasured Jewish grandmother, and I think this has the potential to be a great gift.
Disclosure: I was provided this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own.
August 17, 2011
Ilene Beckerman has again captured the essence of life with her latest offering, The Smartest Woman I Know. In this charmingly illustrated book, Ms. Beckerman delves into a generation long past through the descriptions of the woman who raised her. This Jewish grandmother speaks in platitudes without admonishing and gives advice tempered with love. Holding conversations with God as though He were in the room with her, Ettie is confident in dispensing her ideals as though they came from God Himself. This compact volume is packed with the humor, pathos, comfort, and guidance that Ettie showered on all those around her. Reading this memoir is like putting on a sweater when you feel chilly: you will immediately feel better. So read it, already, and give a copy to all your friends. I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads.
August 23, 2011
Short and sweet, The Smartest Woman I Know is an ode to the author's Grandmother, Ettie. The book is full of anecdotes and quotes from the woman. I liked experiencing situations I yet haven't, like what life was like in Manhattan in the 1940s and about living as a Jew in that time. It also made me wish that I had a really awesome grandmother like Ettie.
While it's perfectly fine for a book to be this short, it's important that ideas are fleshed out and substantial. Frankly, after reading this, I felt I only barely scratched the surface of who Ettie was and the author's relationship wither. Also, the writing was a tad too disjointed for my taste.
[I received this book in a GoodReads First Reads giveaway.]
While it's perfectly fine for a book to be this short, it's important that ideas are fleshed out and substantial. Frankly, after reading this, I felt I only barely scratched the surface of who Ettie was and the author's relationship wither. Also, the writing was a tad too disjointed for my taste.
[I received this book in a GoodReads First Reads giveaway.]
April 2, 2012
Five stars: a delightful book worth dipping back into.
Thank goodness for the editor who first decided to publish Ilene Beckerman, with Love, Loss, and What I Wore. (The book, not the off-Broadway play, which is based on that book.) Beckerman's books are short, quirkily illustrated, and simply honest. The Smartest Woman I Know is about her grandmother, who raised her during much of her childhood. She's collected memories of Ettie Goldberg and her words of wisdom (or, sometimes, "wisdom") to create a humble, loving portrait of the kind of woman who made us, or our parents, or our parents' parents, who we are, but who (like most of us) is destined to be forgotten by history. This book is a reminder to remember, and honor that memory with a smile.
Thank goodness for the editor who first decided to publish Ilene Beckerman, with Love, Loss, and What I Wore. (The book, not the off-Broadway play, which is based on that book.) Beckerman's books are short, quirkily illustrated, and simply honest. The Smartest Woman I Know is about her grandmother, who raised her during much of her childhood. She's collected memories of Ettie Goldberg and her words of wisdom (or, sometimes, "wisdom") to create a humble, loving portrait of the kind of woman who made us, or our parents, or our parents' parents, who we are, but who (like most of us) is destined to be forgotten by history. This book is a reminder to remember, and honor that memory with a smile.
September 17, 2011
If I were ever going to write a book about my beloved Jewish Grandma, I believe it would read a lot like this gem by Ilene Beckerman. Short and sweet, but bursting at the seams with the wisdom and humor only a granddaughter can truly appreciate, "The Smartest Woman I Know," is a love letter to that wise old soul, (that we should all be so fortunate to know)...Grandma.
August 18, 2011
I won this book in the goodreads giveaways.
I quite enjoyed this book. I loved hearing about this family's stories and how their family sayings and events shaped their lives. Ettie sounds like a wonderful woman, full of spunk and a bit of an attitude ;)
What a wonderful tribute to a grandmother!
I quite enjoyed this book. I loved hearing about this family's stories and how their family sayings and events shaped their lives. Ettie sounds like a wonderful woman, full of spunk and a bit of an attitude ;)
What a wonderful tribute to a grandmother!
August 23, 2011
this book was short and sweet. I love the wittiness. Just a good memoir, made me think of my grandmother, all of the things she taught me, the things she used to like, and the things she kept in her purse. I miss my nana so much, and this cute little book allows you to peak into Ms. Berckerman's life and see what her grandma was like.
June 12, 2016
We should all be so lucky as to have a grandma like Ettie Goldberg, a shopkeeper on the Upper East Side, by way of Russia and New Orleans, who was about as down-to-earth as you can get. She handed out advice on everything from marriage to weight control and frequently argued out loud with God. Great, quick read.
August 21, 2011
This is a very cute little book. Was very easy reading and to the point. Had a smile on my face the entire time between the funny quotes and illustrations. I will be passing it along for my coworkers to read.
November 1, 2011
The author was raised by her Jewish grandparents in NYC. Though she didn't appreciate her grandmother's wisdom in her youth, she has grown to appreciate her over the years and shares some of her best words of wisdom here. Enjoyable wisp of a book.
August 20, 2011
Like the author I also lived with my grandmother for six years. We are not Jewish but the similarties between Ettie and my grandma Edna is uncanny. Thank you so much for this book. It is wonderful.
August 24, 2011
Its a fantastic book. I love the story about Marlene Dietrich. I would have love to have met her. I wouldnt have miss took her for the Star she was!
August 23, 2011
Cute little funny book. a lot of the things you will remember your Grandmother or other older relatives saying. It made me laugh and remember those days when I was young.
April 18, 2012
"So I'll give you some free advice how to lose weight. Don't eat so much" from the author's grandma Ettie Goldberg. Priceless.
November 2, 2014
This book doesn't tell much of a story in the traditional sense, but it tells you all about Beckerman's Jewish grandmother. A quick, funny read.
February 7, 2013
super cute
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews