Jewish Book Carnival discussion
What are you reading?
My Sisterhood book club is always look ing for good books to read. Here are some of our favorites:All Other Nights - Dara Horne
The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak
The Covenant - Naomi Regan
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes - Naomi Regan
Keeping Faith - Jodi Picoult
Sara's Key - Tatiana Rosnay
The Late Lamented Molly Marks - Sally Koslow
Our next book is Snow in August by Pete Hamell
I am personally reading Wapasha and the Rabbi by Dr Howard S. Shelden. It is a most interesting and thought provoking. I think this book would be a great book club discussion.
I have taken some of the suggestions from this forum to suggest to my group
I would love more suggestions for my group. I would also like to connect with other Jewish book clubs
I am a moderator of our so called " Jewish Book Club", called the 38th Ave. Diva Readers. We don't always read Jewish Books. I also have a blog that lists our books that we have read.I can re-cap a few books, was Butterfly's Daughter, The Help, All Other Nights by Dara Horn. We have read Sara's Key, and Away by Amy Bloom was another good one. There are a few good one's coming out. Oriental Wife, Mail Order Bride. But, I don't recommend them yet, but has been getting lots of buzz in the book world. You can go to my blog at http://susansliterarycafe.blogspot.com
I review Holocaust and Jewish-related books for The New York Journal of Books. In the past couple of years, I've read a wide varity of Jewish and Holocaust fiction and nonfiction, including:The Warsaw Anagrams by Richard Zimler
Anya's War by Andrea Alban
The Envoy by Alex Kershaw
The Defining Decade by Harold Troper
48 Hours of Kristallnacht by Mitchell Bard
The Long Walk by Ruth Treeson
My Three Lives by Philip Markowicz
Gretel's Story by Gretel Wachtel and Claudia Strachan
I am currently reading The Auslander by Paul Dowswell. That review will be posted in a week or two.
You can read all of these reviews and more here: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/revie...
Charles Weinblatt
Author, Jacob's Courage
http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com
Susan wrote: "I am a moderator of our so called " Jewish Book Club", called the 38th Ave. Diva Readers. We don't always read Jewish Books. I also have a blog that lists our books that we have read.I can re-cap ..."For "Mail Order Bride," do you mean Anna Solomon's "The Little Bride"? I've read it, and I'm happy to be hosting an interview with the author next month in my newsletter.
Yes, I do mean Mail Order Bride. We have actually touched base on facebook. I will be looking forward to reading your newsletter. Where is it? on your blog? Thanks for letting us know.
Susan wrote: "Yes, I do mean Mail Order Bride. We have actually touched base on facebook. I will be looking forward to reading your newsletter. Where is it? on your blog? Thanks for letting us know."Thanks, Susan. The newsletter is posted at http://www.erikadreifus.com/newsletter/current and the September issue should be up at the end of August.
Just finished The Periodic Table by Primo Levi.
I'm reading Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations. So far, I am wholly unimpressed. The information he presents might be interesting for a complete neophyte, but I find it incredibly boring. He also tends to simplify Jewish society and thought rather unforgivably in my opinion, for a scholastic historical work.
Kris, please tell us what you think about Primo Levi's "The Periodic Table."
Just recieved Advanced Reader copy of "The Dovekeepers"by Alice Hoffman.
I'm reading "The Morning Gift". Though not "Jewish" the main character is Jewish and it takes place during the beginning of WWII. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a book to get lost in. I'm having a lot of trouble putting it down.
Charles wrote: "Kris, please tell us what you think about Primo Levi's "The Periodic Table.""Charles, the writing was wonderful, but I found that the story dragged a bit. I enjoyed the parts about chemistry the most. You can tell that the author was really fired up when discussing his field (chemistry). But the autobiographical parts about life in the village and at university were just not that engaging.
I've read several books lately where the line-by-line writing is first class, but the storytelling is flabby. I hate to say it about any book by Primo Levi, but The Periodic Table falls into this class.
Kris wrote: "Just finished The Periodic Table by Primo Levi."A wonderful book!
Genia wrote: "I'm reading Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations. So far, I am wholly unimpressed. The information he presents might be interesting for a complete neophyte, but I fi..."Disappointed to hear this, as I've had this upstairs on a shelf waiting to be read when the time is right...
Paul wrote: "Genia wrote: "I'm reading Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations. So far, I am wholly unimpressed. The information he presents might be interesting for a complete neop..."I was disappointed as well, really. I was reading the book concurrently with a university course on Judea and Rome and it was just "okay, another self-evident page..."
Currently enjoying S Y Agnon's Only Yesterday. It's a truly fascinating read, not quite like anything I've ever read. Starting in Austro-Hungarian Galicia, we arrived soon to Second Aliyah period Jaffa before later going up to Jerusalem. It's an incredible window into this world of relatively early Zionist settlement through Agnon's eyes. As I'm going quite slowly and only halfway through I'm going to hold back from offering any other opinion on it yet.
"A Convenient Hatred," with foreword by Sir Harold Evans, chronicles the evolution of anti-Semitism from the time of Alexander through the Holocaust and modern Israel. This powerful treatise explores with exquisite detail the pernicious foundations of bigotry against Jews, from ancient times through the dark ages, the enlightenment and into contemporary examples. A Convenient Hatred illustrates the magnitude of anti-Jewish vitriol, loathing and detestation over the ages, leading to a unique and mendacious version of history that blames Jews for impossibly disparate and disconnected events and catastrophes.
Ms. Goldstein has produced a masterful exposition on the vulnerability of Jews throughout history, highlighting how malicious pagan and Christian leaders exploited the Jewish people. She also addresses the unending value of education within Jewish culture, a trait that has served them well for dozens of centuries.
"A Convenient Hatred" is a profoundly authoritative resource for educators. Its examples, stories, references, maps, pictures, and illustrations bring the history of the Jews to life in a powerful way not experienced since James Michener’s The Source, a work of fiction. With impeccable references and well-researched examples, Ms. Goldstein has created a tour de force.
Read my entire review at The New York Journal of Books: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/revie...
Charles S. Weinblatt
Author, Jacob's Courage
http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com
I am currently reading Collapse: How Societies choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond.
I am *finally* reading Jenna Blum's novel, THOSE WHO SAVE US. And I also just finished another book I waited too long to read: Joan Leegant's WHEREVER YOU GO. Both are really stellar reads.
Every now and again I feel I have to buy a Holocaust Book. Obviously not for the enjoyment, just to remember. So I downloaded Mark Smith's (only know him from this blog) Treblinka Survivor, and was immediately taken with the excellent way it's presented. It's the story of Hershl Sperling, a man who went through the hell of Treblinka and who survived, but actually didn't. Smith's prose is flowing, a real pleasure (have to say it) to read and his characterization is vivid. For those of you who also feel you need to remember, I highly recommend this book.
I'm also reading Betty Smith's (relation to Mark?) A tree grows in Brooklyn. There's that funny description of Jewish pregnant women being fatter than gentile pregnant women. And, you know, she's got something there. I met my niece in Jerusalem yesterday and she should be giving birth any day. She was such a skinny girl, and you should see her now. She looks like a Jewish female elephant. So there you have it, material for a doctorate - Why are Jewish pregnant women fatter?
Rod, I don't know about your interest in "Zaftig" females (and I will not go there), but I know that if you have an interest in Holocaust fiction, you should try "The Warsaw Anagrams" by Richard Zimler. OK, maybe it's not that epic Shoah love story, "Jacob's Courage." But it is a terrific "who done it" wrapped within a perfectly established veneer of the heartfelt horror that was the Holocaust. Let's move away from your concept of "fat Jewish women." Frankly, you have no empirical evidence that Jewish women are more obese (pregnant or not) than any other women. You could not base such a strange postulation on racial or genetic predisposition. After all, Judaism is a religion, which one can join or leave at will; it's not a race in which one has predestined genetic characteristics. Nazis played the “race” card and they were proven wrong. So, maybe we should put an end to this unproven concept of “fat Jewish women” and focus on Jewish literature.
With respect, Charles, I wasn't being racialist, only humorous. So was Betty Smith being humorous and not racialist.
I am belatedly posting a link to the interview with Anna Solomon about THE LITTLE BRIDE. You'll find it at http://www.erikadreifus.com/resources/interviews/about-the-little-bride-an-interview-with-anna-solomon/.More recently, The Jewish Journal published my review of THE HOUSE AT TYNEFORD, the second novel by British author Natasha Solomons. You'll fine that one at http://www.jewishjournal.com/books/article/a_jewish_housemaid_in_england_at_wartime_20120223/.
Something interesting. Like I said, I am reading Treblinkla Survivor, a very, to say the least, absorbing non-fiction book by Mark Smith. It was really a random choice, kind of there when I felt I had to read a holocaust book. Anyway, the story (true) revolves around a journal Hershl Sperling wrote immediately after the war. Sperling was 19 when he wrote about the atrocities of Treblinka. So there I am reading the 'engaging' story, and it is really only a story for someone reading it because it all happened generations ago, when suddenly I read how Mark found the journal. At first he went to a London library, but that didn't yield the journal. It was a mistake. So he started searching for it on the internet, and lo and behold, he finds it in a little book shop in Jerusalem that makes a point of buying and selling all sorts of antique, eccentric stuff, the older the better.
And that was when I felt linked to the book, a kind of a personal click, because the owner of that book shop was a friend and neighbor, Rabbi Jacob Shemarya. Jacob was originally from LA, and later was a comminuty rabbi in England. When he came to Israel - where there is no lack of rabbis - he opened an antique book shop. Jacob sent Mark the journal for $85, and the Treblinka horrific chronicles found new life with Mark weaving it's story, explaining who Hershl was.
Jacob Shemarya died a short time afterwards. Apparently he suffered from a congenital heart disease. I am sure he did many good deeds in his life, but I am also quite certain that he did not dream that he would one day be a vital link in the commemoration of the Holocaust.
One of our mitzvot is to remember what Amalek did to us, that in every generation there is a new Haman who rises to wipe us out. Jacob Shemarya and Mark have done just that.
Interesting how a forgotten journal comes to life, after decades, like it was lying on a dusty shelf just waiting for it's moment to spring back into life.
Rod wrote: "Something interesting. Like I said, I am reading Treblinkla Survivor, a very, to say the least, absorbing non-fiction book by Mark Smith. It was really a random choice, kind of there when I felt I ..."Wow. Fantastic story behind the story. Thanks so much for sharing this.
I just downloaded from Edelweiss I Am Forbidden. It is funny, this novel came out the same time Unorthodox did. The novel I am reading is takes place in the Satmar community in Europe. The girl being restricted because of her observant community. I believe Unorthodox is about the same thing but a memoir. So far, I am enjoying the story. Anyone else read this one or hear of it?
Have not read the novel Susan mentioned, but of course have heard quite a bit about UNORTHODOX.Meantime, have recently read and reviewed WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ANNE FRANK, Nathan Englander's latest story collection.
I am reading Survivors by Aliza Auerbach, in Hebrew. This is a book of hope. Mrs. Auerbach went around photographing and interviewing Holocaust survivors, and they plainly and simply recount the horrors they lived through. But the cherry is the photos of today, with their families. Apparently it will be out in English soon. A must read, and this isn't a promo. I don't know the woman.
So glad I can finally share this amazing read. I reviewed HHhH, by Laurent Binet (trans. Sam Taylor) for Jewish Book World, and the review is online now.
II hope Rod doesn't mind. I'm going reproduce here a message I just sent to him, regarding Rabbi Jacob Shmarya and my book, "Treblinka Survivor: The Life and Death of Hershl Sperling," because it might be of interest to followers of the thread.Hi Rod,
Thanks very much for your message and apologies for taking so long to get back to you. Yes, that is an extraordinary coincidence! Without Rabbi Jacob Shmarya, my book would never have been started. let alone written, because Hershl's own words were utterly central to the writing process and that shop in Jerusalem was the only place that had it. I am sorry to hear he passed away.
Best wishes, as always,
Mark
Just purchased "The Prime Ministers:An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership" by Yehuda Avner.
Mark wrote: "II hope Rod doesn't mind. I'm going reproduce here a message I just sent to him, regarding Rabbi Jacob Shmarya and my book, "Treblinka Survivor: The Life and Death of Hershl Sperling," because it m..."I really don't mind. Bye.
I am reading The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vsquez. It is about Colombia refugees from Germany during the 1930's and forward.
The world About You, by Joshua Henkin is a wonderful read. It is addicting, can't put it down, and don' t want it to end. I love Clarrissa and Lily. Wonderful character study. I was sent a galley, won't be released to middle of June. It is better thsn he's previous novel. Matrimony.
My book club just read The World to Come by Dara Horne. We were really disappointed it was not nearly as good at her All Other Nights.
Susan wrote: "I just downloaded from Edelweiss I Am Forbidden. It is funny, this novel came out the same time Unorthodox did. The novel I am reading is takes place in the Satmar community in Europe. The girl be..."I read "I am Forbidden" a good book. Have not read "Unorthodox" no desire to, have read "Unchosen" really that is all I need to read on that subject. People leave their faith, realign their faith, change faith, nothing new under the sun.
Susan wrote: "I have to say I am amazed how she was able to get into Sima's head and understand her feeling. Most young people under the age of 50 most likely would not understand this. Since menopause started f..."I loved this book. I believe there was a situation that happened in this book that not once was mentioned by name. Did anyone notice this?
Susan wrote: "The world About You, by Joshua Henkin is a wonderful read. It is addicting, can't put it down, and don' t want it to end. I love Clarrissa and Lily. Wonderful character study. I was sent a galley, ..."I've got a galley of that one, too, and I'm eager to read it, especially after reading Adam Kirsch's review in Tablet a few days ago.
Meantime, I've posted a few thoughts on My Machberet about a new ebook, The Liberal Case for Israel: Debunking Eight Crazy Lies About the Jewish State.
And the new Josh Henkin novel may have to wait until I've read Francesca Segal's The Innocents. I managed to get a signed galley at Book Expo America this week, and I was able to chat briefly with the author at a local bookstore event, too. I've been anticipating this book for awhile, so it's likely going to the top of the TBR pile.
Just starting Dovekeeper by Alice Hoffman, unfortunately I don't know anything about Masada, only the five books of Moses. I will have to research about the falling of the second temple and Masada. Anyone know a accurate place to look on the web?
Check out myjewishlearning.com or the jewish virtual library
I'm reading Rise by Yosef Gottlieb. And I'm also reading One God Clapping by Alan Lew. Among other things!!
Just finished THE INNOCENTS, by Francesca Segal. Loved it. Posted some thoughts (and resonant lines) on my blog.
Just finished reading Shani Boianjiu's THE PEOPLE OF FOREVER ARE NOT AFRAID. Anyone else read it yet? (It's not out until September--I read it via NetGalley.)
I read it, Erika. I'd be curious to know what you thought.
Ellen wrote: "I read it, Erika. I'd be curious to know what you thought."Ditto, Elli. I'd like to know what you thought, too.
Here's what I wrote elsewhere on Goodreads:
"Read complimentary advance edition provided via NetGalley. For most of the book I was captivated--which is not to say that the various episodes and details didn't evoke some unpleasant feelings. But as difficult as some of the material is, I was able to accept/process it. But I'm still trying to figure out one section, near the end, that involves all three main characters. Read it twice, but still can't wrap my head around it. Will appreciate the chance to read others' views/discuss."
I'm also wondering if it's really a book of linked stories rather than a novel. I know that novels typically "sell" better than stories, but going into this book expecting a novel and finding what really seemed to me to be linked stories required some mental recalibrations ("reading as a writer," anyway). What did you think?
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Link: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/revie...