Jewish Book Carnival discussion
What are you reading?
message 351:
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Susan
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Jan 26, 2015 04:31PM
In addition to other things not specifically Jewish, I just started reading Goodreads author Rabbi Steven Schwarzman's book, Shma Koleinu. My apologies if I misspelled his name ; book not at hand at the moment.
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FYI I have never been a fan of Anita Diamante. I don't think she's a very good writer. I didn't like The Red Tent - thought it was overblown and far fetched, midrash or not - and I know I'm overwhelmingly in the minority there, so I have no plans to read her latest. And, yes, I realize that comment is off the topic...
Susan wrote: "In addition to other things not specifically Jewish, I just started reading Goodreads author Rabbi Steven Schwarzman's book, Shma Koleinu. My apologies if I misspelled his name ; book not at hand a..."Thanks, Susan - and name spelled 100% correctly! :)
Susan wrote: "I finished Enchantress by Maggie Anton. It is the continuation of Rav Hisda's Daughter. We picked Enchantress for our Jewish community read this year, 2015. We are excited that author, Maggie Anton..."Susan, I loved both books in that series, especially Enchantress. I liked the first book in the Rashi's Daughters series.
I also recently read Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzah Ball of Death (as an ARC from NetGalley, but it's now published. It is hilarious. And I read another book via NetGalley called The Sweetness, which I don't believe is available yet, about two related Jewish families, one who fled Eastern Europe when they could and one who didn't, and their parallel stories during and after World War II. I will post a review. on Goodreads soon.
I am currently reading "An Officer and A Spy" by Robert Harris.
It is historical fiction about a French intelligence officer and his connection to the Alfred Dreyfus affair. The story is compelling.
There are some great recommendations in this thread. I read a ton of Holocaust and WW2 literature. I'll be happy to discuss if someone is interested in the subject. One unrelated novel I've recently enjoyed is The Debt of Tamar by Nicole Dweck. The novel ties several crucial periods in the Jewish history into an interesting narrative of love and betrayal.
I just finished Tuvia Tenenbom's Catch the Jew. I'm on mobile so I can't link or format properly but I LOVED this book, loved it even though I didn't always love the author himself. It's a nonfiction account of the author's experience exploring many different facets of Israeli and Palestinian society. It's funny, depressing, enlightening, and while I won't say it's entirely unbiased (if anything he calls out everyone on every side) it certainly is a very unique book in that sense and in my opinion, a very important read. Definitely one I'm sharing with friends. Highly recommend checking it out. It was a best seller in Israel. I think the book I'm starting next is Naomi Ragen's The Devil in Jerusalem.
Just finished reading Phillip Roth's "Counterlife." Not one of my favorites of his. But even Roth's misfires are far more interesting than a lesser author's best-sellers. Don't know what to read next. I like biographies, memoirs and historical fiction. I'm open to suggestions.
Have you read Rachel Hall's new collection of linked stories, HEIRLOOMS, about a Jewish family from Europe to Israel to the U.S. Midwest? It's wonderful....
Iris wrote: "Just finished reading Phillip Roth's "Counterlife." Not one of my favorites of his. But even Roth's misfires are far more interesting than a lesser author's best-sellers. Don't know what to read ne..."I've recently read some WWII memoirs that are largely unknown but well written and compelling. I can send you the list of my favorites if you're interested.
I recently read a book by Helen Maryles Shankman called In the Land of Armadillos. It's a beautifully written collection of interconnected stories.
I loved In the Land of Armadillos: Stories, and that's saying a lot since I usually avoid Holocaust/WWII novels.Read my Goodreads review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have to read In the Land of Armadillos. I keep hearing good things about it. Here is the list of less known WWII memoirs that are under appreciated IMO:
Not a memoir but an account of homeless Jewish children in WWII Warsaw.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Another well written account of the Polish Holocaust. David Gilbert went through Warsaw ghetto, hiding on the Aryan side, and finally Bergen Belsen.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Interviews with French children whose fathers died in the Holocaust. Raw and emotional.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
This one and the second book of children's account of WWII. I read it in Russian, but I hope that English translation is as good. I can see why Alexievich got the Nobel Prize.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
The Wehrmacht soldier's memoir. Well written and poetic, in total contrast with the subject matter.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Enjoy!
Maggie wrote: "I loved In the Land of Armadillos: Stories, and that's saying a lot since I usually avoid Holocaust/WWII novels.Read my Goodreads review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1..."
Read my review of this book at The New York Journal of Books, here: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-...
Sharon wrote: "I recently read a book by Helen Maryles Shankman called In the Land of Armadillos. It's a beautifully written collection of interconnected stories."I also enjoyed In the Land of Armadillos: Stories and concur with Charles' review.
Leora wrote: "Hereville is fantastic...look forward to more graphic novels from that author.Susan, glad you liked Seven Blessings by Ruchama King. I loved the book, too, and Ruchama is a friend of mine.
I'm r..."
I read that and loved it. I'm still trying to get my book club to read it. I know they would love it.
I am slowly, but surely, reading the new edition of The New Joys of Yiddish: Completely Updated. I bought this one because my original was falling apart from overuse, and to my delight, I like it better. Leo Rosten's sometimes misogynist and anti-Reform comments--notes by new editor Lawrence Bush put these in perspective-- had become a bit dated and frankly, offensive. This new 8x11 version is also a lot easier to read than the original pocket-sized paperback.
I have a copy of the original hardcover In the Land of Armadillos: Stories but simply have not yet gotten to it. All of this enthusiasm makes me feel even more guilty! Meantime, I recently read (and highly, highly recommend) Adam Kirsch's newest book, The People and the Books: 18 Classics of Jewish Literature. This weekend, I finished reading Third-Generation Holocaust Narratives: Memory in Memoir and Fiction, to which I contributed a chapter. Lots of material to think about there, too.
At my "day job" with Fig Tree Books, I'm busy with pre-publication publicity plans for Abigail Pogrebin's My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew. (We'll launch a Goodreads giveaway on November 14.)
Been reading my own book, over and over. The joys of editing. But related to Jewish books I have just completed reading "Azamra" by Rebbe Nachman. I am not sure who translated it as that is not written in the book. It could be Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum. It's a small book but full of powerful thoughts. I ended up re-reading a few sections and will probably need to go back to read it again.
Ellen wrote: "Have you read Rachel Hall's new collection of linked stories, HEIRLOOMS, about a Jewish family from Europe to Israel to the U.S. Midwest? It's wonderful...."I second this recommendation!!!
Erika wrote: "Ellen wrote: "Have you read Rachel Hall's new collection of linked stories, HEIRLOOMS, about a Jewish family from Europe to Israel to the U.S. Midwest? It's wonderful...."I second this recommenda..."
Sad they left Israel, do they return?
Erika wrote: "I have a copy of the original hardcover In the Land of Armadillos: Stories but simply have not yet gotten to it. All of this enthusiasm makes me feel even more guilty! Meantime, I..."
I haven't gotten to the Land of Armadillos, but I want to buy the Third-Generation Holocaust Narratives. As a third generation myself, I love to read about the Holocaust impact. Thanks for the recommendation.
Just completed reading book:A Damaged Mirror|20766023]I have added my review to the Kindle Version, not sure how to find that to add. Here is the review from my blog
http://healingoccupationaltherapy.blo...
It's difficult material to read, but an excellent book.
Reading Daniel Gordis's Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn. (It may be "concise" relative to other histories, but it's still lengthy, and I'm reading it slowly to try to absorb it all. Valuable.)
So, The New Joys of Yiddish is politically correct? It must be a pretty thin book.
I have just finished reading My Real Name Is Hanna by Tara Lynn Masih. It was an amazing book. I have been completely blown away by it which is something that doesn't happen very often. A very clear 5 * for this one.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished reading "Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald" by Therese Ann Fowler for a book club. It has no Jewish content and the protagonists Zelda and Scott were not Jewish but it's an enjoyable, absorbing read of two very lost souls: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Victor wrote: "Erika wrote: "I have a copy of the original hardcover In the Land of Armadillos: Stories but simply have not yet gotten to it. All of this enthusiasm makes me feel even more guilty!..."https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
Victor wrote: "Erika wrote: "I have a copy of the original hardcover In the Land of Armadillos: Stories but simply have not yet gotten to it. All of this enthusiasm makes me feel even more guilty!..."https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
Victor wrote: "Erika wrote: "I have a copy of the original hardcover In the Land of Armadillos: Stories but simply have not yet gotten to it. All of this enthusiasm makes me feel even more guilty!..."https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
Erika wrote: "I have a copy of the original hardcover In the Land of Armadillos: Stories but simply have not yet gotten to it. All of this enthusiasm makes me feel even more guilty! Meantime, I..."
https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
Erika wrote: "I have a copy of the original hardcover In the Land of Armadillos: Stories but simply have not yet gotten to it. All of this enthusiasm makes me feel even more guilty! Meantime, I..."
https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
I am reading the Tattooist of Aushwitz and it's dreadful. Apparently very inaccurate too, but just really poorly written.
Alan, it offered nothing new. If this is a true story, the author should have wrote more about their post-War life
Alan wrote: "I am reading the Tattooist of Aushwitz and it's dreadful. Apparently very inaccurate too, but just really poorly written."I have heard similar reactions to the book.
So have I. I was about to read it, but after hearing all the negative reports, sent it back to the library. Glad I saved those few hours of my life.
I read the first page and closed it. I was repelled by the opening scene of an inmate at Auschwitz falling in love at first sight with another inmate as he brands a number on her arm. I'm not sure if others would agree with me, but I find that this sort of "romanticization" of life in the death camps is deeply offensive.
Just finished the book,quite juvenile take on the horrors and some really idiotic scenes. For one many of the prisoners are free to roam around the camp as they please. And the two main characters make love regularly in the camp! It’s really too much nonsense. It was aushwitz not a public park! Makes me want to read some authentic telling of what went on.
Please offer suggestions on better Shoah books to read. There are lots of great suggestions on listopia. A lot of people seem to really like The Book Thief but a novel narrated by Death? Too weird for me. And while I only saw the movie of The e Boy in the Stripped Pajamas it too really irritated me. Boys playing near the fence of aushwitz? That ending? The liberties people take are appalling.The best novel I ever read about the Holocaust was The Painted Bird. Just harrowing.
I found the novel FAR TO GO by Alison Pick to be very well done. And if you don't mind a bit of self-promotion, you might want to try my novel COME BACK FOR ME.
I agree with you about "The Painted Bird." Talk about wrenching.
I have recently read two books (chosen by my book club) which are quite different from the usual Jewish oriented topics. The Mathematician’s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer is a witty and quirky story of family relationships, genius, and academic rivalry. The matriarch is a world renowned mathematician, exiled as a child to Siberia during the war, who is rumored to have solved an unsolvable mathematical equation. Her shiva brings together a crazy group of academics eager to discover her hidden work.Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky is the true story of one man’s determination to save Yiddish books. It is laced with humor and pathos, suspense and joy, and wonderful people who he meets during his quest.
Jewish Book Carnival
Books mentioned in this topic
Apeirogon (other topics)Call It Sleep (other topics)
In the Land of Armadillos: Stories (other topics)
In the Land of Armadillos: Stories (other topics)
In the Land of Armadillos: Stories (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Roy Isacowitz (other topics)Henry Roth (other topics)
Tara Lynn Masih (other topics)
Daniel Gordis (other topics)
Lawrence Bush (other topics)
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