Whew! We’re past the sadness of Tisha b’Av and only a week later it’s Tu B’Av, the Jewish answer to Valentine’s Day. For those not out dancing in the vineyards, what could be better than pouring a glass of wine and settling down with a good book? To get you started, here are some recommendations from around the Jewish blogosphere (in more or less alphabetical order). Note that cover images link to the relevant affiliate-linked book page on Amazon.
Enjoy!
The Book of Life Podcast interviews young Aria about her Jewish reading recommendations! Also from The Book of Life: In August 2017 the filmmakers who created the Israeli sci fi flick “The Last Shepherd” were interviewed on the podcast. At long last, the movie has become available on YouTube. You can watch it here.
This month on gilagreenwrites, Gila is delighted to interview Annette Gendler about her memoir that offers an honest glimpse into the consequences of our choices.
On her My Machberet blog, Erika Dreifus routinely compiles news of Jewish literary interest. Here’s one recent post.
At Life Is Like a Library, some sad reading for a sad time in the Jewish calendar: https://lifelibrary-ksp.blogspot.com/2019/08/sad-days.html
On her blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, Deborah interviewed Mindy Pollack-Fusi about her novel The Narcissist’s Daughter.
Q&A with Mindy Pollack-Fusi
Rabbi Reuven Klein reviews Harry Fischel: Pioneer of Jewish Philanthropy . Rabbi Klein’s own book was reviewed in the Jerusalem Post here: https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Book-review-The-biblical-tussle-God-and-the-gods-597250
In July, Jill at Rhapsody in Books reviewed The Song of the Jade Lily: A Novel by Kirsty Manning. This historical fiction is focused on Shanghai in the 1930s, which opened its doors to many Jews trying to escape the Nazis. This is a touching story about a little known aspect of WWII and the Holocaust.
Amy Oestreicher, the author of My Beautiful Detour, reflects on how Primo Levi helped her tell her own life-altering story.
And what have I been up to here at the Memory & Redemption blog? Well, one thing I haven’t been doing is writing; I’ve been too busy working on other people’s books! My most recent project is a new book by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Cardozo on the Parashah: Bereshit. Read all about it here!
Visit the headquarters of the Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read and comment on each others’ posts.