What better time than Springtime to get out into nature with a good book? Go ahead and add a plate of matzah and a glass of wine! Meanwhile, 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 book page on Amazon.
Enjoy!
S.Y. Agnon’s Passover-focused “The Celebrants,” a story within The Bridal Canopy, is the focus of a post on the Fig Tree Books blog.
Author Samuel Griswold has reviewed The Book of Names by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori at www.samuelgriswold.com. The Book of Names centers on the Talmudic concept of the Lamed Vovniks, or thirty-six righteous individuals whose presence in every generation prevents the world’s destruction. But, will a secret cult succeed in assassinating them all and bringing about the end of this world?
Deborah Kalb interviews a variety of authors on her blog, deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com. Here’s a recent interview she did with Lisa Moses Leff about her new book, Colonialism and the Jews.
Over on the Jewish Book Review, Rivka Levy reviews Jumping over Shadows by Annette Gendler, a memoir which looks at the thorny subject of how intermarriage can continue to reverberate down a family tree for many generations.
Life Is Like a Library presents some timely and diverse selections to read during this time of year when we count the omer.
On her My Machberet blog, Erika Dreifus collects three recent Jewish-lit event recordings for everyone’s viewing pleasure: poet Yehoshua November in conversation with journalist Danielle Ziri via the Manhattan Jewish Experience; author Abigail Pogrebin in conversation with Rabbi Joseph Telushkin at The Jewish Theological Seminary; and a Passover-poetry seminar presented by Dr. Rachel Korazim via the Shalom Hartman Institute.
On his “Awesome Book Blog,” Stuart Schnee reviewsTo Rise Above: The Amazing Life of HaRav Dov Cohen zt”l, and says, “It is fascinating to read about the experiences of a young American Jew living within the Jewish community of Hevron and pre-independence Israel of the 1920’s.”
And what, you ask, has been going on here at the Memory & Redemption blog? Well, you didn’t ask, but I’ll tell you anyway. I’ve been involved in the layout and illustration of a marvelous new Haggadah. Why is this Haggadah different from all other Haggadot? Because not only does it make sense of the structure of the Seder, it also adds back in a crucial part of the Haggadah that has been missing for centuries!
And last, but certainly not least, the Jewish Book Council has named five finalists for the 2017 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. The winner of the $100,000 Prize and $18,000 Choice Award will be announced following a discussion with the authors, moderated by Rabbi David Wolpe, as part of Jewish Book Council’s Unpacking the Book: Jewish Writers in Conversation series at The Jewish Museum in New York City. Guests are welcome to register for free admission to this public program starting at 6:30 PM on May 3rd.
Author registration for the 2017 – 2018 JBC Network closes April 20th! The JBC Network is a unique resource connecting authors of new books with Jewish communities offering literary programs and book festivals throughout the United States and Canada. Please visit Jewish Book Council’s website to find out more!
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.
