Archives
[Book Review] A New Memoir by Lara Gelya
Posted on August 17, 2022 1 Comment
By Lara Gelya Originally from Ukraine, Lara Gelya spent twenty years working at geological sites in the deserts of Uzbekistan. With the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 90s, she moved to the Austria, followed by Italy, before eventually making her way to the United States. This is a book you are not […]
[Book Review] The Book of Jewish Knowledge
Posted on August 17, 2022 Leave a Comment
By The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, Editor in Chief: Rabbi Yanki Tauber The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute has undertaken a seven year project to produce a volume that belongs in every Jewish home. Separated into 160 sub-sections, covering topics including: ethics, life cycle events, Shabbat observance, Jewish thought and everything in between, this book is […]
[Book Review] A New Memoir by Sarah Birnbach
Posted on August 3, 2022 Leave a Comment
By Sarah Birnbach The Mourner’s Kaddish is a traditional Jewish prayer, written in Aramaic. At the loss of a parent, child, or spouse, it is traditional to recite the prayer for eleven months. After the loss of her father, Sarah Birnbach commits to reciting the Kaddish, twice daily, in synagogue, for eleven months. Birnbach describes […]
[Book Review] The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Posted on July 27, 2022 Leave a Comment
By Jodi Picoult I first discovered Jodi Picoult through her more recent release, The Book of Two Ways. Since then, I’ve picked up Wish You Were Here and today, I’m reviewing The Storyteller. Needless to say, I’m becoming a big fan. The Storyteller is a duel timeline novel, exploring grief and generational trauma. Picoult also […]
[Book Review] The Anticipated New Release from Sherry V. Ostroff
Posted on July 27, 2022 1 Comment
By Sherry V. Ostroff The much anticipated new release from Sherry V. Ostroff is here! And it is everything I hoped it would be. Ostroff sets her newest historical fiction work at a perilous time in Jewish history, the Spanish Inquisition. Like her previous works, this story is impeccably well-researched. Ostroff subtly historical details, adding […]
[Book Review] A New Veronica Rosenthal Mystery by Sergio Olguin
Posted on June 29, 2022 Leave a Comment
By Sergio Olguín (author), Miranda France (translator) Sergio Olguin brings us book three of his Veronica Rosenthal Mystery series. Currently available in Spanish, the English translation is currently scheduled for release on September 20, 2022. I was delighted to receive an advanced copy for review. Olguin sets the third installment in this series in Buenos […]
[Book Review] Love, Guns, & God in America by Christian Fennell
Posted on June 29, 2022 Leave a Comment
By Christian Fennell The third installment in his trilogy, Christian Fennell delivers what feels more like a stand-alone novel in its own right. This coming of age story follows two youngsters seeking to escape their southern, white-nationalist upbringing. But their story will take a horrific, racial turn that will shape their future. While I did […]
[Book Review] An Interesting Twist on the Familiar Story: The Book of V. by Anna Solomon
Posted on June 29, 2022 Leave a Comment
By Anna Solomon Anna Solomon takes inspiration from the familiar biblical story of Esther for her novel. But rather than focusing on the familiar Jewish heroine, Solomon focuses instead on characters based on the banished Persian Queen Vashti. The story shifts between two time periods, 1970s Washington DC and ancient Persia. Solomon manages to draw […]
[Book Review] Kalmann by Joachim B. Schmidt
Posted on June 8, 2022 Leave a Comment
By Joachim B. Schmidt Set in a village in northern Iceland, Kalmann Odinsson, a neurodiverse hunter and fisherman, serves as the self-appointed sheriff of Raufarhöfn. Kalmann’s desire to find a wife are suddenly put on hold when he discovers a pool of blood frozen in the snow after well-known resident, Robert McKenzie, goes missing. He […]
[Book Review] Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda
Posted on June 8, 2022 Leave a Comment
By Riku Onda Set over the course of one night, in Tokyo, Aki and Hiro are in a troubled relationship. As the two are reflecting on a hiking trip they took the year before where their guide fell to his death, each becomes increasingly suspicious the other may have had a hand in the guide’s […]
