For the most part, this page will reflect what I post about my reading on Goodreads. Frankly, what I’m posting are really brief notes, not book reviews.
The most recent reading is listed first.
- The Peddler and the President by Ann Diament Koffsky with illustrations by Pedro Rodriguez (Apples & Honey Press, 2025). Confession: Once upon a time, I had the thought that the story of the friendship between Eddie Jacobson and Harry S Truman would make a great children’s book. But I never figured out quite how to write it. Fortunately, Ann Koffsky did!
- Mojo’s Return: A Story of Resilience and Hope by Lishay Miran Lavi, Mary Millman, and Melissa Stoller with illustrations by Uzi Binyamin (Spines, 2025). A sweet story that masterfully, carefully deals with the aftermath of trauma. Cannot help thinking that the ending, in particular, will likely land differently with young children than with adults who may be reading it to them.
- Ruptured: Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7 edited by Lee Kofman and Tamar Paluch (Lamm Jewish Library of Australia, 2025). An important contribution to the literature of post-October 7 life for Jews and Jewish communities around the world. Includes several pieces that reference the writers’ experiences as writers/in literary settings.
- King of the Jews: Poems by Matthew Lippman (Ben Yehuda Press, 2025). Powerful post-October 7 poetry.
- Arik and Company: A Documentary Poem by Atar Hadari (Ben Yehuda Press, 2025). The “Arik” of the title is also known as Ariel Sharon (1928-2014). I wish that this extremely interesting and provocative work were receiving more attention, particularly in the realm of informed reviews and commentaries. Complimentary review copy.
- Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging by Angela Buchdahl (Pamela Dorman Books, 2025). This book recounts Rabbi Buchdahl’s “unlikely story” with grace—and Torah insights at the conclusion of each chapter. It’s a personal/familial history as well as a chronicle of social and cultural changes over the last quarter of the 20th century and the first quarter of this one.
- Fanny’s Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born by Richard Michelson with illustrations by Alyssa Russell (Rocky Pond Books, 2025). Yet another picture-book bio that I wish had been around when I was a child. I’d have gobbled this one up (although, to be fair, I’ve gobbled it up now anyway, long after childhood). Grateful to Fanny Goldstein (1895-1961) and to the author, illustrator, and everyone who made this book possible. A perfect read for the 100th anniversary of Jewish Book Month, or anytime!
- What Louis Brandeis Knows: A Crusader for Social Justice Becomes a Supreme Court Justice by Richard Michelson with illustrations by Stacy Innerst (Calkins Creek, 2025). Terrific picture-book biography of Brandeis, the first Jewish associate justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. The story traces Brandeis’s life from childhood to the start of his Supreme Court service, with plenty of helpful back matter. Highly recommended. Complimentary review copy.
- Before, During, and After: The Voice of Women in the Land of Israel by Issy Lyons et al. (intro. by Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, eBookPro Publishing, 2025). There has been very little attention in “mainstream” spaces to the writing that is emerging in Israel in response to the events of October 7, 2023, and their aftermath. This volume of poetry is one of several that readers should know about.
- Happy New Years: A Novel by Maya Arad (trans. Jessica Cohen; New Vessel Press, 2025). Loved this book, structured as a series of Rosh Hashanah-timed annual letters from an Israeli who moves to the United States as a young woman. Notably, I received my copy in the inaugural box sent to me after I joined the Jewish Book Council’s new subscription service, Nu Reads.
- Hostage by Eli Sharabi (trans. Eylon Levy; HarperInfluence, 2025). Just read it. Please.
- Shameless: Exploiting the Holocaust by Tanya Gold (The Jewish Quarterly, 2025). Latest issue of the journal is composed of Gold’s fascinating, sharp-edged essay about Holocaust fiction and film.
- As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us by Sarah Hurwitz (HarperOne, 2025). Having read Sarah Hurwitz’s previous book, and knowing how smart and engaging her writing is, I had high expectations for this book. But even I wasn’t prepared for how truly important and outstanding it is. No wonder it won the latest Natan Notable Book award. It should win many more honors. But for now, my wish is simply for as many people as possible—Jews and non-Jews—to read it.
- Fools for Love: Stories by Helen Schulman (Knopf, 2025). ‘ve been a fan of Helen Schulman’s short stories for a long time (I’m not sure I realized how long until I ran across one memorable story that I encountered back in the “aughts” smack in the middle of this collection). I’ll confess that I was surprised when I found the story “Shabbos Goy” here–not only because of the deeper engagement with Jewishness and Judaism (and antisemitism) than I expected from Schulman’s work, but also because when I checked the acknowledgments I discovered that the story had been published by Kenyon Review Online (back in 2020: https://kenyonreview.org/kr-online-is…). It’s one that I’ll keep in reserve for the next time I teach my Contemporary Jewish Short Stories class
- Together in Manzanar: The True Story of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Concentration Camp by Tracy Slater (Chicago Review Press, 2025). Even if you think that you’re already familiar with the story of the incarceration of people of Japanese origin or descent in the United States during the Second World War, you’ll learn a lot from this book. I certainly did. Complimentary review copy.
- The Promised Land by Mary Antin (originally published 1912). Read this prior to placing it on a new “Jewish Life Writing” course syllabus.
- Living with Our Dead: On Loss and Consolation by Delphine Horvilleur (trans. Lisa Appignanesi; Europa Editions, 2024). Appreciated this introduction to the thinking of a well-known rabbi.
- On All Other Nights: A Passover Celebration in 14 Stories edited by Chris Baron, Joshua S. Levy, and Naomi Milliner (Amulet Books, 2004). Had been meaning to read this one for a while; thoroughly enjoyed it. May even use one of the pieces in an upcoming course!
- Secret Agent Man: Essays by Margot Singer (Barrow Street, 2025). I’ve been a devotee of Margot Singer’s writing since I read her debut book, the short-story collection The Pale of Settlement. This essay collection offers an introduction to Margot’s nonfictional world—including people and places that have mattered most to her—through her highly intelligent, highly sensitive perspective, seasoned throughout with simply gorgeously-crafted sentences. Complimentary advance copy.
- Alternative Facts: Stories by Emily Greenberg (Kallisto Gaia Press, 2025). Fabulously creative. Perfect reading for #ShortStoryMonth.
- Smashing the Tablets: Radical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible edited by Sara Lippmann and Seth Rogoff (Excelsior Editions/SUNY Press, 2025). My own short story, “Upon the Hills with Jephthah’s Daughter,” is included within.
- The Thinking Heart: Essays on Israel and Palestine by David Grossman (trans. Jessica Cohen; Vintage, 2025). It is always a good idea to read David Grossman—but it can be a painful experience.
- Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Yardena Schwartz (Union Square & Co., 2024). Extremely informative, taking the story of Hebron (and the larger conflict) up to the present time.
- The Many Lives of Anne Frank by Ruth Franklin (Yale University Press, 2025). Even if you think you “know” Anne’s story already, you should read this beautifully written, meticulously researched book.
- The Safekeep: A Novel by Yael van der Wouden (Avid Reader Press, 2024). Absolutely as spectacular as everyone has told me it is.
- A Mitzvah for George Washington by Rachelle Burk with illustrations by Chiara Fedele (Creston Books, 2024). A delightful historical fiction for younger readers (and us grown-ups, too!) grounded in Washington’s real-life visit to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1790.
- Songs for the Broken-Hearted: A Novel by Ayelet Tsabari (Random House, 2024). Superb new work by a writer I’ve admired since I encountered her first book, The Best Place on Earth, in its original Canadian edition. Complimentary review copy.
- Next Stop: A Novel by Benjamin Resnick (Avid Reader Press, 2024). Dark, disturbing, dystopian.
- The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands by Amir Tibon (Little, Brown, 2024). In alternating chapters, Tibon recounts both the minute-by-minute experience of October 7—which for him began in the home he shared with his wife and two small children in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, one of the border communities that came under Hamas attack early that morning—and the larger history leading up to what happened that day. Difficult, necessary reading.