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My Year in Jewish Books (2012 edition)

by Erika Dreifus on
6

Last year, I found it useful (and kind of fun) to look back on “my year in Jewish books.” So, borrowing some of the same introductory wording, I’m going to attempt to do something similar for 2012.

Reviewing my reading for 2012 (thank you, Goodreads!), I can see that I do not and would not ever limit my reading to “Jewish books” exclusively. (By the way, I define “Jewish books” as books with substantive Jewish content/themes. In my view, non-Jewish authors can write “Jewish books.” And Jewish authors can write books that don’t strike me as particularly Jewish. I read several of those books this year, too.)

But this year, as usual, I did read quite a few books that fall within the “Jewish book” category. And, as an advocate for Jewish literature, I’m proud of that.

Below, you will find these books presented in the order in which I read them. (more…)

Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish literary news from around the Web.

  • Did you miss the Jewish Book Council/Jewcy Twitter Book Chat with Shani Boianjiu last week? Don’t worry: You can read the transcript.
  • And if you haven’t yet listened to the audio recording of Etgar Keret’s recent lecture and discussion at Baruch College of The City University of New York, you’ll find it here (audio file expires December 25!).
  • Attention, bloggers who cover Jewish books! The Jewish Book Carnival wants to hear from you (especially this month, when I’ll be hosting here on My Machberet). More info here.
  • Thoughts on poetry, teaching, and t’shuvah, from Richard Chess.
  • Still more about Philip Roth’s proclaimed retirement.
  • “I so wanted to hate it, but sad to say, Hope: A Tragedy is one of the funniest comic novels in several years—perhaps the funniest ever by a non-Jewish Jew.” So writes D.G. Myers in a review of Shalom Auslander’s novel.
  • Finally, please excuse the self-promotional portions of these links, but a couple of posts I want to be sure you didn’t miss this week, both here on My Machberet and on my “other” blog, Practicing Writing. First up: some thoughts on “Jewish fiction,” inspired by Tablet’s new fiction series. And then: some news from the Association of Jewish Libraries (and me!).

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Listen to Etgar Keret Read from “Suddenly, A Knock on the Door”

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    On November 15, I had the great pleasure and privilege of attending an event featuring Israeli author Etgar Keret. Held at Baruch College of The City University of New York, the session was titled “The Real and the Imagined: Talk and Reading with Etgar Keret,” and it featured readings from Keret’s latest collection, Suddenly, A Knock on the Door. Directly after the reading, Keret headed to the airport for a flight home to Israel, interrupting his tour to return to be with his family during Operation Pillar of Defense.

    A friend had hoped to join me at Baruch, but that didn’t work out. So I took my trusty iPhone–equipped with its iTalk application–along instead. And I recorded the session to share via e-mail with my friend after the fact. (My learning how to e-mail a large audio file could be a story in itself, but I’ll spare you those details.)

    The event’s organizer contacted Keret’s agent and asked if it would be OK for me to post the audio publicly. To my delight, the answer is YES!

    So, I happily present to you: Etgar Keret. (If you have the new collection and want to follow along as Keret reads from it, you can go ahead bookmark “What Animal Are You?” and “Healthy Start”–both of these stories were translated by Miriam Shlesinger, by the way–before you click here to begin listening.)

    NB: I couldn’t upload the file directly to my website–it’s too large. So I’ve attempted to use the file-sharing program that helped me send the file to my friend. I hope it works! (The file will expire on December 25, so please listen soon!)

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish literary news from around the Web.

  • On the occasion of the publication of Herman Wouk’s latest novel, Adam Kirsch revisits Wouk’s major writings and career.
  • A big thank-you to The Kenyon Review for posting audio of Elie Wiesel’s acceptance speech on November 8, when he received the 2012 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement.
  • Paid, part-time internship opportunity with the Jewish Book Council in New York. Apply by December 17.
  • Further thoughts stemming from Philip Roth’s retirement announcement, from Jason Diamond and D.G. Myers.
  • Right after his November 15 reading at Baruch College, Etgar Keret headed home to Israel. Shortly thereafter, it seems, he wrote this.
  • This week was, again, a time when I (to paraphrase a rabbi friend) thought often of our cousins in the East. To stay informed, I relied extensively on The Times of Israel, Tablet, Jeffrey Goldberg, and the URJ’s Israel page.

    • Shabbat shalom to all. And special thanks to RJ.org for publishing my poem, “Questions for the Critics,” on Tuesday.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish literary news from around the Web.

  • Coming soon (as in: next Tuesday, November 20): the next meeting of the Jewish Book Council’s Twitter Book Club, featuring Shani Boianjiu and The People of Forever Are Not Afraid.
  • You’ve likely heard the news: Philip Roth is done with writing! Eitan Kensky reads the announcement more closely.
  • From Judy Bolton-Fasman: Q&A with Michael Lowenthal, whose latest novel, The Paternity Test, “gracefully merges gay marriage, Jewish identity, sexuality, the Holocaust, Jewish continuity and sexual fidelity in one story.”
  • Moment magazine has announced the topic for this year’s “Elephant in the Room” essay contest. Click here for details.
  • Glad to see that The Jewish Week’s “Well Versed” arts blog seems to be back.

    • Wishing everyone–especially in Israel–a Shabbat Shalom.