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Words of the Week: Nicholas Lemann

by Erika Dreifus on
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I’ve mentioned Nicholas Lemann—both in a previous “Words of the Week” entry and more recently with multiple references to his latest book, Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries—several times. Since the month of June was essentially lost to me reading-wise, it took me longer to finish reading Returning than it should have. It’s simply superb; I suspect that I will be recommending it for a long time to come.

cover of RETURNING by Nicholas Lemann

For a taste of what you will find there, you can also read Lemann’s new essay, published yesterday on the website of The New York Times (gift link provided).

Jewish Literary Links

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
graphic announcing Jewish Literary Links

Toward the end of each week, the My Machberet blog presents a collection of links, drawn primarily from the world of Jewish books and writing.

  • I spent some wonderful hours this week reading Maya Arad’s Happy New Years (trans. Jessica Cohen; published by New Vessel Press). There’s so much to admire in this novel, structured as a series of Rosh Hashanah-timed annual letters to friends back home 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.)
  • From author/editor/podcaster (and former literary agent) Jonathan Rosen: a heartfelt call for “No More Silence.”
  • Announced this week: Where We Keep the Light, a memoir by Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, to be released in January by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Per the press release, in this book Shapiro “shares powerful stories about his family, his faith, and his career in public service.”
  • News of the passing of Susan Stamberg has inspired me to recall her beautiful reading of my short story “Fidelis” for NPR’s Hanukkah Lights broadcast series. May her memory be a blessing.
  • And looking ahead: “Join us on Wednesday, October 29 at 12:30 PM ET when Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein hosts renowned Israeli writers Yossi Klein Halevi and Lee Yaron for a discussion about what it means to be a Jew today, in a post-October 7 world; how Israeli survivors are coping; and what almost two years of war and rising global antisemitism mean for the future of the Jewish people.” Free, online event.

Shabbat shalom.