Posts Tagged‘Resources for Jewish reading’

Home » Resources for Jewish reading » Page 94

December Jewish Book Carnival

by Erika Dreifus on
12

As the blogger behind My Machberet, I am delighted to welcome you to the December home for the Jewish Book Carnival. Launched by Heidi Estrin and Marie Cloutier, the Carnival is a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read, and comment on each others’ posts. The co-creators established it to build community among bloggers and blogs who feature Jewish books. The Carnival is headquartered on the Association of Jewish Libraries blog, and it runs every month on the 15th.

Without further ado, I am proud to present the December Carnival:

  • Children’s author Sylvia Rouss shares the “Hanukkah Origins of Sammy Spider.”
  • From Jewesses with Attitude, a blog from the Jewish Women’s Archive: Renee Ghert-Zand writes about The Bookseller’s Sonnets, Andi L. Rosenthal’s debut novel.
  • JewishBoston.com sends along two posts: one, “Becoming Thankful for Jewish Book Month,” which focuses on Linda R. Silver’s Best Jewish Books for Children and Teens, and another, by David Levy, advocating that we “Give Comics for Chanukah” and featuring short reviews of recently published Jewish-themed comics.
  • On her Jewish Muse blog, Linda K. Wertheimer describes the books that created her first Jewish community–and tells us about a more recent read: Naomi Ragen’s latest novel, The Tenth Song.
  • On his 12:12 blog, Jewish Journal Books Editor Jonathan Kirsch reviews Ruth Franklin’s A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction.
  • Margo Tanenbaum shares eight favorite Chanukah reads on The Fourth Musketeer.
  • The Association of Jewish Libraries recently celebrated its first-ever Library Snapshot Day, and captured the occasion on the People of the Book blog (with video!).
  • Heidi Estrin’s Book of Life blog/podcast series introduces “Shalom Sesame.”
  • On The Whole Megillah, Barbara Krasner reviews The Hanukkah Trike, written by Michelle Edwards and illustrated by Kathryn Mitter.
  • In a guest post for the Jewish Book Council blog, author Avi Steinberg (Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian) describes some Kafkaesque experiences. Also on the JBC blog: an invitation for readers to meet up on Twitter on January 12 to discuss Elizabeth Rosner’s novel, Blue Nude.
  • Ilana-Davita writes about a recent read: Mitzvah Girls: Bringing Up the Next Generation of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn, by Ayala Fader.
  • Jew Wishes reviews Stronger Than Iron: The Destruction of Vilna Jewry 1941-1945: An Eyewitness Account, by Mendel Balberyszski.
  • And last, but perhaps not least: please enjoy my enthusiastic take on Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, a novel by U.K. author Natasha Solomons.

Bloggers Sought to Host Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Received via email (from two sources!) this morning:

The Sydney Taylor Book Award committee is gearing up for its deliberations to choose the best Jewish kidlit published in the past year. Winners will be announced in January, 2011, and there will be a blog tour for medal-winning authors/illustrators in February! If you’re interested in interviewing a winner and hosting a stop on the blog tour, please let us know! We are trying to be efficient and plan ahead, even though we don’t yet know who the winners will be.

If you’d like to participate, please email Barbara Krasner at barbarakrasner(at)att(dot)net and CC Heidi Estrin at Heidi(at)cbiboca(dot)org.

As a reminder, here’s some background on the Sydney Taylor Book Award.

Notes from Around the Web

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • If you haven’t yet listened to this year’s Hanukkah Lights stories from National Public Radio, well, it’s still Hanukkah! Take some time and enjoy the offerings.
  • And if you’re looking for still more stories after that, check out the latest issue of JewishFiction.net.
  • From the Consulate General of Israel in New York comes news about a newly translated novel, Limassol, by Yishai Sarid (trans. Barbara Harshav).
  • Linda K. Wertheimer shares some reflections on Jewish books and community.
  • The amazing Carolyn Starman Hessel, Director of the Jewish Book Council, reveals which Jewish book has most influenced her.
  • The latest Jewish Reader presents a review of  Jessica Cohen’s translation of David Grossman’s To the End of the Land, excerpts, and discussion questions.
  • Win copies of my forthcoming story collection, Quiet Americans! Free! Easy! Details here.

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Recommended Reading: Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, by Natasha Solomons

    by Erika Dreifus on
    3

    MR. ROSENBLUM DREAMS IN ENGLISH
    Natasha Solomons
    Reagan Arthur Books, 2010. 368 pp. $23.99
    ISBN: 978-0-316-07758-3
    Review by Erika Dreifus

    By now, we are familiar with literature penned by “2G”-ers, children of the second generation, whose Jewish parents survived Nazi persecution. With time’s passage, it was inevitable that we’d begin to see writings from the next generation: the grandchildren.

    British writer Natasha Solomons is one such grandchild. The “About the Author” section at this debut novel’s end reveals that Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English is based “on her own grandparents’ experience.” The novel focuses on Jack (né Jakob) Rosenblum, who emigrates from Germany with his wife, Sadie, and their baby daughter in the summer of 1937. Upon arrival, Jack receives a “dusky blue pamphlet entitled While you are in England: Helpful Information and Friendly Guidance for every Refugee.” If Jack cherishes a Bible, this pamphlet is it: “He obeyed the list with more fervour than the most ardent Bar Mitzvah boy did the laws of Kashrut….” Over time, he expands and adds to the list based on his own observations.

    Sadie Rosenblum does not share her husband’s enthusiasm for throwing off their past (or for his “verdammt list”). She is haunted by the family left behind—and lost—in Germany. This domestic conflict underlies the novel. But the challenge that actively propels the plot is Jack’s quest to build a golf course in Dorset, which results from his being denied golf-club membership—the final list item, “the quintessential characteristic of the true English gentleman.”

    This is a gorgeous book, with setting, scenes, and dialogue all artfully managed (an aside: the cover art is equally lovely, although I can’t help wishing that this American edition had preserved the British title, Mr. Rosenblum’s List: Or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring Englishman). It is no surprise to discover that Solomons is a screenwriter. Let us hope that she will soon script this story for film.

    (This review was published in Jewish Book World, Winter 5771/2010.)

    Notes from Around the Web

    by Erika Dreifus on
    1
  • The new issue of Jewish Book World is hot off the press. Here are some of the reviews within its pages, and here are all of the books discussed in this issue.
  • Cannot wait to dig in to The Jewish Week‘s fall literary guide.
  • David Kaufmann considers the Jewishness of poet C.K. Williams as reflected in Williams’s latest book, Wait.
  • IntheMoment, Moment Magazine‘s blog, has launched a weekly book feature.
  • From Fiction Writers Review: this excellent interview with author Janice Eidus, who “is particularly passionate about Jewish identity, contemporary culture, and women’s issues.”
  • It was nice to learn this week that Lilith has added my short story, “Polar Region,” which was published in the magazine several years ago, to its online Adoption Anthology.
  • Some important reminders about Holocaust books from Jewish Literary Review.
  • Inspiring article about student journalists at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.
  • Less inspiring, but still important to acknowledge: Jewish Ideas Daily shares an analysis of the anti-Israel record of the influential London Review of Books.
  • On a more positive note, and as mentioned a couple of days ago, the November Jewish Book Carnival went live earlier this week. Next month, the itinerant Carnival will be hosted right here.

    • Shabbat shalom!