Jewish Book Club discussion

Chanukah, Hanukkah, or however you choose to spell it. I know a lot of book groups choose holiday themed reads in December, so I decided to do the same. We are looking for 6-7 nominations of books featuring the holiday/chag. This year for the first time in 19 years Chanukah starts on the night of December 25 so cue the Chinese food jokes as well as any cross cultural celebrations that could occur. We are looking forward to see what you come up with.

Note- I will leave the thread open through Saturday night but that includes the first days of Sukkot and I will be offline Wednesday night thru motzei Shabbat New York time. Any books you can come up with before then would be much appreciated. ~Brina

...I'll venture to add a couple more intermediate days and extend nominations through Monday the 21st, unless we already have our 6 or 7. If we do, so much the better. ~Jan

I want to read something I haven't read before so looking forward to some nominations!

Reserved for nominations

1. The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

2. Henna House by Nomi Eve

3. To the Edge of Sorrow by Aharon Appelfeld

4. The Last Jew by Noah Gordon

5. The Marriage Box by Corie Adjmi

6. The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

7. The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Reserved for more nominations, if Jan helps later 🙂

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

Thank you , Arielle. This is a newer book but is available at most libraries and as a paperback at most sites for not that much money.

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer is nomination #1.

These books for the sake of variety don’t have to be a straight up a Chanukah story. They could also be about perseverance or overcoming odds or victory stories. Here are some examples:

https://fivebooks.com/best-books/hanu...

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful chag. For those who might not have checked in or seen Jan’s email blast, we are currently taking nominations for our December book. The theme is Chanukah or as in my last post an example of perseverance or overcoming odds. I would love to get a few nominations before this next chag on Wednesday night or I will pick the one book we have plus another mod’s choice. Thanks, everyone. I look forward to see what books you pick.

I read The Matzah Ball (2021) - Jean Meltzer 3 years ago when it first came out, and just don't fancy reading it again.

I'm still hoping for more nominations, but meanwhile I'll put forward
This Crazy Thing A Life: Australian Jewish Autobiography (2007) - Richard Freadman


From humble, self-published memoirs by amateur chroniclers to celebrated releases by high-profile authors such as Judah Waten, Andrew Reimer, Jacob Rosenberg and Doris and Lily Brett, Richard Freadman’s richly reflective work interweaves past and present, events and attitudes, literary theory and narrative forms to address important and often profoundly moving topics such as Holocaust memory, migrant autobiography, diaspora studies and multiculturalism from a variety of viewpoints. An engaging look at what it means to be both Jewish and Australian, This Crazy Thing A Life is essential reading for all lovers of autobiography, memoir and contemporary non-fiction.

Jazzy we looked and this book is not available much and the copies that are available are priced at around $30. Could you please select another book. It does not need to be about Chanukah per se but about perserverance or overcoming odds. I put a link to some examples to help people choose books.

Hi Jody and welcome. If you have another book in mind for the sake of variety, we love for you to nominate that. Thanks.

I want to read a book by/about a a jewish person who wasn't born in, didn't live in, and didn't move to the usa.

Your books are usually very hard for me to afford, and you say the same about mine. I have no library option and have to pay for any book I want to read. I'll go look, though! *toddles off*

Jody wrote: "Another great novel by Jean meltzer is Mr. Perfect on paper."

We may have read that one. Let me check our bookshelf....
Yes, two years ago. Nov. 2022 :)

Another nomination, Jody?

Jazzy wrote: "I want to read a book by/about a a jewish person who wasn't born in, didn't live in, and didn't move to the usa."

It often turns out to be Israel, Jazzy. But not always. For example, there's Noah Gordon's The Last Jew. And some of his others. He lived in the US though. I guess you could say that book is about overcoming very difficult odds. Does anybody want to nominate that one, or another of Gordon's?

If we anybody has a classic to nominate, that might be more generally available.

Jody, even though Henna House isn’t about Chanukah per se , I read the blurb and I see it’s about a young woman’s perseverance in the face of assimilation, so I’m going to accept it. Bonus, not a US- centric book. It is available at libraries, Thrift Books, etc. Henna House by Nomi Eve is nomination 2.

I think To the Edge of Sorrow by Aharon Appelfeld sounds like it would be a good option.

Thank you , Lee. Available at my library as book and ebook. On thrift books, Abe, etc for as low as $4.79. To the Edge of Sorrow is nomination #3. Looking for 3-4 more, bonus(es) if actually a Chanukah story and/or not necessarily US-centric

Good morning!
My cue is

Deborah
By Esther Singer

If you consider that it's acceptable.

Because she is a girl, Deborah is condemned to household chores, barred from the books she yearns for and destined for an arranged marriage. I. B. Singer has said that his sister Esther and her thwarted hunger for learning and experience inspired his story "Yentl."

Hi Alessandra. I’m on my way to work. Hopefully Jan or Stacey sees this. The book is available but only in print and not widely. I found one copy total at all the used sites. Have a backup plan in mind in case we think that this choice isn’t feasible.

Alessandra wrote: "Good morning!
My cue is

Deborah
By Esther Singer

If you consider that it's acceptable.

Because she is a girl, Deborah is condemned to household chores, barred from the books she yearns for and..."

I finally saw this, Brina. Double-checked, and you are correct. Amazon has one copy for around $14 including postage. After that, Bookfinder.com has them at around $30 and upward. No Kindle; not in my library here.
Sadly, the author, Deborah Singer Kreitman remains the forgotten Singer.

Do you have a back-up nomination, Alessandra?

Would love to have another nomination or two by 6:00 PM today!

Make that 6:00 PM Eastern Daylight. Look for poll to start this weekend.

And if some nominations come in after the chag starts I will see them after shabbos so no frets. Wishing you all a wonderful chag. See you all back online in a few days.

I'm not sure what time that is
I'm UTC/GMT +1 hour

Chag Simeach all xx

Hi all. I hope you all enjoyed an uplifting chag. Now we can breathe a collective sigh of relief for the next 5 1/2 months. I’d like to set up the December poll tonight but due to multiple chagim we are still stuck on 3 nominations. Ideally I’d like to have 3 more. Remember book should be about Chanukah or overcoming odds.

Nominations are now closed. Look for a poll tonight.

Just a reminder that the poll for our December book is open through Sunday. Please remember to vote for the book of your choice.
Link to poll:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/3...

Last reminder. Today is the last day to vote and it’s a close race so you might want to check, vote, or change your choice if you have a preference of the top 3 choices.