Jewish Book Club discussion

We are looking for long books, say, around 450 pages, that you might have time to read in the lazy hazy days of summer.

Examples: Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers or Anne Berest's The Postcard. Or maybe Jonathan Freedland's The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World. Well, that one is not quite 450, but we won't be sticklers. Or one of those long biographies by a Jewish author, if there's one you've been wanting to read; we could explore how the author may have made it Jewish!

Those are suggestions to get you thinking, but if you want to nominate one of them, that's okay too.

We're taking nominations through Wed. June 25 or until we have seven, whichever comes first.

Please send us a nomination, not a list of suggestions, but if we get a list, the first book on it will count as your nomination.

[Nominations not accepted from the author or other interested parties]

Looking forward to seeing what long or longish books you'd like to read. Once we have our nominations, we'll have a poll.

The Golem and The Jinni by Helene Wecker

Courtney wrote: "The Golem and The Jinni by Helene Wecker"

Great suggestion, Courney, but we've read it.

Please give us another!

Courtney. Sorry!

Sons and Daughters Sons and Daughters: A Novel
by Chaim Grade

A new translation was just published. It clocks in at 677 pages.

Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California. 382 pp. It is available at Hoopla (also on Kindle).

Michelle wrote: "Sons and Daughters Sons and Daughters: A Novel
by Chaim Grade

A new translation was just published. It clocks in at 677 pages."

Oh, yes, I've been hearing about that.
Around $20 with Amazon Prime and $13+ for Kindle AND is in both nearby library systems that I checked. It's considered an important book. Thank you, Michelle. Good one!

For nominations:
1. Sons and Daughters by Chaim Grade

2. Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California, by Frances Dinkelspiel

3. The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker

4. The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky

5. A Guest for the Night by S. Y. Agnon

6. The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg, by Nicholas Dawidoff

7. The Family Moskat, by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Cobwebs-Iced-In-Space wrote: "Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California. 382 pp. It is available at Hoopla (also on Kindle)."

And, though not in my library, is available used for around $7 (including postage). Hails from 2008. As to length, is a little underweight for "a long book," but let's not quibble....
I didn't look it up on our shelf because I'm pretty sure I haven't heard of it before. Someone will tell me if I'm wrong. ☺️

Since we’ve already read The Golem and The Jinni, I nominate the sequel, The Hidden Palace!

Courtney- let me check if we read that. I just got home from vacation so I might not check until the morning or another mod can. If it’s not on our shelf, I will count that as nomination 3.

Brina wrote: "Courtney- let me check if we read that. I just got home from vacation so I might not check until the morning or another mod can. If it’s not on our shelf, I will count that as nomination 3."

Brina, since Courtney had nominated the first Helene Wecker book, I had asked her if she wanted to nominate The Hidden Palace. We read The Golem and the Jinni in Feb. of 2020, and after double checking, the sequel isn't on our shelf. It's long enough, and, maybe surprising for a sequel, it gets good reviews.

It's available used for around $8 or $9. Available electronically for those who want it. AND in libraries. 😄
Nomination No. 3

The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky. 328 pages. It’s available on Libby.

Michelle wrote: "Sons and Daughters Sons and Daughters: A Novel
by Chaim Grade

A new translation was just published. It clocks in at 677 pages."

I just finished this and it was fantastic!

Kerry wrote: "The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky. 328 pages. It’s available on Libby."

Hi, Kerry. I was thinking 328 pages is a little short for a long book (😉), but the hardback was 360 pages, and the paperback is 376. For some reason the Kindle is shorter. So, as I said re one of the other nominations, given the genre, I'm not inclined to quibble. Sounds fascinating, and although not available in my library, there are inexpensive used copies available from Amazon Marketplace, AbeBooks and eBay.
Thanks for the nomination, Kerry!

Leah wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Sons and Daughters Sons and Daughters: A Novel
by Chaim Grade

A new translation was just published. It clocks in at 677 pages."

I just finished this and it was fantastic!"

Thanks for your vote of confidence, Leah. After we have all our nominations we'll have an actual poll! :)

If we could get three more, maybe we could conclude nominations before Shabbat. Do you have a long or longish book you'd like to nominate?

Jan wrote: "If we could get three more, maybe we could conclude nominations before Shabbat. Do you have a long or longish book you'd like to nominate?"

Well, none forthcoming so far.
In that case, I'll be taking a break tonight/tomorrow and if any nominations appear in the meantime, they'll be vetted in the order received...

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. Deep and cohesive story with a strong female main character. Very long book.

Shabbat Shalom!

“A Guest for the Night” by S. Y. Agnon

I nominate "My Name is Barbra", Barbra Streisand's autobiography.

Reading in the sun wrote: "The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. Deep and cohesive story with a strong female main character. Very long book."

Thanks so much, Reading in the sun; good one, but we read The Weight of Ink back in March 2019.
I hope you'll make another nomination!

Reading in the sun wrote: "Shabbat Shalom!"

Thank you.

Zach wrote: "“A Guest for the Night” by S. Y. Agnon"

Hi, Zach. Thank you.
The synopsis of A Guest for the Night sounds fascinating.
We've read one of his books, but not this one.
It's available as a new paperback via Amazon Prime for $16. 95. Used paperbacks are out there for around $14 (including postage), although you might luck up and find one for as low as $10. Kindle is available for about $6. It is not one of Agnon's books that nearby library systems have, at least here in the Bible Belt.
Nomination accepted, and when we have the poll, voters can take the price into consideration.
Thanks again, Zach.

Hermien wrote: "I nominate "My Name is Barbra", Barbra Streisand's autobiography."

Thanks. Hermien, but we read it in Feb. and March.
Please try again!
Good to hear from you, Hermien!

How about Melnitz by Charles Lewinsky. I hope it was translated into English.

Hermien wrote: "How about Melnitz by Charles Lewinsky. I hope it was translated into English."

Thanks, Hermien. Well, it was. Amazon has it on Kindle, plus it's apparently available on Hoopla, but not in my local libraries. There is a limited number of used ones out there that start out in the $12 - $14 range (including postage), then get higher. Not in print here. Was published by Atlantic Books but they are showing only the British e-edition. It's said to have been an international bestseller, but here in the US not so much, apparently. It sounds like a very interesting work of historical fiction but I am hesitant since the book's not that available here.

I hate to ask, but do you have yet another, Hermien?

Jan wrote: "Reading in the sun wrote: "The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. Deep and cohesive story with a strong female main character. Very long book."

Thanks so much, Reading in the sun; good one, but we re..."

Oh darn I was hoping to re-read Weight of Ink - makes sense you already read it though, I'll just have to re-read it on my own!

The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg by Nicholas Dawidoff. I don't know if it's already been read. I loved it!

Denise wrote: "The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg by Nicholas Dawidoff. I don't know if it's already been read. I loved it!"

It doesn't sound familiar to me. Will check...

We never read it. I read it in a different group but not here. Hope that helps.

Brina wrote: "We never read it. I read it in a different group but not here. Hope that helps."

Yes, it does help, since I don't know any method to search our shelf except for visual scanning, so there's always a chance of missing it. P.S. Do you know any other way, Brina? Ideally there would be something to click & get the answer!

Jan wrote: "Denise wrote: "The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg by Nicholas Dawidoff. I don't know if it's already been read. I loved it!"

It doesn't sound famili..."

We haven't read it AND it's in my library AND used copies available for under $4, including postage. And it's on Kindle. Unusual for a 1994 book. It has stood the test of time.

It'll be our 6th nomination, then. Thank you, Denise.

Denise wrote: "...Oh darn I was hoping to re-read Weight of Ink - makes sense you already read it though, I'll just have to re-read it on my own!"

Some Goodreads book clubs allow rereading after a certain number of years. We've never done that because there always seem so many yet to be read. We could try it sometime, though!

It makes sense with people constantly joining. To check if a book is on the shelf, you go to the shelf and type the book’s title into search. Takes about ten seconds :)

Brina wrote: "It makes sense with people constantly joining. To check if a book is on the shelf, you go to the shelf and type the book’s title into search. Takes about ten seconds :)"

Oh, I see! It comes up marked "read." I'm excited to finally know that. Thanks, Brina!

Denise wrote: "The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg by Nicholas Dawidoff. I don't know if it's already been read. I loved it!"

Denise, I read it and agree with you.

Jan wrote: "Hermien wrote: "How about Melnitz by Charles Lewinsky. I hope it was translated into English."

Thanks, Hermien. Well, it was. Amazon has it on Kindle, plus it's apparently available on Hoopla, but..."

Maybe The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Hermien wrote: "...Maybe The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer."

The third time's the charm! Not in my particular library, but lots of used copies available over the internet, plus also available via Kindle. Thank you for your persistence, Hermien.

That's our seventh nomination, so nominations now closed.
And poll tonight.

Thank you all. That’s less than a week and we got all the nominations. I look forward to see which book you all vote for.

I lost track of this. Which book was the winner? (always hunting at book sales)

Denise wrote: "I lost track of this. Which book was the winner? (always hunting at book sales)"

Hi, Denise. This was the discussion to get last month's nominations, so we already had the poll. You can look at the group home page at the next up books. One's the winner and the other is the moderators' choice.

The poll for September's book is active right now! Please do
vote. You can find the poll by scrolling all the way down to the bottom of the home page, or click on "polls," up with the other navigational tools. It's in the upper righthand corner on my computer. Or, did you get Brina's notification? She gave you a link that'll take you straight there. :)

I know we already had the poll, but it was impossible to find the August pick until today!

Due to Good Read wonderful notification system I don't get any notifications - and yes, I do click the little thing at the bottom that says "Notify me when ....."

Denise wrote: "I know we already had the poll, but it was impossible to find the August pick until today!

Due to Good Read wonderful notification system I don't get any notifications - and yes, I do click the li..."

I'm glad you finally found it, Denise.
There are several places to look, including the book shelf or the old poll. I get it into the Group News sometime near the 1st of the next month. And eventually, on the Group Home Page.

When it comes go Goodreads notifications, sarcasm is well warranted! 😆