It’s that time of year again! The sun is setting earlier, and we have more time than ever to curl up with a good book in the evenings. Not sure what to get the book lovers in your life? (Or perhaps what to gift yourself?) We have you covered. From propulsive thrillers, to gorgeous collections of art, to tantalizing stories of food, here are some perfect suggestions for the readers in your life.
And why not treat them (or yourself!) to the latest issue of Paper Brigade? JBC’s annual literary journal features original fiction, stunning artwork, and fascinating articles. Grab your copy today along with our signature “Ask Me What I’m Reading” tote to carry your goodies in. (Results guaranteed, so have a book rec ready.)
For all readers:
The sixth issue of Paper Brigade is chock-full of articles, short stories, poetry, art, and photography — the perfect Hanukkah and Jewish Book Month treat!
One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World by Michael Frank with artwork by Maira Kalman
A powerful tribute to Jewish Rhodes captured over conversations between Stella Levi and writer Michael Frank.
For the fan of memoir and biography:
Who By Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai by Matti Friedman
“This book tells two stories together, economically, yet in depth — the story of the Yom Kippur War and its influence on Israeli musical culture, and the story of the relationship that developed between Leonard Cohen and the land of Israel.” ‑Beth Dwoskin
Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz
“Rather than a practical guide to love or grief, the memoir is a celebration of the language and ideas that make these experiences meaningful. With ongoing references to poetry, literature, and academic research, Schulz explores not “how to” have these experiences, but the different ways “to be” with them.” ‑Deborah Miller
To Repair a Broken World: The Life of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah by Dvora Hacohen
“Szold was in her seventies when the rise of fascism in Europe presented her with her biggest challenge ever: the Youth Aliyah, the rescue of endangered Jewish children from Europe and the near East to settle them in Palestine.” ‑Bettina Berch
For the short story lover:
Loss of Memory Is Only Temporary by Johanna Kaplan
“This expanded collection emblemizes Kaplan’s sly-yet-wondrous art and her power to dramatize what she terms the “grief-pierced” emotional tones of the modern Jewish experience.” ‑Donald Weber
Fear and Other Stories by Chana Blankshteyn; Anita Norch, trans.
“Blankshteyn’s characters and scenes transport the reader to a way of life on the cusp of transformation — in both exhilarating (and just as frequently frightening) ways. There is a dreamlike quality of her writing that allows mundane and everyday settings to evoke discomfort and admiration in equal amounts.” ‑Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler
For the fiction reader:
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
“Can a single mistake redirect the trajectory of an entire family? Such is the question haunting Dani Shapiro’s new novel, Signal Fires.” ‑Amy Spungen
Love by Maayan Eitan
“Through vignettes, scraps of dialogue, and picaresque impressions, Love takes readers inside the mind of a young call girl working in a nameless Israeli city.” ‑Julie R. Enszer
Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr
“Lisa Barr has included all kinds of intriguing elements in this enjoyable read: Nazi-looted art, old-school journalism, fashion, deception, and romance.” ‑Lindsey Bodner
For the history buff:
The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire by Joseph Sassoon
“The Sassoons is more than a chronicle of ancestry, however. On the contrary, it covers the economic, political, technological, and diplomatic factors responsible for the rise and then the fall of the family’s fortunes, the alienation of the third and fourth generations from the religious and ethnic identity of its founders, and the younger generations’ belief that commerce was beneath them.” ‑Edward Shapiro
Come to This Court and Cry: How the Holocaust Ends by Linda Kinstler
“Kinstler’s book is an urgent inquiry into the complexities of memory, history, legality, and responsibility for one of the greatest tragedies: the Holocaust.” ‑Martin Green
The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland
“Holocaust history has long honored its heroes. Now, with this new story of a complex, formerly hidden hero, Rudolf Vrba can take his well-deserved place in public memory.” ‑Linda F. Burghardt
For the foodie:
Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty
“Koshersoul is Twitty’s joy- and pain-filled assertion that he and the many others living and cooking at the complicated, vibrant intersection of Black and Jewish are here and always have been.” ‑Russell Janzen
Bene Appétit: The Cuisine of Indian Jews by Esther David
“Esther David, a novelist and Bene Israel Jew, traveled to all the communities in India in an effort to preserve their culinary traditions before they disappear.” ‑Maron L. Waxman
Zabar’s: A Family Story, with Recipes by Lori Zabar
“Lori Zabar, granddaughter of the founder and a historian and researcher, traces the family’s history back to Ostropolia in Ukraine before following Zabar’s from its start as a fruit and vegetable store in Brooklyn to its commanding presence on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.” ‑Maron L. Waxman
For the poet:
Jersey Breaks: Becoming an American Poet by Robert Pinsky
“Candid, invigorating, personal, and humane, Jersey Breaks sums up the experiences of a dedicated public poet.” ‑Maron L. Waxman
The Book of Anna by Joy Ladin
“At once an interrogation of innocence and the degree to which trauma can be healed, the book also affirms the absolute cruciality of writing: “In this world made of words, when I say “Let there be light,” light is.””-Stephanie Barbé Hammer
Today in the Taxi by Sean Singer
“Today in the Taxi is radically Jewish in that it does not “build up” to revelation but the “other way around” — Singer’s poems reject traditional power structures and instead return back to the worker and his streets.” ‑Allison Pitinii Davis
For the art lover:
Women Holding Things by Maira Kalman
“Women Holding Things explores the things that women hold, not only objects but also emotions, ideas, space, and concepts — the ‘things’ of the world that are often ineffable but powerfully present in the mind.” ‑Julie R. Enszer
Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation by Liana Finck
“Liana Finck’s invigoratingly reimagined Book of Genesis is by turns hilarious, tragic, poetic, mysterious, and always rapturously imaginative.” ‑Ranen Omer-Sherman
Simona is the Jewish Book Council’s managing editor of digital content and marketing. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a concentration in English and History and studied abroad in India and England. Prior to the JBC she worked at Oxford University Press. Her writing has been featured in Lilith, The Normal School, Digging through the Fat, and other publications. She holds an MFA in fiction from The New School.