Welcome one and all to December 2013’s Jewish Book Carnival! This is a monthly event “where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read, and comment on each others’ posts.” The posts are presented on a participant’s site on the 15th of each month. I’m honored to serve as the host this month–a first for me. Bloggers sent me their entries; if there are mistakes, they’re all mine. Anyway, here are some fabulous reads:
On her blog, Ann Koffsky gives us a mini-glimpse into the Society of Illustrators annual “Original Art” exhibit that celebrates the fine art of children
’s book illustration.
Heidi Estrin at The Book of Life Podcast posted a podcast interview with Canadian author Sharon McKay about her award-winning title for teens, Enemy Territory, in which an Israeli boy and a Palestinian boy share a hospital room, a nighttime adventure, and a reluctant friendship.
Kathy Bloomfield continues exploring the Nisim B’Chol Yom/Blessings for Daily Miracles at her blog, forwordsbooks.com. This month she focuses on the Power of Water.
Over at InterfaithFamily.com, Ms. Bloomfield provided books about the Jewish value of Nedivut/Generosity a blog that was also picked up by JewishBoston.com and sent out on the Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ Family Connection Newsletter.
Right here at www.thebestchapter.com I am excited to feature interviews with three spectacular Jewish women writers in separate interviews: Molly Antopol, Dara Horn, and Amy Sue Nathan who discuss writing as a way to make sense of life’s frights, Judaism, women’s fiction and an unintentional medieval facebook.
At My Machberet, Erika Dreifus collects some of the coverage of Ari Shavit’s My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel.
- Esther’s Hanukkah Disaster
At The Whole Megillah, The Writer’s Resource for Jewish Story, Barbara Krasner interviews Esther’s Hanukkah Disaster author Jane Sutton and illustrator Andy Rowland in a Two-in-One Notebook Special.
In December, Anne Perry reviewed Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing, by Anya von Bremzen, and found there a poignant and playful discussion of memory and nostalgia.
Earlier, in November, Anne Perry at reviewed two books together, The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker and The Rise of Abraham Cahan by Seth Lipsky and compared how the two authors portrayed turn-of-the-century Jewish life in the Lower East Side.
Howard Freedman writes a monthly column on new Jewish books in J Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Area’s Jewish newspaper. In December, he writes about three new fiction titles from Israel.
Sandor Schuman suggests that you check out Dan Ornstein’s piece on the frustrations of being a Jewish writer.
Jewish Book Council’s Tahneer Oksman interviews Nancy K. Miller about her memoir, Breathless, in which she recounts her romantic adventures in Paris as she struggled to break away from her “nice-Jewish-girl” past in search of an uncertain future.
As part of the Brandeis Series on Gender, Culture, Religion and Law and the HBI Series on Jewish Women, Marriage and Divorce in the Jewish State: Israel’s Civil War by Susan M. Weiss and Netty C. Gross-Horowitz, published University Press of New England , inspired strong dialogue from bloggers:
Layah Lipsker sees the issue as a new form of domestic violence.
Lila Kagedan describes learning activism from one of the authors, Susan M. Weiss.
Netty Gross-Horowitz writes about legislation in Israel and how it won’t “break the chains.”
Also, in October, Zoe Klein visited the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute for a “conversation” with readers about her book, Drawing in the Dust. Her visit was part of HBI Conversations a group that brings readers and authors together for a conversation.
And this month at Life Is Like a Library, Kathe Pinchuck compares some Hebrew translations to the original English books with some interesting word differences.
Leora Wenger of Sketching Out presents a book review of Rebels in the Holy Land: Mazkeret Batya – An Early Battleground for the Soul of Israel by Sam Finkel.
Also on Sketching Out is a introduction to Mordecai Ben Isaac Ha-Levi & Other Tales by the author herself, M.L. Holtzman.
That’s all, folks. Have a December to remember, keep reading and writing. Come back and visit!
DIANA BLETTER 
Thanks for the list, Diana, and the easy connection to each of these books.
Diana, what an inventive way to bring together Jewish authors by inferring it’s a “Carnival”. I hope the links will bring in spectators as they “Step right this way.” 🙂
Thanks, Tracy. I like the idea of a carnival as well. Happy holidays–with meaning!
Nice job, Diana. Thanks so much!
Thank you, Erika. I used your site as my role model! Keep up your inspiring work!