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An open-ended thread for discussing and commenting on anything you're reading right now, even books not on the group bookshelf, even books without a Jewish author; any book you feel moved to talk about.

Omit obvious spoilers.

Don't open a new discussion thread; just keep it rolling. 😍

I doubt many people have read Pete Dexter's Deadwood; it's an old book but very good one by the National Book Award winner. Probably a lot more people have seen the TV series Deadwood but it's not the same.

In the TV series or so I hear there is a Jewish character Solomon Star who at least at some point(s?) is the target of antisemitic slurs. The character in the book has the same name, which could sound Jewish, and he's described as loving business, which might "sound Jewish" -- although the main character, Charley, is described as being someone to whom money always gravitates, and Charley is not Jewish. Now, there is something else that happens that might indicate Jewishness, if the author knows anything (and maybe he does), and that is that after a bounty hunter brings a body part into Solomon's place of business, he goes sort of nuts scrubbing and cleaning afterwards. However, the author never indicates in the book that the character Solomon is Jewish. And, later, he indicates that a female character invites to a party "all the businessmen in town, except tavern owners, owners of theaters of ill repute, Jews, and coloreds." But, in the story, as a matter of fact, the lady does invite some of the blacklisted types to that party, or so it seemed. So, either Solomon Star's Jewishness is an open secret that never gets mentioned. Or -- and is this possible in 1876 in the American West? -- he's passing. Or maybe he's not a Jew at all, and I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.

This is one of those bits of unfinished business that gets lodged in my head. Maybe I can exorcise it by talking about it here!

My review, if you're interested: /review/show...

This year, some Jewish related books i read include THE SIZTERS OF THE WINTER WOOD BY RENA ROSSNER, and recently i finished THE THIRD DAUGHTER BY TALIA CARNER and AN UNORTHODOX MATCH BY NAOMI RAGEN. Apparently for month of October, my bday month, i will be planning on reading THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE by Julia Orringer. It does have an older woman/ younger male relationship right?

Hi Aurora- How have you been?
Happy Birthday in advance.
Thank you for being part of a discussion in this group.
Which book did you enjoy more?
There are many love relationships in "The Invisible Bridge".
Are you looking for a specific relationship?
If I write more, it could become a spoiler :)

Hey Stacey, thanks for responding. I am doing ok, just wishing extra hard for some books, although i dont think i am likely to get them :( Its hard for me to choose a favorite, but if I had to, it would be SISTERS OF THE WINTER WOOD :) feels similar to THE GOLEM AND THE DJINNI, ( have you read that book?) I was hoping to find an older woman/ younger male relationship to be honest, and i thought that THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE had it?

I will give in, for you,- but only this once as Invisible Bridge is a long book. :)
It does have the relationship you are looking for.
Orringer is a wonderful author and her newest book "The Flight Portfolio is great, though just as long.
I read the Golem and the Djinni, but not "The Sisters of the Winter Wood". I will put that on my TRL.
After you finish the above book; please share your thoughts with the group.

Stacey wrote: "I will give in, for you,- but only this once as Invisible Bridge is a long book. :)
It does have the relationship you are looking for.
Orringer is a wonderful author and her newest book "The Fligh..."

Hi, Stacey and Aurora -- wanted to mention there is actually a dedicated folder for The Invisible Bridge among the list of discussions! We can discuss any time, not only during the particular month it was up, 12/2018 in this case.

I read The Golem and the Djinni way back in 2013. A memorable book! Has her second book come out yet? I heard something about it.

Really liked The Invisible Bridge and The Golem and the Jinni.
Both definitely worth the read!. Plan on reading Flight Portfolio (once its out in paperback. Have not read Sisters of the Winter wood. ( a different author altogether) anyone else read it?

Hi. I enjoyed both. Flight Portfolio was good too. What are you reading now?

Stacey wrote: "Hi. I enjoyed both. Flight Portfolio was good too. What are you reading now?"
A backpack, a bear and eight crates of vodka - a memoir of a Russian Jew's journey out. by Lev Golinkin. Enjoying.

debra luger wrote: "Stacey wrote: ... What are you reading now?"
A backpack, a bear and eight crates of vodka - a memoir of a Russian Jew's journey out. by Lev Golinkin...."

Ha--sounds good. Reminds me of something in The Mathematician's Shiva Have you read that, Debra? Can't remember if that one has been on the group's bookshelf.

Currently reading Women of Valor: Polish Jewish Resisters to the Third Reich by Joanne D Gilbert.
This is such an important topic--showing Jews (especially women) as proud, smart fighters rather than just passive victims.
I was not familiar with Joanne's work when I wrote my book, so it is interesting to see some of the same themes.
Fascinating profiles; I'll post more when I finish.

Jan wrote: "debra luger wrote: "Stacey wrote: ... What are you reading now?"
A backpack, a bear and eight crates of vodka - a memoir of a Russian Jew's journey out. by Lev Golinkin...."

Ha--sounds good. Remin..."

Jan wrote: "debra luger wrote: "Stacey wrote: ... What are you reading now?"
A backpack, a bear and eight crates of vodka - a memoir of a Russian Jew's journey out. by Lev Golinkin...."

Ha--sounds good. Remin..."

Yes our book group really liked Mathematician's Shiva! Several of our husbands read/enjoyed it as well! A few were actually familiar with the formula in question which is real!!

Dr. wrote: "Currently reading Women of Valor: Polish Jewish Resisters to the Third Reich by Joanne D Gilbert.
This is such an important topic--showing Jews (especially women) as proud, smart fi..."

It is a very important topic- I agree. Lmk if you enjoyed it.
I am glad you wrote to this group.
I would have never known about the book you wrote, which I am going to purchase now. Your subject belongs here Dr.,
I am speechless after reading the synopsis. an extremely large family surviving and in different camps as well is the best news I have had in a long time.

debra luger wrote: "...Jan wrote: "debra luger wrote: "Stacey wrote: ... What are you reading now?"
A backpack, a bear and eight crates of vodka - a memoir of a Russian Jew's journey out. by Lev Golinkin...."

Ha--sounds good. Remin..."

Yes our book group really liked Mathematician's Shiva! Several of our husbands read/enjoyed it as well! A few were actually familiar with the formula in question which is real!!"

😊

Stacey wrote: "Dr. wrote: "Currently reading Women of Valor: Polish Jewish Resisters to the Third Reich by Joanne D Gilbert.
This is such an important topic--showing Jews (especially women) as pro..."

Thank you, Stacey. My book, Has been a labor of love. I interviewed 9 of my survivor family. It was astonishing that 6/7 of my mom's sibs survived, and that 2/3 of my dad's did.
I wanted to understand what, besides luck, enabled that.
Mom and 2 sisters were in Auschwitz; my dad and uncle were in Forced Labor and Dachau together. Theirs is truly a remarkable story.
I look forward to your thoughts about it!
Judy

I'm very interested in reading this book as well. The question of human resilience in the face of brutality is one that haunts me. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Stacey!

I have just finished Lake Success. It's a hard book to love because the main character isn't lovable. It's a satire, or at least that's part of it, and it has something to say. After some time to think, I'll eventually figure out how to review.

Sharon wrote: "I'm very interested in reading this book as well. The question of human resilience in the face of brutality is one that haunts me. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Stacey!"

Sharon wrote: "I'm very interested in reading this book as well. The question of human resilience in the face of brutality is one that haunts me. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Stacey!"

You are welcome.:)
Sharon- are you working on a new book- I hope?

Your welcome.

Small acts of kindness were critical to the survival of some. I hadn't expected that to be a recurrent theme, Stacey and Sharon. I'd welcome any discussion. Being a relative newbie to ŷ������, I'm not sure where it is best to have an ongoing conversation about this--here or elsewhere? Thanks for direction.

Stacey wrote: "Sharon wrote: "I'm very interested in reading this book as well. The question of human resilience in the face of brutality is one that haunts me. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Stacey!"

..."

Jan wrote: "I have just finished Lake Success. It's a hard book to love because the main character isn't lovable. It's a satire, or at least that's part of it, and it has something to say. Afte..."

Stacey wrote: "Sharon wrote: "I'm very interested in reading this book as well. The question of human resilience in the face of brutality is one that haunts me. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Stacey!"

..."

Stacey wrote: "Sharon wrote: "I'm very interested in reading this book as well. The question of human resilience in the face of brutality is one that haunts me. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Stacey!"

..."
Yes, I'm in the middle of writing a new novel. However, I'm still very busy giving talks and interviews about COME BACK FOR ME so that I haven't been able to devote all my time to the new book. However, I do try to work on it every day!

Dr.Judy wrote: "Small acts of kindness were critical to the survival of some. I hadn't expected that to be a recurrent theme, Stacey and Sharon. I'd welcome any discussion. Being a relative newbie to ŷ������, I'..."

Hi. I am happy to discuss!
There is a designated thread for "Authors Announcing Their Books" and discussion will hopefully happen there.
Click on "Discussions" and you will see different categories come up but they are not written in "Bold" print.
If you decide to read a book that is on the formal book list, there is a folder for each one, named as the book-under "discussions" as well. If you want to read one from a new proposed list, you hopefully will find them under a discussion topic of Proposed List 2020 posted by "Jan" from early September.
So, with that said, I am glad you asked for direction.
I don't always pay attention to where a post is- I just automatically reply.
It took me months to find where the folders were as well. It took a little while as well to understand there were designated places for topics. Jan was great and taught me how to navigate.
Just an FYI...
I saw where an author had promoted their book in the "wrong" place in some esoteric group's discussion.
Their moderator "curtly" stopped the author dead in his tracks about posting it in the wrong place, without one pleasantry.
Maybe it was repetitive or an innocent mistake, but reading that felt like I got stung- imagine how the author felt.
It costs nothing to be nice, but it did cost that group a loss of some members.
In a group that has thousands of members, that loss wouldn't be noticed.
In a group like this, where we want to encourage new members, it will.
and, I'm not a moderator :)

Thank you for the encouragement, Stacey
Resilience is #673 in "Authors Announcing Their Books." Sept 12
While it reads like a novel, my book doesn't fit in with the Holocaust Fiction group, because mine is all true. That seems to be a major negative at this point.

I finally found (after an hour) the Proposed List 2020 posted by "Jan" from early September here:/topic/show/...
Jan was explicit in that thread that we were not to post our own book there.

So any place you want to discuss, I'm game. I had a good radio interview today and focused on the kindness aspect, but boy, was that draining.
Thx

Dr J-
No wonder...
I never saw your post where you announced your book. I will refer to the Sept 12th "Authors Announcing their Books" for future conversation of your book on that thread.
I apologize.

I just finished reading American Ghost by Hannah Nordhaus. It was last month’s selection for our reading group in Santa Fe, the primary setting for the book.

My overall opinion is that the book lacks cohesion. Some sections are unnecessary, and some topics could be expanded.

Barbara-Im sorry you werent a fan of the book.
I never read it, but I looked it up w/o much time to read the synopsis.
You said Santa Fe was where this book was set.
I caught the name La Posada.
I was in Santa Fe a long time ago. I either stayed at a hotel or had dinner at a place called La Posada. Am I correct? Sounds so familiar.
BTW, I am always curious to know what other book clubs are reading.
What is your next book?

Dr.Judy wrote: "Thank you for the encouragement, Stacey
Resilience is #673 in "Authors Announcing Their Books." Sept 12
While it reads like a novel, my book doesn't fit in with the Holocaust Fiction group, because..."

No apologies need! I just appreciate your direction. Clearly, no one else saw my new book announcement either ;> )
Thank you for support!

I just finished " Where the Crawdad Sings" by Delia Owens. I am sure many have already read it, as it has been a best seller for over a year now. All the praise that was given to this book is well deserved. I thoroughly enjoyed it and brought back memories of other books such as The Prince of Tides and To Kill a Mockingbird. Done properly I feel the book could translate into a great movie. the novel is written in such a straight froward way that it becomes a very easy read. The story though is actually very complex, when you delve into the characters of the novel. Along with reading the book, I also read Study Guide for Book Club: Where the Crawdad Sings. This 45 minute read gave me so much more of a deep understanding of the story that Owens was telling. The author who has a PHD in Animal Behavior and spent many years in Africa studying Elephants, Lions and Hyenea's, translate this knowledge into her novel. Kya the protagonist of the story is abandoned to the North Carolina Marsh, at a very young age, with no remaining family at home. She must learn to fend for herself to avoid Truant officers, spiteful and prejudice neighbors, find income for food,etc...Everything she learns is from the surrounding Marsh in watching birds, insects and other forms of nature. Kya depends on these animal instincts to survive in the society she lives. Through her learning of nature, she applies these lessons to everyday life. these lessons also give her greater insight to the differences in male and female behaviors something that Owens meant to translate into the story after all her work in Africa. She does a great job showing this in the character of Kya and integrates the poetry that Kya is reading to explain a lot of her feelings and emotions . I do not want to go to much deeper in respect of the people who still want to read the book. I highly recommend this book.

Jonathan...
This review is absolutely your best one yet!
I love the verbiage you chose in describing the many pertinent topics melded through out the book.
You make a great point regarding assimilation; it is difficult regardless what the culture is.
I own the book but have not read it yet.
If I had read a review such as yours, I would have changed up my TRL. :)

Thanks Stacey, you made my day. You are always great at reading notes. If you get a chance read the ones I left in the Book Club guide. it really gives great insight into what Owens was writing.

Jan wrote: "I doubt many people have read Pete Dexter's Deadwood; it's an old book but very good one by the National Book Award winner. Probably a lot more people have seen the TV series Deadwoo..." Hi Jan, reading your comment on Sol Starr. While I did not read the book I was a dedicated fan of the HBO series. I Just wanted to make sure I understood, were you questioning whether Sol Starr was Jewish? Or are you wondering if his Judaism was a known to the public? To the first part it appears Star was Jewish, he is buried in Mount Sinai Cemetery in St. Louis. he served in the South Dakota Senate and House of Representatives. His being Jewish and level headed was a focal point of his character in the series. Along with his loyalty to Seth Bullock.

I wanted my comment regarding your notes to be on this thread, but responded on the other by mistake.
The notes you wrote are indeed insightful as well as powerful, though I only read those which were not marked "spoiler".
I am going to buy the guide after I read the book.
HNY!!!

Great, for me without the guide. I would have missed a lot of sociological points that Owens was bringing out. I was not aware you have not read the book. Enjoy, I think you are going to love it.

Jonathan wrote: "Jan wrote: "I doubt many people have read Pete Dexter's Deadwood; it's an old book but very good one by the National Book Award winner. Probably a lot more people have seen the TV se..."

The book is quite a different kettle of fish from the series, Jonathan--and the book far preceded the series. Yes, I know the historical character is Jewish. Pete Dexter does something else again with his character. I can't remember exactly what I wrote before so may have to read back over it later! ;-) Thanks!

Yes, no doubt the series took a lot of poetic license with the characters and depictions.

Jonathan,
Congrats on your reading challenge!
Something tells me you will far surpass this amount. :)

Thanks but legitimately I still have some to go. I think my daughter has a book or two on there and can’t count reading guides.

Jonathan wrote: "Yes, no doubt the series took a lot of poetic license with the characters and depictions."

I'm pretty sure both the book and the series took that license. I've said I would watch some of the series to test a hypothesis I have, something to the effect that the series will conform more to current expectations and stereotypes. I know that many who watched the series love it, and Dennis likes it, also my son-in-law, so I'm not saying it's not good or the like. But the author believes the series plagiarized from him, given that it also takes this minuscule historical blip Charley Utter and makes something major out of him. But he cannot do anything about it b/c of HBO's power and deep pockets. He's said for example that the HBO series has all the cursing b/c of how well The Sopranos did, and that if anybody talked like that at the time they would have been shot. And I'm for the author. I feel for the director/screen writer Milch, who has Alzheimer's. But I read that entire New Yorker piece and of course the book doesn't get mentioned. I believe I wrote a little more about the issue in my review of Spooner, since the author dealt with the subject in his Acknowledgments.

Jonathan wrote: "I just finished " Where the Crawdad Sings" by Delia Owens. I am sure many have already read it, as it has been a best seller for over a year now. All the praise that was given to this book is well ..."

Happy to read this review, Jonathan. Thanks.

I'm deep into A Tale of Love and Darkness now. Someday this memoir s/b on the group's list. NYT made it one of the 50 best memoirs of the last 50 years, No. 14, to be exact.

Taking a breather, though, and finally reading Olive Kitteridge, which won the Pulitzer 10 years ago. This one will get my "bibliotherapeutic" endorsement I think.

When I saw you were reading the book. I immediately started thinking about the series and thought I should also read the book to get a fuller perspective. After reading what you wrote. I will do that.

Jonathan wrote: "When I saw you were reading the book. I immediately started thinking about the series and thought I should also read the book to get a fuller perspective. After reading what you wrote. I will do that."

I look forward to seeing what you think. I believe this author's writing is masculine, and also his subject matter does not deal with the affairs and foibles of the elites; possibly why he doesn't have the readership one would expect. Also he may not have the personality to rev up the public like some authors do. Makes me think of another author I mean to read, Sigrid Nunez (The Friend). She said she became an author b/c of being an introvert! None of the above being Jewish books. ...There seem to be thousands of books I want to read! 😁

Jewish Book Council has announced their Natan Notable Books for this fall, and one of them is The Lions' Den: Zionism and the Left from Hannah Arendt to Noam Chomsky, which I mentioned over in the 2020 Suggestions discussion. I have it in audio format and hope to begin it soon!

I just finished "The Liar" by Ayalet Gunder-Goshen. 4 stars
What would you do if you were a seventeen yr old girl who told a lie that skyrocketed out of control, you couldn't take it back because of the shame, and the damage it would cause to the innocent one?
Many topics involved in this book.
I felt the ending could have been a little more ......

Stacey wrote: "I just finished "The Liar" by Ayalet Gunder-Goshen. 4 stars
What would you do if you were a seventeen yr old girl who told a lie that skyrocketed out of control, you couldn't take it back because o..."

Sounds good, Stacey. Keep 'em coming! 👍

I just completed the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. My review is here: /review/show...

An aspect I didn't deal with in the review is the four mentions of Jews in this book, three of them negative and one neutral or maybe tinged positive. In the hands of some authors I have had difficulty with whether disparaging views are views of the author or simply the character's views. In this author's hands, though, I didn't have that doubt. The author is describing views/opinions that are out there. It isn't a major theme although maybe part of a larger theme of religious differences, since there also are negative views of Catholicism. I wonder if her main character will grow in this regard! There's a sequel about to come out.

Jan wrote: "I just completed the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. My review is here: /review/show...

An aspect I didn't deal with ..."
Nice comments.
I have to go back to the book to see. I read it long ago, and dont remember if there were some red flags .

Stacey wrote: "...I have to go back to the book to see. I read it long ago, and dont remember if there were some red flags.

I don't consider them red flags; I just noticed. Most readers love the book but I saw that one of my friends had a relatively dim view and talked about the antisemitic town or something like that. I saw the references as being the way things are, and the author was doing her job and observed them, that's all. I do wonder if growth or improvement about it takes place in Olive. Maybe in the new book?

To save you the trouble of looking back at the book, here are the four references. 1st is a New York therapist ("MD, PhD") the suicidal young man in Story No. 2 saw. The doc had a "Jewish name," and only after the other references did I become 99.9% sure he was Jewish. Next was Olive's son's 1st wife, also with a Jewish name, and later we find out for sure. Olive is very down on her for taking her son away from her, but it doesn't take much insight to see the son was trying to get away from Olive. Third is what Olive says about the ex-wife to her husband while they are under severe stress, and fourth is toward the end when Olive is irritated with an outsider--a "New York Jew"--who criticizes the locals in a letter to the editor. Olive allows as how, if outsiders must move in, some locals would prefer a Muslim over a Jew. That's it! As I said, also some anti-Catholic and anti-fundamentalist Christian attitudes. Shows the lay of the land. Writers gotta write!

There, Stacey; I've given you the inside scoop on these little points (not spoilers). 😘

Jan- Here is what I did.
Looked up comments re antisemitic of the book Olive Kitteridge..
They are from "BookBrowse" under Autumn Reading, Oct 28th 2009.
Here are just a a few....and all loved the book, regardless.
One said she was "unsettled by the "New York Jew comment."
Another responded by saying that in each of her novels, "there is something ( "and not about any other ethnic group-that she could find") negative about Jews."
One comment says she was asked by a member of a book group at an interview at "Symphony Space" about the subject, and Stout became defensive, said she was not antisemitic, but would not explain her point of view.
Another said "Im surprised by the lack of insight the readers are showing re the antisemitic issue." "Or non issue". "Stout is articulating the narrow ideas and vision of the character."
And the last was a comment regarding the fact that "the author captures some of the small town mentality found in many towns, including suspicion of New York "city folks" which might include Jews".
In looking this up, there were many entries solely on this subject, not only by Jews.
A known fact- Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize, because why?
A known fact, Herman Wouk a jew, wrote of anti semites in Winds of War.
A known fact, David Dukes, a KKK and anti jew, wrote a disgusting book of racism etc
In my humble opinion...
Stout, an unknown to some per her religious opinions, writes
through her character four stereotypical remarks about jews,
is -a red flag for me.
For the cautious -yellow.
It could very well be that Stout's character Olive, is just that.
As I said earlier, I read it awhile ago and don't remember her comments in the book.
There are 131,000 ratings.
I would be very disappointed this Pulitzer Prize winner may have an issue.
I followed your lead and put no spoilers in here either.:)

Thank you to Jewish Book Council for sending me a copy of
"The Book of V." by Anna Solomon.
The synopsis of this novel is about showing how women's roles have and have not changed over thousands of years.
Lily is a mother and daughter, and a second wife. She lives in a rented apt in Brooklyn who grapples with sexual and intellectual desires.
Vivian Barr is the perfect political wife. One night she refuses a humiliating favor asked by her husband, which changes her life forever.
Esther, from Persia is quite independent.
When an innocent mistake results in devastating consequences for her people, she is offered as a sacrifice to please the king.
Following "The Hours" and "The Red Tent", this novel is a bold and contemporary investigation of expectations and restraints placed on women's lives.