Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Take a page from their book
Click image to enlarge
   |
The CJN asked our readers to send us recommendations of their favorite books. Here are some we received. Watch future issues of the CJN for more readers’ rave reviews. And if you’ve read a great book you want to tell us about, don’t be shy! Follow the format on this page, and send to city editor Margi Herwald Zitelli at mherwald@cjn.org.
MY NAME IS: Evie Kaden of Richmond Heights
I RECOMMEND: The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve (Bay Back Books, 1999)
THE STORY: Following her husband’s death in a plane crash, a widow searches for evidence to prove her husband n the pilot n was not responsible for the crash.
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: An absorbing tale, its characters come to life in tragedy’s aftermath. It pulls on your emotions and is difficult to put down. I’d recommend reading the book anywhere … except on a plane!
LENGTH: 283 pages
PRICE: $14.95
MY NAME IS: Betty Gold of Beachwood
I RECOMMEND: Rachel Calof’s Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains by Rachel Calof and J. Sanford Rikoon (Indiana University Press, 1995)
THE STORY: It’s a memoir about a Jewish immigrant bride living as homesteader with her new family in North Dakota in 1894. I did not know there were Jewish homesteaders!
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I purchased two copies and passed them around to family and friends. Everyone’s reaction to the book was, “Wow, what a story!”
LENGTH: 176 pages
PRICE: $11.58
MY NAME IS: Geraldine Powers Volper of Beachwood
I RECOMMEND: The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn. (HarperCollins Publishers, 2006)
THE STORY: This fascinating memoir is the author’s story of his relentless search for six family members who disappeared during the Holocaust. After discovering a trove of desperate letters written to his grandfather in 1939, he resolves to embark on a search for eyewitnesses to determine the fate of his relatives. His journey takes him to four continents and leads him back to Bolechow, Ukraine, where the family story began.
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: This odyssey of obsession is a gripping detective story. It held me in deep suspense and had me thinking about it long after I turned the last page.
LENGTH: 512 pages
PRICE: $27.95
Editor’s note: Mrs. Volper was one of three readers to write in recommending this book!
MY NAME IS: Jennifer Slate Grischkan of Columbus (formerly of Cleveland)
I RECOMMEND: Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as a Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford (Knopf, 2006)
THE STORY: It’s a fascinating look behind the scenes of trendy New York restaurant, Mario Batali’s Babbo.
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: As a self-proclaimed “foodie,” it was fun for me to learn about the chef’s techniques and life on the “line.” Buford describes his super in-depth research into Italian cooking, i.e., when the egg was first introduced into pasta recipes and the difference between French and Italian cooking techniques. Anyone with an interest in cooking or restaurant eating will eat it up!
LENGTH: 336 pages
PRICE: $25.95
MY NAME IS: Barbara Wolpaw Drossin of Beachwood
I RECOMMEND: Passing: When People Can’t Be Who They Are by Brooke Kroeger (Perseus Book Group, 2004)
THE STORY: Six stories about six real people who, in a personal attempt to circumvent societal justice, decided to pass for something they weren’t. A black man passes as a white Jew; a Southern white passes for a black; an underprivileged person passes for someone of privilege; a Conservative Jewish seminarian and a naval officer who are gay pass for straight. In order to “pass,” each is forced to lie, twist and live a deceitful public life.
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: In these case studies from the 1980s, we are torn between learning, happily, that each case resolved itself after years of struggle and the sad truth that honorable people must contort their lives to conform to popular mores. Who among us has passed? Who among us has looked the other way while a dear one has struggled to pass? Who among us will read these stories and fail to be distressed?
LENGTH: 288 pages
PRICE: $18
MY NAME IS: Evie Kaden of Richmond Heights
I RECOMMEND: The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve (Bay Back Books, 1999)
THE STORY: Following her husband’s death in a plane crash, a widow searches for evidence to prove her husband n the pilot n was not responsible for the crash.
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: An absorbing tale, its characters come to life in tragedy’s aftermath. It pulls on your emotions and is difficult to put down. I’d recommend reading the book anywhere … except on a plane!
LENGTH: 283 pages
PRICE: $14.95
MY NAME IS: Betty Gold of Beachwood
I RECOMMEND: Rachel Calof’s Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains by Rachel Calof and J. Sanford Rikoon (Indiana University Press, 1995)
THE STORY: It’s a memoir about a Jewish immigrant bride living as homesteader with her new family in North Dakota in 1894. I did not know there were Jewish homesteaders!
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I purchased two copies and passed them around to family and friends. Everyone’s reaction to the book was, “Wow, what a story!”
LENGTH: 176 pages
PRICE: $11.58
MY NAME IS: Geraldine Powers Volper of Beachwood
I RECOMMEND: The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn. (HarperCollins Publishers, 2006)
THE STORY: This fascinating memoir is the author’s story of his relentless search for six family members who disappeared during the Holocaust. After discovering a trove of desperate letters written to his grandfather in 1939, he resolves to embark on a search for eyewitnesses to determine the fate of his relatives. His journey takes him to four continents and leads him back to Bolechow, Ukraine, where the family story began.
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: This odyssey of obsession is a gripping detective story. It held me in deep suspense and had me thinking about it long after I turned the last page.
LENGTH: 512 pages
PRICE: $27.95
Editor’s note: Mrs. Volper was one of three readers to write in recommending this book!
MY NAME IS: Jennifer Slate Grischkan of Columbus (formerly of Cleveland)
I RECOMMEND: Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as a Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford (Knopf, 2006)
THE STORY: It’s a fascinating look behind the scenes of trendy New York restaurant, Mario Batali’s Babbo.
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: As a self-proclaimed “foodie,” it was fun for me to learn about the chef’s techniques and life on the “line.” Buford describes his super in-depth research into Italian cooking, i.e., when the egg was first introduced into pasta recipes and the difference between French and Italian cooking techniques. Anyone with an interest in cooking or restaurant eating will eat it up!
LENGTH: 336 pages
PRICE: $25.95
MY NAME IS: Barbara Wolpaw Drossin of Beachwood
I RECOMMEND: Passing: When People Can’t Be Who They Are by Brooke Kroeger (Perseus Book Group, 2004)
THE STORY: Six stories about six real people who, in a personal attempt to circumvent societal justice, decided to pass for something they weren’t. A black man passes as a white Jew; a Southern white passes for a black; an underprivileged person passes for someone of privilege; a Conservative Jewish seminarian and a naval officer who are gay pass for straight. In order to “pass,” each is forced to lie, twist and live a deceitful public life.
YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE: In these case studies from the 1980s, we are torn between learning, happily, that each case resolved itself after years of struggle and the sad truth that honorable people must contort their lives to conform to popular mores. Who among us has passed? Who among us has looked the other way while a dear one has struggled to pass? Who among us will read these stories and fail to be distressed?
LENGTH: 288 pages
PRICE: $18
 |
||
| Arsham ‘mentors’ Performing Arts Center Board |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of clevelandjewishnews.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments. Registration is free.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
