This month was insane as far as school work goes. I can barely keep up with the readings and assignments! I just turned in a huge 31-page paper and feel a sense of relief that’s off my plate for now. My days have been enjoyably full and interesting.
My family went to Aspen for a long weekend over Spring Break and enjoyed the mountain views and being in the snow. After we came home I got a virus of some sort. It’s still hanging on in my head and making me feel woozy.
Not a huge month for book reading… three of these were for school. I have another packed month ahead and then things will slow down slightly starting in May, as I’m not taking any summer classes. I’ll be able to make scrapbooks, do my diamond painting, and catch up on reading.
Antisemitism in America by Leonard Dinnerstein
Dinnerstein was the leading historian writing about antisemitism when this came out in the 90s, and this is one of very few surveys of prejudice against Jews in America. This was written from a rosy perspective, long before the severe increase in antisemitic incidents that began around 2015. Still interesting for the historical perspective. Did you know that the first Jews were almost not allowed off the boat into the colonies?
The Temple Bombing by Melissa Fay Greene
Excellent historical work that reads like a novel about the 1958 bombing of Atlanta’s Reform Temple and life in the South. The story of the life of Rabbi Jacob Rothschild and his moral voice is entertaining enough, but the investigation and trial with its cast of characters was like a movie.
“I am of a people, small in number and weak in power, whose only claim to greatness has been its willingness to be the conscience of mankind. Reviled and persecuted, decimated by pogrom and holocaust, we have still maintained our visibility and sought to obey the rabbinic dictum: ‘Separate not thyself from the community.’ I would urge upon the Negro a similar commitment.”
Lovesong: Becoming a Jew by Julius Lester
Lester’s great-grandfather was Jewish. He seemed to feel the occasional pull toward Judaism, but with his father a Minister and his work during the Civil Rights Movement, only in adulthood did he explore this more. It’s a beautifully-told story written by a beautiful soul.
“I have wondered often who I would be if I were not black. But I cannot imagine what it is to live without my life dangling in space, stretched and broken by the noose of race. I cannot imagine what it is to have choices.”
Wish You Were Here: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
Excellent story. I loved how it unfolded and how the narrator was continually changing based on her reflections and surroundings. Highly recommend.
“Now, I can’t lose myself in errands and work assignments. I can’t disappear in a crowd. I’m forced to walk instead of run and as a result, I’ve seen things I would have speed past before. The fuss of a crab trading up for a new shell, the miracle of a sunrise, the garish burst of a cactus flower. Busy is just a euphemism for being so focused on what you don’t have that you never notice what you do. It’s a defense mechanism because if you stop hustling, if you pause, you start wondering why you ever thought you wanted all those things. I can no longer tell the sky from the sea but I can hear the waves. A loss of sight; a gain of insight.”
“I know why you love art, even if you don’t… Because art isn’t absolute. A photograph, that’s different. You’re seeing exactly what the photographer wanted you to see. A painting, though, is a partnership. The artist begins a dialogue and you finish it. And here’s the incredible part. That dialogue is different every time you view the art, not because anything changes on the canvas, but because of what changes in you.”
