September reading report |

Hi friends! Life has smoothly rolled along for us and I can hardly believe it’s already October. I am patiently waiting for Houston to realize it does not need three-digit temps anymore. I’ve had four weeks of new classes that are going very well. And I have a break until the end of October due to the Jewish holidays.

There’s a heaviness in the air as we get ready for Rosh Hashanah, which begins on Wednesday evening, and Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah after that. (Simchat Torah, the 1-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre on the Jewish calendar, is October 24. I can hardly believe we still do not have the hostages home.) Besides unfounded hatred toward Jews in almost every nation, there has been a great deal of escalation in the way Jews have been thinking about one another, particularly because the stakes are so high. This is not a border skirmish — we are fighting for our existential future — we are fighting for the very existence of the state of Israel. And if Israel were to collapse, there is serious doubt that diaspora Jewry could continue. Because the stakes are so high, we need to we learn to build the resilience to connect to others who do not share our views, regardless of where we stand on the political spectrum. Maybe we can’t agree on anything, but we can agree to at least be in the conversation about Israel.

Last month, I wrote that my 2024 reading goal seemed unattainable. Well, I guess my subconscious got busy because now I am on track to meet this goal. 94 books completed, a few in progress, and soon I’ll be at 110 and beyond. (If you can’t see the photos in this post, click on the title above.)

Again, I’ve decided to list these in the order of outstanding to bleh, so if you only have a couple minutes, you can just glance at the first few.

I’d love to hear about what YOU are reading and finding favor with.

Israel Alone by Bernard-Henri Lévy — Wow. Levy puts the facts together so succinctly and starkly that I read this in a couple hours but was amazed. It’s about the tragedy of October 7 and the loneliness of Israel. “For Israel, it was a dizzying moment. But for Jews in the rest of the world, it was a hellish plunge into an unknown abyss….. It is a breach, a tear—a severing of the very flow of days and things. And, for this reason, it breaks history in two.”

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb — This fantasy book came out a couple years ago and I can’t believe I’d not heard of it because it is fantastic! It’s the classic “good angel” and “bad angel” and they have been best friends for hundreds of years, but they head into the world to help find a missing immigrant. I laughed out loud at many of the clever references to Jewish texts.

James by Percival Everett — This is Huckelberry Finn told from Jim’s perspective. It is rich and humorous and very smart. I think Twain would approve.

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig — I’d been waiting for this for quite awhile and read it as soon as it was published. It’s a little bit fantasy, a lot of self-discovery. “The one good thing about having regrets is that I no longer judge others too harshly. Every single person on this planet is a context and the circumstances of that context can never be seen fully. We are all mysteries, even to ourselves.”

The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore — It sounded sort of predictable, but the heart of the book is it’s deep characters and how they relate to one another. It’s incredibly inspiring. I like that it was told from each point of view.

Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words by Anne Curzan — LOVE!! I heard her read this on audio, which I recommend. I definitely have an inner grammarian, and this tempered it a little bit. It was funny as well as smart and taught me some history to current language rules.

The Mistress of Pennington’s by Rachel Brimble — This was surprisingly delightful! In a male-led society in 1910, one woman fights for the inheritance of her family’s department store. The world is moving forward quickly, times are changing, and the main character stands up for herself admirably, while showing all her vulnerability in private. The plot is fast-moving and all the characters are interesting.

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary — Another surprise! Through little notes around the apartment, two roommates get to know one anther and create a deep bond. The other relationships in the novel are compelling and give depth to the story.

All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley — What starts as a short stint as a security guard to help him heal from his brother’s death turns into a ten-year learning experience. I enjoyed hearing about the art, the museum visitors, and Bringley’s own development.

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey — I listened to him read this on audiobook and loved it. He tells stories of his life: upbringing, education, career, marriage, kids. It’s great!

How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Suprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book by Leil Leibovitz — I enjoyed how Leibovitz connected stories from the Talmud to modern day phenomena like Weight Watchers, the Dewey Decimal System, and C.S. Lewis. The Talmud is a 2000-year-old Jewish text about absolutely everything in life: communicating with your partner, dealing with grief, being a friend, what constitutes a boundary between properties, etc. This was just plain funny.

Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb — I guess I’m a sucker for romance and this was well-done and interesting. I truly cared for the two main characters.

One Good Thing by Alexandra Potter — I love a rags to riches story, though this one is about loneliness becoming an abundance of family/friends. This woman reinvented her life and filled herself up from the inside. Very inspiring.

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa — I just wanted to complete the loop here… but I think I liked this one more than the first!

The Wedding People by Alison Espach — Not sure what to say… just ok, though it gets rave reviews.

Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life by Joshua Leifer — “‘Destruction,’ the great scholar of Judaism Gershom Scholem once said, ‘is both liberation and risk.’ There may be opportunity in the collapse of an ossified and fatally obsolete consensus. Traditional Jewish sources teach us about the necessity of destruction for the sake of preserving the sacred community.” I am not quite sure what I think about this forecast. Rather depressing.

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout — I don’t know why I keep returning to these characters. I guess because they are familiar. People love them. This one was quieter than the others, though still a deep look into love and the deep connections between people.

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman — Sort of an ordinary glance at life working at a big-box store, yet it’s real. I mean, the character’s struggles are real. I can imagine people spending 40 years in this kind of life.

At that was September! Very satisfying. Here is what I’m currently in the middle of: