Bookishly Jewish

As you might have guessed, my books are cherished and I do not part with them easily. Cookbooks especially so. I actually have a decent size collection with a special cabinet to store them. But today I’m going to tell you about the time I sold one. You see, I’d accidentally wound up with two copies of Spice and Spirit by Tzuvia Emmer and Tziporah Reitman. As I prepared to move out for college I purchased one for myself, and unbeknownst to me my mother did too. I put the extra book up on a resale site (remember, I was a broke college student) but I couldn’t really bear to part with it, so I listed it for a ridiculous amount of money. And then a month later someone bought it. 

Now why was this person willing to pay an obscene amount of money for one cookbook, and why did I refuse to sell them my second copy when they offered even more money for it? Well, Spice and Spirit is kind of a classic and it had gone temporarily out of print right after I bought it. There’s a reason my mother and I both thought it was important to have a copy of my own in my apartment. This book has literally been gifted by scores of Ashkenazi women to their daughters as they got married, or to any relative when they moved out on their own for the first time. I knew it would come back in print (you can easily buy it now for about $35 American), but I didn’t want to go even a few months without it. Neither did the mystery purchaser who said their daughter was getting married in a week. The second copy would have gone to their niece in a similar situation. 

Why? Why is a cookbook which doesn’t even have pictures such a hot ticket? Why does it continue to sell even thirty years after publication?

Before the recipe sections, there is a thorough explanation of Jewish Asheknazi customs including things that only come up once a year and thus can easily be forgotten – like whether we make one or two blessings over the candles on the second day of Sukkot and Passover. Albeit, from a largely Lubavitch perspective. I grew up in a religious household. I was taught these things in school. My mother had learned them at her mother’s knee. Still we always felt the need to double check in the book. I still sometimes do, and the nostalgia of that, the connection to so many women who have used the same text for this exact reason across generations, is not something I’m willing to put a price tag on. So I kept my book. I do not regret it. 

Now, I mentioned the book does not have photos – it was conceived and printed before the days of kosher cookbooks with full page glossy food photos- but it does contain really useful sketches of techniques, including different ways to braid and shape challah. They are easy to follow, and produce a great result. Spice and Spirit is also is jam packed full of traditional and modern Ashkenazi recipes. My copy has a sticky note in the front cover where I have written, in extremely cramped handwriting, all the recipes other people have told me are tried and true. It grows so fast I have added a second one and I’m still working my way through it. So which ones can I personally recommend? The mushroom barley soup is simple but delicious. I make it all the time and it never disappoints. The black and white cookies are fairly fool proof, and the variety of kugels is unmatched. 

I knew the laws of kashrut inside and out when I first got my own kitchen, but I had relatively little experience actually cooking. My mother didn’t enjoy it much (something I learned later and still laugh about given the discovery that I do enjoy it quite a bit). This book taught me the ropes.. And it did so with some simple pencil drawings and no nonsense recipes that avoided what we called “patchke” (a million ingredients, steps, and gadgets and pans that will later need to be washed). It’s a stalwart of Ashkenaz cooking and can also be enjoyed by Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews – or non Jews – who enjoy Ashkenaz food. To me these recipes taste like home. 

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If you’ve ever had the pleasure of being a guest in the home of Aleppian Jews, you will understand why Aromas of Aleppo is the first cookbook I chose for cookbook week. The cuisine of Syrian Jews is indeed legendary, as is their hosting. You will not leave hungry. Arrays of colorful plates and dainty foods that have been individually folded and stuffed will greet you. You will hear tales of amazing women of valor – including the spectacular dishes they made. You will be taken care of, body and soul.

Aromas of Aleppo, written by Poopa Dweck, focuses specifically on the food of Jews from Aleppo, Syria. While they mostly now live in the diaspora, their food traditions remain strong. Dweck takes the reader on a trip through time, explaining how the different diaspora communities came to their current locations, but also what life was life back in Syria and how this was reflected in the gastronomic offerings.

I do not use Aromas of Aleppo for the recipes (I actually find Rae Dayan’s For the Love of Cooking to be easier to work with, if slightly less comprehensive). Instead, I drool over the photos. This is the ultimate coffee table book – it’s kind of huge, it will not fit easily on your lap or the little holders people have for standard sized cookbooks, and the photos are glossy and intriguing.

Also not to be missed is the section on life cycle events and holidays foods in the back. One can learn about many interesting and unique customs, some of which are kept to today and some of which are not, and which foods pair with which holidays. Plus there are historic as well as current day photos to bring the entire thing to life.

If you do want to try your hand at a few of the recipes – and I can’t blame you!- My personal favorites are Djaj wa Rishta (chicken and spaghetti), which is always a huge hit with all ages, and Keftes (tamarind stewed meatballs). Plus, if you’ve never made Tamarind concentrate yourself (almost nobody has, it’s sold in stores these days) it’s worth trying once for the experience.

Aromas of Aleppo is a book that wants to take you on a journey. You should let it.

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Nothing signifies my everlasting devotion to this project, and my commitment to expanding our offerings, than my continued willingness to try and understand poetry. We have long since covered that as an art form, it does not come naturally for me. Yet, in reading Sweet Malida by Zilka Joseph, I was hugely rewarded. The collection is full of evocative details, contains two prose poems (a form I actually adore!) and spoke in the universal language of food. 

I don’t know very much about the Bene Israel community of Jews in India and was very interested to learn about their unique cultural heritage. Jospeh writes movingly about how some of her own experiences, as well as those of her father as a ship engineer, remind her of her ancestors that are presumed to have shipwrecked onto the coast of India where they found a place to bury their dead, and a welcoming land where they could recover. 

My favorite poems though, were about her memories of food. Specifically, food preparation. I could see generations working together in the kitchen, cooking traditional dishes like the one that gives the book its title – sweet malida. Joseph’s grandmother was like a larger than life character, brewing wine every Friday for the sabbath, and I wondered how the family all got along while living in the same house. 

The Bene Israel have several special customs related to the prophet Elijah who takes a special place in their celebrations. Having studied many of the Elijah Torah stories in my youth, I was pleased to meet them again here and learn about what they mean for this community. Particularly inspiring was the way Joesph talks about the carrion birds that brought Elijah meals. These birds are not kosher, and thus are often looked down on, but as Joseph points out, they too serve a purpose. They too are Gods creations. 

There was only one poem I could not understand (usually it’s 50-80%), and the reading was very sensory. My mouth watered and I found myself searching for an accompanying recipe compendium. I’d like to read more about the Bene Israel, their foods, customs and traditions. Sweet Malida was an excellent place to start. 

BookishlyJewish received a copy of this book from the publicist.

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The thing about second world fantasy that blows my mind every time is that the writer can literally bypass or ignore every single hegemonic norm about the world we currently live in. Since the book is not set in the world we inhabit, nor bogged down by our history, it has the potentially to be something entirely. In her debut adult fantasy The Sins On Their Bones, Laura R. Samotin looks past reheated Christian hegemony and cis het norms to build a world that is both distinctly Jewish and very queer norm. The result is an immersive and transporting experience. 

Readers do not need any prior knowledge of Judaism to understand the story, but those that have some Jewish background can appreciate that every town in this very Russian feeling setting has a shul and a Rebbe rather than a church and a priest. Several ceremonies, including those for the sabbath and weddings, are mentioned. Plus, a host of Jewish mythological creatures come out to play. Again, all of this is explained. Familiarity with dybbuks is not required. It is simply refreshing to see a back drop that does not assume we are all familiar with Christian traditions. 

In addition, in the world of The Sins On Their Bones, being queer is just a thing that is, not a thing that breaks societal norms. In fact, the main plot revolves around two husbands – a tzar overthrown by his abusive spouse who has now used a form of demonology to make himself immortal and usurp the throne. The deposed spouse, Dimitri, has a devoted court that includes a non-binary physician, a female identifying general, a chancellor/tactician that read as ace to me, and a spy master that read to me as either as bi or pan sexual (these identities are never specified outright so I could be wrong). Dimitri is falling for the spy master, but the two men both carry emotional scars that keep them from expressing their feelings. 

When things heat up back in their home country, Dimitri and his court must send the spy master back to gather intel while figuring out how to kill Dimitri’s now immortal spouse. My favorite part of the ensuing shenanigans is the very bizarre library they must consult which comes complete with a prophetic talking head. I could have set an entire book in that delightful place, but we all know I have a penchant for the strange. 

This is a m/m romance with a fair amount of m/m sex in it. It also about about trauma recovery, so not all of that sex is healthy. Readers who might be triggered should pay careful attention to the content warnings. The central love story is one of healing, trust, and triumph over past abuse, but as the title suggests, the characters pasts are so very integrated into their present it might as well be written on their bones. 

I found myself sinking into this world, to this culture, that was so welcoming to me. It has its wealth equality problems and abuses of power just like any other, but Samotin has created a space that feels unique from the world we live in. She imagines what life might be like with something other than our current worlds status quo in charge. Sure, Dimitri might have to fend off his resurrected demon husband, but at least nobody questions why he has a husband in the first place. It is the potential of second world fantasy come to fruition – a place where we can all become whole again.

BookishlyJewish received an ARC of this book from the publisher

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Our Interview with Laura R. Samotin can be found here.

A quick perusal of publishing deal announcements will show you that there are basically two types of fiction books: those described as “lyrical” vs. those described as “voice-y.” It’s a fairly decent stand in for picking out the literary books from the genre. I enjoy both varieties, but skills wise, I’m pretty fairly entrenched in the “voice” camp. Plus, as a reader I find them compulsively fun. Which is why I practically inhaled Rebecca Fraimow’s adult sci fi Lady Eve’s Last Con

I’ve enjoyed Fraimow’s short stories before, because they are often the delicious form of bizarre that makes my heart sing (robot nuns anyone?) and sometimes come paired with queer Jewish representation. In this longer piece we meet Ruthi, a con artist looking to pull a scam on the billionaire that knocked her sister up and dumped her. That’s all well and good, except the young man in question has a big sister named Sol that is hot on Ruthi’s tail and has some shady dealings of her own that keep complicating matters. 

Within two sentences I was completely immersed in both Ruthi’s world and knew exactly who and what she was. This is no small feat, as Lady Eve’s Last Con has a tremendous amount of world building – imagine a space age Bridgerton – yet by carefully selecting Ruthi’s words, Fraimow allows the reader to grasp it all seamlessly. By the time Sol, a veritable lady killer in her own right, shows up I was having a debate with myself about whether I wanted to be Ruthi or be with her. Sol cleared that up – all the girls want to be with Sol. Including Ruthi, which presents a bit of a challenge to the whole conning Sol’s brother plan. 

The book has a delightful sense of humor, exceptionally witty banter, but mostly the best love interest I’ve seen in a very long time. And lest I miss out on any of my favored bizarre factor – kosher duck plays a crucial plot point. 

I’ll admit that my reading and writing favor high heat romance. But sometimes watching two extremely clever individuals circle each other, almost but not quite bringing their flirtation to fruition, has its own benefits. Namely a sex scene at the end that can only be described as explosive. Maybe sometimes good things do come to those that wait. Plus, given the speed with which I read this book, I didn’t have to wait all that long. 

The ways in which I fell in love with these characters are numerous, but it was all made possible by Ruthi’s unique voice. She’s possibly the most distinct character voice I have read this year. I could pick up a random page, out of context, and know instantly that it came from Lady Eve. It’s aspirational, and swoony, and I hope to see more bizarre shenanigan books soon from Fraimow. 

Note: BookishlyJewish received a free e-ARC of this book through NetGalley

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Sometimes the setting of a book can be a character in and of itself. Sure, every story has to take place somewhere, but in the books I’m talking about, the plot literally could not take place anywhere else. The story, the characters, the vibes, and the theme are so closely linked to the location in which the drama unfolds there is no way to separate them. Here’s a list of some of my favorite examples. If you’re looking to beef up your own integration of setting, or simply to fully immerse yourself in a time and place, these are a great place to start. I might even suggest taking your book on a tour of the sites. It’s really fun if you can!

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a YA romance that perfectly encapsulates the bittersweet moment of graduating high school. While new journeys are exciting, they still mean saying goodbye to a place and community where one has lived for a formative piece of their life. Nothing will ever be the same. Which is why this book is a love story not only between high school rivals Rowan and Neil, it is also a love song to their home of Seattle Washington.

Rowan and Neil are competing in an epic scavenger hunt across the city, and after another classmate makes antisemitic comments about them, they agree to put aside their differences for the weekend to team up for the win. Rowan learns to look at Neil in a new light and the reader gets a tour de force through the city. if you’ve been to Seattle, you’ll happily recognize lots of tourist traps like the gum wall and rainbow sidewalks. If you haven’t, Today, Tonight, Tomorrow will give you a fine list of potential places to visit if you ever get the chance.

Another book that uses a city wide scavenger hunt as a plot device is A.J. Sass’s Ellen Outside the Lines. Ellen is a neurodivergent middle schooler on a trip with her Spanish class to Barcelona. On the way, she meets a new nonbinary classmate, triggering some mild panic as Ellen figures out how to handle a whole new set of pronouns and learns some new things about herself and her family. As Ellen is forced to navigate an unfamiliar city she realizes new truths about things she thought were familiar – her best friend, her own pronouns and sexuality, and even her fathers religious observance. Change can be hard, but sometimes it’s what is needed to return home a fuller, more complete person.

Nobody knows that better than the protagonist of Marisa Kanter’s Finally Fitz. On a trip to New York City for a summer internship in fashion, Instagram influencer and high school student Fitz finds her life turned upside down when her girlfriend dumps her. Fitz reconnects with an old friend, promptly starts fake dating him to make her ex-girlfriend jealous, and they run all over the city rescuing plants. From the Brooklyn Flea to Washington Square park and every sweaty subway stop in between, Finally Fitz gives us a realistic picture of what it is like to see manhattan through the eyes of a young person struggling to find their way, deal with emerging mental health issues, and sort through the messiness of new love.

Fleeing NY is on the mind of one Shani Levine, main character of Jake Maia Arlow’s YA romance How To Excavate a Heart. She’s coming off a break up that is much more than it seems (please read the trigger warnings) and some time in D.C. as part of an internship at the Smithsonian seems like the best way to get past it. Too bad she runs into a very cute romantic prospect, May, on her way into town. And by runs into, I mean literally, with a Subaru. Woops.

Shani and May tackle some pretty deep issues while gallivanting through the city, including coming out to their parents, the aforementioned prior break up, and May’s parents divorce. Still, there is a very cute dog and a whole lot of national landmarks to help the reader along. (Plus a surprising amount of fun information about fossil fish). I had a great time visiting the National portrait gallery and seeing some of the exhibits mentioned in the book during crucial moments.

Museums aside, the book that I took on a full city tour was Aden Polydoros’s YA dark fantasy romance The City Beautiful. No, I am not rich enough to randomly fly books around the country. This blog in fact makes negative monies, since I have to pay for the hosting. But I just so happen to be in Chicago for work and I couldn’t help but take The City Beautiful with. It’s a lush historical fantasy about a young man named Alter who is possessed by the Dybbuk of his murdered roommate during the Chicago World’s Fair. Alter must team up with his former flame – pickpocket and overall dapper criminal, Frankie – to solve the murder or risk being consumed by the dybbuk.

Obviously the landmarks Alter and Frankie see have mostly not survived to the present day, but Chicago has a lot of historical and architectural tours and I most definitely enjoyed the way they provided context to the story. Alter and Frankie’s journey is so tied to the time and place – large immigrant community in a big city just waiting to take advantage – and the World’s Fair provides the perfect veneer of genteel respectability to a city that survives on exploitative labor, so it seemed right to show them what became of their city.

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. R0mero also features a city of the past, but in this case it is a past that is intruding on the present. Violin player Ilana Lopez is sent by her parents to spend the summer with her Aunt in Prague when they become concerned that she is neglecting academic work for her art. What nobody counted on was that behind her Aunt’s cottage is a small Jewish cemetery that Ilana takes it upon herself to restore. While there she meets the ghost of a Jewish teen boy and discovers that he is in fact not dead, but rather stuck in between, as a man with no shadow feeds off his soul and that of several other Jewish children. To set him free, Ilana must risk herself and choose between saving the children and the depth that the man with no shadow gives to her music. The choice to tell this bittersweet love story in verse adds a poignancy that grabs straight for the heart, but also perfectly evokes the vibes of a city built on years of struggle and discrimination, especially for its Jews.

A hop skip and a jump away on the map is Budapest, setting of Katherine Locke’s brilliant YA historical fantasy This Rebel Heart. Set during the doomed Hungarian revolution of 1956, the book shows what it means to love a place so much, despite it failing you personally so hard, that you choose to stay and fight for its soul even knowing that you will lose. It is not a spoiler alert to say the revolution is not a success. Aside from this being a known historical fact, one of the books main characters is the angel of death who is there for reasons. Yet somehow Locke manages not only to push and pull the reader into hoping against hope that somehow history will rewrite itself in these pages, they also manage to have us fall in love with this place. Budapest’s people have betrayed Csila and her family and all their Jews, yet it’s river has saved her many times. We know it would be the smart thing to leave, but we cannot bring ourselves to wish her to go. We stand with her and bear witness to the fight.

Travel is expensive, no doubt about it, but these books will take you there and back for the price of a library card. They show you what it is to love a place even as you leave it, how to let a place change you on a brief visit, and what it means to fight for justice in the streets you call home. Setting is so much more than a backdrop. In the hands of these talented authors, it is the star of the book itself.

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Find The Books Mentioned In This Post:

Ellen Outside the Lines: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon | BookishlyJewish review

Finally Fitz: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon | BookishlyJewish review

How to Excavate a Heart: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon | BookishlyJewish review

The City Beautiful: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon| BookishlyJewish review

The Ghosts of Rose Hill: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon | BookishlyJewish review

This Rebel Heart: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon | BookishlyJewish review

Today, Tonight, Tomorrow: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon | BookishlyJewish review

Our first Picture Book cover reveal! Written by author Dara Henry and illustrated by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov, here’s the cover copy for Hanukkah Pajamakkahs.

A lively picture book celebrating holiday traditions, the patience of parenting, sibling relationships, and children’s fondness for pajamas, along with a fun, read-aloud, new book to help everyone celebrate the holiday together – in, or out, of pajamakkahs.

When Ruthie receives pajamakkahs for Hanukkah, she loves them so much she refuses to take them off―for all eight nights. But as they get smeared and stained, splattered and smudged, Ruthie’s determined to show her parents she can stay spotless.

With globs of humor, a big splatter of love, and out of the gift-box creativity, Hanukkah Pajamakkahs is a fresh, new celebration of a special holiday.

Here is the beautiful cover, from the illustrators Olga & Aleksey Ivanov

Find It: Goodreads | Bookshop | Sourcebooks

Judaism has always been part of my life. I was fortunate to grow up in a vibrant Jewish community and received a fairly thorough Jewish education (sans Talmud), but figuring out how to create a practice that was wholly mine and reflected my own views, took some time. The process included fixing the omission of Talmud from my repertoire and reading works by feminist Jewish scholars. Writing was a significant part of that journey, it still is, and each new facet of Judaism that I engage with adds layers to both my existence and my stories. Reading about others going through similar journeys, even if they start from different places, is always interesting. When those people happen to have been Michelle Obama’s head speech writer? I’m all in.

It was obvious from the start that I am not the target audience for Sarah Hurwitz’s Here All Along. The book is part memoir, describing Hurwitz’s journey towards incorporating more spirituality and Jewish tradition into her life as an adult, and part explanatory text for those unfamiliar with Judaism. Hurwitz goes back to the basics, giving a brief summary of the Torah and describing the basics of such fundamentals as Shabbat and holidays that I have always taken for granted. I have some very differing thoughts than she did about prayer in particular, our disparate Hebrew and Yiddish language proficiency probably has something to do with that, but this doesn’t mean I couldn’t find something meaningful and interesting in these pages.

Back when I first read Here All Along, I was wearing Jewish themed jewelry as a means to express my identity and celebrate my newfound ability to engage with my Judaism. Right now, as I type this review, I hesitate to wear such items publicly because of rampant antisemitism and misunderstanding about Jews (we are not a monolith for goodness sake). It breaks my heart on a daily basis and adds a whole new meaning to Here All Along for me. Now, more than ever, we need books that are geared towards demystifying Judaism and showcasing our diversity of practice and thought. This book is not just for Jews like Hurwitz who are seeking greater connection, or for individuals pondering conversion. Any person who would like to look past click bait social media hate posts and actually learn about a group of people that have been demonized and misrepresented for hundreds of years can pick up Here All Along and get a taste for who and what Jews are, from one of our most articulate voices.

The writing was fluid, the journey full of thought and consideration for others. There are many different ways to practice Judaism, and if you read closely you will see that this is a celebrated thing. Jews are questioning, we grapple with our God and spiritual practice, and we actively encourage dissent and self reflection. Hurwitz does all of these things in the book, and includes a beautiful explanation for why it is important to add ones voice to the discussion even when it might feel futile. I was moved by many of her stories.

I was surprised to read how supportive Hurwitz’s colleagues were when she tried to experience a more traditional observance of Shabbat by going offline for a period of time each week. Even with her high pressured job, people of various backgrounds reached out and expressed their hopes that she found relaxation and meaning in her spiritual life. Similarly, her conversation with an orthodox Rabbi about death and the afterlife really resonated. It was clear to me they had different views, that these views were never going to meet in the middle, and that both parties would be disappointed. Yet the Rabbi ended with the thought process behind his words, and it was one of deep empathy. Suddenly, the entire story shifted and the compromise I previously thought impossible was manifest on the page. Because it was a meeting of hearts both striving to understand.

It’s hard right now to be a person who actively celebrates her Judaism in her work. It’s not clear how it will be received by the publishing landscape, or by people whose experience of Jews and Judaism comes from a few social media posts that are designed for maximum engagement and not much else. That does not accurately reflect me, or really anyone I know. It’s scary to continue to put my work out there, but I don’t know how to write any other way and I will not retreat into a corner and let hate and misinformation win. So instead, I strive to write with empathy and hope for a greater understanding to be born from my work, to spread compassion with my stories. I can’t think of a better example to follow than Here All Along.

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The one time I tried to watch Saturday Night Live as a kid was during a sleep over in which we kids were in the basement and there happened to be a TV in our room. I didn’t understand a word of it, but I was with friends and being sneaky, so it was still a good time. Thankfully, I have matured since that incident, and was therefore able to dive into Chayla Wolfberg’s adult m/f romance Late Night Love.

Heroine and comedy writer Emily Beckerman clearly was a very different child than I was. She has been watching the sketch comedy show Live From New York, since she was a child. She finally has her dream job writing for the show, but it has both worsened her anxiety and exposed her to some of the more toxic sides of working in media. However, when a small prank gets her truly heinous boss fired, she finds herself paired up with Chris Galloway as co-head writer for the show as well as co-anchor for the fake news segment that appears every week on Live.

While this might seem like a win, there are some unfortunate strings attached to this promotion. The show is close to cancellation and Emily’s first season as head writer could be her last if she and Chris cannot work together. Chris, for his part, has no interest in working with Emily since he blames her for the prank that got his friend fired. The feeling is mutual because Emily blames Chris for enabling his friends misogynistic, racist, and frankly just every kind of obnoxious, behavior over the years which in all likelihood is what drove the show’s ratings into the ground in the first place. A massive office war ensues.

Since Late Night Love features literal comedy writers, I feel compelled to comment on the jokes. I found half to be hilarious and half to not be my type of humor. Which is about par for the course for any comedy show. But Emily herself? She’s got a wicked sense of humor and I truly loved being in her head, especially the way she ended the first chapter. It really hooked me and convinced me to continue reading. This is good, because the story is told solely from Emily’s POV. It’s a voice that we could use more of in media – she’s a plus size woman that has to think about her romantic partner seeing her shapewear, and also a person living with anxiety.

The romance is steamy, with two very explicit sex scenes that I found to be well done. The third act break up scene went on a little long, especially since the trigger came out of nowhere, but we were already suspicious about some of Chris’s behaviors. The resolution takes place in a way that also involves Emily’s faith and features some of the best jokes in the book (for my taste) since they are delivered deadpan by a reform Rabbi. Truly delightful.

Mostly, I think Late Night Love was really relatable, even for people who are not involved in comedy or the entertainment industry, because Emily is a character that a lot of people can see themselves in. I liked the choice of having the book come entirely through her POV because I don’t think I could bond with Chris quite the same way. Emily had me laughing, crying, feeling all the feelings. I rooted for her completely and was overjoyed to watch her achieve her happy ending.

Note: BookishlyJewish received a free copy of this book from the author.

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A good piece of reference material is more than just a way for writers to fact check. For me, reading source texts can in and of itself stimulate new plot developments or inspire entirely new stories. For some authors, those beloved reference books will be histories, memoirs, or science texts. For me, they are works of Jewish folklore, Talmud and other bible study, and works dealing with Jewish mysticism and magic. The epitome of such a book, that has so far sparked my creativity more than any other, is Rabbi Natan Slifkin’s Sacred Monsters.

The book features a discussion of various mythical creature such as unicorns, fire breathers like salamander/dragons, mermaids, and my personal favorite the Shamir. However, do not be fooled by my statement about creativity. This is not a work of fiction or written with any sort of creative license. In fact, the style is rather like a Talmud study – breaking down each possible explanation for references to these creatures in biblical and other Jewish texts, and attempting to find rational explanations for them. For some, the intro explaining the methodology used might be too much information, for others the scientific rational given might dull the magic, but for me, the descriptions have always inspired me to find new ways to incorporate these creatures into my work and to do so from a uniquely Jewish perspective. Many of the featured “monsters” are part of the cultural hive mind with characteristics from other cultures and sources. It is a unique joy to find the Jewish versions and represent them as accurately as I can.

The reading is interesting, but it also makes for good writing. To date I’ve sold at least 3 short stories inspired by creatures I read about in Sacred Monsters and there is one novel in development too. Not a bad haul for a single reference text, and I am sure there are many more stories to come.

This is why I am slightly heartbroken to report that Sacred Monsters is currently out of print (Unless you peak French. It appears to still be available in that language). I have my hardback, one of the most expensive books I purchased and well worth the price, in pride of place on my reference shelf. I refer to it often, and am so relieved I convinced myself to shell out the cash to purchase it a few years ago. For those who don’t yet have a copy – you can join me in hoping it gets reissued soon.

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