Ima on (and off) the Bima: Real-Life Jewish Parenting

March 2026 Books

2026-03-31T09:00:00.001-05:00

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, volumes 5-7 by Beth Brower - I love this little series, and you will note that there are currently only 8 books published. I am maybe going to wait to read book 8 until I know when book 9 is coming. Then again, I said I was going to slow-roll the watching of the new season of Bridgerton and that didn't go well either.

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn - This was such a departure from her other books, it's almost like someone challenged her to write a fantasy novel. I didn't hate it but it wasn't my favorite of her books. I prefer the historical fiction.

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page - Oh, I loved this sweet, uplifting, and lovely book. I liked the characters and the storytelling, and I was pleased that it ended mostly the way I expected.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo - A dark story about a young secretly-Jewish woman in Inquisition Spain - and she has magical powers that take her farther than she expects to go. I'm not exactly sure what the point of htis book was. And I was so curious as to how it would end that I kept going. ((Shrug))

The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King - A semi-historical tale about a magical pencil company. I liked the historical parts and the overall question of how do we tell our stories - and who OWNS our stories.

One and Only by Maureen Goo - I read this book after The Familiar and the Pencil Company and I had to giggle at my series of "books about ancient magic." The magic was less central in this one and the love story (both falling in love with a partner, and also with her own family, self, history) was sweet.

This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman - Whew, this family was tough on each other. I appreciated the various points of view and the lovely Jewy-ness of the family that pervaded the story. I don't think I liked all the characters but I do think this one will make an interesting book discussion!

Keeper of the Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson - Oof, this was a good one! I didn't know about this particular episode in history and the telling was excellent. Even though I had a pretty good idea of how the story lines were going to come together, I was so satisfied with the ending.

Where I've been...

February 2026 Books
January 2026 books

February 2026 Books

2026-02-28T20:17:00.004-06:00

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibert - I read the first in this series of linked books about a set of sisters, and I really liked this one. I especially liked the British cursing haha. A sweet story.

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore - I basically described this as the "romance novel version of The Eights" and so it was perfect.

The Red House by Mary Morris - a poignant World War 2 story about Jews in Italy. The book discussion group really liked talking about this one. It raised some good questions about what makes something a "Jewish story"

Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun - I liked this romance and it made me want to add the Camino de Santiago to my travel bucket list!

Don't Feed the Lion by Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi - I think this book is important and would be an interesting parent/kid discussion book. I was a little confused by where in Chicago they were. Good story, relevant and readable.

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods - a tiny bit of magic but a good story that highlighted a little of the Roma experience during WW2. Love a good mixed up family drama, romance, and bakery story!

Read Between the Lies by Jesse Q Sutanto - It reminded me a little of YellowFace but had its own twists and I liked it. This author has such a good range of books and I haven't been disappointed yet!

Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo - I am sure this will be one of my favorites of 2026. What a remarkable, sad, uplifting, sweet, loving story. I read this in one sitting and was so deeply enmeshed in this tale of how a community comes together around one child.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, volumes 1-4 by Beth Brower - I'm totally in love with this series, as you can see, I read the first four of them this month. They're delicious, delightful, quirky.....like Bridgerton meets Gilmore Girls.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy - I resisted this one because climate novels give me nightmares, but I can see why so many people listed this as a 2025 favorite. It was dark and sad, but also hopeful and full of love.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden - a little twisty, very layered, and a deep question about how we reckon and atone for a dark past...looking forward to discussing this one with my group too!

What You Are Looking For is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama - Loved this interwoven set of short stories all revolving around a community-center library and a group of people trying to find themselves...and of course, books save the day!

Where I've been...

January 2026 books

January 2026 Books

2026-01-31T19:00:00.001-06:00

January reading is usually so much fun because I'm reading all the "best of" books from the year before! What a great month of reading...considering the darkness of the world around us right now, I'm grateful for the escape into fiction...

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan - this was on most of the "best of 2025" lists and it was a great first read of 2026. I loved this historical fiction that really swept through historical events as they came to this small Ohio town.

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild - whew, this was not what I expected and I also couldn't put it down. After the shocking first chapter, I did think it was a little predictable but it ended just how I thought it would and should.

The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake by Rachel Linden - a sweet story about a young woman who has an internet cooking show and a family olive farm in Italy. It made me want to eat pasta, it kept my interest, but overall was mostly forgettable.

The Eights by Joanna Miller - Loved this story about some of the first women to be full-fledged students at Oxford. Each of the women has a war story background and it was fascinating. A little long but worth it!

Game Changer by Rachel Reid - I had to see what the fuss was all about and let's be real - I love romance novels and this was a fine example of that. I don't plan to read the rest of the series. (PS the cover that is in my goodreads is quite scandalous but I left it in)

The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony - Loved this look at a particular incident in Irish history. I honestly didn't need the modern story that alternated, I was totally taken with the historical element.

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown - A really good one lifting up lots of good questions about technology and how technology impacts us and how family is chosen and loved. It wrapped up a little too neatly but I couldn't put it down!

Violet Thistlethwaite is Not A Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz - I am a sucker for stories about magical plants. A sweet and silly cozy fantasy/romance - perfect for a cold winter day!

Books I Read in 2025

2025-12-31T09:07:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my annual year-end wrap up. Although, I'm noticing that I didn't do a wrap up last year. Hmm....oh well. This year, I left all of my mini-reviews in there so you don't have to click around for them.

It was an amazing year of reading. I also feel like the whole world around me exploded with readers and that was so fun. I love talking about what I'm reading and what books are coming up and hearing about what other people are reading too. Many of my favorites were big hits with a lot of people - I think it's so much fun when we're all reading the same books and talking about them. It's just one more wonderful way to bring people together.

It's hard for me to choose favorites but here is a list of the ones I liked best:

Rules for Ghosting
The Frozen River
Good Dirt
The Bright Years
In the Family Way
The Names
Atmosphere
The Correspondent
The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits

I See You've Called in Dead

I track my books on GoodReads (and sometimes I choose a second app but I haven't picked for this year. What do you use?) and as always, I'll share monthly updates here and on the socials so stay tuned.

What do you think I should read in 2026? What are you reading? What were your favorites of 2025?

The Book List of 2025:

Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali - This is a wonderful book following two young women in Iran and how they live through the revolution and beyond. It was on so many "favorite lists" from last year, but I didn't realize I had read the author's earlier book and enjoyed that as well. Highly recommend.

I Made it Out of Clay by Beth Kander - a fun Chanukah + Golem story that had a lot of good parts (loved the Chicago elements and the camp-themed wedding) but overall didn't totally work for me.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach - Goodness, this was probably the most polarizing book of 2024. Some people loved this one and some hated it. Since I read it knowing that, I was able to see both sides. I definitely didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. I kept waiting for something to really happen, and I felt annoyed by the characters a lot of the time.

The Convert by Stefan Hertmans - This is a fascinating look at the Middle Ages, a Christian teenager who converts to Judaism because she meets a Jewish boy...and a crazy saga that ensues. It's speculative, but based on a few genizah fragments so there might actually have been a real story here. But the book could have been a novella, without the author's own drama and research.

Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski - Apparently I like "cozy fantasy" and this one qualified. I loved the house, which is an other character in the book, and overall enjoyed this one but it was a little too long and draggy by the end.

The Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors - I wanted to love this book but found it to be a little bit lacking. I'm usually a sucker for a good sister story, but I found this one hard to hold onto.

On Her Own by Lihi Lapid - I really liked this one - the themes of motherhood and self-worth, about what makes Israeli society, and a little of its underbelly too. A little bit of intrigue, drama, suspense...I look forward to the discussion about this one with our book group!

Happy to Help: Adventures of a People Pleaser by Amy Wilson - This was different from my usual fiction, but I enjoyed this collection of essays about a woman who is a "people pleaser" and how perhaps...that's not always great.

Rachel Weiss's Group Chat by Lauren Appelbaum - Um....meh? I think this was supposed to be a take on Pride and Prejudice, but it didn't work for me.

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros - meh. I just wanted to see what happens next.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray - a very complex family system and how a family rallies around each other even when there's a lot of dysfunction. I'm still not exactly sure how the crisis exactly happened, but it did make for a compelling read!

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore - loved this one! It's about a queer Jewish person who has no issues with either of those two identities! The issues were related to how he can see ghosts, which is a silly and fun part of the story. Anyway, don't skip this one.

Across Seward Park by Gail Lehrman - I like a good family saga....this one didn't really disappoint! A solid story about a family living through the turmoil of America from the early 1900s up through to the 1950s.

We Would Never by Tova Mirvis - Okay, I'm not a "true crime" gal, so maybe that's why I didn't love this story of basically all unlikeable characters.

Till there Was You by Lindsay Hameroff - a sweet and cute book about a chef and a rock star...and their love story. I appreciated the lowkey Jewish character and the matzah ball soup...(even though the spelling of "till" in the title really annoys me)

One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe by Dara Horn and Theo Ellsworth - hmm...I might not have been the target audience for this strange book, but I'm trying to figure out who that audience actually is. I found it a little bit hard to follow, so maybe someone out there can explain it to me?

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff - I appreciated the two lesser known stories of World War 2 - the British delivering Red Cross packages (it also just fueled my current anger at the ICRC for their lack of assistance then (Holocaust) as now with the hostages in Gaza) and the prisoners in a Paris department store. A little bland but readable!

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - The hard part of a prequel is that you kinda already know the ending but this one still held me on the edge of my seat. And now I'm loving the tiktok theories, the online speculation, and all the ways that the fan base is taking this one really hard. I like it even more upon later reflection on the complexity of the story. Did she know all this backstory when she wrote the original trilogy!?

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza - This was on a lot of "top" lists last year and for some reason I didn't think I'd like it...and I only sortof liked it. I liked the historical story more than the contemporary one.

Never Planned on You by Lindsay Hameroff - a companion to the book by this author that I read earlier in the month, it's a sweet romance. The Jewish representation was a little less low-key, but still incidental and also felt really authentic.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler - I don't know how I missed this one when it first came out but to be honest, it was almost too close to home. I read it through squinting eyes hoping not to see the next terrible thing. But I think she's a great writer and it was compelling and hard and also a little odd...

Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld - I really don't like short story collections. Either the stories all feel too similar, or they end too quickly, or it's too uneve of an experience. I felt all of that as I read these. I liked a few of the stories better than others, but I kept getting annoyed at having to start a new story just when I was figuring the previous one out. I'm sticking to novels.

Shadows of Tokyo by Matthew Legare - This is the opening of a detective series, and I didn't love it. A little too bloody for me. Interesting look at Japan in this time period (1931), though, and so that made it worth reading.

We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein - wonderful book about the Warsaw Ghetto, in particular the Oyneg Shabbes group that documented life in the ghetto. I had the privilege of visiting the archives this week...and the author had said that "every document could be its own novel" and she was right.

The Judgement of Yoyo Gold by Isaac Blum - interesting look at an Orthodox Jewish community and how the kids and adults interact with the outside world. How can you be both inside and outside a community at the same time? The ending was a little abrupt but I'm not sure how else it could have gone....

Just Right Jillian by Nicole Collier - A fifth grader recommended this to me and it was sweet and heartfelt, and I loved it. A really good insight into the mind of a fifth grader, too.

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins - I love the Dove Pond series, it's a sweet blend of Gilmore Girls, Sweet Magnolias, with a magical twist. Totally fluffy but perfect.

Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez - a little heavier than some of her other romance novels, but a good happily-ever-after ending!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - Everyone was recommending this to me but I thought it would be scary! (maybe it was the cover) and so I avoided it. But I am so glad I read it - what a wonderful book with incredible historical insights. Loved this one, don't skip it.

The Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini - I have read all the books in this series before and while the ending seemed quite obvious to me, I enjoyed the ride.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner - such a good book! She writes beautifully about sister dynamics and I really liked the story.

Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake - did not love this book... it was basically a magical version of Succession. It was a little too much for me.

Wolf Hunt by Ayelet Gundar Goshen - We did this one for book group, and the discussion was really wonderful. This was a hard book to read - there were a lot of unlikeable characters in it, but the story and the writing and the messages were all really interesting, which made it readable. I do recommend this one!

The Sirens by Emilia Hart - Hmm. I am not sure what this book wanted to be, and I do not think I liked it. I preferred the historical timeline to the modern one.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry - Enjoyable while reading but mostly forgettable.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore - Okay, so I read this book because I was stuck without my kindle and I went to Libby, and this one came up as "immediately available" and I basically know why. It was FINE but not anything to write home about.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult - I really liked this one! I was drawn more to the historical timeline, and I'm not enough of a Shakespeare buff to have gotten what I think were a lot of references, but I liked the character and her story was compelling. The mordern story was interesting, but a little more predictable.

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune - it was fun to revisit Charlie Florek and it was a good way to start my summer reading!

Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory - she never disappoints, and I really enjoyed this fluffy, fun, fake-dating romance!

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson - I loved this author's first book and this one was almost as good. A family saga following multiple timelines in the family history, and it was so powerful to read these stories.

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady - even though I basically figured out how it was all going to end, that didn't stop me from loving this enemies-to-lovers romance. (And of course, if you liked "You've Got Mail," it had those vibes...)

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis - ooh, intrigue and history and some women finding their voices...what's not to like about this one?

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan - It took me a little bit to get into this one, but I liked the multiple points of view and I was satisfied with the ending.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - I liked this book, but not enough to read any more in the series. It features a secret inter-dimensional library, werewolves, dragons, steampunk, and a lot of other stuff. Maybe a little too much. But I did like it.

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon - this wasn't my favorite of her books but it was a perfectly fine fake dating romance.

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff - a really wonderful and heart-breaking read.

Fervor by Toby Lloyd - Did not like this one. I was a little confused by the characters and their stories, and just annoyed.

In the Family Way by Laney Katz Becker - I loved this novel about women in the pre-Roe era who grappled with different ways to hold power, care for one another, and change the world.

Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz - I thought this was a clever and readable middle grade novel about World War II. I think I need to read the next book!

An Inside Job by Daniel Silva - of course, loved this yearly visit with Gabriel Allon. I actually enjoyed that it was more heist than spy...did not disappoint.

I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney - a really interesting novel about how you really learn to live your life. The characters were likeable and stuck with me.

Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein - okay, to be honest, I didn't really remember much about the Oliver Twist story, so this might have all gone over my head (but thanks, Wikipedia for the review). I just don't think that Fagin was an interesting enough character to get his own novel.

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood - I liked this one, it had some meat on its bones and was a good read!

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters - A little slow in the middle but the ending was emotional and powerful. A really important story and a good cry at the end.

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna - I was waiting eagerly for this author's second book and it did not disappoint - a cozy, sweet, magical romance. Loved it!

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q Sutano - I adore these Disney themed romance novels and this one was just as good as the others! In case you missed it, it is a takeoff on Mulan, which is a great story in itself! (Girl power)

The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams by Karen Hawkins - I like this series about a set of magic-ish sisters in a small town named for their family.

Your Presence is Mandatory by Sasha Vasilyuk - A really compelling read about a Jewish-Ukranian-Soviet former POW - what an interesting and unknown-to-me story. It was a little long but I honestly couldn't put it down.

Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar - I don't think I realized this was middle grade, but I loved the interwoven stories of these Jewish families through history. We don't get a lot of stories about the Jews of Turkey, for example, and I like her writing. A great read, even if you don't typically read middle grade novels!

Real Americans by Rachel Khong - I thought some of this book was interesting but honestly, I'm not sure I totally understood the ending. I liked the historical perspective and the immigrant story, and didn't feel like it all worked for me.

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen - Interesting to read two Asian-American immigrant stories back to back. (I liked this one more than Real Americans) I was most fascinated by the languages and the author's note at the start about how all of the languages interplayed.

The Names by Florence Knapp - Oof what a hard and beautiful book. This was a tough story to read with the domestic abuse, but a really wonderful commentary on the impact of our choices as the story is split into three different timelines based on what would have happened if the main character had given her child any one of three different names. Probbaly will make my top 10 list for the year.

The Last Dekrepitzer by Howard Langer - This is really a great novel imagining the last of a line of fiddle-playing rebbes who ends up in the American South and blends his family's musical tradition with the American blues and religious music. A really lovely story about the healing and uniting power of music.

Good Grief by Sara Goodman Confino - one of my favorite authors, this one did not disappoint. This story of a young widow and her mother-in-law was hopeful and funny and sweet, and I want to just hang out with her characters and be friends with them.

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry - I really loved this author's previous book and I enjoyed this slightly frustrating book. I like her writing style, I just didn't totally "buy" this story.

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young - Again, I really liked this author's previous book but I didn't like this one as much. I guess I just didn't feel invested in the characters and their problems.

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett - Okay, I actually did love this one about found and biological family, with a road trip and some sweet kids to boot. Funny AND sweet.

The World's Fair Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini - as long as she keeps writing about the Elm Creek Quilters, I'll keep reading. I love going back to this group of friends and their history. I like the ones that have some history involved, this was the 23rd in the series!

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Loved loved loved it! I read this one in less than 24 hours, I couldn't put it down. The relationships were great and the story was so compelling. (P.S. I loved the movie SpaceCamp when I was a kid too)

The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye - Sweet, cozy, lovable book. Very predictable, a tiny dash of magic, a little too perfect, but overall it was like reading a hug.

Passion Project by London Sperry - I read this back-to-back with the Evelyn Skye book and together they were a little bit of a love letter to New York City. But anyway, this one was just okay. It took me a while to invest in the characters, and then I was all in. (It may have had something to do with the dead boyfriend named Sam)

The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram - Okay, I wanted to like this book. It had a lot of good ideas going for it, but I don't think it really worked for me. I think Grant was too much of a caricature of a "poor little rich boy" and that took it downhill for me.

Loved One by Aisha Muharrar - This is a messy story about relationships and grief, with a complicated history between two women who loved the same man (and of course, he had the nerve to go and die). A powerful story but it somehow didn't quite land for me.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue - I definitely expected to laugh out loud, but instead found this to be slightly cringey and ultimately very sweet and lovely. It was a little slow in places and I didn't particularly love the characters, but I found the ending nicely satisfying.

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood - I'm almost embarrassed to put this book here because it was very spicy! I thought the love story was sweet and inevitable, and it gave me the HEA that I wanted!

The Favorites by Layne Fargo - I liked this book about the competitive world of ice dancing, and found the story compelling and engaging. It dragged a little in the middle and I'm not sure I liked the "documentary" interludes because I felt a little like the author was just trying to write the movie script. But then again, it would be a good movie!

It's A Love Story by Annabel Monaghan - I mean, the title says it all, doesn't it? Love story, romance novel. No complaints, it worked.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab - Big fan of this author and also had no idea that it was a vampire book until suddenly...yeah. But I wasn't really mad about it and I love the way it lets the characters live through many periods of history. I found Alice's story a little cloying but I loved the way it all came together in the end.

Isola by Allegra Goodman - I felt like I learned something cool about history here - in that respect the story was fascinating. It was a little slow but the history did make it worthwhile.

The Whisper Sister by Jennifer S. Brown - This was a good read, very engaging and interesting - I liked the look at Prohibition-era New York and all the details about speakeasies. The questions of what it means to belong, to be an American, to be a Jew - these were important questions that felt real and still resonate today.

The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer - Cute premise, not my favorite of hers.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans - loved, loved, loved this one. Everything everyone is saying about it is true - one of my favorites for the whole year.

Mothers and Other Fictional Characters: A Memoir in Essays by Nicole Graev Lipson - I don't usually read essays but I really enjoyed this memoir about real modern motherhood. I felt seen...

As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz - a really great follow-up to her first book. Readable, important discussion about how antisemitism has shaped our Jewish lives, and how we can reclaim our Jewish joy.

If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia - sweet, predictable, lovable romance set in a small town that you'll want to live in.

Heart of a Stranger by Angela Buchdal - a really important and wonderful memoir with some wonderful divrei torah sprinkled in.

Ghosts of a Holy War by Yardena Schwartz - This book was so hard but also felt really important. Bookended by the 1929 massacre in Hebron and the October 7 massacre in the Gaza Envelope, I felt torn apart as I read the descriptions of these two historical events, and saw the direct ties between them.

For Such a Time as This by Elliot Cosgrove - What does it mean to be Jewish in a post-October 7 world? This book starts to help answer those questions.

The Witching Moon Manor by Stacy Sivinski - Just like in the first book, my favorite character is the house itself, which is, of course, magical. And second was the magical bookshop. I needed this palate cleanser after three non-fiction reads!

Hostage by Eli Sharabi - I wasn't going to read this but it came into the synagogue library and I felt like I had to read this wrenching first-hand account of Eli's horrific experiences as a hostage in Gaza. It is important and necessary.

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso - "Speculative" fiction about a time-space library where all of our memories are stored, and also lost. It reminded me of the Midnight Library and it was pretty good, but not one of my favorites.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst - this is a companion, not a sequel, to the author's earlier book and once I realized that and settled in, I loved it. I like the world she's created and I loved the found family element of this one, especially since much of the found family were sentient plants.

Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross - Hmm. I wanted to like this. Interesting premise. I am not totally sure I understood who this book was for or what the point was. And I didn't really like most of the characters. I kept waiting for something to happen...

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand - I mostly read this because it seemed to be very controversial - either you loved it or hated it. I didn't hate it but I can see how people might. I also didn't love it, I just thought it was entertaining and totally far-fetched. And I'm a smidge annoyed that I have to read the sequel in order to find out the twist!

Heart the Lover by Lily King - This was on a lot of "best" lists this year and I can see why - a truly wonderful emotional rollercoaster of a book. It took me a little bit to "get it" and then wow. I basically read this in one sitting because I couldn't stop.

James by Percival Everett - With deep apologies to my beloved high school English teachers, I will admit that I had to go and read a summary of Huck Finn as I started this book. But once I did, I felt a flood of memories of high school class and tried to channel that as I read. What a wonderful companion and retelling with our modern eyes of this story.

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall - Loved this one, the characters and the story - and I wasn't sure where it was going, but I liked how we got there.

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland - A dual timeline book - one side a piece of history that is a terrible shameful eugenics case (Buck v Bell) - I thought this part was so interesting and well-told. I was less taken by the modern timeline, not because the message was less important but because the main character was so annoying to me.

Backslide by Nora Dahlia - I bascially forgot this book as soon as I was done with it. A second-chance/enemies-to-lovers combo romance.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai - Okay, Mr. Obama and the NYT Book Editors, I tried. I really did. I slogged all the way through this one so I could seem erudite and well-read. It actually started out well with the two main characters' stories, but I felt like the many digressions and clutter (what was the whole mafia part!?) lost me.

Merry Little Bookshop by Ali Brady - this was the perfect palate cleanser after the last book and it didn't disappoint. Loved the Jewish representation and the sweet relationship.

We Are Made of Stars by Rochelle B. Weinstein - So many characters and I definitely saw the ending coming, but I really liked how we got there. The characters were flawed but their flaws made sense and helped to drive the story. Some of it was a little trite but overall a really good read.

Sisters of Fortune by Esther Chehebar - Really enjoyed this look at the Syrian-Jewish community in Brooklyn. It was a classic sister story, all of them very different but ultimately a team. I was a little confused by the teenager and her much-older beau and I'm glad it went well since I was a little worried.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi - A sweet found-family kind of tale, with a suprise twist at the end that I had an inkling was coming.

Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q Sutanto - a really lovely emotional book. I must admit that I expected a more standard romance novel and was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the story and the characters. Plus I love the intergenerational aspect.

Previous years' book lists are here:

Books I read in 2025 (?)

Books Read in 2018
Books Read in 2017
Books Read in 2016
Books Read in 2015
Books Read in 2014
Books Read in 2013
Books Read in 2012
Books Read in 2011
Books Read in 2010
Books Read in 2009
Books Read in 2008

December 2025 Books

2025-12-31T08:41:00.005-06:00

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand - I mostly read this because it seemed to be very controversial - either you loved it or hated it. I didn't hate it but I can see how people might. I also didn't love it, I just thought it was entertaining and totally far-fetched. And I'm a smidge annoyed that I have to read the sequel in order to find out the twist!

Heart the Lover by Lily King - This was on a lot of "best" lists this year and I can see why - a truly wonderful emotional rollercoaster of a book. It took me a little bit to "get it" and then wow. I basically read this in one sitting because I couldn't stop.

James by Percival Everett - With deep apologies to my beloved high school English teachers, I will admit that I had to go and read a summary of Huck Finn as I started this book. But once I did, I felt a flood of memories of high school class and tried to channel that as I read. What a wonderful companion and retelling with our modern eyes of this story.

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall - Loved this one, the characters and the story - and I wasn't sure where it was going, but I liked how we got there.

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland - A dual timeline book - one side a piece of history that is a terrible shameful eugenics case (Buck v Bell) - I thought this part was so interesting and well-told. I was less taken by the modern timeline, not because the message was less important but because the main character was so annoying to me.

Backslide by Nora Dahlia - I bascially forgot this book as soon as I was done with it. A second-chance/enemies-to-lovers combo romance.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai - Okay, Mr. Obama and the NYT Book Editors, I tried. I really did. I slogged all the way through this one so I could seem erudite and well-read. It actually started out well with the two main characters' stories, but I felt like the many digressions and clutter (what was the whole mafia part!?) lost me.

Merry Little Bookshop by Ali Brady - this was the perfect palate cleanser after the last book and it didn't disappoint. Loved the Jewish representation and the sweet relationship.

We Are Made of Stars by Rochelle B. Weinstein - So many characters and I definitely saw the ending coming, but I really liked how we got there. The characters were flawed but their flaws made sense and helped to drive the story. Some of it was a little trite but overall a really good read.

Sisters of Fortune by Esther Chehebar - Really enjoyed this look at the Syrian-Jewish community in Brooklyn. It was a classic sister story, all of them very different but ultimately a team. I was a little confused by the teenager and her much-older beau and I'm glad it went well since I was a little worried.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi - A sweet found-family kind of tale, with a suprise twist at the end that I had an inkling was coming.

Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q Sutanto - a really lovely emotional book. I must admit that I expected a more standard romance novel and was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the story and the characters. Plus I love the intergenerational aspect.

Where I've Been....

November Books
October Books
September Books
August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

November 2025 Books

2025-11-29T23:05:00.008-06:00

The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer - Cute premise, not my favorite of hers.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans - loved, loved, loved this one. Everything everyone is saying about it is true - one of my favorites for the whole year.

Mothers and Other Fictional Characters: A Memoir in Essays by Nicole Graev Lipson - I don't usually read essays but I really enjoyed this memoir about real modern motherhood. I felt seen...

As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz - a really great follow-up to her first book. Readable, important discussion about how antisemitism has shaped our Jewish lives, and how we can reclaim our Jewish joy.

If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia - sweet, predictable, lovable romance set in a small town that you'll want to live in.

Heart of a Stranger by Angela Buchdal - a really important and wonderful memoir with some wonderful divrei torah sprinkled in.

Ghosts of a Holy War by Yardena Schwartz - This book was so hard but also felt really important. Bookended by the 1929 massacre in Hebron and the October 7 massacre in the Gaza Envelope, I felt torn apart as I read the descriptions of these two historical events, and saw the direct ties between them.

For Such a Time as This by Elliot Cosgrove - What does it mean to be Jewish in a post-October 7 world? This book starts to help answer those questions.

The Witching Moon Manor by Stacy Sivinski - Just like in the first book, my favorite character is the house itself, which is, of course, magical. And second was the magical bookshop. I needed this palate cleanser after three non-fiction reads!

Hostage by Eli Sharabi - I wasn't going to read this but it came into the synagogue library and I felt like I had to read this wrenching first-hand account of Eli's horrific experiences as a hostage in Gaza. It is important and necessary.

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso - "Speculative" fiction about a time-space library where all of our memories are stored, and also lost. It reminded me of the Midnight Library and it was pretty good, but not one of my favorites.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst - this is a companion, not a sequel, to the author's earlier book and once I realized that and settled in, I loved it. I like the world she's created and I loved the found family element of this one, especially since much of the found family were sentient plants.

Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross - Hmm. I wanted to like this. Interesting premise. I am not totally sure I understood who this book was for or what the point was. And I didn't really like most of the characters. I kept waiting for something to happen...

Where I've Been....

October Books
September Books
August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

October 2025 Books

2025-10-31T09:52:00.001-05:00

Loved One by Aisha Muharrar - This is a messy story about relationships and grief, with a complicated history between two women who loved the same man (and of course, he had the nerve to go and die). A powerful story but it somehow didn't quite land for me.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue - I definitely expected to laugh out loud, but instead found this to be slightly cringey and ultimately very sweet and lovely. It was a little slow in places and I didn't particularly love the characters, but I found the ending nicely satisfying.

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood - I'm almost embarrassed to put this book here because it was very spicy! I thought the love story was sweet and inevitable, and it gave me the HEA that I wanted!

The Favorites by Layne Fargo - I liked this book about the competitive world of ice dancing, and found the story compelling and engaging. It dragged a little in the middle and I'm not sure I liked the "documentary" interludes because I felt a little like the author was just trying to write the movie script. But then again, it would be a good movie!

It's A Love Story by Annabel Monaghan - I mean, the title says it all, doesn't it? Love story, romance novel. No complaints, it worked.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab - Big fan of this author and also had no idea that it was a vampire book until suddenly...yeah. But I wasn't really mad about it and I love the way it lets the characters live through many periods of history. I found Alice's story a little cloying but I loved the way it all came together in the end.

Isola by Allegra Goodman - I felt like I learned something cool about history here - in that respect the story was fascinating. It was a little slow but the history did make it worthwhile.

The Whisper Sister by Jennifer S. Brown - This was a good read, very engaging and interesting - I liked the look at Prohibition-era New York and all the details about speakeasies. The questions of what it means to belong, to be an American, to be a Jew - these were important questions that felt real and still resonate today.

The rest of this year....

September Books
August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

September 2025 Books

2025-09-29T18:28:00.000-05:00

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry - I really loved this author's previous book and I enjoyed this slightly frustrating book. I like her writing style, I just didn't totally "buy" this story.

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young - Again, I really liked this author's previous book but I didn't like this one as much. I guess I just didn't feel invested in the characters and their problems.

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett - Okay, I actually did love this one about found and biological family, with a road trip and some sweet kids to boot. Funny AND sweet.

The World's Fair Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini - as long as she keeps writing about the Elm Creek Quilters, I'll keep reading. I love going back to this group of friends and their history. I like the ones that have some history involved, this was the 23rd in the series!

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Loved loved loved it! I read this one in less than 24 hours, I couldn't put it down. The relationships were great and the story was so compelling. (P.S. I loved the movie SpaceCamp when I was a kid too)

The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye - Sweet, cozy, lovable book. Very predictable, a tiny dash of magic, a little too perfect, but overall it was like reading a hug.

Passion Project by London Sperry - I read this back-to-back with the Evelyn Skye book and together they were a little bit of a love letter to New York City. But anyway, this one was just okay. It took me a while to invest in the characters, and then I was all in. (It may have had something to do with the dead boyfriend named Sam)

The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram - Okay, I wanted to like this book. It had a lot of good ideas going for it, but I don't think it really worked for me. I think Grant was too much of a caricature of a "poor little rich boy" and that took it downhill for me.

The rest of this year....

August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

August 2025 Books

2025-08-31T12:23:00.000-05:00

The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams by Karen Hawkins - I like this series about a set of magic-ish sisters in a small town named for their family.

Your Presence is Mandatory by Sasha Vasilyuk - A really compelling read about a Jewish-Ukranian-Soviet former POW - what an interesting and unknown-to-me story. It was a little long but I honestly couldn't put it down.

Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar - I don't think I realized this was middle grade, but I loved the interwoven stories of these Jewish families through history. We don't get a lot of stories about the Jews of Turkey, for example, and I like her writing. A great read, even if you don't typically read middle grade novels!

Real Americans by Rachel Khong - I thought some of this book was interesting but honestly, I'm not sure I totally understood the ending. I liked the historical perspective and the immigrant story, and didn't feel like it all worked for me.

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen - Interesting to read two Asian-American immigrant stories back to back. (I liked this one more than Real Americans) I was most fascinated by the languages and the author's note at the start about how all of the languages interplayed.

The Names by Florence Knapp - Oof what a hard and beautiful book. This was a tough story to read with the domestic abuse, but a really wonderful commentary on the impact of our choices as the story is split into three different timelines based on what would have happened if the main character had given her child any one of three different names. Probbaly will make my top 10 list for the year.

The Last Dekrepitzer by Howard Langer - This is really a great novel imagining the last of a line of fiddle-playing rebbes who ends up in the American South and blends his family's musical tradition with the American blues and religious music. A really lovely story about the healing and uniting power of music.

Good Grief by Sara Goodman Confino - one of my favorite authors, this one did not disappoint. This story of a young widow and her mother-in-law was hopeful and funny and sweet, and I want to just hang out with her characters and be friends with them.

The rest of the year:

July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

july 2025 books

2025-07-31T19:00:00.012-05:00

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon - this wasn't my favorite of her books but it was a perfectly fine fake dating romance.

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff - a really wonderful and heart-breaking read.

Fervor by Toby Lloyd - Did not like this one. I was a little confused by the characters and their stories, and just annoyed.

In the Family Way by Laney Katz Becker - I loved this novel about women in the pre-Roe era who grappled with different ways to hold power, care for one another, and change the world.

Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz - I thought this was a clever and readable middle grade novel about World War II. I think I need to read the next book!

An Inside Job by Daniel Silva - of course, loved this yearly visit with Gabriel Allon. I actually enjoyed that it was more heist than spy...did not disappoint.

I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney - a really interesting novel about how you really learn to live your life. The characters were likeable and stuck with me.

Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein - okay, to be honest, I didn't really remember much about the Oliver Twist story, so this might have all gone over my head (but thanks, Wikipedia for the review). I just don't think that Fagin was an interesting enough character to get his own novel.

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood - I liked this one, it had some meat on its bones and was a good read!

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters - A little slow in the middle but the ending was emotional and powerful. A really important story and a good cry at the end.

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna - I was waiting eagerly for this author's second book and it did not disappoint - a cozy, sweet, magical romance. Loved it!

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q Sutano - I adore these Disney themed romance novels and this one was just as good as the others! In case you missed it, it is a takeoff on Mulan, which is a great story in itself! (Girl power)

Previously....

June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

june 2025 books

2025-06-30T20:06:00.002-05:00

Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory - she never disappoints, and I really enjoyed this fluffy, fun, fake-dating romance!

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson - I loved this author's first book and this one was almost as good. A family saga following multiple timelines in the family history, and it was so powerful to read these stories.

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady - even though I basically figured out how it was all going to end, that didn't stop me from loving this enemies-to-lovers romance. (And of course, if you liked "You've Got Mail," it had those vibes...)

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis - ooh, intrigue and history and some women finding their voices...what's not to like about this one?

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan - It took me a little bit to get into this one, but I liked the multiple points of view and I was satisfied with the ending.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - I liked this book, but not enough to read any more in the series. It features a secret inter-dimensional library, werewolves, dragons, steampunk, and a lot of other stuff. Maybe a little too much. But I did like it.

Previously....

May Books
April Books
March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

May 2025 Books

2025-05-31T19:00:00.001-05:00

Wolf Hunt by Ayelet Gundar Goshen - We did this one for book group, and the discussion was really wonderful. This was a hard book to read - there were a lot of unlikeable characters in it, but the story and the writing and the messages were all really interesting, which made it readable. I do recommend this one!

The Sirens by Emilia Hart - Hmm. I am not sure what this book wanted to be, and I do not think I liked it. I preferred the historical timeline to the modern one.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry - Enjoyable while reading but mostly forgettable.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore - Okay, so I read this book because I was stuck without my kindle and I went to Libby, and this one came up as "immediately available" and I basically know why. It was FINE but not anything to write home about.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult - I really liked this one! I was drawn more to the historical timeline, and I'm not enough of a Shakespeare buff to have gotten what I think were a lot of references, but I liked the character and her story was compelling. The mordern story was interesting, but a little more predictable.

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune - it was fun to revisit Charlie Florek and it was a good way to start my summer reading!

Previously....

April Books
March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

April 2025 Books

2025-05-01T08:33:00.001-05:00

Shadows of Tokyo by Matthew Legare - This is the opening of a detective series, and I didn't love it. A little too bloody for me. Interesting look at Japan in this time period (1931), though, and so that made it worth reading.

We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein - wonderful book about the Warsaw Ghetto, in particular the Oyneg Shabbes group that documented life in the ghetto. I had the privilege of visiting the archives this week...and the author had said that "every document could be its own novel" and she was right.

The Judgement of Yoyo Gold by Isaac Blum - interesting look at an Orthodox Jewish community and how the kids and adults interact with the outside world. How can you be both inside and outside a community at the same time? The ending was a little abrupt but I'm not sure how else it could have gone....

Just Right Jillian by Nicole Collier - A fifth grader recommended this to me and it was sweet and heartfelt, and I loved it. A really good insight into the mind of a fifth grader, too.

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins - I love the Dove Pond series, it's a sweet blend of Gilmore Girls, Sweet Magnolias, with a magical twist. Totally fluffy but perfect.

Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez - a little heavier than some of her other romance novels, but a good happily-ever-after ending!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - Everyone was recommending this to me but I thought it would be scary! (maybe it was the cover) and so I avoided it. But I am so glad I read it - what a wonderful book with incredible historical insights. Loved this one, don't skip it.

The Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini - I have read all the books in this series before and while the ending seemed quite obvious to me, I enjoyed the ride.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner - such a good book! She writes beautifully about sister dynamics and I really liked the story.

Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake - did not love this book... it was basically a magical version of Succession. It was a little too much for me.

Previously....

March Books
February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

March 2025 Books #mylifeinbooks

2025-03-31T21:53:00.002-05:00

Hello, March and some serious Spring Break reading....

We Would Never by Tova Mirvis - Okay, I'm not a "true crime" gal, so maybe that's why I didn't love this story of basically all unlikeable characters.

Till there Was You by Lindsay Hameroff - a sweet and cute book about a chef and a rock star...and their love story. I appreciated the lowkey Jewish character and the matzah ball soup...(even though the spelling of "till" in the title really annoys me)

One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe by Dara Horn and Theo Ellsworth - hmm...I might not have been the target audience for this strange book, but I'm trying to figure out who that audience actually is. I found it a little bit hard to follow, so maybe someone out there can explain it to me?

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff - I appreciated the two lesser known stories of World War 2 - the British delivering Red Cross packages (it also just fueled my current anger at the ICRC for their lack of assistance then (Holocaust) as now with the hostages in Gaza) and the prisoners in a Paris department store. A little bland but readable!

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - The hard part of a prequel is that you kinda already know the ending but this one still held me on the edge of my seat. And now I'm loving the tiktok theories, the online speculation, and all the ways that the fan base is taking this one really hard. I like it even more upon later reflection on the complexity of the story. Did she know all this backstory when she wrote the original trilogy!?

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza - This was on a lot of "top" lists last year and for some reason I didn't think I'd like it...and I only sortof liked it. I liked the historical story more than the contemporary one.

Never Planned on You by Lindsay Hameroff - a companion to the book by this author that I read earlier in the month, it's a sweet romance. The Jewish representation was a little less low-key, but still incidental and also felt really authentic.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler - I don't know how I missed this one when it first came out but to be honest, it was almost too close to home. I read it through squinting eyes hoping not to see the next terrible thing. But I think she's a great writer and it was compelling and hard and also a little odd...

Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld - I really don't like short story collections. Either the stories all feel too similar, or they end too quickly, or it's too uneve of an experience. I felt all of that as I read these. I liked a few of the stories better than others, but I kept getting annoyed at having to start a new story just when I was figuring the previous one out. I'm sticking to novels.

Previously....

February 2025 Books
January 2025 Books

February 2025 Books

2025-02-28T17:08:00.003-06:00

Happy to Help: Adventures of a People Pleaser by Amy Wilson - This was different from my usual fiction, but I enjoyed this collection of essays about a woman who is a "people pleaser" and how perhaps...that's not always great.

Rachel Weiss's Group Chat by Lauren Appelbaum - Um....meh? I think this was supposed to be a take on Pride and Prejudice, but it didn't work for me.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray - a very complex family system and how a family rallies around each other even when there's a lot of dysfunction. I'm still not exactly sure how the crisis exactly happened, but it did make for a compelling read!

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore - loved this one! It's about a queer Jewish person who has no issues with either of those two identities! The issues were related to how he can see ghosts, which is a silly and fun part of the story. Anyway, don't skip this one.

Across Seward Park by Gail Lehrman - I like a good family saga....this one didn't really disappoint! A solid story about a family living through the turmoil of America from the early 1900s up through to the 1950s.

Previously....

January 2025 Books

2025-01-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali - This is a wonderful book following two young women in Iran and how they live through the revolution and beyond. It was on so many "favorite lists" from last year, but I didn't realize I had read the author's earlier book and enjoyed that as well. Highly recommend.

I Made it Out of Clay by Beth Kander - a fun Chanukah + Golem story that had a lot of good parts (loved the Chicago elements and the camp-themed wedding) but overall didn't totally work for me.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach - Goodness, this was probably the most polarizing book of 2024. Some people loved this one and some hated it. Since I read it knowing that, I was able to see both sides. I definitely didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. I kept waiting for something to really happen, and I felt annoyed by the characters a lot of the time.

The Convert by Stefan Hertmans - This is a fascinating look at the Middle Ages, a Christian teenager who converts to Judaism because she meets a Jewish boy...and a crazy saga that ensues. It's speculative, but based on a few genizah fragments so there might actually have been a real story here. But the book could have been a novella, without the author's own drama and research.

Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski - Apparently I like "cozy fantasy" and this one qualified. I loved the house, which is an other character in the book, and overall enjoyed this one but it was a little too long and draggy by the end.

The Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors - I wanted to love this book but found it to be a little bit lacking. I'm usually a sucker for a good sister story, but I found this one hard to hold onto.

On Her Own by Lihi Lapid - I really liked this one - the themes of motherhood and self-worth, about what makes Israeli society, and a little of its underbelly too. A little bit of intrigue, drama, suspense...I look forward to the discussion about this one with our book group!

Books I Read in 2024

2024-12-30T16:18:00.002-06:00

Welcome to Year 17 of my year-end wrap up of books! I feel like this is such a great time to be a reader - there are so many incredible books out there, people are sharing their reading habits in such fun ways, and I'm never without something new to look at. I just did a review of some of my favorites from previous years and went back to see if any of those authors had new books that I had missed. I'm always sad when the answer is no! I'm a big fan of the whole BookTok and Bookstagram, but I try not to get too caught up in the hype. I had a few DNFs (did not finish) books from those that I tried so hard to like.

This year saw the end of one of my favorite series, the Maisie Dobbs mysteries. I'll be sad next year when there isn't a new one! Hopefully it's not the end for Gabriel Allon, and of course I loved the newest book in his saga too. I like to alternate between literary fiction and romance novels, and I love it when kids come running up to me with their recommendations. I usually try to drop whatever I'm reading and get those done right away so I can chat about it with the kids!

So here's the 2024 list:

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

Can we Talk About Israel? By Daniel Sokatch

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

The Society of Shame by Jane Roper

Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino

Kunstlers in Paradise by Cathleen Scheine

The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult

You Have a Match by Emma Lord

Have You Seen Luis Velez? By Catherin Ryan Hyde

Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory

Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood

The Maid by Nita Prose

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

The Women by Kristin Hannah

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn

Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein

The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel

The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland

The Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

The Amen Effect by Sharon Brous

Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

Family Family by Laurie Frankel

Once We Were Home by Jennifer Rosner

Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

Marry Me By Midnight by Felicia Grossman

Rivals by Katharin McGee

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Sutanto

The Hebrew Teacher by Maya Arad

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

In the Shadow of the Greenbriar by Emily Matchar

Stockholm by Noa Yedlin

Welcome Home, Caroline Kline by Courtney Preiss

This Summer Will be Different by Carley Fortune

Reign by Katharine McGee

The Fellowship of the Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr

A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear

Tangled Up In You by Christina Lauren

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray

Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew by Emmanuel Acho

Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer

The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins

Past, Present, and Future by Rachel Lynn Solomons

The Book of Silver Linings by Nan Fishcer

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

Flunked by Jen Calonita

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Operation Bethlehem by Yariv Inbar

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

Love You A Latke by Amanda Elliot

Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter

Hanukkah Hook-Up by Jessica Topper

Late Night Love by Chayla Wolfberg

Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

And here are all my mini-reviews:

December Books

November Books

October Books

September Books
August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February Books
January Books

It's hard for me to choose favorites but here is a list of the ones I liked best:

Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino
Have You Seen Luis Velez? By Catherin Ryan Hyde
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Family Family by Laurie Frankel
Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari

I track my books on GoodReads and StoryGraph and as always, I'll share monthly updates here and on the socials so stay tuned.

What do you think I should read in 2025? What are you reading? What were your favorites of 2024?

Previous years' book lists are here:

December 2024 Books #MyLifeInBooks

2024-12-30T16:12:00.000-06:00

Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman - Loved this one. It's historical, a little magical realism, a love story, Jewish...checked so many happy boxes for me. I wanted it to keep going....one of my favorites of the year!

Operation Bethlehem by Yariv Inbar - This was a book group selection for me, and as a group we liked it. I thought the story was interesting, although I got a little lost at one point, and I thought the theme of what it means to feel "at home" was very relevant.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books - Could NOT put this one down! Loved it - the cast of characters was wonderful, it was clever and compelling, and of course, timely. I know it was meant as a satire, and I thought it really worked.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian - It was a little too long but overall a sweet story of grief and love - it took me a while to realize that it was set in 1960 (I'm sure I just missed that moment), which obviously explained the terrible fear of discovery of the gay characters.

Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot - How could I not read htis one!? A quick and fun Chanukah romance novel with the added benfit of a real commentary on how it feels to be the token Jew, especially at Christmastime. Will this be the next Hallmark Chanukah movie???

Songs for the Broken Hearted by Ayelet Tsabari - So good! A look backwards and forwards at the Yemeni Jewish community as they came to Israel in 1950 and their generations in the 1990s. Such a compelling story as Zohara tries to figure out her mother's hidden past and her own Yemeni-Israel-Jewish identity.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan - Okay, Oprah, I would never have picked this one up without you. A very short and powerful novel highlighting what it means to do right in the world, even when things are stacked against you.

Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter - I am pretty sure that I got this book from the New York Times Book Review. While I was reading it, however, I kept thinking, "who the heck recommended this book to me and why am I still friends with them?" This book is weird. (See: The Husbands) I can see how it is a meditation on grief and love, physical and emotaional space, family and relationships. But I didn't really like it.

The Hanukkah Hook-Up by Jessica Topper - a silly, fun Chanukah romance

Late Night Love by Chayla Woflberg - A sweet romance by a former student! Loved the shoutout to our synagogue :-)

Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim - A lovely story about magic and matchmaking, and it reminded me a little bit of the Matchmaker's Gift too. This author's earlier book was one of my favorites of last year, and I liked this one a lot too!

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong - It was odd that the last two books I read this year were both about seeing the future! This one was a really cozy magical fantasy about found family, and I really enjoyed it!

November Books
October Books
September Books
August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February Books
January Books

November 2024 Books #MyLifeInBooks

2024-11-30T20:17:00.006-06:00

The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements - I *loved* this modern-day follow up to the 25-year-old Frindle. If you haven't read it, find a fifth grader and share it with them. And then read this one! Loved it. Great middle grade novel about the power of words and using them wisely.

The House of Eve by Sadaqa Johnson - Historical fiction about black women in the 1950s. It was an interesting look at a piece of history that I haven't read about before. The "twist" seemed fairly obvious to me, but otherwise it was a pretty good story.

Flunked by Jen Calonita - A fifth grader ran up to me at Hebrew School and said "Rabbi! Book recommendation!" so I immediately borrowed it from Libby and it was delightful. The first in a series called "Fairy Tale Reform School," and now I'm pretty sure you have an idea of what it's all about.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst - This checks all the boxes: found family, magical stuff, cozy fantasy. As long as I didn't think too hard about the world-building, it was great.

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier - Historical fiction about the glassmakers of Murano, Italy. It follows a family through history but through an odd and completely mystifying time travel technique that totally threw me off. Much like the previous book, as long as I didn't think too hard about it, it was great. I wish it had been a more traditional family saga...without the weird time skips that didn't make sense.

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe - Um...quirky? That's probably the word for this book. On the one hand, I liked the found family, struggle-to-find-your-narrative story. On the other hand, I was a little thrown by the um...use of the internet to earn a living. Enjoyable but a bit odd.

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum - I liked Hoodie (short for Yehuda), an Orthodox teen who narrates the story. It's a fairly powerful story about Hoodie's intersection with the non-Jewish world around him, with the addition of some terrible antisemitism that rocks his community.

October Books
September Books
August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February Books
January Books

October 2024 books #MyLifeInBooks

2024-10-31T08:40:00.005-05:00

Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer - cute and timely, with a lot about antisemitism and living in a smaller town. I'm not sure how I felt about the whole "golem" idea but overall, I appreciated the love story in the end.

The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins - I didn't know this was the third in a series when I picked it up. That said, I really liked this one. It reminded me of the Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (one of my favorites) and I do love a smidge of magical realism with my love stories.

Past Present Future by Rachel Lynn Solomons - A sequel to Today, Tonight, Tomorrow! Loved seeing what happened next for this pair of Jewish kids from Seattle.

The Book of Silver Linings by Nan Fisher - There was definitely too much going on in this book, and I wasn't sure what the point of each part was and how it all tied together. That said, I didn't hate it, I just don't quite know why I liked it.

Sandwich by Catherine Newman - This book hit a lot of top lists for the year, and I suppose I can see why, although I found it a little too angsty for me. I do prefer slightly more plot-driven stories, so this one won't make MY top lists.

I'm about 65 books into the year. What MUST I read before 2024 ends?

September Books
August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February Books
January Books

September 2024 Books

2024-09-30T20:35:00.006-05:00

Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center - Okay, I am so embarrassed to tell you that I read this book in 2009. And honestly? It was so forgettable that I read it again and never realized I'd read it before until I logged it in Goodreads. And I don't remember what I thought of it the first time, but this time I thought it was not my favorite of her books.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio - I'm pretty sure I didn't like this book. I couldn't quite understand the point of it. I liked the premise and it was interesting for the first 20-30 pages. But I couldn't see where it was going and I'm not sure that it even made any interesting points about marriage.

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren - Fairly standard romance, some cute dialogue, enjoyed the love story.

When The Angels Left the Old Country by Sasha Lamb - I enjoyed this somewhat fantastical story about an angel and a demon who come to America from their shtetl - an interesting telling of the Jewish immigration to America story. A little too long, but well-told.

Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino - loved this 1960s story about a woman who takes a little bit of control of her own life and her own story. I loved the characters and how the era really impacted their choices and capacities. The mother-daughter story was strong, and I liked the callback to the author's earlier book too.

August Books
July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February Books
January Books

August 2024 Books

2024-08-31T19:00:00.001-05:00

Um...so this month I watched a lot of the Olympics. And a lot of the DNC. And apparently, I didn't read a lot!

But all of these books were REALLY good so there's that!

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn - This was a great combo of two of my favorite kinds of books: about a "found family" and historical fiction. I really liked the look at McCarthy-era Washington, D.C. This book was a little long, but it was really wonderful and totally worth it!

True Love Experimen tby Christina Lauren - I really enjoyed this one! I'm now on a hunt for the rest of Christina Lauren's books. A reality show, a smart and snarky author, a hot British guy...great romance novel!

Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray - I really loved this bio of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor who transformed our country by inventing Social Security (amongst many other accomplishments). She is my new favorite historical woman! Wow. Loved this insight into all of it...a period of history that I know a lot about but don't have a lot of details about what it was really like. Loved it!

July Books
June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February Books
January Books

#blogelul #elulgram 2024

2024-08-30T09:35:00.005-05:00

Elul -- that wonderful and terrifying month that precedes the High Holy Days. A month of introspection and considering, a month of personal reflection and preparation.

#BlogElul is a project that I started in 2010, although it wasn't until 2012 that I created the list of topics. Since then, I haven't always completed the whole month of blogging, although I know that many of you have. I also know that the online world has changed so much since 2010, when blogging was one of the only ways to publish your online content easily.

Now we have Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, (some people are still on Formerly Twitter) and other platforms - even TikTok...so many ways in which to express ourselves and dive deeply into the themes of the High Holy Days. And so here we are….I've added #ElulGram (and perhaps #ElulTok?) to the #BlogElul family and the borders of this project are so wide that they reallly don't exist at all. This project is really whatever YOU want - however YOU want to spend your time preparing yourself for the holiest season in the Jewish calendar.

Who can participate? ANYONE. It's yours. I gift it to you. Elul is for anyone and everyone.

How could one do it? You don't have a blog… No worries. Be creative and find your own path! Maybe you don't want to do it daily. Maybe you just want to dip your toe into the experience, or just read (and share?) what others write. It's totally up to you. I always love to see the creative things that the #BlogElul community comes up with.

There are no rules. I provide the topics (see graphic) for each of the days of the month. Use the hashtag to share your post (I like to put it in my titles) and share other people's posts as well. This could be a way to revitalize your blog, kickstart a new project, or even just get yourself ready for the holidays! I know that lots of people use #BlogElul as a spiritual exercise each year, and I'm so proud to be a part of their yearly journey through Elul.

And what about #ElulGram? This one is even more interpretive. Photos, art, illustrations, quotes -- what kinds of images can you put together to explore and interpret these High Holy Day themes? You don't have to limit your picture-sharing to Instagram (even though I totally appropriated the name), you can use any image-sharing site you'd like, such as Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. Whatever you do, tag it with #ElulGram (or #ElulTok?) so we can call share and follow.

These themes and ideas are broad and open, and again -- remember, there are NO RULES except the ones you make for yourself!

And yes, I know that the dates include Shabbat. I personally don't blog/tweet/Facebook on Shabbat, but I will post before and after Shabbat. You can do whatever you like!

Rosh Chodesh Elul is in coming up fast! So here we go….

July 2024 Books

2024-07-31T08:33:00.004-05:00

Let's giggle about the THREE books this month all with "summer" in the title, shall we?

This Summer Will be Different by Carley Fortune - totally worked for me. Loved the Prince Edward Island/Anne of Green Gables references. A sweet romance, perfect for July.

Reign by Katharine McGee - I just really had to finish this series! A satisfying ending to wrap it all up.

The Fellowship of the Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr - found family! a creative mystery! a quest to find oneself! I loved this one.

A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva - I mean, of course. Gabriel Allon is my favorite. That said, this one was not quite as thick as some of the others. The stakes felt lower, and the "team" wasn't there. But I won't complain.

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear - A sweet and satisfying end to this long-running series. I loved how many old friends were brought back together, and Maisie was able to metaphorically ride off into the sunset of a happy ending. I will always want more Maisie Dobbs, but I also feel like this ending was perfect.

Tangled Up In You by Christina Lauren - It's a family joke that I only finally saw the full movie of Tangled last year. I always ended up falling asleep or helping a kid, and I had never seen the whole thing. So that meant that I wasn't quite as well versed in the Disney film on which this book is based. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's darker than some other romance novels - and Rapunzel is, actually, a pretty dark story. Such a creative retelling. I'm totally in love with these books as a concept!

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez - This was my first Abby Jimenez and it won't be my last. Loved this story and how it was told. I do appreciate the combination of a few serious ideas alongside the romance. I liked it so much that I dived right into...

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez - and I loved this one too! The letter-writing! The understanding between them! The family drama! (I promise I'll be back for more Abby Jimenez!)

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan - Despite the fact that this was my fourth romance novel in a row (I start to feel much the same way as though I've only eaten candy for a few weeks, like I need something with a vegetable), I really loved this one too. Loved the redemption love story, and the way that the main character was able to reclaim her own power. Predictable? Yes, of course. But enjoyable nevertheless.

June Books
May Books
April Books
March Books
February Books
January Books

June 2024 Books

2024-06-30T10:47:00.001-05:00

Okay, we're halfway through the year!

Rivals by Katharine McGee (#3) After the second of this series (American Royals), I thought I was done reading these, but somehow I got sucked into this one and I enjoyed it. I am actually curious to see how far they can take this one! And of course, it ended on a cliffhanger so I'm in for book #4.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto - As I've said before, I'm a big fan of the "found family" genre, usually surrouning an older, somewhat quirky, woman. In this case, they're solving a mystery together. I liked this one a lot and highly recommend!

The Hebrew Teacher by Maya Arad - Loved this set of three novellas about Israeli women living in the Diaspora, trying to navigate their lives in all the strange ways that cultures and generations clash. The first novella was the best, in my opinion, but all are interesting, readable, and discussable!

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center - A love letter to romantic comedies and a quick, fun read. Reminded me of By The Book by Jasmine Guillory. Fairly predictable but readable.

In the Shadow of the Greenbriar by Emily Matchar - I thought the intergenerational story was interesting, and I liked learning about how a family of Jews ended up in a small southern town, and how their lives were impacted by that experience. The Greenbrier is a real place, and it looks gorgeous...but I don't think that the "big secret" was such a big secret.

Stockholm by Noa Yedlin - I'm leading a book discussion on this one and I really didn't like any of the characters, nor did I think it was as funny as all the reviews said it was. I tried to find the Israeli TV show that was based on this book and could only find a few clips. I'm not sure this one is a big hit, although you could pull some interesting conversations about how we start to look back over our lives as we age.

Welcome Home, Caroline Kline by Courtney Preiss - I wanted to love this book but I didn't really get what it was trying to do. It's fiction about Jews, but I wouldn't call it Jewish fiction. It's about baseball, it's a little bit about casual alcoholism, which felt a bit off, and I'm not sure it was even a romance. It definitely is about learning to love yourself above all. I didn't hate it, but it was just okay.

Previous Months:

May Books
April Books
March Books
February Books
January Books