Rosh Chodesh Nisan is Tuesday, April 9th. This year is so different. Since October 7th, nothing has felt quite right. And of all the holidays we've observed since Simchat Torah, Pesach is the one that feels...off. I was able to celebrate Chanukah and Purim, but Pesach...how?  And yet - we will. We must. We are told, each year, that we should see ourselves as though we came out of Egypt. That ability to imagine freedom kept our ancestors going through so many hardships of our history. That ability to hold a vision of a better future...and we will get through this dark time too ..read more

  I've mostly moved on from the 2023 recommendations and now I'm into some new stuff. What is on your TBR list? The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict - I knew nothing about Hedy Lamarr's story and this told it well. My complaint about her books is that they read too much like a wikipedia entry - meaning, not enough imagined insight into the character. Mostly a somewhat dry retelling of the life. I feel like a biography might have done better!  The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer - A book about a "death doula" but really it's a book about found-family ..read more

I am steadily making my way through the lists of all the end-of-year recommendations from 2023...but it's hard when new books come out too! It's a neverending saga.... You Have a Match by Emma Lord - a not-bad YA book about finding a "secret" sibling through a DNA testing service. Sweet and a little bit forgettable. The Maid by Nita Prose - I didn't know anything about this one going in, and I was glad for it. Loved the "found family" story and the mystery was good too. I think this is the start of a series, but I'm probably done for now.  Thank you for Listening by Julia Whela ..read more

  New year, new books to read!  The Island of the Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - Okay, I'll admit it, I get a little cranky about a book with a non-human narrator. This one was saved by that narrator only having periodic chapters. But this particular bias aside, this was a good book with an interesting story about Cyprus - I knew almost nothing about the history of this island! And the universal story about how we determine our identities and what is the meaning of home was really lovely. Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson - This book was ...quirky.... The jist of the sto ..read more

  So many books! The reading world is a broad and beautiful place. This year found me reading almost the entirety of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series (I started it in 2022), and I didn't get to tell you about it because I never did an end-of-2022 recap post! (We were travelling and by the time I came back, it felt very 2023.) I definitely would like to another one (waiting on book 10, Shannon Messenger!) but I was also glad to finish so I could move on with my life! I also read both Fourth Wing and its sequel this year and I liked them along with everyone else in the world, haha.&nbs ..read more

  The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman - Oh this was a sweet and somewhat predictable read. That did not stop me from enjoying it immensely. The Lost Husband by Katherine Center - I did not mean to read two books back-to-back that were about young widows. It felt a little odd. But anyway, this one was similarly sweet and predictable, and also quite enjoyable.  Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros - I wasn't going to read this. I was annoyed at the long-book-with-cliffhanger-ending of the first one, and I vowed not to read this one. But the hype got to me and I couldn't help it and o ..read more

  All the Broken Places by John Boyne - I did not realize this was a "sequel" to the Boy in the Striped Pajamas and as I read it, I slowly realized it. And then I was annoyed. I did not like the main character and it all felt very contrived.  Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan - Summer nostalgia meets romance. It was sweet and fluffy and somewhat forgettable. The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes - this was like the grown up, romance version of Encanto. And therefore I liked it.  The Golem of Brooklyn by Adam Mansbach - okay, I'm still not sure what I think ..read more

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride - Wow, what an incredible look at the way the Jewish and Black communities have been intertwined. The writing is wonderful and the characters are rich. My only real complaint is that nothing really happens in the story until it all suddenly gets wrapped up in the end. But it was an enjoyable read along the way! My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine - This was the perfect silly romance novel to get me through some of this terrible month. The title is the story, and, spoiler alert, they fall in love. Okay, now you've got the whole book.&nb ..read more

  Unorthodox Love by Heidi Shertok - Not bad, but not my favorite Jewy romance novel. I wanted it to move faster! And I wanted to see how they'd "mix" their Jewishness.  Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood - Loved this science-themed romance! Especially since we're also watching the Big Bang Theory, so it dovetailed with some of that too.  Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross - Honestly, did not love this one. It has been all over the bestseller lists so I was excited for this fantasy enemies-to-lovers book, but I found it fairly forgettable. As in, I almost can't remember finishing i ..read more

  Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - This has been on the top of the best seller lists and I haven't read a lot of fantasty lately. This one was great - it reminded me of the Dragonriders of Pern books (loved those) with a nice dose of romance. The world-building was interesting but a little uneven (it bothered me that they used our swear words - I like when a fantasy book comes up with swear words that fit with the culture) but overall, I look forward to the sequel! Hotel Cuba by Aaron Hamburger - A good twist on the immigrant tale, featuring a pair of sisters who end up going to Cuba inste ..read more