It's summer, and the weather's not the only thing that's hot. Regardless of whether you like to chase the waves at the beach, beat the heat in the mountains or just hide out at home, there's always room for a book or two.
To help you plan your literary vacation, we offer a selection of the steamiest novels, the hottest-under-the-collar political pundits, the best biographies, the smartest advice authors, and dashes of history, cookbooks and kid lit. You'll find even more reviews at JTonline.us.
The reviews reflect each reader's personal taste, so don't get mad if you disagree. We welcome your input. Love what you've read? Tell us. Hate it? Tell us, but gently. Have you read a great new book we missed? Let us know about that too. E-mail your comments to sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com, or post them after the book reviews at JTonline.us.
Lady Jane Grey is a tragic figure from England in the 1500s. Alison Weir's novel is a fictional, first-person account of Lady Jane's life. The book is told many voices.
Lady Jane is a religious, intelligent, bookish girl who hates elaborate clothes and hunting animals for sport. Jane's scheming mother, Francis Brandon, uses her position as King Henry VIII's grand-niece to try to manipulate Jane's marital future for personal gain. Jane's father dwells on his disappointment that Jane wasn't born a boy but plots with his wife to attempt to marry Jane off to a future king.
The only loving figure in this cruel household is Jane's nurse, what we'd call a nanny, respectfully referred to as Mrs. Edith. Henry VIII's last wife, Queen Katherine Parr, sees how physically abused Jane is by her angry parents and struggles to provide a happier life for Jane by inviting her to live in her household.
This is a well-done piece of clever historical fiction, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. - Joni Pelta
Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul, Penguin, 360 pages, $24.95
From one of Turkey's most acclaimed and outspoken writers comes a novel about the tangled histories of two families. In her second novel written in English, Elif Shafak confronts her country's violent past in a vivid, colorful tale set in both Turkey and the United States.
At its center are the "bastard" of the title, Asya, a 19-year-old woman who loves Johnny Cash and the French Existentialists, and the four sisters of the Kazanci family who live together in an extended household in Istanbul: Zehila, the zestful, headstrong youngest sister, who runs a tattoo parlor and is Asya's mother; Banu, who has newly discovered herself as a clairvoyant; Cevriye, a widowed high school teacher; and Feride, a hypochondriac obsessed with impending disaster.
Their estranged brother lives in Arizona with his wife and her Armenian daughter, Armanoush. When Armanoush secretly flies to Istanbul in search of her identity, she finds the Kazanci sisters and becomes fast friends with Asya. A secret is uncovered that links the two families and ties them to the 1915 Armenian deportations and massacres.
Full of vigorous, unforgettable female characters, The Bastard of Istanbul is a bold, powerful tale that will confirm Shafak as a rising star of international fiction. - Kimberly Kaminsky
Carol Goodman, The Sonnet Lover, Random House, 350 pages, $24.95
Poetry, Shakespeare, mystery and murder are an unusual combination for a novel. Carol Goodman pulls many pieces together to form an absorbing story.
Rose Asher is an English professor at a fictional college in New York in her late 30s. Her best student is a smart man who has charmed many of his fellow students as well as professors in several university departments, Robin Weiss. Robin wins first place in a school film competition, and his movie is so good that it captures the imagination of a Hollywood producer.
Young Orlando Brunelli suddenly arrives from the centuries-old Italian mansion where Robin filmed his movie. Orlando confronts Robin about stealing something and complains about Robin to Rose. Before Rose can sort out Orlando's angry complaints, the plot thickens further.
Robin falls over a balcony at a university party; Rose is devastated. Soon questions about his death arise. Did Robin commit suicide? If so, why? Did someone push him?
To complicate matters, Orlando is the son of a man Rose had a sorry love affair with in Italy 20 years earlier. Did Orlando hold a grudge and kill Robin?
This is a good novel, but parts of the plot were so twisted that I occasionally got lost. Still, The Sonnet Lover is well worth your time. - Joni Pelta
Sophie Judah, Dropped From Heaven, Schocken, 256 pages, $23
This book of short stories focuses on the Bene Israel Jewish community of India and its attempts to mix Indian customs with Jewish heritage. Sophie Judah's short stories give the reader some insight into the community, whose numbers have dwindled as most residents have made aliyah to Israel.
For example, in one story two Jewish men returning from the Boer War seek permission from their future father-in-law to marry two sisters. It is a story of contrast among the characters.
The book is engaging, and you won't want to put down. - Kimberly Kaminsky
Matt Richtel, Hooked, Twelve Press, 304 pages, $24.99
Hooked is great for summer reading. Not only is the book up to the minute in technology, but it is as much a peek into the mind of an investigative journalist as it is a suspense story.
It is the first novel for New York Times correspondent Matt Richtel, based in San Francisco, who also has a successful comic called Rudy Park. If main character Nat Idle and the short, easy-to-read sentences filled with wit are signs of what's to come, Richtel will be a success.
Hooked applies Richtel's job skills as a reporter - detailed imagery of places, things and geek-tech speak - to the plot of a love story cut short and a high-tech company that reeks of dirty dealings. Based in Palo Alto, the book gives details of the dot-com boom, its lull and the ways high-tech companies strive to stay on the cutting edge. To add a caffeinated edge to the thriller, Richtel includes a coffeehouse scene in which more than the espresso machine could explode.
Richtel keeps the chapters short, the sentences sweet and the page-turning plot a cup of coffee away. You will get hooked on Hooked. - Marcy J. Levinson
Joyce Carol Oates, The Gravedigger's Daughter, HarperCollins, 582 pages, $26.95
Who would be more ridiculed and detested in a small town than the gravedigger? Jacob Schwart fled the horrors of Nazi Germany with his wife, Anna. In Germany, Jacob was a respected teacher with a wife and two young sons. His daughter, Rebecca, was born on the ship as it was mooring in New York.
Like so many immigrants, Jacob is hampered by limited English and ends up with a job far beneath him. Jacob becomes a tyrant at home. Rebecca also is ruled by one of her brothers, Herschel.
When Rebecca's family splits up, she takes a job as a chambermaid in a hotel. Rough brewery agent Niles Tignor saves Rebecca from being raped by a hotel guest. Rebecca is captivated by the dangerous Niles and begins a violent life with him but eventually decides she must escape.
This is a violent, profane book with a bizarre plot. Almost all of the men in the book are trying to take advantage of, rape or abuse Rebecca. What a bleak vision of the world. - Joni Pelta
Leslie Schnur, Late Night Talking, Atria Books, 305 pages, $22
Jeannie Sterling is a thirtysomething, single New Yorker who has a late-night radio show. Sterling Behavior features Jeannie and other New Yorkers ranting and raving about bad behavior, such as talking loudly on cellphones in public places, not picking up after defecating dogs and cutting in line at the movies.
Jeannie's dad, Lou, unexpectedly drops into town to stay with her and leaves Jeannie with a time-consuming surprise. Jeannie has a crush on longtime friend Tommy, who offers her many unwanted ethical lessons. Probably because of her radio show, Jeannie is quick to judge others and is rude to a handsome Hummer driver. Who knew the driver, Nicholas Moss, was rich and politically correct?
This is a light, amusing book that is a perfect for poolside. Just when you think Leslie Schnur is going to use a cliched plot twist, the writer delivers enough surprises to keep you turning the pages. - Joni Pelta
Michael Lowenthal, Charity Girl, Houghton Mifflin, 323 pages, $24
Tuberculosis is the disease in the news after the U.S. government quarantined an Atlanta man with a dangerous form of it. Who knew that our government quarantined and jailed women with sexually transmitted diseases during World War I?
If a U.S. soldier gave a woman a sexually transmitted disease, the woman was severely punished, while the man just received needed medical attention. Fifteen thousand women were jailed and quarantined during World War I.
Michael Lowenthal uses fiction to tell about this period. Frieda Mintz is a feisty, 17-year-old New Yorker. To escape her domineering mother's plans to marry her to a rich widower with two obnoxious sons, Frieda leaves home and gets a job as a wrapper in a large department store. Money is tight, but Frieda manages to have a fun, independent life.
Felix is an American soldier who takes Frieda out for a whirlwind night of romance. Next thing Frieda knows, Felix has given her a disease. Frieda is scorned and condemned; Felix continues as before.
Charity Girl does what historical novels rarely achieve, keeping the reader entranced with a great story while teaching about a little-known era. - Joni Pelta
Pam Jenoff, The Kommandant's Girl, MIRA Books, 395 pages, $13.95 paperback
I blame Pam Jenoff and her superb debut novel for a very late dinner. This novel was so intense and absorbing that I forgot to turn the oven on. It's amazing that a first novel can be so good.
Emma Bau is a 19-year-old, newly married Orthodox Jew. When Poland is taken over by the Nazis during World War II, Emma's world collapses. Her husband, Jacob, joins the resistance and leaves home. Emma moves in with her parents, who have been herded into the Warsaw Ghetto.
One night Emma is escorted out of the ghetto to the home of Jacob's gentile aunt, Krysia. Krysia is also caring for a toddler orphaned by the Nazis. Emma is forced to assume the false identity of Anna, a Catholic Pole, to survive.
When Emma meets Kommandant Richwalder at a party, the Nazi officer is enchanted with her. Next thing Emma knows, she is working in the local Nazi headquarters as Kommandant Richwalder's assistant. The Nazi grows more infatuated with her, and Emma's double life grows increasingly dangerous.
What a great read! You won't be disappointed. - Joni Pelta
Alvin Rakoff, Baldwin Street, Bunim and Bannigan, 205 pages, $23
Baldwin Street is a peek into the life of the Toronto market area known by turn-of-the-century immigrants as a lively area of Jewish life in Canada.
The reader gets to track the life of young Leonard Abelson, one of seven children of a Jewish merchant family living and working on and representing Baldwin Street. Alvin Rakoff's colorful but often short and choppy sentences depict the ups and downs of the hard life of the merchants. The style is sometimes stream of consciousness but is easy enough to follow as Rakoff jumps from Abelson's past to present and vice versa.
Baldwin Street reflects the experiences of so many "green" Jews in America, but with a Canadian flair. The peek at Canadian life through Abelson's eyes is a bit of history unknown to the Jewish mainstream.
This book is an easy read for all ages (although there is some adult content) and a great supplement to any Jewish literature collection. The climax is a massive Jewish-Italian melee after a baseball game, for which the effects linger almost six years.
The book reminds me a great deal of Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers, so if you liked that, give Baldwin Street a read. - Marcy J. Levinson
Nancy Horan, Loving Frank, Random House, 372 pages, $23.95
With a title like Loving Frank, the reader expects light, romantic fiction. But Nancy Horan's novel is a fictional version of the real affair architect Frank Lloyd Wright had 100 years ago.
Both Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright lived in prosperous Oak Park, Ill. Both were married with children and were respected members of the community. Mamah and her husband hired Frank to design and build a house. Mamah and Frank had an affair that culminated in the two of them leaving their families and children to live together in Europe.
Even today this kind of behavior would be considered scandalous, so the reader can only imagine how notorious the couple became. Their relationship fueled much ink in the tabloids.
Author Nancy Horan's fictionalized tale of their relationship makes Mamah and Frank sympathetic, all-too-human characters. I found this a gripping novel and a realistic portrayal of what it must have been like for two people to disregard society's expectations and put their own happiness before that of their families. - Joni Pelta
At first, this appears to be a simple story of a young mother, Flan Parker, attempting to support her family while her husband completes his dissertation. Flan attends auctions of goods at self-storage facilities where the owners are behind on their rent. She cheaply purchases goods with the hopes of making a profit by reselling them at yard sales and online.
Gayle Brandeis weaves a story that grows more complex and intriguing by the page. Flan refers to her mother's worn copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, especially his poem "Song of Myself," for guidance. Why does Flan's husband always hide his work when she enters the room? How can she keep watch on two rambunctious toddlers and earn a living while her husband zones out?
Living in married-student housing at a university, how are Flan and her family affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and government surveillance of some of her foreign friends?
These diverse parts of Self Storage form a wonderful, stimulating read. - Joni Pelta
Daniel Silva, The Secret Servant, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 385 pages, $25.95
If James Bond had been Israeli instead of British, he probably would have been a lot like Gabriel Allon, the artist/art restorer/assassin/master spy who is the title character of The Secret Servant, Daniel Silva's seventh book featuring Allon. The Israeli Bond is hardly suave or debonair, and he has no habit for martinis, shaken or stirred. Unlike the British superspy, he's unwelcome almost anywhere he goes and must travel under false identities. But like Bond, Allon is the one man his government can count on to get the job done, no matter how many times he has to cheat death.
When we last saw Allon, he was foiling an Islamist plot to assassinate the U.S. president at the Vatican and taking out a Saudi financier for terrorists in The Messenger. This time, his primary foes are Egyptian Islamic terrorists, and the plot involves the kidnapping of the daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Britain, multiple bombings in London, terror cells in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and much of England, and a planned Islamic insurgency in Egypt.
As a story, The Messenger was more gripping than The Secret Servant. The spycraft was more personal, the enemies clearer cut and the plot more straightforward. But it's fun to catch up with familiar characters - Silva vividly draws our old friends from the Israeli and American clandestine services - and even an average Silva story is better than 95 percent of the thrillers out there.
More important, Silva isn't just telling a story; he's teaching crucial lessons about the reality of the Islamist threat in the world. The message of The Messenger was that the highest levels of the Saudi aristocracy are paying for the terror attacks around the world. The secret of The Secret Servant is that it's only a matter of time until the most hate-filled form of Islam reigns in Europe and Egypt.
A Silva book is a sweet way to swallow such bitter truths. - Michael Jacobs
Hooray for Hollywood
Cynthia Kaplan, Leave the Building Quickly, HarperCollins, 212 pages, $23.95
Leave the Building Quickly consists of light, amusing essays by actress/comedian Cynthia Kaplan, who lets nothing censor her essays, as when she writes about her sex life before and after children in excruciating detail. Kaplan also writes about her health problems, her grandmother's Alzheimer's disease and eventual confinement to a nursing home, waitress jobs, acting school and most everything else relevant in her life. Reform Judaism, her belief in God and all things spiritual were the most interesting parts of the book to me.
This is a light, amusing book but has nothing to ponder much after reading it. - Joni Pelta
Destined to become a classroom staple for Screenwriting 101, Jewish Atlantan Jeffrey Stepakoff's Billion-Dollar Kiss is a must for any writer looking for inside tips on screenwriting.
The book is painstakingly detailed so that you either want to break into television screenwriting or run in the opposite direction. If you have wondered what it is like behind the scenes of a nonreality TV show - what gets the writers' brains ticking, how a story board is derived, what the pay scale was once upon a time for a TV writer in Tinseltown - read this book.
As a writer, I never had any aspirations of turning my ideas, life stories or weird dreams into a script until I picked up this book. It got my mind working in overdrive, my fingers at the keyboard, and there wasn't a single question this book left unanswered.
If you were a fan of Dawson's Creek, The Wonder Years or Sisters, Billion-Dollar Kiss fills in any blanks. Whether you want industry tidbits, inside tips, a how-to on screenwriting or just a great summer read, this is the book for you. - Marcy J. Levinson
History, Biography and Politics
Neal Boortz, Somebody's Gotta Say It, HarperCollins, 322 pages, $25.95
Love to hate him or hate to love him, Neal Boortz is Jewish Atlanta's naughty little secret. Walk into a morning class anywhere in town, and somebody is sure to be talking about his daily radio rant. Try to start a committee meeting in the evening, and people want to keep discussing his latest outrage. The secret, of course, is how much many of us agree with at least part of what he says. Neal's an unabashed Libertarian, an equal-opportunity insulter with rants for those on the left and the right.
Somebody's Gotta Say It says here it all is, in black and white, take it or leave it: his rants about "government education"; his anger at the tax laws; his disdain for the United Nations, smokers, Europeans, the minimum wage, uninformed voters, anti-drug laws and the new Democratic leadership in Congress. When you're reading his words, you can sit back, digest them and consider them without the adrenaline rush of his radio pitch. You have time to formulate your objections or realize your agreement with his take on the issues of the day. Just don't call him to talk about abortions.
But do read the book. You'll be surprised at how much sense he can make - sometimes. - Suzi Brozman
Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Crown, 384 pages, $25
A rabbi recommended Sen. Barack Obama's first book, Dreams of My Father. I was not going to read it, but I remembered what D.H. Lawrence said: "Trust not the writer but the book." I learned much about Obama in that book that led me to read this, his second book.
Obama was a community organizer Chicago for three years before law school. He was a member of the Illinois Legislature for six years and became the junior U.S. senator from Illinois in 2002. This book grew out of his conversations with people during that senatorial campaign.
Some significant insights of his vision to reclaim the American Dream:
"The majority of Americans, regardless of party affiliation, are weary of the dead zone that politics has become. The most significant challenges to the nation are being ignored. ... I offer no unifying theory of American government. What I offer are personal reflections on the values and ideals that led me to public life and of the ways we can ground our politics in the notion of the common good. ... I insist that government has an important role in opening opportunity for all. ... I believe in evolution, scientific inquiry and global warming. I am suspicious of using government to impose anyone's religious beliefs - including my own - on nonbelievers. I believe in the free market, competition, entrepreneurship, and that no small number of governmental programs don't work as advertised."
He talks of challenging leaders by asking them where they put their time, energy and money as he feels those are the true tests of values. He opined that "too few Congressmen and Senators knew the Constitution; they lack its knowledge that envisions a road map by which we marry passion to reason, the ideal of individual freedom to the demands of the community." He would like to see structural changes that would strengthen the link between voters and their representatives: nonpartisan districting; same-day voter registration and weekend elections; and public financing of campaigns.
Free TV and radio time would also drastically reduce the constant scrounging of money and the influence of special interests. He states "we have a right and duty to protect our borders-we can insist to those already here that with citizenship comes obligations-to a common language, common loyalties, a common purpose and a common destiny. For these changes to take place it would demand that individual politicians challenge the existing order; and fight with their friends as well as their enemies on behalf of abstract ideas in which the public appears to have little interest."
"The Audacity of Hope" is a phrase from his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah H. Wright Jr. "It is an ideal of the American spirit - to believe despite all the evidence to the contrary that we could restore a sense of community to a nation torn by conflict. To believe that despite personal setbacks, we have some control - and therefore responsibility - over our own fate. It is that pervasive spirit that joins us as one people." - Dr. Dan Appelrouth
Amos Oz, How to Cure a Fanatic, Princeton, 95 pages, $12.95
Many people looking at the situation in the Middle East today would scratch their heads at Amos Oz's title. How do you cure a fanatic? Oz, a leader in the Peace Now movement, views the whole region through eyes that see differently - he sees a problem of right vs. right, not right vs. wrong. He sees fanatics as altruists, wanting to save or convert you, more interested in you than in themselves.
This will be cold comfort to those who face suicide attacks and rockets raining down on their homes. But his position is not unpopular in Israel, and this pocket-size book is an important read.
Whether you want to agree with him or rail against him, you can't ignore Oz. - Suzi Brozman
Jonathan Eig, Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, Simon & Schuster, 336 pages, $26
The release of Opening Day coincides with the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major-league debut, and Jonathan Eig's retelling of the legend of the man who broke baseball's color barrier drives home Robinson's place in history. Drawing on interviews with surviving players, sportswriters and eyewitnesses, Eig weaves together three compelling story lines: the improbable march of the hapless Brooklyn Dodgers to within one game of a world championship; Robinson's individual courage as a black man standing alone in the Southern-dominated world of big-league baseball; and a nation cautiously testing the waters of integration.
On paper, the 1947 Dodgers looked like also-rans. They had lost their inspirational manager, Leo Durocher, to a one-year suspension and suffered from weak hitting and lack of pitching depth. Eig makes an excellent case that Robinson's aggressive play was the difference maker in the team's improbable drive to the World Series, where the Dodgers lost to the New York Yankees in seven games.
Robinson's ascent to the majors met with strong resistance not only from racist opponents and fans, but also from teammates. Eig gives us an inside look at the loneliness, viciousness and anxiety Robinson endured in his rookie season. The author shows Branch Rickey's wisdom in choosing Robinson for his intelligence and principles over more talented players in the Negro Leagues. Robinson never wilted under the pressure of serving as a role model for an entire race.
It is Eig's perspective of Robinson's place in history that distinguishes Opening Day. Seven years before the Supreme Court made segregation illegal in Brown vs. Board of Education, black leaders recognized that the integration of Major League Baseball was a test case for integration of American society. The black press's call for dignified behavior by curious blacks mingling with suspicious whites at the ballpark may have contributed as much to the success of the experiment as Robinson's play.
While the narrative has its dry spots, Opening Day is a beautifully written, well-researched reminder of Robinson's fortitude and the enduring impact his presence had on baseball and American culture. - Larry Kahn
Robert Coram, American Patriot - The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day, Little, Brown and Co., 377 pages, $27.99
Col. Bud Day is hardly a household name, but for those of us who experienced World War II, the Korean War or Vietnam, it should be. His patriotism carried him through all three, plus a horrific five years as the "guest" of the North Vietnamese at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, and earned him the Medal of Honor, this country's greatest award.
Even as a young pilot, Day's reputation preceded him. He was the first to survive a fire on takeoff in a T-33 trainer, walked away from a plane crash even though his parachute failed to deploy and landed his craft in English fog so thick he couldn't see the runway even after his wheels touched down.
Seriously injured when his plane crashed, he was captured by the North Vietnamese, then escaped and evaded recapture for longer than any other graduate of the Air Force Survival School. During his imprisonment at the Hanoi Hilton along with Sen. John McCain, Day paid a heavy price for his escape and constant refusal to betray his country. Numerous fellow prisoners credit Day with saving their lives. But each time he narrowly escaped death, he felt he had been spared for something greater.
The Air Force sidelined him and other capable Vietnam prisoners after the war, rationalizing that they must be too fragile emotionally to lead others. While still on active duty, Day returned to law school to get a string of degrees, then retired and set up a one-man practice.
When he learned that President Clinton had eliminated benefits for 2 million military retirees, Day took on the U.S. government he had fought to preserve. He felt it was the mission he had been destined for.
Though Robert Coram has written seven novels and three nonfiction works, American Patriot is only the second military biography in the Pulitzer Prize nominee's quest to tell the stories of unsung heroes. His first, 2004's Boyd, the Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War, met with critical and popular acclaim. American Patriot is destined to do the same.
To this Air Force brat, American Patriot is a page-turner from beginning to end. Regardless of the current anti-war sentiments, or perhaps because of them, the book is a must-read for anyone seeking a genuine hero in today's "me first" world.
The same breed of heroes likely is fighting today in Afghanistan and Iraq. Let's hope Coram continues to renew our faith in the strength of America's fighting forces by writing about them. - Mickey Goodman
Augustus Richard Norton, Hezbollah: A Short History, Princeton, 187 pages, $16.95
I wish I knew enough about Hezbollah to judge the accuracy of Richard Norton's concise history of the terrorist organization. The fact that I don't is testament to how necessary this slim volume is to understand Lebanon just a year after Israel's military encounter there.
In an easily read, easily comprehended book, Norton traces the origins and history of Hezbollah, which necessitates including the recent history of Lebanon itself. The twisting allegiances of the players, the role of Syria and other neighboring states, the emergence of discord and sectarianism as the young movement matured and began to intrude on the elected government, all take place in the pressure cooker of a land and people long torn, used by factions for their own purposes.
Norton describes, too, the evolution of Hezbollah as a social force as well as a military one. He was present in those early years, acting as a military observer for the United Nations in southern Lebanon when Hezbollah and its rivals were taking form there in the early 1980s. Since then, he has conducted research in the country and seems to understand its fabric, including the importance of the Shia groups.
His concluding chapter includes a postmortem of the 2006 war and Hezbollah's conflicting statements about it. He hopes for compromise and a promising future, but with sabers rattling all across the region, this reader doesn't see how his optimistic vision can be attained. - Suzi Brozman
Self-Help
Tal Ben-Shahar, Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, McGraw Hill, 192 pages, $21.95
Can anyone, even a Harvard professor, teach the "secrets to daily joy and lasting fulfillment"? And teach these secrets in 192 pages, including an index? I see many people carting around another book on finding happiness this summer that Oprah Winfrey has promoted, The Secret. Like everyone else, I want to be happier, so I put my skepticism aside and read Happier.
Tal Ben-Shahar teaches a popular course at Harvard based on his book. The book is not a quick read, since Ben-Shahar has introspective "time-in" questions in each section for the reader to evaluate how to use his theories.
Like many Orthodox Jews I've met, Ben-Shahar focuses a great deal on an attitude of gratitude. Ben-Shahar also discusses balance in life. While spending time with his family is the most important value to him, spending 24 hours a day, seven days a week is too much together time. He also explores goal setting and how that will help the reader meet goals and be happier.
One part of the book I found difficult was Ben-Shahar's idea of a happiness board, "a group of people who care about you and your well-being and who will hold you accountable to the ultimate currency." I've heard this concept touted as a way to promote the educational goals of a person with special needs. But I lack the chutzpah to ask others to serve on my happiness board or a special-needs board for my child. Perhaps I just need more chutzpah, but I'm left wondering why anyone would care enough to serve on such boards.
Ben-Shahar has many good ideas, and if the reader puts the necessary time and energy into this book, more happiness might be on the way. - Joni Pelta
Dr. Janusz Korczak, edited by Sandra Joseph with foreword by Ari L. Goldman, Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 84 pages, $10.95
This is a small hardback with the teachings, musings and thoughts of one of Poland's most acclaimed child experts. It is a great anecdotal book for the new parent or the well-seasoned grandparent. It is full of great one-liners and philosophically obvious statements - the kind of statements that make much more sense when you read them in a book written by someone else:
"Know yourself before you attempt to get to know your children. Become aware of what you yourself are capable of before you attempt to outline the rights and responsibilities of children. First and foremost you must realize that you, too, are a child, whom you must first get to know, bring up and educate."
The book is not on childrearing per se but gives a parent alternate ways of looking at life through the eyes of a child. It can help give a new parent ideas on a tactical approach for certain issues, but more than that it's a fun reminder of the way a child's mind and eyes see the world. It is a great dose of reality for anyone who is around kids on a daily basis. This book is easy to read, is thought-provoking and will bring out the kid in every reader.
The last chapter offers a thumbnail sketch of the life of Korczak, who was a doctor and set up and ran the largely successful Warsaw orphanage. Instead of fleeing the Nazi-controlled Warsaw Ghetto, Korczak remained with the children until their group death march into the cattle cars that hauled them to Treblinka. His life, work as a doctor and teachings were dedicated to children. - Marcy J. Levinson
Robin Gorman Newman, How to Marry a Mensch, Fair Winds Press, 192 pages, $14.95
This is the book every Jewish mother will want to give to her unmarried daughter. How do you find a decent, honorable man in this world of JDate, eHarmony and 900-number dial-a-date services? Where's a Jewish girl to go to meet a mensch? There's no single answer, but Robin Gorman Newman does a good job outlining some things you can do - where to find him, how to recognize him and how to make sure he chases you. She tells you what not to do on a date (no, not that!) and even gives flirting tips. Maybe this book is the modern girl's answer to the matchmaker. Didn't it used to be simpler? - Suzi Brozman
Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance, Adams Media, 192 pages, $12.95
When I was young, a woman expected to leave the financial decisions to her husband. He was lucky if I remembered to write down the amount when I wrote a check. Today, financial advisers say I should have kept a separate account and made myself financially independent, just in case. Today's young women are being taught to manage their finances long before they even think about wedding bells.
The latest entry in this category is On My Own Two Feet, a book that assumes you're a blank slate, waiting to be taught. And teach it does, with chapters on saving, investing, retirement funds, taxes, and just about everything else you need to achieve fiscal responsibility except for one thing - the willpower to quit maxing out the credit cards on Guccis and Manolos and vacations to the islands. It's a book I wish I'd had decades ago, one you might want to consider as a little gift for the college grad. - Suzi Brozman
Dr. Bob Hoffman and Dr. Jason A. Deitch, Discover Wellness: How Staying Healthy Can Make You Rich, Center Path Publishing, 380 pages, $24.95
The word is out. People are flocking to bookstores to buy this self-help wellness book with its promise not of miracle cures, but of how common sense can help keep you healthy and improve your quality of life. Stretching exercises and positive affirmations are nothing new, but the doctors explain how each thing you do builds on the others to keep you fine-tuned in health. They address how our society approaches medicine and answer lots of questions. This book may not be the cure for what ails you, but it does offer some fine suggestions for quality-of-life improvements. - Suzi Brozman
Joyce Antler, You Never Call! You Never Write! A History of the Jewish Mother, Oxford University Press, 299 pages, $24.95
With the cover of this book illustrated in cartoons, it first appears to be a humor book. Upon opening You Never Call! You Never Write! A History of the Jewish Mother, you discover the book is a scholarly examination of the way American culture views the Jewish mother, from the late 1800s to the present.
"My Yiddishe Mama" is a strong, loving, supportive Jewish mother in many movies, plays and books in the early 20th century. Joyce Antler discusses the same type of Jewish mother as the popular Molly Goldberg, an immigrant Jewish mother who was popular on the radio and TV of the 1930s to 1950s. Then writers such as Phillip Roth demonized Jewish mothers in books such as Portnoy's Complaint. Many comedians of the 20th century sprang from the Catskills. Despite influences such as proud matriarch Jennie Grossinger, who ran a famous hotel in that area, many Jewish comedians came up with standard jokes putting down the Jewish mother. Think of Woody Allen and Buddy Hackett.
Most of this book was fascinating. I didn't realize most of the women who led the women's liberation movement in the 1960s and 1970s were Jewish. Who knew that the popular TV series Roseanne was based on Roseanne Barr's strong Jewish grandmother? Who knew the tone of The Nanny, starring nasal, whiny Fran Drescher, was often anti-Semitic, including an episode showing the nanny and her mother sitting in the back row of temple eating ham-and-cheese sandwiches? - Joni Pelta
Jane Isay, Walking on Eggshells: Navigating the Delicate Relationship Between Adult Children and Parents, Flying Dolphin Press, 240 pages, $23.95
One thing I've noticed about parents of adult children: Their tongues are short and getting shorter. We bite our tongues when our kids make bad choices, when they spend money we think they should save, when they pick a spouse who makes us cringe, when they have the nerve to criticize us.
Jane Isay keeps the tone light as she relates story after story of hurt feelings, misunderstandings, family quirks and foibles. Her advice is gently offered, her questions relevant and incisive. Try explaining to your thirtysomething child that to you he will always be 6, in need of a kiss to heal the hurt, and that it breaks your heart that your kisses no longer have the power to mend.
Better yet, let him read Walking on Eggshells. He may not see himself, but inside, somewhere deep, maybe something will resonate. Maybe you'll see yourself too. - Suzi Brozman
Emma Forrest, editor, Damage Control: Women on the Therapists, Beauticians, and Trainers Who Navigate Their Bodies, HarperCollins, 282 pages, $13.95
Haircuts, manicures, pedicures, healing gurus, masseuses, homeopathy and waxing are some of the things women use to beautify and relax themselves. Emma Forrest takes essays by many women with their thoughts about all of this and puts them together to form Damage Control.
I found some of the best essays were on hair and beauty salons. Actress Minnie Driver writes about a French hairdresser who convinced her as a gawky adolescent with horrible hair that she was beautiful. Marion Keyes writes about her experience of waiting for hours at a fancy salon for her appointment while she is stalled and patronized by the staff. Maysan Haydar describes Arab beauty rituals and how, in the closed setting of a beauty salon or the home of a beautician, Arab women discuss politics and their problems.
Some of the essays were way outside my imagination. Sarah Bennett talks about her lesbian lovers and body waxing. Soraya writes about her experiences body-waxing other women. An anonymous woman is interviewed about her job as a makeup artist for female strippers.
An interesting, thought-provoking read is in store for you with Damage Control. - Joni Pelta
Kids and Young Adults
Carol Matas, The Whirlwind, Orca Publishers, 128 pages, $9.95
The life of a young German Jew is turned upside down when he and his family make a last-minute escape from Hitler's clutches in World War II, then Ben Friedman's 14-year-old psyche is further tested when his Japanese-American friend and his family are carted off to an internment camp outside Seattle in the 1940s.
Carol Matas' novel teaches an underlying message of tolerance and acceptance through a friendship rare for the time. The main also includes a theme from the Book of Job and is a well-written, easy read for any level.
The most adult theme of the book is recognizing a youth affected by what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder and trying to put yourself in the boy's shoes. He often wonders if he's going crazy or if it's the world around him. He thinks in America life will be perfect, but as he and his family encounter hatred not because they are Jews, but because they are German, several triggers keep memories of the crashing glass of Kristallnacht flooding back. The imprisonment of his friend and anti-Semitism he can't control become too much to bear.
After two attempts at running from his fears and being returned home, Ben must face a Job-like decision and rely on patience and good to overcome. - Marcy J. Levinson
Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 560 pages, $10.99
The narrator of the story, Death, first sees book thief Liesel as a 9-year-old girl who has stolen The Grave Diggers' Handbook at the site of her brother's burial. Her mother must leave her with the Hubermanns, a foster home, for survival purposes. Hans Hubermann, whom she calls Papa, teaches her to read from this handbook and the many books she subsequently steals and rescues from Nazi book-burnings.
Liesel has many friends in the neighborhood, and stealing becomes an adventure for them. She and her friends steal food for themselves, and they later sneak food to the Jewish prisoners. Her family hides a Jewish man in the basement, and she spends much time reading with him. While in the basement, he writes a book he gives her for her birthday. Her own attempt to write a book later saves her life.
This is a story of courage, friendship, love, survival, death and grief. You should read this book to see into the lives of a compassionate gentile family in World War II Germany. - Rina Wolfe
Ann E. Burg, illustrated by Joel Iskowitz, Rebekkah's Journey, Sleeping Bear Press, $17.95
This lovely volume is a perfect bedtime story for kids and an easy read. It is the beautifully illustrated story of a young Jewish girl forced with her mother to flee Hitler's Europe to come to America and stay at a vacant Army base in Oswego, N.Y. Nearly 1,000 immigrants, refugees from 18 countries, stayed there at the invitation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Rebekkah's Journey, although a combination of personal experiences of different people researched by author Ann E. Burg, sets out to put a name and face with the similar happenings that affected so many immigrants.
The illustrations in watercolor are soft enough to not take away from the story of Rebekkah but finely crafted in a way that lends a human touch to the perils and tragedies in the lives of the characters.
While the atrocities of the Holocaust cannot and should not be minimized, this book is a great way to teach kids about it without gory visuals. This is also a great way to teach kids about tolerance, sharing, love and patience for all humans. It is also a fabulous piece of history regarding the U.S. transport ship Henry Gibbins, which brought all the refugees to the States to stay at Oswego. - Marcy J. Levinson
Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Pleiss Glasser, Fancy Nancy and Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, HarperCollins, 32 pages each, $16.99
Can you remember a time as a child when dressing up and "being fancy" was the epitome of fun? In the books Fancy Nancy and Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, a precocious girl named Nancy extols the joys of being fancy, even though her family tends to be rather plain. Nancy shares with the readers that wearing lace socks does, in fact, improve her soccer game. She feels that saying words like "stupendous" and "ecstatic" is more worldly than just saying great and happy.
Before you assume that these books are just about enjoying a fancy lifestyle, think again. Jane O'Connor, in a subtle way, includes a few valuable lessons. In Fancy Nancy, after an embarrassing occurrence, Nancy learns that whether her family members are plain or fancy, they are always there to love and support her, no matter what happens. In Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, Nancy learns that a dog that fits with one family might not be appropriate for another one. In the end, Nancy sees that "unique" trumps fancy any day.
O'Connor's books are wonderful and will bring back childhood memories for adults to savor. Equally important, the books will charm young children. The delicately drawn illustrations complete the experience. Fancy Nancy and Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy are delightful and engaging - fancy words for just plain sweet. - Gail Handler
Linda Jacobs Altman, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, The Legend of Freedom Hill, Lee and Low Books, 32 pages, $7.95 paperback
The Legend of Freedom Hill is a tale of slavery with a Jewish twist. The story takes place during Gold Rush days in the West. Two young girls develop a strong bond because they are different: Rosabel because of the color of her skin and Sophie because she is part of the only Jewish family in town.
Miz Violet, Rosabel's mama, is a runaway slave seeking freedom in the West. All seems well until a slave catcher arrives in town. The Fugitive Slave Act allowed slave owners to reclaim slaves and required people who found runaway slaves to return them to their owners.
When Miz Violet is caught, Rosabel turns to Sophie and her family to help figure out a way to gain her mama's freedom. These two inventive children come up with a plan to save the day, and as plans go, it had a few kinks. The two girls are determined, though, to achieve their goal, and with some luck and a little suspension of reality, their plan works out. Not only does the story end happily with Miz Violet's return, but the girls manage to save several other people as well.
Linda Jacobs Altman fashions her two main characters with qualities one hopes to find in children: friendship, honesty, dedication to causes and people, and good problem-solving skills. The beautiful illustrations are soft and inviting, a great contrast to the roughness of the subject matter. Because of the realistic nature of the book (slavery issues), the story might not be appropriate for young children.
Children who have begun to study U.S. history in school will appreciate the factual aspects of this fictional story. And it's possible that somewhere, in some town, an African-American child and a Jewish child bonded and shared the realities of being different. That's what makes historical fiction so interesting. - Gail Handler
Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson, illustrated by Benny Andrews, John Lewis in the Lead: A Story of the Civil Rights Movement, Lee and Low Books, 34 pages, $17.95
If you are familiar with John Lewis and are not already inspired by his life, you will be after reading this book. John Lewis in the Lead is a compelling biography of the life of the Atlanta congressman. The story begins with a frightening childhood experience of surviving a ferocious storm in his aunt's wobbly wooden house. Each time the house would shake and the floor would seem to lift up from the ground, John's aunt calmly and firmly told all the children to join together and stand in the corner to keep the floor weighted down. This metaphoric gathering of strength and "power to the group" became a deep-rooted tenet in his dream of equal rights for African Americans.
Though John's parent warned him to "keep quiet and not get in the way," he realized that "the way" he wanted was the way of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi, who both advocated change through nonviolence. The book chronicles his life from his earliest protest in 1956, going to the library to ask for a forbidden library card, through the March to Montgomery in 1965, when the protesters met face to face with Alabama state troopers on the bridge out of Selma.
The drama and intensity of the civil rights movement are felt on every page, in the words and illustrations. Benny Andrews' pictures have a richness and appear almost like folk art. The illustrations point out that even though the circumstances could be intense and brutal, they were about basic issues: equality, freedom of choice and human rights.
The essence of this book is stated by Lewis himself on the back of the book jacket: "It is my hope that this book will inspire young people everywhere to take an active role in changing their world for the better. Everyone has the power to make a difference." - Gail Handler
Emily Sper, The Kids' Fun Book of Jewish Time, Jewish Lights, 24 pages, $16.99
Time is time, right? Wrong. Jewish time has its own rhythm, its own vocabulary. From lighting Shabbat candles on Friday night to the passing of the months and seasons, this bright, interactive book will intrigue children to learn effortlessly. Pull a tab and the candles "light." Spin a wheel and watch the phases of the moon pass. There's even a counting lesson showing how to count dates in Hebrew letters. It's a sturdy little volume, beautifully illustrated by the author. A perfect gift for a birthday or any special occasion. - Suzi Brozman
Miriam P. Feinberg and Miriam Klein Shapiro, Hear Her Voice! Twelve Jewish Women Who Changed the World, Pitspopany, 224 pages, $18.95
Finally, a Jewish book for girls, all about Jewish heroines through history. This book outlines role models from the Bible - Queen Esther and Deborah - to modern women, including Golda Meir and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Some of the women will be familiar, others not so famous, but each has a noble story to tell and a place in Jewish history for girls to emulate. It's written for ages 9 to 12. Don't hide it from the boys. It will do them good to read how females make contributions to society. - Suzi Brozman
Lauren Seidman, What Makes Someone a Jew, Jewish Lights, 32 pages, $8.99 paperback
What makes someone a Jew? That's a good question, one Jews the world over are grappling with on a daily basis. This cheerful book, designed for children ages 3 to 6, boils it down to doing - being the best person you can be, doing good deeds, living Jewishly, studying Torah and learning some Hebrew. To quote the book, "It's NOT how you look or what others think of you. Being Jewish is about my deeds, thoughts, and heart. So now I know I'm off to a very good start!" A sweet message and yes, a good start. - Suzi Brozman
Ann Kramer, Anne Frank: The Young Writer Who Told the World Her Story, National Geographic, 64 pages, $17.95
Most of us are familiar with the story of Anne Frank, who hid with her family in a Dutch home until they were found and sent to die with millions of other Jews. This volume, part of National Geographic's World History Biographies series, is intended for older children and even adults. Not only does it tell Anne's story, but it also puts the girl in a historical context, telling about Kristallnacht, the Holocaust, concentration camps, and even about the publication of her diary and the movie made from it. Ann Kramer pulls no punches, tells the story on a level most children can comprehend and digest, and peppers each page with photographs and illustrations that help bring that era back to life. - Suzi Brozman
Deborah Heiligman, Celebrate Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur and Celebrate Passover, National Geographic, 32 pages, $15.95 each
These two volumes belong to National Geographic's Holidays Around the World series. They explain the major holidays so any child can understand, more in terms of custom than deeper meaning. The photographs are gorgeous, the text appropriate for younger children and their non-Jewish friends. In a world where kids are bombarded by Christian holidays at every turn, these little books are a comforting reminder that Jews also have deep-rooted traditions. - Suzi Brozman
Peter Yarrow and Lonny Lipton, paintings by Eric Puybaret, Puff, the Magic Dragon, Sterling, unpaginated, $16.95
If you didn't start humming as you read the title of this whimsical book, you must have spent the last 40 years on another planet. Peter, Paul and Mary turned Puff into a cultural icon almost as famous as they themselves were. And now Peter Yarrow, the Peter in PP&M, has created a charming picture book illustrating the song. He includes a CD of his rendition of it. If you don't buy it for your kids, consider getting it for yourself as a reminder of gentler, simpler days, frolicking in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee. - Suzi Brozman
Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, The Kids' Book Club Book, Tarcher/Penguin, 461 pages, $16.95 paperback
Kids' book clubs? Who knew? The authors apparently did - they canvassed 500 youth book clubs across the country to see what kids were looking for. This book is jam-packed with what they found kids (and their parents and teachers) want - recipes and activities for 50 of the most popular kids' books, plus insights from authors kids know and like. They even tell you how to organize a club, right down to topics for discussion.
Gelman and Krupp are the authors of the highly successful Book Club Cook Book, and their Web site has expanded that concept, even offering a list of authors you can talk to on speakerphone during your book club meetings - free! If your child is a reader, you're already doing something right. This clever book can only help. - Suzi Brozman
Cookbooks
Sheilah Kaufman, Upper Crusts: Fabulous Ways to Use Bread, Capital Books, 248 pages, $20
This is not a book on how to bake bread, but how to use it. Sheilah Kaufman tells us bread is back, not just to sop up gravy, but as an ingredient in everything from salads and appetizers to entrees and desserts. She's a friend of mine, but even if I'd never met her, I'd be astonished by her imaginative way of using a simple ingredient like bread to elevate all kinds of recipes. How about Crème Brulee French Toast? Southwestern Chicken Strata? With more than 25 cookbooks to her credit, Kaufman knows what works and what people want to eat. Just don't read it during Pesach. - Suzi Brozman
Edith Rothschild, Nutrilicious: Food for Thought and Whole Health, Feldheim, 260 pages, $26.99 paperback
This book bills itself as natural whole vegetarian kosher cuisine. It does go after healthy habits, with baking recipes sans sugar, a separate section for fish and eggs, and lots of tips for making the most of your vegetarian lifestyle. There's even an essay on "smart" kitchens - bringing technology into your cooking space. The author calls this not just a cookbook, but a passionate call to healthier living. The recipes look fairly easy, and there are Shabbat, holiday and entertaining recipes. Unless you're an unrepentant carnivore, it's worth a second look. - Suzi Brozman
Mindy Ginsberg, Easy & Elegant: 300 Kosher International Jewish Recipes for Friends and Family, Gefen, 210 pages, $19.95 paperback
This is not a brand-new book, but I just recently saw it for the first time, and you can never have too many cookbooks, especially big, user-friendly kosher ones. There's a whole section of tips and secrets for success. Any author who includes those is tops on my list. What else is there to say? - Suzi Brozman
Tony Rosenfeld, 150 Things to Make With Roast Chicken and 50 Ways to Roast It, Taunton, 304 pages, $14.95 paperback
Can somebody tell me why I'd want to know 50 ways to roast a chicken? But Tony Rosenfeld made me stop and look at his book with that catchy title. He talks about spice rubs and glazes and fixing two chickens so you'll have an extra for tomorrow night's dinner, a great concept for any busy cook. It's not a kosher cookbook, but there are plenty of tasty-looking choices for the family that likes chicken. - Suzi Brozman
Religion
F. E. Peters, The Voice, the Work, the Books: The Sacred Scripture of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Princeton, 292 pages, $29.95
You should know this about me. I'm addicted to history, to asking why, what if, how and, most of all, "Really?" I want to know what the Israelites wore as they stood at Sinai, who walked the streets of Jerusalem at the start of the Christian era, where the original written Torah is.
Mostly, I want to know how much of what we accept as our sacred past developed from even more ancient stories and mythologies. In today's culture of interfaith outreach, this book, agreeably approachable, offers insights into the parallel and intersecting paths the sacred books of the three great Abrahamic religions followed. I'm hoping we'll soon be having an adult education class somewhere in town based on the scholarship in this volume. - Suzi Brozman
Just for Fun
David Magee, MoonPie: Biography of an Out-of-This-World Snack, University Press of Florida, 182 pages, $14.95 paperback
Who would have thought anybody could write 18 pages, much less 182, about MoonPies. Granted, they're a Southern institution. But still. As a Gator, I feel the need to defend this little book, but as a reviewer, all I can say is if you love the MoonPie, you might enjoy reading about its history, including the momentous day when Sam Walton called, wanting to carry the snack at his Wal-Mart stores. That must have been a call worth taking. Here's a bit of trivia: The MoonPie is the most popular Mardi Gras favor thrown from floats in Mobile's annual celebration. - Suzi Brozman
Sonny Seiler and Kent Hannon, Damn Good Dogs! The Real Story of Uga, the University of Georgia's Bulldog Mascots, Sports Publishing, 176 pages, $22.95 paperback
Words fail me. If you're a Dawg fan, this book is for you. It would make a marvelous gift for the UGA grad or for the teen just setting out for a freshman year in Athens. It records the history of each of the Uga mascots, with pictures galore and memorabilia enough for any Dawg lover. - Suzi Brozman
Vince Dooley with Blake Giles, Tales From the 1980 Georgia Bulldogs, Sports Publishing, 186 pages, $19.95
It was the year UGA beat Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, the year a freshman named Herschel Walker first stepped between the hedges. The book is a couple of years old, but fans won't mind that. For true Georgia fans, Vince Dooley practically walks on water, and his reminiscences are psalms of praise and hallelujah choruses. - Suzi Brozman
This CD is musical transcendence to a higher focus through music. Time slips away as the seven tracks help you center your focus of attention not only musically, but spiritually.
Artists Danya Uriel and Eyal Rivlin, in perfect harmony, use the power of Hebrew chanting to elevate the spirits of the most stressed-out listener to a place of serenity.
I had my doubts about the quality of the studio engineering and final production mix of a "chanting" CD, but my fears diminished and disappeared as I sank into the couch with a fuzzy blanket for the first track, Coming Home. The vocals are top-notch and so pure that there are moments of confusion of vocals vs. a finely tuned Pan flute.
The fine engineering, vocal substance and overall quality of this great CD swept me away. It is perfect for any time of day or night, high energy or just some time to wind down. Get in touch with the long-lost art of Hebrew chanting and pick up a copy of Temple's Coming Home (www.soundstrue.com). - Marcy J. Levinson
