These are the books I’m reading and listening to:

Anatomy of Exile, by Zeeva Bukai

Fighting the Hate: A Handbook for Jews Under Siege, by Melanie Phillips

Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict, by Yardena Schwartz

In Ishmael’s House: A History of Jews in Muslim Lands, by Martin Gilbert

Judaism Is About Love, by Shai Held

The Art and Practice of Living Wondrously, edited by Dr. Ronit Ziv-Kreger

The Thirteen Petalled Rose: A Discourse on the Essence of Jewish Existence and Belief, by Adin Steinsaltz

When We See You Again, by Rachel Goldberg-Polin

There is definitely a theme.

Friends keep recommending books they’ve recently read. Sometimes I put them on hold at the local library or on CloudLibrary (an online library). Sometimes I even try to read them. Rarely do I get beyond a few pages.

Before October 7th, I was proud of the number of books I read each year (mainly novels) and listed them on my GoodReads page. Since then, I haven’t read as much or listed those I did read. It seems so unimportant and a bit show-offy. How do you brag about having read a book about Jews being savagely murdered, or providing practical advice on how to deal with antisemitism, or one that expresses a mother’s profound grief at the torture and........

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