Great Reads with Jewish Themes Series 2011/2012

Join book club members on September 6, 2011 for the first meeting of the Great Reads with Jewish Themes series.

This four part series provides an opportunity for us to discuss books with Jewish themes in a relaxed setting. We will meet in the Emeth library and share our reflections on books (fiction and nonfiction) selected by the group.

The Great Reads Program will meet four times throughout the year. Our first evening is scheduled for September 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the Emeth Library. The group agreed to read "The Invisible Bridge" by Julie Orringer for our first meeting. Everyone is welcome!

Time: 7:00 – 8:30PM Tuesdays
Place: Congregation Emeth
Dates: September 6, December 6, March 6, June 5

Books for the 2011/2012 Series:

• My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
• 2030: The Real story of What Happens to America by Albert Brooks
• Collected Stories of Isaak Bashevis Singer (readers' choice)

A note from the The Invisible Bridge book cover....

The novel takes place in Paris 1937...Andras Levi, a Hungarian-Jewish architecture student arrives from Budapest falls into a complicated relationship, becomes privy to a secret that alters the course of his and his family's history. From the small Hungarian town of Konyar to the grand opera houses of Budapest and Paris, from the despair of the Carpathian winter to an unimaginable life in labor camps, The Invisible Bridge tells the story of a family shattered and remade in history's darkest hour.

According to the New York Times Book Review...."Orringer makes us care so deeply about the people of her all-too-real fictional world. For the time it takes to read this fine novel, and for a long time afterward, it becomes our world too".

When we met last time, I mentioned that I would try to get the books from the SF Jewish Community Library however they do not have the book we chose so...we do have a copy on disc in the Emeth library for those of you who would prefer to listen to the book and it is in the local library or available used from Amazon. (Please use the Emeth link to Amazon if you decide to order from there.)

As always, even if you have not had time to read the book or to finish reading the book, you are welcome to join us for the discussion. I will have a list of the titles that are available from the Bureau of Jewish Education Library at our Sept 6th meeting. Or, you can check it out yourself on their website www.bjesf.org/library

Great Reads with Jewish Themes 2010/2011

On August 24, 2010, Congregation Emeth’s Adult Education present a panel of members who reviewed a favorite book they’d read with Jewish themes. Books discussed that night are listed below:

• Rick Coencas: The Flying Latke by Arthur Yorinks with Illustrations by William Steig
• Jackie Stevens: The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
• Rebecca Kaminsky: Rashi's Daughters by Maggie Anton
• Wendy Thowdis: Jewish Homesteaders on the Northern Plains by Rachel Calof
• Rich Pupko: Isaac’s Torah by Angel Wagenstein
• Bette Gardner: Awake in the Dark by Shira Nayman

Recommendations from our Congregants of other books you may enjoy:

• The Listener by Shira Naymon
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
• The Inextinguishable Symphony by Martin Goldsmith
• The Lord Is My Shepherd by Harold Kushner
• As a Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg
• The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
• Gentleman of the Road by Michael Chabon