Category Books

Beautifully produced book

It must have been a prodigious effort by editor Ezra Glinter to look through countless Yiddish Forward microfilms going back more than 100 years and come up with the superb collection of short fiction Have I Got a Story for…

Is America part of a divine plan?

book cover cropped - In The American Miracle, Michael Medved argues that the success of the United States is not based on random “happy accidents”

In The American Miracle, Michael Medved argues that the success of the United States is not based on random “happy accidents.” Early America’s historical events could be seen as a set of dominoes falling conveniently into place, creating a thriving…

Going to camp for the food

photo - Dawn Lerman, age 15 in this photo, at summer camp

Dawn Lerman, age 15 in this photo, at summer camp. (photo from Dawn Lerman via JNS.org) In My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love and Family, with Recipes (Berkley Books, 2015), New York Times wellness blogger and nutritionist Dawn…

Laughter a vital salve

book cover - Finger Up the Bum

“It’s that time of year, when you are wondering what to get your husband, father, uncle, friend, or any other smooth dude in your life … so why not get them that greatest of all gifts: laughter. And what’s funnier…

A celebration needs dessert

photo - Rosie Daykin’s apple-stuffed challah

Rosie Daykin’s apple-stuffed challah. Ten years ago, Rosie Daykin opened Butter Bakery and Café in Vancouver. Five years ago, it moved to its current location on Mackenzie Street and began offering breakfast and lunch, in addition to baked goods. The…

Exploring power of women

book cover - The Last Woman Standing

Expectations – our own and others’ – can motivate us or constrain us. Two recently published novels feature strong (Jewish) women who must fight for their independence, battling not only parental, societal and other judgments, but their own self-conceptions. One…

A Yiddish writer resurrected

book cover - Jacob Dinezon

Tekhiyas ha-meysim, resurrection of the dead, is not an everyday occurrence. But it happens in literature when attention is once again focused on long-neglected authors. Scott Davis, editor and publisher of Storyteller Press, is one of those resurrectors. He has…

Wonders of Mediterranean

book cover - The New Mediterranean Jewish Table

Joyce Goldstein was chef and owner of Square One restaurant in San Francisco; prior to that, she was chef at Chez Panisse café. Today, she is a cooking teacher, restaurant consultant and cookbook author. Her bibliography lists 60 cookbooks, the…

Bringing Israel to the table

book cover - Israel Eats

Steven Rothfeld is a travel photographer with an emphasis on culinary cuisine. He has written more than 10 books of photography and lives in Napa Valley, Calif. His cookbook Israel Eats (Gibbs Smith Publishers) came out earlier this year. In…

Internet access and poverty

image - On Nov. 24., writer Penny Goldsmith spoke at King David High School about PovNet, a B.C.-based anti-poverty network.

On Nov. 24., writer Penny Goldsmith spoke at King David High School about PovNet, a B.C.-based anti-poverty network. When Storming the Digital Divide: The PovNet Story was published in August by Lazara Press, the Jewish Independent received a copy. A…