Our Ahavas Israel book group has run out of steam. We have plenty of avid readers, but the number who were willing to read a Jewish book and meet, by zoom or in person, to talk about it has dwindled below the point of viability. Over the past 8 years, it had met four times a year. That’s about 32 books, some of which I would have read on my own, but most of which I read only because they were chosen by the group. On my own, I tend not to read non-fiction. But if someone recommends a book, or better yet, if someone recommends a book and says, “let’s get together and talk about it,” I’m usually in. So I’ll miss our group and I’ll have to find suggestions for Jewish books that I wouldn’t have thought to read elsewhere.

So, what Jewish-adjacent books are you reading on the beach this summer? I’m looking for suggestions. Here are some selections that the book club had on its radar for future meetings:

How To Love Your Daughter, by Hila Blum

Winner of the Sapir Prize, one of Israel’s most prestigious literary awards, How to Love Your Daughter relates the complicated history of a mother-daughter relationship gone awry. … [It] is a nuanced examination of a complex relationship, as well as a portrait of a mother trying to determine precisely where she went wrong — and how to undo her past transgressions. It becomes clear that even self-scrutiny won’t prevent future mistakes.
|https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/how-to-love-your-daughter

The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud, by Gila Fine

In the Talmud, women are mostly identified as “mother of” or “wife of,” but not by name. For centuries, women were forbidden to even study the sacred work. In this unique book, Gila Fine discusses six women, all named, whose stories are told in the Talmud. She uses literary analysis to give us a contemporary look at the negative archetypes usually ascribed to these women.

The result is an entirely new perspective not only on the six women, but also on the rabbis who wrote and edited their stories and on the historical context as a whole.
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/the-madwoman-in-the-rabbis-attic-rereading-the-women-of-the-talmud

In Sickness and in Health / Yom Kippur in a Gym, by Nora Gold

Both of [these two] novellas provide readers with opportunities to think deeply about disability, illness, prayer, and forgiveness.
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/in-sickness-and-in-health-yom-kippur-in-a-gym

Lolita at Leonard’s of Great Neck and Other Stories from the Before Times, by Shira Dicker

The[se] five compelling tales … take you on an immersive journey from 1974 to the 2000s. …. The characters of this unforgettable collection inhabit the golden era of the postwar, pre-pandemic world. Age-old power struggles — between lovers, between friends, between parents and children— are illuminated and analyzed. Heartbreaking and sometimes hilarious, their stories disclose and document what it meant to be American, Jewish, and female. Rich with cultural touchstones and reference points, they are suffused with self-awareness, longing, and sensual awareness.
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/lolita-at-leonards-of-great-neck-and-other-stories-from-the-before-times

Everybody’s Hero, by Alex J. Sinclair

A suspenseful thriller about a seemingly normal family man who is secretly a serial killer targeting negligent dog owners, exploring themes of vigilante justice and morality within modern Israeli society, often intertwined with his expertise in Jewish education and Zionism.
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/everybodys-hero-a-book-for-our-times/

As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us by Sarah Hurwitz

In recent years, there is perhaps no topic more explored in American Jewry than the rise of antisemitism. As such, books must approach the topic from a unique perspective to stand out, occupying their own niche in relation to the other books in the field. As a Jew distinguishes itself as one of the more accessible books on the topic of antisemitism in recent years. It is straightforward without losing nuance, historical while still feeling very of the moment, and simultaneously personal yet able to touch readers with diverse backgrounds.
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/as-a-jew-reclaiming-our-story-from-those-who-blame-shame-and-try-to-erase-us

By Fire, By Water, by Mitchell James Kaplan

Luis de Santangel is a converso, chancellor, investor, and friend to King Ferdinand in fifteenth-century Spain. After the murder of the First Chief Inquisitor of Aragon unleashes the fury of the Inquisition upon the Jewish people and all conversos, Santangel learns that one of his friends is about to meet his demise. As this horrific process ensues, Santangel meets a pious monk, a Jewish woman to whom he is attracted, the explorer Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus), and others who lead him to explore his abandoned Jewish faith.
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/by-fire-by-water

The Coffee Trader, David Liss

Set in 1659 Amsterdam, The Coffee Trader follows Portuguese Jewish trader Miguel Lienzo as he tries to rebuild his fortune by cornering the market on the new commodity, coffee, while navigating financial intrigue, community politics, and personal rivalries with his brother and other rivals.

The Scrolls of Deborah, by Esther Goldenberg

Israeli author Esther Goldenberg weaves together familiar biblical stories with her own creative liberties to build a thoughtful, feminist midrash of sorts. The first installment in an expected trilogy, The Scrolls of Deborah centers around matriarch Rebekah and her nursemaid Deborah. We read about Deborah as a child, her journey to Rebekah and her life spent serving the matriarch. https://www.hadassahmagazine.org/2024/05/21/the-scrolls-of-deborah/