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Eleanor reading in Culloden TowerFrom the Lampert Library

Mason Cooley, an American aphorist, once said “Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”

In that spirit, here are some books that will take you somewhere while staying where you are. Find them either in the synagogue library or your local public library. If you have trouble locating a book you want to read, please ask the librarian.

Anton, Rashi’s Daughter: secret scholar is set in 11th century Troyes, France. (J)

Bellow, To Jerusalem and Back: a personal account.

Bonert, The Lion Seeker is a multi-generational novel set in Africa.

Brown, Hanukkah in Alaska. (J)

Buck , Peony is the fictionalized story of the Jewish community of Kaifeng, China.

Burstein, Joseph and Anna’s Time capsule: a legacy from old Jewish Prague. (J)

travel2 shiraCarmi, And Shira Imagined all the historic sites in Israel. (J)

Carvajal, The Forgetting River: a modern tale of survival, identity and the Inquisition  in which the author explores her roots as a converso.

Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: a novel is a “what if” story set in Alaska.

Cohen, Gooseberries to Oranges recalls young girl’s journey from Europe to the U.S. (J)

Feller, Walking the Bible: an illustrated journey for kids through the greatest stories ever  told. The author describes his journey through places mentioned in the Torah.

Fletcher, Walking Israe l: a personal search for the soul of a nation.

Hannah,  The Nightingale tells the dramatic fictionalized story of life in the French countryside during                    World War II and the relationship of two sisters who live there.

Jasper, Goodnight, Israel. (J)

Kimmelman, Everybody Says Shalom.

Kolsky, Jewish London: a comprehensive guidebook for visitors and Londoners.

Lipton, French seduction: an American’s encounter with France, her father and the Holocaust.

travel3quichesNathan, Quiches, Kugels, and couscous: my search for Jewish cooking in France.

Padowitz, Triumphs and Tragedy: journeying through 1000 years of Jewish life in                                    Poland.

Pollak, Mandarins, Jews and Missionaries: the Jewish experience in the Chinese  Empire.

Prinz, On the Chocolate Trail: a delicious adventure connecting Jews, religions, history, travel, rituals and recipes to the magic of cacao.

travel4midwifeRich, The Midwife of Venice.

Sabar, My Father’s Paradise: a son’s search for his Jewish past in Kurdish Iraq.

Schmahmann, Ivory from Paradise.

Segal, The Innocents is an award winning novel set in contemporary London.

Sfar, The Rabbi’s Cat adventures across Algiers and Africa in the 1930s.

travel5blackShulevitz, The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela: through three continents in the twelfth century

Silva, The Black Widow is Daniel Silva’s latest thriller mostly set in the Marais section of Paris.

Tokayer, Pepper, Silk,& Ivory: amazing stories about Jews and the Far East.

Zborowski, Life is with people: the Jewish little-town of Eastern Europe.

 

image:  “Eleanor Reading in Culloden Tower” © Steve Hodgson used with permission via Creative Commons License.

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