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With the passing of Meir Shalev this year and A.B. Yehoshua last year, few stellar writers remain from

Set in San Francisco, “The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants” by Orlando Ortega-Medina is striking because the author manages

“The World and All That It Holds” is surely one of the more audacious titles of any book

Poland’s relationship to Jewishness remains a fraught issue that stimulates much debate. (I know, having witnessed some of

For those of us whose primary encounter with the text of the Torah is reading along in synagogue

Unspooling long-held family secrets has become a specialty of Dani Shapiro’s. She has hosted the popular “Family Secrets”

For those of us who have been shaped by the presence of Holocaust survivors in our families and

By Howard Freedman, Director, Jewish Community Library As we approach the New Year, Abigail Pogrebin’s My Jewish Year:

The short stories that make up Omer Friedlander’s “The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land,” this

It can be difficult to recommend books one finds deeply upsetting. But as I call attention to two

For many of us, summer reading involves books that engage us but don’t feel like work to get

By Leah Strauss, Reader Services Librarian, Jewish Community Library Thoughts of Ukraine consume me these days. Even though

We asked the team at the Jewish Community Library to put together this summer reading list to help

Perhaps the most notable Jewish literary event of 2022 has been the release of the English translation of

The age of texting and tweeting has brought out the curmudgeon in me, in part because I sometimes

Although Argentina has long housed the largest Jewish population in Latin America, Jews in the United States tend

It was reported on National Public Radio last year that the Covid-19 pandemic had witnessed a dramatic increase

After 17 years of serving patrons and book clubs, beloved librarian Rose Katz retired from the Jewish Community

Although few of us can relate to the rarefied worlds of wealthy Jewish art collectors during the French

With his new book, “When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers,” the New Yorker

In 2013, Pleasanton author Helene Wecker published her first novel, “The Golem and the Jinni,” about an unlikely

Jerusalem has a particularly fraught archaeological heritage, with the battle over the city’s present and future reflected in

It’s always rewarding when a story collection feels like more than the sum of its parts, as is

My father’s sister Sandra suffered terribly from lupus. After Sandra fell into a long coma as a teenager,

Nearly 70 years after their execution for having allegedly passed atomic secrets to the USSR, Ethel and Julius

There is no shortage of fiction set in the Nazi era being written today, and most serious attempts

The writings of the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors frequently convey not only the pain their grandparents endured but

The writings of the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors frequently convey not only the pain their grandparents endured but

One does not conventionally turn first to Jewish literature to satisfy a thirst for adventure stories. Nevertheless, the

What makes books on family history so compelling for me is that they offer a fresh and personal

As languages have lives of their own, with arcs that dwarf the lifespans of their speakers, it feels

While the short story is a classic literary form, it can also feel like a somewhat beleaguered one.

‘The Lost Shtetl’ and ‘The Orchard’: 2 new novels of Jewish culture shock Books coverage is supported by

Gripping memoirs by writers who aren’t exactly famous – J. Books coverage is supported by a generous grant

Whither Vashti? One Bay One Book program tackles ‘The Book of V.’ The Jewish Community Library has chosen

New Israeli novels explore the weight of memory – J. Memory informs every aspect of Jewish existence. The

On the Riviera, in Bolivia … Jewish historical fiction that travels – J. Two new coming-of-age novels set

Secrets kept, secrets revealed in two debut novels Books coverage is supported by a generous grant from The

Search for Lost Bible Scrolls brings San Francisco Author Back Home The Federation is pleased to announce that

New biographies paint portraits of two Jewish luminaries Books coverage is supported by a generous grant from The

Daughters of the Holocaust uncover old stories in new memoirs – J. Jews place a premium on remembering,

Two authors delight in the remnants of generations past – J. How can we draw meaning from the

New Jewish poetry books to accompany you through isolation – J. Although one of the thrills of poetry

Newly translated from French, these two Holocaust memoirs are at reasure Books coverage is supported by a generous

Leaving Orthodoxy: personal stories of gender and Hasidism – J. Books coverage is supported by a generous donation

In the 2010s, Jewish children’s books diversified but emphasized classic values – J. Books coverage is supported by

Hanukkah gift guide to graphic novels, picture books and young adult novels – J. The books section is

Genealogy ‘mavens’ go old-school to uncover Jewish past – J. Final part of three-part PAST LIVES series on

Two Israeli novelists explore truth and integrity – J. The books section is supported by a generous donation

Rediscovering S.F.’s pioneering 19th-century ‘girl reporter’ – J. The books section is supported by a generous donation from