Sept 2025: Rocking the reading recs, loads of literary events, and wishes for the new year

Dear friends,

I hope you had a decent August, and that this coming month, when we’ll celebrate Rosh Hashana, the new school year, etc. we’ll be able to reset and restore ourselves from every aspect. Scroll down for your monthly dose of book reviews, lots of upcoming literary events, a story, a recipe, and an update from my corner of Israel.

Brief writing update: I continue to write new scenes for my novel-in-progress. August was a slower month for writing, as I was abroad for 2 1/2 weeks and it’s difficult to find time to write while traveling, but I did manage to get in five or six quick writing (or transcribing sessions).

On a personal note: Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Z3 Project’s Bridge Builder Award. According to the last count I saw before they closed the voting, I did not make it into one of the top three slots, but I appreciate everyone who voted and shared on social media. Massive gratitude, once again, to Erika Dreifus for the idea to nominate me and the thoughtful work that went into her nomination. I read through the impressive bios of the other nominees, and it was an honor to see my name alongside so many inspiring individuals. Most of all, I hope the nomination generated more interest in Literary Modiin so that more readers will be exposed to more books with Jewish and Israeli content!

Recommended Reading

August may not have been a good month for my writing, but it was an excellent month for reading. I read eight books, bringing my yearly total to 62 books so far, waaaayyy ahead of schedule for my self-imposed Goodreads challenge. As I’d like to recommend all eight, my reviews will be a bit shorter this month. Happy reading!

Mothers and Other Fictional Characters by Nicole Graev Lipson: A memoir in essays so beautiful and insightful that I want to press it into the hands of all of my friends, especially those who were English majors (in fact, I’ve already started to). In the same way that reading Dara Horn’s People Love Dead Jews got me to see things differently a few years ago, so to did this debut collection, which deals with motherhood (obviously), but also being a daughter, a partner, a friend, and a woman. Many of the essays blend astute analyses of well-known characters from the cannon of English literature alongside some Jewish wisdom. Bonus news: Nicole Graev Lipson is one of the featured authors at September’s Literary Modiin this coming Sunday, Sept 7th - register here.

A Complete Fiction by R.L. Maizes: I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader’s copy of R.L. Maizes' latest book, which comes out in November. The novel deals with two writers trying to navigate the minefields of modern publishing and social media, including cancel culture, power, politics, sexual abuse, and the question of who has the right to tell a story. VERY relevant for our day and age. As I knew she would from her previous books, Maizes does a wonderful job of telling the story with humor and pathos. Pre-order!! This will make a good selection for book club discussions.

Company by Shannon Sanders: This collection of linked stories centers around several generations of a Black family, in particular four sisters. Each story features a guest coming to town (thus the title), and the stories move from Atlantic City to New York to DC, from the 1960s to the 2000s, featuring academics to drag performers to violinists. I really enjoyed this one, for obvious reasons, as it shares a kinship to mine in terms of structure and subject matter, so if you liked The Book of Jeremiah, check this out!

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout: All of Elizabeth Strout’s beloved characters come together in this book - Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge meet to tell each other stories; Lucy goes on long walks with Bob Burgess; Olive’s dear friend in her nursing home is Isabelle. Reading the book will be a delight for any Strout fans, and I read it quickly but I think I need to go back and read it again. (If you’ve heard me speak about my book, you might recall that Olive Kitteridge was a major source of inspiration in terms of structure and character. So I nearly fell over when I got to the penultimate paragraph in Tell Me Everything, in which Lucy says “Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love.” Reader, the new book I am hoping to get out in the world, a sister volume to The Book of Jeremiah, is called Love in All Its Forms!

The Wedding People by Alison Espach: Phoebe walks out of her life in the Midwest after a failed marriage, a dead cat, and the desire to give up on life, but not before she experiences one last extravagant night at her dream hotel (a mansion in Newport, RI). Upon arrival, she stumbles into a week-long wedding extravaganza and accidentally becomes part of the wedding party. A fun read, a fun listen (and fun fact - the author is from Trumbull, CT, my hometown, but much younger than me).

Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart: Quirky, clever little book told from the perspective of an awkward but precocious 10-year-old girl whose family is falling apart. (Her Russian Jewish dad and grandparents will be familiar to many here).

Mrs. Lilienblum’s Cloud Factory by Iddo Gefen: Iddo’s new novel starts with Sarai Lilienblum, a wacky and brilliant inventor, drinking a martini in an unnamed Israeli desert. When a video of one of her inventions — a cloud machine that makes rain — goes viral, investors come chasing and her adult children see an opportunity to change the family’s fortunes. What follows is an entertaining send up of high tech culture as well as a wise meditation on life itself. As a 30-year veteran of the Israeli high tech scene, I enjoyed this hilarious and heartwarming read, and doubly lucky for us, Iddo will be speaking at the September Literary Modiin event next week. Register here.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez: When Alma Cruz, a Dominican-American writer, inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, she transforms it into a symbolic graveyard for the unfinished stories and characters from her abandoned manuscripts. But instead of resting, the characters rise up to tell their own truths, especially to the Filomena, the groundskeeper, who has problems of her own. If, like me, you loved Alvarez’s earlier book In the Time of the Butterflies, pick this one up!

Literary Events

I’m happy to recommend LOADs of literary events happening in September and beyond.

Literary Modiin’s September event is happening on Zoom in less than a week, next Sunday, September 7th, at 20:00 Israel time / 1 pm Eastern, featuring Tova Mirvis (WE WOULD NEVER), Iddo Gefen (MRS. LILIENBLUM’S CLOUD FACTORY), and Nicole Graev Lipson (MOTHERS AND OTHER FICTIONAL CHARACTERS). Register here.

In addition, Literary Modiin’s lineup for the rest of 2025 is already set! Save the dates and register early for these events, too!

• Sunday, Oct 5 we’re having a solidarity event to commemorate two years since Oct 7, featuring readings from a number of writers. Register here.

• Sunday, Nov 16, Literary Modiin’s Nov event (on Zoom), featuring Yishay Ishi Ron with Yardenne Greenspan (DOG), Danila Botha (A PLACE FOR PEOPLE LIKE US) and Nina Boug Lichtenstein (BODY: MY LIFE IN PARTS). Register here.

• Sunday, Dec 28, Literary Modiin’s Dec event will be in-person and on Zoom, with Ilana Kurshan (CHILDREN OF THE BOOK), Caroline Goldberg Igra (PICTURES OF MY DESIRE), and Judy Lev (Labensohn) (BETHLEHEM ROAD). Register here.

More upcoming literary events…

• Manna Songs book launch - a new collection of 32 essays celebrating Jewish joy (including one by yours truly) - is hosting several virtual launch events, featuring several authors at a time doing readings. Register for any or all of these session to hear some inspiring work! Sept 2 at 7:30 pm EDT; Sept 7 at 22:00 Israel time / 3 pm EDT (I’m reading at this one - yes, it will be a literary doubleheader for me this Sunday); Sept 9 at 8 pm EDT; and Sept 28 at 11 pm Israel time / 4 pm EDT.

  
  

• Poems as Invitations - Thurs September 4 at 19:00 at the Biennale Gallery, 161 Jaffa Street, Jerusalem. Our friends at Jerusalism invite the public to the opening event of this exhibition, which features 20 poems written by Robert Friend (1913-1998), Shirley Kaufman (1923-2016), and Dennis Silk (1928-1998)—some of the earliest English-language poets of Jerusalem. Responding to these poems, two accomplished Jerusalem artists—Sara Benninga & Meydad Eliyahu—created fine-art silkscreen prints that include both the poems and original, vivid imagery. Curated by Lonnie Malka. More information here.

  
  

• Jewish Authors Summit on Oct 23, sponsored by 70Faces Media, the Jewish media organization behind JTA, My Jewish Learning, Alma, The Nosher, Kveller, and the New York Jewish Week. (Hat tip to Howard Lovy for making me aware of this event - also check out his recent piece, Building a Future for Jewish Writers). For those of us in Israel, some of the sessions will be late for us, but I’ve been told the session will be recorded.

  
  

Story of the Month: My First Husband

My First Husband by Stephanie Wambugu (Granta). Once again, I’ve farmed out the work of selecting a good story to The Republic of Letters, which posts a no-holds barred analysis each month of several stories published in big name journals. This was the only one that received an “A” this month and it was indeed a good read.

Recipe of the Month: Pomegranate & Avocado Salad

Welcome to the (near) end of the newsletter, where you’re rewarded with a yummy recipe. To be honest, I haven’t made this one yet, but I’m going to try it for Rosh Hashana since it ticks a lot of boxes for me.

Ingredients:

• 5 oz (140 g) mixed baby greens (arugula, spinach, or spring mix)

• 1 large avocado, diced

• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds

• ⅓ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped

• ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion

• 1-2 celery stalks or fennel, chopped

• 2 tbsp fresh herbs (parsley, mint, or dill), chopped

Dressing: olive oil, fresh lemon juice, grainy mustard, plus salt & pepper to taste

Toast the nuts in a dry skillet for 2–3 minutes until fragrant; set aside. Whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth. In a large salad bowl, combine greens, celery, red onion, avocado, and herbs. Toss gently with the dressing just before serving. Top with pomegranate seeds and toasted nuts. Enjoy!

Israel & Personal Updates

I’ve been back a week now, but because we’ve been celebrating many nice things on a personal level (a wedding, a sheva brachot, my son’s engagement, reuniting with friends, etc.), not to mention a very busy time at work, I’m still feeling a bit insulated from the realities on the ground here, as if the protective bubble of being abroad has accompanied me back here. I don’t have anything particularly new to say or insights to share, other than the same things I’ve been saying for 696 days.

Today, I’m keenly aware of the terrible news we woke up to exactly a year ago, on Sept 1, 2024: the coldblooded murder of Hersh, Almog, Carmel, Eden, Alex, and Ori, and the feeling that - to quote President Herzog - “the heart of the entire nation is crushed into pieces.” Since then, aside from the few rays of light when some of the hostages were returned in Jan-Feb of this year, the situation has only gotten worse. How much longer??? We want our hostages home, our soldiers to return safe, an end to the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians alike, and better leaders for all.

A few recent Facebook posts from my fellow American-Israelis capture what I’m feeling. Here’s my friend / colleague / fellow author Steven Greenberg, celebrating his 35-year aliyah-versary a few days ago:

“…I can say definitively that Israel is the most simultaneously screwed up and awesome place on the planet…the last couple of years have sucked. We built our amazing national home in a shitty neighborhood (as if there was a choice…) We chose leaders who represent the worst of us, rather than exemplifying the best. We’ve made terrible mistakes (though no worse than other countries) and paid a horrendous price….But the best of us still ARE the best of us. All you have to do is look around. And as long as that’s true, I’m proud to call this crowded little country home and I can’t WAIT to see what the next 35 years will bring!” :-) עם ישראל חי!

My 30-year aliya-versary is next month, and I couldn’t have said it better myself…

(Speaking of anniversaries, today marks 29 years since Josh and I got married, so happy anniversary to us and to several other friends who may or may not be reading this: Asaf and Shira, Tahg and Lital, David and Julie).

Given my travels, I was only able to volunteer once this past month, so I’ll leave you with two things: First, an image of dusty grapes that by now have surely been made into wine at the Clos de Gat Winery.

Second and last, I’ll leave you with the formulation we say at the Rosh Hashana table over the date (this being a more positive formulation than a direct translation):

May it be Your will, Adonai our God, that enmity will end and this new year will bring peace for us and the entire world.

Amen. B’sorot tovot - may we hear good news soon - and shana tova to all!