Fiction
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
This Pulitzer Prize winning novel follows the lives of Czech artist Joe Kavalier and Brooklyn writer Sammy Clay before, during, and after World War II as the two navigate the comic industry and create Golden Age classics.
He, She, and It by Marge Piercy
Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction, this cyberpunk story examines gender roles, human identity and AI, political economy, environmentalism, and love through the romance between a human woman and the cyborg created to protect her community from corporate raiders.
This epic depicts the family of a controversial lawyer in New York after a stroke renders him comatose. Each member of the Litvinoff family must confront the hypocrisies underlying their patriarch's political profile, and make difficult choices about their own values and ideological commitments.
In a fresh and modern retelling of the The Great Flood, we examine the destruction of the world and the trials and tribulations that the family of Noah undergo through the eyes of Noah’s wife, Naamah.
Non-Fiction
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride
Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. Her son explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut.
The Dairy Restaurant by Ben Katchor
An exploration of the once popular dairy restaurant, which once proliferated Jewish-American towns and now has experienced a near total collapse due to changing tastes and religious strictness.
The Jewish Joke: A Short History - With Punchlines by Devorah Baum
A beautiful riff on about what marks Jewish jokes apart from other jokes, why they are important to Jewish identity and how they work, the author looks at the history of Jewish joking and asks whether the Jewish joke has a future.
My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew by Abigail Pogrebin
Although she grew up following some holiday rituals, Pogrebin realized how little she knew about their foundational purpose and contemporary relevance; she wanted to understand what had kept these holidays alive and curiosity led her to embark on an entire year of intensive research.
Cookbooks
The Jewish Cookbook by Leah Koening
An inspiring celebration of the diversity and breadth of this venerable culinary tradition. A true fusion cuisine, Jewish food evolves constantly to reflect the changing geographies and ingredients of its cooks, and this book contains over 400 recipes from all over the world.
Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
Both men were born in Jerusalem in the same year: Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the Jewish west. In this book they explore the vibrant cuisine of their home city together, and present an authentic collection of recipes that reflects the city's melting pot of cultures.
The Modern Jewish Baker: Challah, Babka, Bagels and More by Shannon Sarna
Jewish baked goods have brought families together around the table for centuries and Sarna pays homage to those traditions while reinvigorating them with modern flavors and new ideas. One kosher dough at a time, she offers the basics for challah, babka, bagels, hamantaschen, rugelach, pita, and matzah.
The 100 Most Jewish Foods: A Highly Debatable List by Alana Newhouse
Tablet’s list of the 100 most Jewish foods is not about the most popular Jewish foods, or the tastiest, or even the most enduring. It’s a list of the most significant foods culturally and historically to the Jewish people, explored deeply with essays, recipes, stories, and context, leaving room for argument.