Nice Jewish Books

Adam is a twelve year old boy preparing for his bar mitzvah in Flushing New York in the early 1970. In many ways, he is a typical kid, trying to fit in at school, but also trying to find himself and …

While the body of Yiddish literature is vast, many people still think of Tevye the milkman, trudging along with his lame horse and arguing with God. But the many new translations of Yiddish fiction s…

Leah is not your typical Chinese-Jewish owner of a kosher Chinese restaurant. She is also a woman on the run from Yuk-Wong, a drug lord determined to marry her against her will. And if that wasn't e…

When people think of Operation Moses, they usually think of a plane full of Ethiopian Jews, the Beta Israel, arriving in Israel. But their journey started long before the plane ride and continued for…

Lesbian, poet, activist, and Yiddishist Irena Klepfisz speaks about her lastest book, Her Birth and Later Years : New and Collected Poems, 1971-2021 with Yermiyahu Ahron Taub. Yermiyahu is a poet and…

During World War 11, Japanese citizens were rounded up and sent to internment camps. When they were finally released, the vast majority had lost their homes and businesses. In the upcoming episode of…

If I told you that this episode was going to be about a house which ran around on chicken legs, you might assume that this should belong to an odd looking children’s book. But NO! This is a full-fled…

When Jamie's family moves from a liberal Jewish area of  San Francisco to a conservative area of Florida, he decides to go back into the closet. But when he meets Alex, the football star, sparks fly …

Twins JoJo and Bronka are coming of age in the United States in the 1960s. Daughters of Orthodox Jewish parents, they both have dreams and ambitions; JoJo of becoming an actress and Bronka of becomin…

Casey is a teenager living in New Orleans, when her parents decide that she is getting into too much trouble. They move the family back to Brooklyn to be closer to their Orthodox Jewish Syrian commun…

We may not be able to live in the past, but it is nice to visit it sometimes. Join me for a nostalgic journey back to Jewish sleep-away-camp with Eric Glickman as we talk about his graphic novel Cam…

What if David and Goliath were actually lovers and con artists? What if the Scotts turned about to be God's chosen people? What if Ilan Ramon had been on the Columbia ground crew instead of in the sh…

Scheherazade telling stories to spellbound soldiers, Sephardic kids "borrow' and old confused man off the street to pose as their Holocaust surviving grandfather, and the son of a shoemaker who delig…

This episode of The Book of Life features Sarah Aroeste,a singer/songwriter of Ladino music and an author of board books featuring Sephardic culture and Ladino vocabulary andBridget Hodder,  a Sephar…

After her beloved father's death, Lena is stunned to learn that he was not her biological father. She had never felt as close to Regina, her Russian-born mother. But as Regina's story unfolds from h…

In a Nice Jewish Books first – I won’t be speaking with the author of the book From the Jewish Provinces, Fradl Shtok, but rather her translators, Jordan Finkin and Allison Schachter. Fradl Shtok wa…

In this historical novel based on both their families’ histories, I speak with author's Shaunna Edwards and Alyson Richman. In the novel, we follow two couples. Jacob and Lilly are a Jewish couple li…

Journo (journalist) Shanna Regan was researching historical plaques for the town news magazine when she encounters fake plaques. Instead of praising a former residents, the plaques told of a person's…

Aviva Rosner is a rock star, committed to speaking about truth of her life, even if, or especially if, it makes other people uncomfortable. She has a happy marriage, and loyal fans. What she doesn’t …

17th century Venice is fascinating time and place in history; especially for Jews. Join me for a conversation with Nina Wachsman about her latest book, A Gallery of Beauties. Her protagonist, Diana, …