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A word from the Librarian
Library News
July/Aug 2010
Summer is still here! It’s not too late to add some great books to your summer reading list. We received several new books in June. In addition to books purchased by the library, the Amazon Temple store has been truly successful for us and I want to thank those who’ve purchased books from the wish list. We have two fabulous new cookbooks: Heirloom Cookbook, Recipes Handed Down by Jewish Mothers and Modern Recipes from Daughters and Friends and The Book of New Israeli Food : a culinary journey. Miriam Lerner Satz compiled and edited the recipes in Heirloom Cookbook. Both Sephardic and Ashkenazi cultures are represented, with many traditional as well as modern recipes, and all are very straightforward. Black and white family photos are interspersed throughout. The other cookbook, by Janna Gur, has a totally different feel and look. It’s focused on fresh, contemporary Israeli preparations with full color photographs of Israeli markets and foods.
A new adult mystery called The Jerusalem File, by Joel Stone, is both entertaining and full of depth. Published by his wife after Stone passed away, it examines life and death issues, Israeli politics, and ethics in a classic detective story and it’s getting rave reviews. Polyglot: Stories from the West’s Wet Edge, written by local talent, Wendy Marcus, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and is in our library, too.
Amidst the plethora of children and teen books being published, one recent teen book standout is Kathy Kacer’s The Diary of Laura’s Twin, in which the rabbi gives a special assignment to Laura just two weeks before her Bat Mitzvah. For those teens who enjoy graphic novels, how about the Merchant of Venice, adapted by Gareth Hinds. The monster lovers will be happy to know that we’ve added yet another version of the golem legend. It’s intended for the older elementary school reader and it’s called Clay Man: The Golem of Prague, by Irene Watts. Not a new book but one of my favorites is The Autobiography of Meatball Finkelstein, by Ross Venokur. Finkelstein is on the heavy side and gets bullied a lot but he develops some magical powers in this hilarious chapter book. Another great book by Jacqueline Dembar Greene came out late last year, The Secret Shofar of Barcelona. Greene is the author of the Rebecca Rubin American Girl series and a few other excellent chapter books. The Secret Shofar is a picture book about conversos and the Royal Orchestra of Barcelona. New Year at the Pier is the latest Sydney Taylor Award winning book for younger children. It follows a family in San Francisco as they perform Tashlich during Rosh Hashanah and was written by April Halprin Wayland. Another new picture book is You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!, our latest baseball book, full of true tales and statistics, and a knockout cover!
Have a terrific rest of summer and happy reading!
JULY/AUGUST LIBRARY HOURS
Bellevue
Wednesdays 10 am – 4 pm
Closed: July 7, Aug 25
Seattle
Thursdays 10 am– 4 pm
Closed : July 1, 8, Aug 26
Toby Harris
Temple De Hirsch Sinai Librarian
tharris@tdhs-nw.org
Seattle Phone: 206.315.7398
Bellevue Phone: 206.323.8486 x7481 |
