Treasure Island!!! By Sara Levine Europa Editions, 172 pages, $15.00 There are as many Jewish humors as there are funny Jews, which is to say that there are 12 — and half of them haven’t been good in years. Many essentialist definitions of Jewish humor, such as the comedy of outsiders, or the comedy of…
Dr. Jonathan Sarna’s newest book, “When General Grant Expelled the Jews,” is now available. His blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: “You are working on what?” most of the…
Today, Alicia Oltuski interviews Randy Susan Meyers, who wrote “The Murderer’s Daughters,” about her experience touring the nation’s synagogues and JCCs with Jewish Book Council… and talking about domestic violence in Jewish communities. Oltuski’s blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s…
Lost and Found: Comics 1969-2003 By Bill Griffith Fantagraphics Books, 364 pages $35 Bill Griffith, the one prominent figure of underground comix to reach the daily comic page mainstream, has delivered again with a phone book-sized volume both odd and pleasing. It comes with a Long Island back-story. Life (suburban life, that is), found this…
Alicia Oltuski is the author of “Precious Objects: A Story of Diamonds, Family, and a Way of Life.” Alicia toured through Jewish Book Council’s Jewish Book Network this past year. Her blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series….
Speaking with The Arty Semite over the phone, Michael Ian Black paused and said: “That’s weird. I’m in the hotel hallway walking towards my room. On the carpet I see a pair of underwear and recognize them as my own. Now why in the world is a pair of my own underwear sitting in the…
Earlier this week, Michelle Haimoff discussed her unlikely in-laws and having immigrant parents, baby boomers, and parental expectations. Her blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: I went to a…
Walther Rathenau: Weimar’s Fallen Statesman By Shulamit Volkov Yale University Press, 256 pages, $25.00 The German Jewish community of the late 19th century found itself in a curious situation. On the one hand, German unification in 1871 weakened opposition to Jewish emancipation, and Jews demonstrated their willingness to integrate into German society and culture. At…
It was appropriate that the moderator for Alba Arikha’s talk last week at London’s Jewish Book Week was the war correspondent Janine di Giovanni. Di Giovanni is noted for preserving the human dimension in the complexities of conflict. Likewise, “Major/Minor,” Arikha’s recently published memoir, digs deep beneath the surface to explore her tempestuous relationship with…
Earlier this week, Michelle Haimoff discussed having immigrant parents, baby boomers and parental expectations. Her blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: The hardest thing about breaking up with the…
Michelle Haimoff’s debut novel, “These Days Are Ours,” is now available. Her blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: I realized late in life that my parents weren’t your typical…
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