The Middle East in the Middle of the Night
Gregory Levey‘s newest book, “How to Make Peace in the Middle East in Six Months or Less Without Leaving Your Apartment,” 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:
It was just after four in the morning, and I was on the phone discussing the Middle East conflict with a man I assumed was a truck driver. I was more than a little groggy, and so I wasn’t totally following our conversation, even when I was the one talking.
Oh, and one more detail. There were thousands of people listening to us, because we were on the radio.
This happened just a few days ago, and I’m still not fully sure what I said, because I was half-asleep. I may have mentioned something about the threat of violence along the Israel-Korea border, or expressed anxiety about not having studied for the ninth grade math test I imagined I was about to take.
This is sometimes the reality of book promotion when you’re a no-name author aboard the sinking ship of publishing. You’ll do anything to sell a few more books, even if it means waking up in the middle of the night to talk about the Middle East, fielding calls from the type of people who not only listen to the radio at that awful hour, but also feel the need to phone in.
My new book is called “How to Make Peace in the Middle East in Six Months or Less Without Leaving Your Apartment,” so I guess I sort of brought this on myself. And who knows? Maybe that trucker who was driving down that lonesome highway with my inane banter his only company came up with a workable solution to the Middle East conflict.
I don’t know, because I was barely conscious. But if you were listening and we made any progress, please fill me in.
Gregory Levey’s Facebook group has over 750,000 fans. His second book, “How to Make Peace in the Middle East in Six Months or Less Without Leaving Your Apartment,” has just been released.
The Jewish Book Council is a not-for-profit devoted to the reading, writing, and publishing of Jewish literature. For more Jewish literary blog posts, reviews of Jewish books, book club resources, and to learn about awards and conferences, please visit www.jewishbookcouncil.org.
MyJewishLearning.com is the leading transdenominational website of Jewish information and education. Visit MyJewishLearning for thousands of articles on Judaism, Jewish holidays, Jewish history, and more.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
