Books coverage is supported by a generous grant from The Milton and Sophie Meyer Fund.
Welcome to J.’s semi-regular column featuring new releases across genres by Jewish authors in Northern California. Authors have been busy creating new works about Jewish culture, paranormal fantasy, current events, family history and more. You can find these books online or at your local bookstore.
“The Campaign”
By Evette Davis (272 pages, SparkPress)
This is the third novel in Davis’ Council Trilogy, a paranormal fantasy series for adult audiences that brings magic into today’s modern world. The book follows main character Olivia Shepherd through political intrigue and personal entanglements as she endeavors to help put a woman president in the White House. Davis splits her time between San Francisco and Sun Valley, Idaho.
“Mother’s Milk: Essays on Child-Rearing, the Household, and the Making of Jewish Culture”
By Deena Aranoff (172 pages, Indiana University Press)
This collection of essays examines Jewish practices through the lens of family life. Aranoff, a professor of Jewish studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, asserts that our most enduring customs and traditions are part and parcel of our family practices.
“Boxes from the Attic: An Immigrant’s Story”
By Miriam Kurtzig Freedman with Susan Wolfe (243 pages)
Freedman uses firsthand accounts to piece together the story of her mother’s grit and perseverance as she leaves Europe for Israel and the United States. The tale comes to life through diary entries, photographs and newspaper clippings. Freedman and Wolfe both live in the Bay Area.
“The Raffel Ticket: Betting on America”
By Keith Raffel (349 pages, Creators Publishing)
Drawing on his past experiences teaching at Harvard, founding a startup, writing thriller novels and running (unsuccessfully) for Congress, Raffel offers a unique perspective on present challenges facing the United States — and a forecast on what may come. Raffel splits his time between Palo Alto and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“Hardly Strictly Bluegrass at 25: The Big Twang!”
Edited by Jay Blakesberg
Photography and essays celebrate 25 years of the iconic bluegrass festival, which takes place at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco each October. With photos by Blakesberg and others, a foreword by musician Emmylou Harris and an afterword by Steve Earle, plus essays and interviews with Aidin Vaziri, Frances Dinkelspiel, Sylvie Simmons and Tricia Hellman Gibbs, this book is a treasure trove for Hardly Strictly enthusiasts.
“A Fearless Woman: A Memoir of Resilience and Resistance”
By Ruth Rosen (140 pages, Archway Publishing)
This memoir follows a woman from her youth in an orphanage to professional success. Rosen taught history at UC Davis and UC Berkeley before leaving to work at the San Francisco Chronicle. Rosen returned to UC Berkeley as a history professor in 2005.