The Bookshelf: JWA’s 2017-2018 Book List
September
My Jewish Year
by Abigail PogrebinIn this humorous, insightful memoir of religious exploration and personal growth, writer Abigail Pogrebin sets out to learn more about her Jewish identity by observing all eighteen Jewish holidays in one year.
October
The Book of Separation
by Tova MirvisTova Mirvis was raised as an Orthodox Jew and married into the faith despite misgivings about this way of life. But by age 40, her doubts overpowered her; this courageous memoir tells the story of her decision to leave her husband and religion and strike out on her own.
November
He, She, It
by Marge PiercyThis classic feminist cyberpunk novel by author Marge Piercy explores themes of gender roles, environmentalism, love and identity through the story of a human-cyborg romance in a post-apocalyptic America, interwoven with the famous folktale of the golem of Prague.
December
Ways to Disappear
by Idra NoveyThis debut novel by poet and translator Idra Novey tells the story of a Portuguese-to-English translator who flies to South America and embarks on a quest to find her favorite Brazilian writer, who has disappeared.
January
Option B
by Sheryl SandbergIn the aftermath of her husband’s shocking death, Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg had to confront hardships and situations she never imagined. Option B is both a personal memoir of those hardships and a history of humanity’s capacity for resilience.
February
Unscrewed
by Jaclyn FriedmanJaclyn Friedman is an author of two books and host of a podcast about women’s sexuality in modern America. In this, her third book, she explores how toxic cultural forces saddle women with shame, fear and anxiety around their sexuality--and offers solutions for readers to take agency over their own experiences and lives.
March
Ester and Ruzya
by Masha GessenIn this family memoir, journalist Masha Gessen tells the story of her two grandmothers, friends who survived the tumult of twentieth century Russia--World War II, communism, anti-Semitism--by navigating a thin line between what they knew was right and what they had to do to survive.
April
The Mother of All Questions
by Rebecca SolnitRebecca Solnit, author of the best-selling essay collection Men Explain Things to Me, returns for round two in this book of essays about feminism, gender, social justice, masculinity, rape jokes and much more.
May
Leaving Lucy Pear
by Anna SolomonAnna Solomon’s novel explores motherhood, identity, and history through the story of a Jewish teenager living in Massachusetts in the early twentieth century who gives away her daughter; the Irish woman who finds and raises that daughter; and the social forces that eventually draw the two women together.
June
The Fortunate Ones
by Ellen UmanskyIn this debut novel, Ellen Umansky tells the story of two women, one of them living in 1930s Vienna, one of them living in modern Los Angeles, and their connection to a Chaim Soutine painting. Spanning decades and continents, this is a heart-wrenching tale of secrets and forgiveness.
July
Weight of Ink
by Rachel KadishThis historical fiction novel, by Rachel Kadish, switches between London in the 1660s and present-day Amsterdam. It chronicles the struggles of two bright women--one of them a scribe for a blind rabbi, the other a Jewish historian--to balance their intellectual and emotional lives.
August
Best of Everything
by Rona JaffeIn this 1950s novel, by Rona Jaffe, five young employees at a New York publishing company navigate the struggles and triumphs of forging careers and finding love in the big city. Both shocking and electrifying in its time, this classic book is a window into the lives of the career women of yore.
How to cite this page
Jewish Women's Archive. "The Bookshelf: JWA’s 2017-2018 Book List ." (Viewed on August 15, 2018) <https://jwa.org/programs/bookclub/bookshelf>.
