Thanks to the generous and ongoing support of The Ben & Esther Dayson Charitable Foundation, RPL offers a wide selection of titles about the Jewish experience, past and present. Everyone is invited to partake of the exceptional eBooks recently purchased with this special fund. Here’s a sampling.
Fiction
The Best Place On Earth: Stories by Ayelet Tsabari
This collection reveals expatriates, travelers, immigrants and locals at the crossroads of nationalities, religions and communities. The stories take us to Israel, India, British Columbia, and a short stopover in Toronto. Winner of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature.
Exile Music by Jennifer Steil
The mountains of Bolivia are the setting of this unusual story of a Jewish family that fled their refined life in Vienna in 1938. Finding footing in this new life is a unique challenge for each family member, but especially for one harboring a secret that could put their family at risk again.
House on Endless Water by Emuna Elon
A moving novel about a writer who journeys to modern Amsterdam and discovers the unsettling truth about his mother’s wartime experience. The discovery leads him to Amsterdam’s dark wartime history and the underground networks which hid Jewish children away from danger, but at what cost?
Memento Park by Mark Sarvas
When Matt Santos gets a call about a painting allegedly looted from his family by Nazis in 1944 Budapest, his life is thrown into personal, professional, and spiritual turmoil. To recover the painting, he must repair the strained relationship with his father, uncover his family history, and restore his connection to his own Judaism.
Nonfiction
The 100 Most Jewish Foods: A Highly Debatable List by Alana Newhouse
More than just a cookbook, this is a love letter about food, family, faith and identity, and the deliciously tangled way they come together. The collection of recipes, musings, and stories is the perfect book to dip into, quote from, cook from, and launch spirited dinner debates.
Advanced Love by Seth Ari Cohen
Heart-warming photos and true stories about 40 couples who prove that love is not bound by age or time. Their accounts about falling in love and what they have learned after decades of partnership make this a rich read for romantics of all ages.
Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best
by Neal Bascomb
As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of terror, three misfits banded together to challenge Hitler's dominance at the apex of motorsport: the Grand Prix. Their quest for redemption culminated in a remarkable race that is still talked about despite Hitler’s attempt to completely erase it from history.
Funny, You Don't Look Like a Rabbi: A Memoir of Unorthodox Transformation by Rabbi Lynnda Targan
This shares the surprising transformation from successful working mom to spiritual seeker and Jewish scholar. Now a beloved leader in her community, Targan shows it’s never too late to find your true calling and step into your power.
Judaism for Dummies by Ted Falcon
Your plain-English guide to Judaism. Whether you're interested in the religion or the spirituality, the culture or the ethnic traditions, this explores the full spectrum of Judaism, dipping into the mystical, meditative, and spiritual depth of the faith and the practice.
The Lives of Isaac Stern by David Schoenbaum
An intimate portrait of the first made-in-America violin virtuoso and one of the twentieth century's greatest musicians. Practice and talent led him to Carnegie Hall and critical acclaim for a 60-year career; personal challenges and a natural empathy drove him to be an activist and cultural leader in the Jewish community.
Rana Shaskin is a librarian at the Brighouse branch of the Richmond Public Library. For other excellent eBooks about the Jewish experience click here.
