ARC Review: The Wanderers by Daniela Gerson This was a fascinating memoir and history of the paths some Polish Jews traveled to escape the Nazis during the Holocaust. In this book, Gerson researches her father's family, as well as the father of her partner Talia. When she and Talia first met, they discovered not only a strong attraction but a shared family history. Their grandparents were neighbors in the small Polish town of Zamosc.

ARC Review: The Wanderers by Daniela Gerson #readnonficchal #readjewishly #NetGalley #the52bookclub

Review: Heart of a Stranger by Angela Buchdahl I loved this memoir by Angela Buchdahl, who is a Korean-American rabbi of one of the largest synagogues in the country. She came to the U.S. as a young girl with her Korean mother and Jewish American father. She was raised Jewish but often encountered people saying she couldn't be Jewish, because of her race and her mother's religion (Judaism has traditionally come from one's mother, not their father).

Review: Heart of a Stranger by Angela Buchdahl #bookreviews #readjewishly #readnonficchal

Review: People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn This was a perfect book to build upon the issues discussed in As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz. Horn explores antisemitism in various forms, most notably the idea that people are comfortable with the idea of Jews as victims, as long as they aren’t challenged to look beyond that. For example, people love the idea of Anne Frank, a girl who hid away and was then murdered – but they don’t look closer at her as a writer and an individual.

Review: People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn #readnonficchal #beatthebacklist #bookreviews #readjewishly

My Reading Goals and Challenges for 2026 This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is our reading goals and challenges for 2026. Last year I said I wanted to be more flexible, to read for enjoyment, and also leave myself time to pick up challenges throughout the year. I didn't accomplish those goals, as I read more ARCs and focused more on challenges.

Goals and Reading Challenges for 2026 #TopTenTuesday #readinggoals #readnonficchal #speccyficchal #the52bookclub #beatthebacklist #readjewishly

Reading Jewishly in 2025: What I Learned From This Challenge I completed this year's "Reading Jewishly" challenge to read 10 different types of books with Jewish main characters, and I'm so glad I did, because I learned a lot and discovered some wonderful new authors.  This was the first year I've focused on Jewish books, which I mainly did to honor my dad, but it also turned out to be a real exploration of my own history, culture, and religion.

What I Learned From Reading Jewishly in 2025: A Challenge Wrap-Up #readjewishly #readingchallenges #bookreviews

Review: To the End of the Land by David Grossman (translated by Jessica Cohen) I’m full of feelings about this book. It’s long, unwieldy, going back and forth across time and place with little transition – but it’s also powerful, dramatic, and at times beautiful. I set out to read a book that took place in Israel, and I can’t imagine a novel that could tell me more about Israel than this one. Set over the course of about forty years, Grossman follows the story of three friends who meet as teenagers in a hospital in 1967.

Review: To the End of the Land by David Grossman #bookreviews #readjewishly #beatthebacklist

An Update on 2025 Reading Challenges We're in the home stretch on reading challenges, so here's an update on where I am. I still have a lot to read in three months, but I would like to close these out. If you're working on any of these challenges, I'd love to hear what you have left or what you're struggling with. Two of these challenges have Goodreads groups if you're looking for ideas.

An Update on My 2025 Reading Challenges #readingchallenges #readjewishly #readnonficchal #the52bookclub

ARC Review: As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz This book came along at just the right time for me, and was exactly what I needed. I've been struggling with my Jewish identity since the events of October 7, 2023 and since my father's passing in December 2024. I hate what Israel is doing in Gaza, but I'm terrified of the growing antisemitism towards Jews and Israel, and the ways in which the Trump administration are using and aggravating those biases.

ARC Review: As A Jew by Sarah Hurwitz #bookreview #NetGalley #Judaism #readnonficchal #readjewishly

My Progress on the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge This year I set myself a challenge to read more books by Jewish authors and about Jewish characters. I'm hoping to explore my Jewish background and my faith (such as it is), while also learning more about Israel's history. I have very conflicting feelings about Israel and would like to gain a deeper understanding of current events. If you're interested, you can join the challenge on The StoryGraph…

Progress on the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge #bookreviews #beatthebacklist #the52bookclub #jewishgenrereadingchallenge #readjewishly #historicalfiction