The Book of Life

" Good for the Jews is a smart, funny, sexy novel set in Madison, Wisconsin, during the Bush administration. Part mystery and part stranger-comes-to town story, Good for the Jews is loosely based on the biblical book of Esther. Like Esther, Debra Spark's characters deal with anti-Semitism and the way that powerful men—and the women who love them—negotiate bu reaucracies." -- University of Michigan Press   Colby College professor and award-winning author Debra Spark's newest novel is Good for the Jews. With Purim approaching, I thought you might like to learn a little more abo ut this unique story and its relationship with the megillah. Debra was kind enough to do an email interview with me - enjoy her answers below, and be sure to check out her extremely funky website . Debra, what got you interested in exploring and retelling the story of Esther? Several years ago, in preparation for taking my son to his first Purim service, I reread the Book of Esther. It tu

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    The Book of Life's Canadian Correspondent, Anne Dublin , attends the launch party for Save the Deli by David Sax at Caplansky's Deli in Toronto. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook fan page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473 .

I am very pleased to be participating in the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! Features on winning authors and illustrators are being posted on blogs all over the web this week; click here to see the entire schedule and links to all participating blogs! The assignment I was happy to accept was to bring you a profile of Natascia Ugliano , illustrator of Jacqueline Jules' Bible story series. The third book in this series, Benjam in and the Silver Goblet , was named a 2010 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers category, and will receive a silver medal. Check out a profile of the book's author today on ASHarmony , blogged by my friend Betsy Lipp. I cover Sydney Taylor Book Award news frequently, so you may already know that this literary prize recognizes the best Jewish books for children and teens each year. It is the only book award that focuses solely on Judaic children's literature. It's named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-o

Remember back in November 2009 when I posted my interview with author Simone Elkeles and kidlit expert June Cummins , talking about the "kvetchfessional" style of YA chicklit? Simone has now produced a very fun book trailer video for her newest title in the "How to Ruin" series, How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation . Enjoy!