The Book of Life

I am pleased to let you know about a Teleseminar on Jewish humor being taught by past Book of Life guest Rabbi Moshe Waldoks. Reb Moshe is the co-editor the The Big Book of Jewish Humor , and he was featured on our Purim episode in March, 2006. He was a hoot, and now he'll be sharing his secrets for two hours, live, on Thursday, June 12, 2008. The program is called Beyond "Laughter Through Tears": A Short History of Jewish Humor. You can participate by phone or through your computer. It'll be held twice that day, once at 1pm eastern, and again at 9pm eastern. Space is limited and registration is $20. I hope you all don't think that I'm doing a commercial here. Reb Moshe emailed me about this event and asked me to spread the word, and I obliged because it sounds really cool and because I like to support the use of technology and social media in Jewish education. And because, having interviewed him, I know he'll be a great speaker on this subject! Get more...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      🕮    The Book of Life hosted a live, call-in show on February 7, 2008 with special guest Pamela Ehrenberg, author of Ethan, Suspended . Our discussion topic was "what makes a book Jewish?" This recording of the call-in show has been edited for clarity and sound quality, but is essentially the same show heard by those who listened live on the big day. Many of those who called in are well-known as authors or bloggers. Follow these links to learn more about the voices you hear on this episode (listed alphabetically): > Maggie Anton, author of the series Rashi's Daughters > Barbara Bietz , author of Like a Maccabee , and blogger at Barbara's Book Blog > Marie Cloutier, blogger at The Boston Bibliophile > June Cummins , Associate Professor of English & Comparative Literature at San Diego State University > Andi Davidson, past member of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee > Pamela Ehren...

The Book of Life's experimental live call-in show was held yesterday, and it was a success! A number of people called to share opinions about our featured book, Ethan, Suspended , and about what defines a Jewish book. The show was recorded, and I'm editing it now; soon it will be added to the regular podcast line-up. I apologize in advance for the sound quality. My own voice sounds kind of broken up, while other callers came through loud and clear. I may, in fact, try re-recording my own comments if I can get it to integrate with the rest of the conversation. Many of our callers were well-known figures within the Judaic literary community, so I will provide links in the show notes to lead you back to some of their special projects (blogs, books, and so on). Thanks so much to everyone who called and to everyone who listened live, and thanks again to featured guest author Pamela Ehrenberg!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    In this special "Bells & Whistles" edition of The Book of Life, host Heidi Estrin gives instructions for accessing the live Book of Life call-in show being held on Thursday, February 7, 2008, 3-4pm EST. The theme of the February 7 program is "Funny, That Book Doesn't Look Jewish" and our guest will be Pamela Ehrenberg, author of the middle-grade novel Ethan, Suspended . We'll take calls about Ethan, Suspended , and about what makes a book Jewish in general. What follows is a transcript of the podcast, for those of you who prefer written to auditory instructions: On Thursday February 7, 2008 from 3 to 4 pm eastern standard time, The Book of Life will host a live call-in show using the Talkshoe service. The show is entitled "Funny, That Book Doesn't Look Jewish." Our special guest will be Pamela Ehrenberg, author of the middle grade novel Ethan, Suspended , and our discussion topic will be what make...