The Book of Life

Congratulations to Book of Life Facebook fan Rick Sternberg of Pittsburgh, PA, who has won our book giveaway (held in celebration of reaching 150 Facebook fans). Rick works at the Community Day School in Pittsburgh and will be donating the book to the school library. We'll hold another drawing when we reach 200 Facebook fans, so if you haven't become a fan yet, do it now! Rick will be receiving a copy of The Disappearing Dowry: An Ezra Melamed Mystery by Libi Astaire (Zahav Press). I very much enjoyed this historical novel. When I first heard that it was written "in the style of Jane Austen" I admit I was worried: books written in a famous author's style have so much to live up to and can easily fall short. However, this book feels like a loving tribute to Austen rather than a cheap imitation, and avoids becoming an Austen remake by embracing the "cozy" mystery genre as well. What really sets the book apart is its portrayal of Jewish life in 19th ...

The Book of Life Facebook fan page , in the few short weeks of its existence, has already picked up over 100 fans. I am getting a huge kick out of this, because for the first time I can see the faces of the show's listeners! It feels much more personal than receiving comments on the blog. When we hit #100 I was very excited, and I posted the question (on Facebook) of how we should celebrate. Several people commented, suggesting that we do a giveaway. You want it? You got it! When we reach the next milestone, 150 Facebook fans, we'll enter all 150 fans into a drawing for a book giveaway. Maybe we'll do this for every milestone of 50, having drawings at 200, 250, and so on. Let me know if you think this is a good idea by posting a comment. For the 150 drawing, our prize will be a brand new book that I haven't read yet but I predict will be fun: The Disappearing Dowry, an Ezra Melamed Mystery by Libi Astaire from Zahav Press. I've read the sample pages available...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK       🕮    Judy Blundell has written over a hundred books under various pen names, but won the National Book Award in the Young People's Literature category with her first book in her own name. The book is called What I Saw and How I Lied and it's a noir-inspired mystery and coming of age story set in post WWII Palm Beach. Like real life, the story is complex, multi-layered, and not easy to sum up, but just to give you an idea, it's the story of Evie Spooner, whose stepfather Joe has returned from the war and whisked Evie and her mother off on a spur of the moment vacation to Florida. Their vacation is shadowed by a mysterious and handsome stranger who knew Joe in the army. Bit by bit, Evie starts to uncover the dark connections between the adults in her life. VIDEO: Enjoy Judy Blundell's National Book Award acceptance speech (with introduction by Lemony Snicket!), and h...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    The Book of Life celebrates Chanukah! > Sylvia Rouss tells us about her Sammy Spider series of picture books, which began with Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah . We also hear about the upcoming Sammy Spider's First Simchat Torah, Sammy Spider's First Day at School , and an entry in Sylvia's "Littlest" series, The Littlest Maccabee . > FYI: You can now download mp3 audiobooks of The Chanukah Guest, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins , and The Magic Dreidels , read by author Eric Kimmel himself. Find them at Anansi's Store at www.ericakimmel.com . > Musician Josh Nelson (of The Josh Nelson Project ) tells us about the part he played in Craig Taubman's Lights Hanukkah concert, and about his own debut CD, Lift . Scroll down to watch a YouTube video of Josh performing L'Dor Vador during the Lights concert. And click to learn how you can get the CD of Lights , and find listings for the TV special . Note t...