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Yea I’ve promised you all a lot and I have been reading new interesting things, such as “A Woman in Jerusalem.” That particular book especially was a bit existential and in the light of the surge of attacks on individuals in Jerusalem in the last week, it is a definite very human look at the life of an unknown, lost soul in the big city. But reviewing it would have been very difficult because frankly I wasn’t sure I could do it justice. So just take me on my word. It’s an interesting read and i want to read more works by this particular Israeli author.

On the hand, I was and am firmly committed to reviewing “A Cape for Kali” next.  Just last night, the author Rabbi Galins Trefil sent the Q&A back to me so my devoted readers, you will get a review AND a Q&A.  I’ve been worn out from work and wedding planning but expect to see these up this qeekend. And if I flake out, call me on it!

Coming soon.

I jump into modern times. You like how I jump around between time periods? I saw the sequel to this at my local library (two blocks from my work) and knew I had to read #1. So stay tuned, my readers for

As I read through my second book, I come to realize that for me it’s very hard to keep my thoughts to myself until I am done reading. I am the type of annoying person who needs to be muffled during movies to keep my comments to myself. I like to talk. I like to think outloud and that very part of my personality is coming through when I read for reviewing purposes as well. I ask myself questions. Gee, why did it take Dinah so long to get over losing her first love? And didn’t she ever just want to be with a man? How could she never think about her mothers? What about the weather in Egypt? Was it different from Canaan? How come she never went out? How could she live in the garden for almost two decades? Mundane stuff like this. And then it is followed with, damn Anita Diamant makes stuff up well! And look at her attention to detail, she mentions the colorful paintings on the walls of Egyptian homes, she knows about ancient Egypt’s love of nature and color!

How do you bundle all these thoughts into a cohesive review?  Hell if I know. I might get distracted by all the colors.

I would love to read more about Jews coming to their roots after not knowing about. Not necessarily just post-Holocaust my family his who they are and I am suddenly finding out about it types.  Reading this inspires me to find out about lost tribes and hidden communities. I would love to find some good memoirs and histories of various communities. India, China, Africa. We are everywhere.

http:// http://www.shavei.org/communities/kaifeng_jews/articles-kaifeng_jews/fundamentally-freund-the-first-chinese-rabbi-in-200-years/?lang=en

After getting through about half way through The Red Tent, I am loath to leave. I hadn’t read it since I was 19 and it more than held up its magic. I am definitely reading the characters differently now because hello, I am not a teenager like Dinah is. I am seeing her behavior and the behaviors and relationships of her mother-aunties differently now because I am now an adult. These women ancestresses make me proud to call them my own. They are strong, they are independent, they pursue what they want and know that they deserve it. I love the emphasis on worshipping the earth and the elements. The women worship many gods and even to my modem monotheistic mind it makes sense.

So stay tuned for review #2 as I continue to figure out and organize my thoughts of what I’ve read.