Nice Jewish Books

It is 1918 and Bluma has waited four long years for her husband, Sender, to bring her and their three daughters from Romania to America. When the tickets fail to arrive, she takes their future into her own hands. Packing up her children, Bluma journeys across the ocean to rural Ohio—only to discover a crumbling farmhouse, a failing farm on the brink of foreclosure, and a husband more interested in...

The newly crowned King David was making all kinds of radical reform in his kingdom. High on the list was establishing six cities of refuge where men accused on manslaughter would be safe from people seeking blood vengence. But with a new system in play; how long will it take for someone to figure out a way to pervert it? Join me for a conversation with author Jay Bailey about his book, Blood of Bi...

What happens when two strangers are brought together by the same heartbreaking loss? Can friendship help heal the soul? After Rose's husband, Maury, and Nina's fiancé, Jeff, are killed in a tragic car accident, the two women form an unexpected bond. What begins in shared grief grows into something deeper—through memories, regrets, and the search for a way forward. Despite their decades of age diff...

Every year, the Association of Jewish Libraries Fiction Award committee scours the literary world for books with significant Jewish content. They look for extra-ordinary writing, accurate depictions of Jewish life in all its diversity, and contributions to the field of Jewish literature. This month I am excited to speak with Rena Citrin about the 2026 award winners for the best Jewish fiction publ...

Six lives. One city. A phone call that will change everything. In Alive and Beating , Rebecca Wolf brings us to Jerusalem just days before Passover, where six diverse characters balance family, work, and life-threatening illnesses. After a devastating bus bombing, an organ donation sets off a question that drives the novel: who will get the call that saves their life? Join me on Nice Jewish Books...

In this episode of Nice Jewish Books … Sheryl Stahl sits down with author K atherine Villyard to discuss Immortal Gifts , a historical fantasy starring Abraham , a Jewish vampire trying to balance immortal life, Jewish identity, and his love for his mortal wife, Destiny. But peace is hard to come by—Abraham is relentlessly hunted by Thomas , a radical Christian vampire, and must rely on his loyal...

Geller has hit rock bottom — homeless, addicted, and haunted by the horrors of war. His only goal is to forget. But when he rescues a dog from another addict, something shifts. After a brutal accident, a stranger named Doris steps in — and suddenly, there's a spark of hope. Can a dog... and a kind stranger... help Geller find a life worth living? Join me for a powerful conversation with author  Yi...

Louise isn't juggling balls or flames — she's juggling life : the emotional weight of being a daughter, a mother, a wife… and someone facing a terminal diagnosis. In her latest novel, Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation , author Sarah Yahm introduces us to a woman navigating the tangled mess of grief, love, honesty and humor. Join us for a deeply moving (and surprisingly funny) conversation about Lou...

When Allison Epstein first saw the musical Oliver! , one character stood out—Fagin. He was the only Jewish character she'd ever seen on stage. But when she later read Dickens' Oliver Twist , her excitement turned to dismay. The Fagin in the novel was a far cry from what she'd hoped: he was a cruel caricature with no backstory, no first name, and no humanity. So, Allison did what writers do best—sh...

Step into the world of mystery, memory, and meaning with author Saul Golubcow. In this compelling interview, Golubcow discusses his gripping works, The Cost of Living and Who Killed the Rabbi's Wife? —this collection of three novellas and a novel feature Frank Wolf, a Holocaust survivor turned private investigator. Once a philosophy professor, Frank now solves crimes within the Orthodox Jewish nei...

Michel may not be the big man on campus, but he definitely rules his 2nd grade classroom in Tehran and all is well in his world. That is, until his family decides to uproot him and brother Saeed and move the family to Los Angeles. Newly minted as "Mike" he struggles to navigate a new language, new customs, new foods, and most importantly new heirarchies on the playground. Join me for a conversatio...

In March, Rena Citrin, chair of the Association of Jewish Libraries fiction award, told me (not quite in these words) to get my tush in gear and read Joan Leegant's excellent short story collection, Displaced Persons. It took two months for it to percolate to the top of my "to be read" pile but I'm thrilled that it did. Her stories are full of relatable people, situations, and humor, not to mentio...

It's Passover! Time to slurp the soup, crunch the matzah, and make jokes about Moses never stopping to ask directions in the desert. It's also a great time to speak with Maggie Anton about her latest book, the Midwives' Escape. Through the eyes of the Egyptian midwives, we see what life was like for the Israelites as they learned to transition from a people enslaved to a self-supporting community....

Every year, the Association of Jewish Libraries Fiction Award committee scours the book world for books with significant Jewish content. They look for extra-ordinary writing, accurate depictions of Jewish life in all its diversity, and contributions to the field of Jewish literature. This month I am excited to speak with Rena Citrin about the lastest winners of this award. See the 2025 press relea...

When the Buddhist monk Xuanzang returned to China from India, bringing back precious Buddhist texts, he thought his traveling days were over. But then he finds an intriguing scrap with writing that he does not recognize. Finally connecting it with the Jewish community in Kaifeng he is implored by the community to go on another journey – this time even further west through Persia and Israel to find...

After her town is carpeted with antisemitic leaflets, ceramic artist Faye finds refuge in her studio and before she knows it, her hands have created the figure of a man. She enscribes all her wishes into the clay and buries it under her rose bushes. The next day she runs into a handsome stranger, knocking him unconscious and giving him amnesia. As she gets to know him, he seems more and more like...

For 100 years the Rosenfelds have been trapped in a time bubble in their tenement apartment on the lower East Side of New York. They can only catch glimpes of the outside world which has no idea that they are there. Until one day, Esther Luna, who works in the building which has now been turned into the Tenement Museum see a girl in the window who smiles and waves at her. After exploring every rea...

Luna Levi may have graduated high school, but she is far from any kind of path to success. She works part time at a motel in Ottowa to help support her family since neither parent seem capable of it. Luna's mother has dreams of being a theater star and takes off for weeks at a time to perform in regional productions and her father, suffering from PTSD after serving in the Israel army, lives on the...

Sharon is surrounded by secrets. It is 1968 and she has been recruited to clandestinely bring Israel sailors, soldiers, and engineers to the French port of Cherbourg. She needs to help support them until the last 5 ships which were promised to Israel were fully constructed. Since France has instituted an embargo against Israel, the men would have to smuggle to ships out for the Israeli Navy. On a...

Genevra Ex is a best-selling mystery author with a major quirk. Instead of inventing new characters, she hires a real-life person to be the main character of her book. The latest hire is a young woman named Rory. After an intensive three months of interviewing, Genevra gifts Rory with a ticket on the newly refurbish Orient Express. After boarding the train, Rory is shocked to find her brother Max,...

Heidi Rabinowitz and I both saw a cartoon from the New Yorker in which one spouse was trying to move a pile of tottering books off the other spouses night-stand. The other spouse yelled in alarm (something like) "don't move those - they are my emotional support books!" We were inspired to ask our fellow attendees at the 2024 Association of Jewish Libraries conference to speak about their emotional...

Whether you play the lottery or not, I think that all of us dream about what we would do if we won a major jackpot. This is what happened to three out of the four Jacobson siblings. Matthew, Laura, Sophie, and Noah were gathered to pack up the family summer house on Long Beach Island, when Noah announced he was going out and would be buying a lottery ticket. Laura and Sophie jumped to go in on the...

Eve is only looking for some shelter from the rain, but what she finds will change her work, her heart, and her life. In a small cave in the Scottish highlands, Eve finds a journal written in as a series of letters from a woman named Shira to her lover Benjamin. Eve realized that the letters contain secrets about the family of her new love Mac. What secrets are revealed and can Eve and Mac's love...

Often we just want to connect with all the people around us and fix any problems we see. In the Hebrew Teacher, a collection of three novellas, people attempt to do this in very different situations. But sometimes, other people see the problem from a different perspective, or the problem is not what it seems. And to connect with someone else, they need to want to connect back with you. Join me for...

. Annamae lives in New York with her brother and linguist mother. She yearns for connection and feels that someone will show up to take her away to where she is supposed to be. In the meantime, she pours her thoughts and dreams into her diary. Ani lives on a homestead which is a safe place for misfits and homeless. One day, the Captain, one of the long time residents, hears a call and just walks a...