The Book Thief437 reviews Markus Zusak Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007 Beautiful, Poignant, Touching + For middle school through middle age and then some + Great Book for Any Season! + amazing + Haunting             The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story86 reviews Diane Ackerman W. W. Norton, 2007 Profoundly moving + An uplifting story + A fantastic read! This book is an emotional roller coaster. Ackerman starts out displaying her marvelous descriptive skills, setting the stage. "...on warm days, when the linden trees' creamy yellow tassels drugged the air with the numbing scent of honey and the rhumba of bees." The linden trees are mentioned ...             Talking to the Enemy: Stories3 reviews Avner Mandelman Seven Stories Press, 2006 Captivating Stories--Highly Recommended + brilliant stories + Dazzling darkness Mandelman has crafted some provocative, haunting vignettes. These stories go quickly, but I had to put the book down after each one to reflect on what I had just experienced. I had to finish each story in one sitting, though, even though I was (slightly) late for appointments twice. These ...             The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life44 reviews Tom Reiss Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006 An exceptional, stunningly original achievement + mainly a history book + a good read about an enigmatic writer Tom Reiss: `The Orientalist' I am not in the habit of leaving on-line feedback about my reading, but this book, `The Orientalist', is so exceptional, so original, so brilliantly conceived and so splendidly executed, that - given the chance to leave some comments - it seems almost mean-spirited ...             Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods (P.S.)43 reviews Michael Wex Harper Perennial, 2006 Mad Genius + Authentic + great book + You want Yiddish? I'll give you Yiddish! + It's like old times             The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East64 reviews Sandy Tolan Bloomsbury USA, 2007 Compassionate, moving and thought-provoking + Great service! 5 stars! * * * * * + Excellent + The Lemon Tree, An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East + floored by this book             The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million95 reviews Daniel Mendelsohn Harper Perennial, 2007 A Tour de Force + A stunning book- absolutely wonderful + To be alive is to have a story to tell One of the best and most treasurable books on the subject of memory and the Holocaust, this is a book in particular of and for the second generation, the children and grand-children of Holocaust survivors who bear--like Mendelsohn who, spitting image of his murdered great-uncle Shmiel the subject ...             Not Me: A Novel21 reviews Michael Lavigne Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007 COMPELLING AND POWERFUL + Yes, you.... + If Not Me, then who? + Interesting and thought-provoking read + Interesting premise             You Never Call! You Never Write: A History of the Jewish Mother3 reviews Joyce Antler Oxford University Press, USA, 2008 wonderful, heart-warming book + You Never Call! You Never Write Reading this book will be a nostalgic trip down memory lane; the book is full of funny and charming anecdotes and recaps of classic humor routines and shows of past generations. A great book that gives you the really lively, hilarious, often shocking, sometimes bawdy history of how the Jewish ...             The Ministry of Special Cases26 reviews Nathan Englander Knopf, 2007 It can happen here + A heartbreaking book of loss + Funny and heartbreaking + Engaging Unlike the Norm + a slow start, but then explosive             Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir51 reviews Shalom Auslander Riverhead Hardcover, 2007 interesting + Foreskins Lament, or The yeshiva bucher who strayed + Suspense: Will he or won't he circumcise his son? I found this book very interesting. I think the questions the author asks are important--especially in regard to the unquestioned fantasies so many people hold of a tyrannical father-god. I'm sorry to read other reviews in which the author is so severely castigated, simply for expressing his own ...             The World to Come: A Novel38 reviews Dara Horn W. W. Norton, 2006 Top Notch Storytelling + Great... but why didn't I love it? This novel excells in every respect. It is wonderful storytelling. The book uses beautiful language and imagery, has excellent character development, and is easy to read. Dara Horn weaves stories within stories in a maze like fashion that delights the soul. Spread over generations, different ...             The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life44 reviews Tom Reiss Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006 An exceptional, stunningly original achievement + mainly a history book + a good read about an enigmatic writer Tom Reiss: `The Orientalist' I am not in the habit of leaving on-line feedback about my reading, but this book, `The Orientalist', is so exceptional, so original, so brilliantly conceived and so splendidly executed, that - given the chance to leave some comments - it seems almost mean-spirited ...             The Book Thief437 reviews Markus Zusak Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007 Beautiful, Poignant, Touching + For middle school through middle age and then some + Great Book for Any Season! + amazing + Haunting             The World to Come: A Novel38 reviews Dara Horn W. W. Norton, 2006 Top Notch Storytelling + Great... but why didn't I love it? This novel excells in every respect. It is wonderful storytelling. The book uses beautiful language and imagery, has excellent character development, and is easy to read. Dara Horn weaves stories within stories in a maze like fashion that delights the soul. Spread over generations, different ...             The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million95 reviews Daniel Mendelsohn Harper Perennial, 2007 A Tour de Force + A stunning book- absolutely wonderful + To be alive is to have a story to tell One of the best and most treasurable books on the subject of memory and the Holocaust, this is a book in particular of and for the second generation, the children and grand-children of Holocaust survivors who bear--like Mendelsohn who, spitting image of his murdered great-uncle Shmiel the subject ...             Not Me: A Novel21 reviews Michael Lavigne Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007 COMPELLING AND POWERFUL + Yes, you.... + If Not Me, then who? + Interesting and thought-provoking read + Interesting premise             You Never Call! You Never Write: A History of the Jewish Mother3 reviews Joyce Antler Oxford University Press, USA, 2008 wonderful, heart-warming book + You Never Call! You Never Write Reading this book will be a nostalgic trip down memory lane; the book is full of funny and charming anecdotes and recaps of classic humor routines and shows of past generations. A great book that gives you the really lively, hilarious, often shocking, sometimes bawdy history of how the Jewish ...             The Ministry of Special Cases26 reviews Nathan Englander Knopf, 2007 It can happen here + A heartbreaking book of loss + Funny and heartbreaking + Engaging Unlike the Norm + a slow start, but then explosive             Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods (P.S.)43 reviews Michael Wex Harper Perennial, 2006 Mad Genius + Authentic + great book + You want Yiddish? I'll give you Yiddish! + It's like old times