homepage homepage homepage programs

#ReadsOfAwe

READS OF AWE BOOKS

As we prepare for the High Holiday season, we invite you to participate in the Reads of Awe Bingo Project that encourages everyone to delve into Jewish books. We’re sharing books that can be used for some of the categories, including authors who have visited SJJCC in the past, and those that will be joining us for the 2025-2026 season!

If you play along on Instagram, share the hashtags #ReadsOfAwe and #SJJCC so we can find your posts!

bingo

THEMES OF FORGIVENESS:

The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld
Amy joins us on Thursday, December 4, 10:30am for our Jodi & Robert Rosenthal Author Breakfast + Book Signing Series • Register

Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Good on Paper by Rachel Cantor

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

SET IN ANOTHER COUNTRY:

Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein
Alison joins us on Thursday, March 26, 10:30am for our Jodi & Robert Rosenthal Author Breakfast + Book Signing Series • Register

Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi
Alka joins us on Thursday, November 13, 10:30am for our Jodi & Robert Rosenthal Author Breakfast + Book Signing Series • Register

Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayeley Tsabari

We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein

SCI-FI/FANTASY:

Atomic Anna by Rachel Barenbaum

Night Owls by A.R. Vishny

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon

YOUNG ADULT:

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum

They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

THEMES OF INTERFAITH:

The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowitz

Good Talk by Mira Jacobs

Half/Life by Laurel Snyder

Mother Land by Leah Franqui

NONFICTION:

Kissing Girls on Shabbat by Dr. Sara Glass

The Light of Days by Judy Batalion

My Mother’s Kitchen by Peter Gethers

On Being Jewish Now edited by Zibby Owens

TRANSLATED:

The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem by Sarit Yishai-Levi

Mrs. Lilienblum’s Cloud Factory by Iddo Gefen

On Her Own by Lihi Lapid

Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

DISABILITY OR NEURODIVERSITY REPRESENTED:

Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf by Deke Moulton

It’s My Life by Stacie Ramey

The Unlikely Village of Eden by Emma Nadler

GRAPHIC NOVEL:

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

Mendel the Mess-Up by Terry LaBa

Whistle by E. Lockhart

ORTHODOX COMMUNITY REPRESENTED:

An Unorthodox Match by Naomi Ragen

Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman

The Orchard by David Hopen

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE:

Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy

Kayla and Kugel’s Super Sweet Rosh Hashanah by Ann D. Koffsky
Ann joins us on Sunday, September 7, 10:30am for Grandparents Day • Register

Sharing Shalom by Selina Alko

ROMANCE:

Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer
Jean joins us on Tuesday, February 24, 7pm for our In Conversation With Series • Register

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

Teacher of the Year by M.A. Wardell

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

RELEASED IN 2024:

Jackpot Summer by Elyssa Friedland

Next Stop by Benjamin Resnick

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew by Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby

The Whisper Sister by Jennifer S. Brown

 

MYSTERY/THRILLER:

An Inside Job by Daniel Silva

The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

We Would Never by Tova Mirvis

HISTORICAL FICTION:

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland
Jacqueline joins us on Tuesday, February 24, 7pm for our In Conversation With Series • Register

The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr

The Trade Off by Samantha Greene Woodruff

The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman

BEACH READ:

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland

Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein

Songs of Summer by Jane Rosen
Jane joins us on Tuesday, February 24, 7pm for our In Conversation With Series)  • Register

Until Next Summer by Ali Brady

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTED:

Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana Von Blanckensee

Mazeltov by Eli Zuzovsky

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

JEWS OF COLOR REPRESENTED:

Color Me In by Natasha Diaz

Koshersoul by Michael W. Twitty

Thank You for Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz

HAS A BLUE COVER:

Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino
Sara joins us on Tuesday, February 24, 7pm for our In Conversation With Series • Register

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis

Little Pieces of Me by Allison Hammer

What We Buried by Robert Rotenberg

FIRST IN A SERIES:

B’Nai Mitzvah Mistake by Stacey Agdern

Marry Me by Midnight by Felicia Grossman

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

THEMES OF RENEWAL:

Days of Awe by Lauren Fox

Days of Wonder by Caroline Leavitt