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PODCAST

Nice Jewish Books

Nice Jewish Books is a podcast focusing on adult Jewish fiction sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL.) Not only is AJL the leading authority on Judaica Librarianship, its members are a community of readers and bibliophiles. On this podcast, we chat with authors about Jewish literature, genre fiction, works in translation, and more. As long as a book has a Jewish theme or character, it"s a candidate for our show!

fiction judaism

All Episodes

48:43

Will Hope Arrive in the Shape of Dog? a conversation...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/10/16

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 Yishay "Ishy" Ron about his gripping novel Dog. We dive into the realities of PTSD, the struggle to seek

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36:06

Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation: a conversation with...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/09/12

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 Louise, her snarky daughter, her desperate-to-hold-it-all-together husband Leon, and the beauty found in

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38:03

Fagin, the Jew; Fagin the Thief; Fagin the Man: a...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/08/14

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—she rewrote the story. In her novel Fagin the Thief, Allison breathes life into the man Dickens left in the

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40:10

Who Killed the Rabbi's Wife: a conversation with Saul...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/07/27

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 neighborhoods of 1970s New York City. Joined by his inquisitive grandson Joel and later his sharp

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38:24

2nd grader Mike learns his way around the American...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/06/17

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 conversation with Michael Shokrian about his new book American Playground. Follow along with the transcript

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43:14

Small Moments Made Large in Displaced Persons : a...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/05/26

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 mention delicious sentences. Follow along with the transcript. Check out Joan's website and her Tikun Olam

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42:40

Midwives' Escape: a conversation with Maggie Anton

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/04/15

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. Follow along with the transcript. Check out Maggie's website. Support the author, AJL, and

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38:27

AJL Fiction Award Winners

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/03/19

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 release. Winner: Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari (Random House, an imprint of Penguin Random

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40:09

The Second Journey : an adventurous blend of Jewish &...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2025/01/12

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 and bring back a teacher for the Kaifeng Jews. He is joined by his disciples, the magiFc Monkey and 8

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39:09

Dangerous Golem? or Man of Her Dreams? A conversation...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/12/20

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 the man of her dreams. But is he just too good to be true? Or could he be a golem that she created and

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35:16

When all else fails ... call the Magic Maker / a...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/11/13

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 reasonable explanation, Esther turns to Rabbi Meyer Poppers, a Jewish magician. While he finds the source

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33:05

Will living "With a Good Eye" bring Luna luck? a...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/10/15

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 streets. Luna watches her mother try one "get rich quick" scheme after another; each one bring the

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49:24

How Many Secrets are Behind the Boy with the Star...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/10/05

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 smaller scale, she learned that her supervisor Daniel had been taken out of Israel as a young child as

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23:35

The Main Character: a conversation with Jaclyn Goldis...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/09/16

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, her best friend Caroline, and her ex-fiance Nate. She also finds a manuscript of Genevra's latest

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37:14

Jewish Emotional Support Books: a conversation with...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/08/31

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 support books! Follow along with the transcript. Enter the drawing for your own personal emotional

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35:00

Jackpot Summer! a conversation with Elyssa Friedlander

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/08/13

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 tickets, while Matthew flatly refused. They were all completely shocked to find that one of their

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28:25

What Will be Found in the Cave of Secrets: a...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/07/10

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 survive? Join me for a conversation with Lynne Golodner about her latest book, Cave of Secrets. Find

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30:47

The Hebrew Teacher: three novellas by Mara Arad

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/06/17

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 a conversation with Maya Arad about navigating life, jobs, and family. Follow along with the

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34:48

Two Girls: One Lives in Manhattan, the Other in a...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/05/13

. 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 away to follow it. When Ani realizes that he forgot his treasured journal, she attempts to follow him to

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50:24

RAS Award Winner: Early Jewish Cookbooks: Essays on...

Nice Jewish Books ·

2024/04/16

Every year the Research, Archive, and Special libraries division of the Association of Jewish Libraries (otherwise known as RAS) gives awards for excellence in Reference and in Bibliography. Since these are obviously not fiction, they wouldn’t ordinarily be a candidate for this podcast. But I got an opportunity to share the interview with last year’s bibliography winner that I found too delicious to pass up. The bibliography award focuses on books written about other books. In the case, the winner

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53 results

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