The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped Them

“Show me what scares you, and I’ll show you your soul.”  In American Scary, noted cultural historian Jeremy Dauber draws a captivating through line that ties historical influences ranging from the Salem witch trials and enslaved-person narratives directly to the body of work we associate with horror today: from the taut, terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe to the grisly, lingering films of Jordan Peele. Jeremy Dauber is a professor of Jewish literature and American Studies at Columbia University, where he has also served as director of its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. Jeremy grew up in a modern Orthodox Jewish community in New Jersey; went to Harvard and then Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, where he wrote about Hebrew and Yiddish literature – and while there, wrote the libretto for an opera that played in Boston and a movie that screened at the Cannes market (you can still find it bouncing around the lower cable channels late at night); came back to America and took a job at Columbia, where he now teaches about, among other things, Dostoevsky, Mel Brooks, graphic novels, and Sholem Aleichem. To honor Jewish American Heritage Month, we tweaked our Book 3 section and asked Dauber to tell us about three books that shaped the Jewish American Story. In our conversation, we’ll also discuss how to get started reading Yiddish literature in translation, why American Jews may channel their fears more into comedy than horror, and how writing for mainstream American culture is also a Jewish act.  Jeremy Dauber’s Five Books: 1. A Treasury of Jewish Folklore by Nathan Ausubel⁠ 2. ⁠The Book of Esther⁠ 3. Three Books That Tell the Jewish American Story: - ⁠Bread Givers by Anzia Yesierska⁠ ⁠- Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin⁠ ⁠- MAUS by Art Spiegelman⁠ 4. 11/22/63 by Stephen King⁠ 5. ⁠American Scary by Jeremy Dauber⁠ Other Books & Resources Mentioned: - Tevye the Dairyman by Sholem Aleichem  ⁠ - ⁠Miriam Karpilove, Diary of a Lonely Girl⁠ - ⁠The I. L. Peretz Reader⁠ - Sefaria.org⁠  - ⁠It by Stephen King⁠ - ⁠The Cafeteria by Isaac Bashevis Singer⁠ Jeremy Dauber’s Other Titles: Cultural Criticism: - ⁠American Comics: A History⁠ - ⁠Jewish Comedy: A Serious History⁠ - ⁠Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew⁠ Yiddish Literature: - The Worlds of Sholem Aleichem: The Remarkable Life and Afterlife of the Man Who Created Tevye ⁠ - In the Demon's Bedroom: Yiddish Literature and the Early Modern⁠ - ⁠Antonio's Devils: Writers of the Jewish Enlightenment and the Birth of Modern Hebrew and Yiddish Literature⁠ - ⁠Landmark Yiddish Plays: A Critical Anthology⁠ Young Adult: - Press 1 for Invasion⁠ (PREORDER) - Mayhem and Madness: Chronicles of a Teenaged Supervillain⁠ The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Yehuda Kurtzer (host of Identity/Crisis), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Dara Horn (author of People Love Dead Jews.) ⁠Sign up for our newsletter⁠ to get new episode reminders, authors’ five book picks, and more delivered straight to your inbox. Find us on Instagram ⁠@fivebookspod ⁠or on Facebook at The Five Books Podcast For feedback or author recommendations please email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ For transcripts etc find us online at ⁠www.fivebookspod.org ⁠ The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of the Jewish Book Council. Jewish Book Council is a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers. Stay up to date on the latest in Jewish literature! ⁠https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events/celebrate⁠ The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity.  Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen Produced by Odelia Rubin Editorial and website support by Sarah Waring Artwork by Dena Friedman Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions.

The long-awaited follow-up to the Reese’s Book Club pick and New York Times bestselling global phenomenon The Light We Lost: a thrilling love story about the roles fate and choice play in shaping a life. It’s been nearly ten years since Gabe’s been gone when Lucy finds a tiny piece of paper in a box of his old photos. An address in Rome. Why did Gabe keep it, and what was he doing in Italy? Lucy buys a last-minute ticket. Impulsive, but Gabe always brought that out in her. Lucy’s journey to uncover Gabe’s secret leads her to Dr. Dax Amstrong, a New Yorker in Italy working with an NGO. His broad shoulders and sad, intense eyes draw Lucy in. His touch reaches her in a forgotten place—one that no one has neared since Gabe. Jill Santopolo is the internationally best-selling author of Stars in an Italian Sky, Everything After, More Than Words, and The Light We Lost, which was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick and has been optioned for film. Her books have been translated into more than 35 languages and have been named to the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Apple, and Indie Bound bestseller lists. She is also the publisher of Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, where she edits many critically-acclaimed, award-winning, and best-selling books. She lives in Washington, DC and New York with her husband and daughter. In our conversation, we’ll discuss how experiencing 9/11 as a college student at Columbia encouraged her to follow her passions, the lifelong gift of introducing children to literature, and how she reconnected with Judaism after her daughter was born. Jill Santopolo’s Five Books: Exodus by Leon Uris  Acts of Faith by Erich Segal  Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew by Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo Other Resources Mentioned:  PJ Library The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Yehuda Kurtzer (host of Identity/Crisis), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Dara Horn (author of People Love Dead Jews.) Find us on Instagram @fivebookspod or on Facebook at The Five Books Podcast. For feedback or author recommendations please email us at [email protected] For transcripts etc find us online at www.fivebookspod.org  The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of the Jewish Book Council. Jewish Book Council is a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers. Stay up to date on the latest in Jewish literature! https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events/celebrate The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity.  Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen Produced by Odelia Rubin Editorial and website support by Sarah Waring Artwork by Dena Friedman Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions.

Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob’s whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob’s prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream. Fagin the Thief is a thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin. Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London–reclaiming one of Victorian literature’s most notorious Jewish caricatures. In our conversation, we’ll discuss growing up in a mixed-faith household, finding truth in horror fiction, and writing more diverse historical fiction. We also delve into the incredible coda to Dickens’ antisemitic depiction and how he attempted to account for his caricature of a Jew. Allison Epstein’s Five Books: 1. The Carp in the Bathtub, by Barbara Cohen 2. The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker 3. Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado 4. Hungerstone, by Kat Dunn 5. Fagin the Thief, by Allison Epstein The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Yehuda Kurtzer (host of Identity/Crisis), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Dara Horn (author of People Love Dead Jews.) Find us on Instagram @fivebookspod or on Facebook at The Five Books Podcast For feedback or author recommendations please email us at [email protected] For transcripts etc find us online at www.fivebookspod.org  The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of the Jewish Book Council. Jewish Book Council is a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers. Stay up to date on the latest in Jewish literature! https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events/celebrate The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity.  Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen Produced by Odelia Rubin Editorial and website support by Sarah Waring Artwork by Dena Friedman Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions.

To say Alex has had it rough is an understatement. His father's gone, his mother is struggling with mental health issues, and he's now living with an aunt and uncle who are less than excited to have him. Almost everyone treats him as though he doesn't matter at all, like he's nothing. So when a kid at school actually tells him he's nothing, Alex snaps, and gets violent. Fortunately, his social worker pulls some strings and gets him a job at a nursing home for the summer rather than being sent to juvie. There, he meets Josey, the 107-year-old Holocaust survivor who stopped bothering to talk years ago. And when Alex and Josey form an unlikely bond, with Josey confiding in him, Alex starts to believe he can make a difference--a good difference--in the world. If he can truly feel he matters, Alex may be able to finally rise to the occasion of his own life. Gayle Forman has written several bestselling novels, including those in the Just One Day series, Where She Went, and the #1 New York Times bestseller If I Stay, which has been translated into more than forty languages and was adapted into a major motion picture starring Chloe Grace Moretz. Her first middle grade novel, Frankie & Bug, was a New York Times best children’s book of the year. In our conversation, we’ll discuss the link between anxiety and creativity, Judaism's instructions for living with loss, and how all of us are capable of rising to the occasion of our lives. Gayle Forman's Five Books: 1. Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume  2. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon 3. The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt 4. Orbital by Samantha Harvey  5. Not Nothing by Gayle Forman Other Books Mentioned: Mamaleh Knows Best: What Jewish Mothers Do to Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children by Marjorie Ingall The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy by Anand Giridharadas Doppelganger by Naomi Klein  North Woods by Daniel Mason  Playground by Richard Powers  Getting to Sorry by by Marjorie Ingall and Susan McCarthy The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Yehuda Kurtzer (host of Identity/Crisis), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Dara Horn (author of People Love Dead Jews.) Find us on Instagram @fivebookspod or on Facebook at The Five Books Podcast For feedback or author recommendations please email us at [email protected] For transcripts etc find us online at www.fivebookspod.org  The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of the Jewish Book Council. Jewish Book Council is a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers. Stay up to date on the latest in Jewish literature! https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events/celebrate The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity.  Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen Produced by Odelia Rubin Editorial and website support by Sarah Waring Artwork by Dena Friedman Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions.

Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were thrust into the spotlight as The Griffin Sisters, a pop duo that defined the aughts. Together, they skyrocketed to the top, gracing MTV, SNL, and the cover of Rolling Stone. Cassie, a musical genius who never felt at ease in her own skin, preferred to stay in the shadows. Zoe, full of confidence and craving fame, lived for the stage. But fame has a price, and after one turbulent year, the band abruptly broke up.  Now, two decades later, the sisters couldn’t be further apart. Zoe is a suburban mom warning her daughter Cherry to avoid the spotlight, while Cassie has disappeared from public life entirely. But when Cherry begins unearthing the truth behind their breathtaking rise and infamous breakup, long-buried secrets surface, forcing all three women to confront their choices, their desires, and their complicated bonds.  Jennifer Weiner’s books have spent over five years on the New York Times bestseller list, including several times at #1. She has written over a dozen works of fiction and the nonfiction collection Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing (2016), which was a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Opinion section in addition to numerous other publications. Her novel “In Her Shoes” was turned into a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine. Jennifer graduated from Princeton University in 1991 and lives in Philadelphia with her family. In our conversation, we’ll discuss Jennifer’s feminism, raising daughters, and why she has never felt more Jewish than right now. Jennifer Weiner's Five Books: 1. All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor 2. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth 3. Dark Tower by Stephen King 4. Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley 5. The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Yehuda Kurtzer (host of Identity/Crisis), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Dara Horn (author of People Love Dead Jews.) Find us on Instagram @fivebookspod or on Facebook at The Five Books Podcast For feedback or author recommendations please email us at [email protected] For transcripts etc find us online at www.fivebookspod.org  The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of the Jewish Book Council. Jewish Book Council is a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers. Stay up to date on the latest in Jewish literature! https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events/celebrate The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity.  Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen Produced by Odelia Rubin Editorial and website support by Sarah Waring Artwork by Dena Friedman Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions.