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Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

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Archive for the ‘Events’ Category.

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Book club selection

11th August 2010, 11:00 am

Earlier today five regular members of our bookclub gathered to discuss what books to read in the 2010/2011 season. Altogether we suggested 18 books. After we voted for them the following books did not make it for this year, but they might be reconsidered  for later year:

  • Mary Lowenthal Felstiner: Out of Joint: A Private and Public Story of Arthritis
  • Toobin Jeffrey: The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
  • Rodger Kamenetz: Burnt Books: Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Franz Kafka (to be published in October 2010)
  • Mitchell Kaplan: By Fire, By Water
  • Greg Mortenson: Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan
  • Rachel Shukert: Everything Is Going to Be Great: An Underfunded and Overexposed European Grand Tour
  • Burton L. Visotzky: A Delightful Compendium of Consolation: A Fabulous Tale of Romance, Adventure and Faith in the Medieval Mediterranean

The following books got top votes and nine of them will make it to the bookclub’s program. The following table includes information about two additional criteria for our selection: whether the book is available in paperback and whether the public library has a copy of it or not.

Author Title Paperback In public library
David Bezmozgis Natasha And Other Stories yes yes
Kai
Bird
Crossing Mandelbaum Gate:
Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956-1978
April 2011 yes
Peter
Godwin
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun:
A Memoir of Africa
yes yes
Zoe Heller The Believers yes yes
Vivian
Jeanette Kaplan
Ten Green Bottles:
The True Story of One Family’s Journey from
War-torn Austria to the Ghettos of Shanghai
n/a?? no
Kati
Marton
Enemies of the People:
My Family’s Journey to America
October 2010 yes
Claire Messud The Last Life yes yes
Douglas Rushkoff Nothing Sacred:
The Truth About Judaism
yes no
Milton Steinberg Prophet’s Wife no no
Kathryn Stockett The Help yes yes
Mark
Twain
Letters From The Earth yes yes
Category: About, Events  |  Comment

Discussion group: Sarah’s key

6th April 2010, 01:00 pm

Tomorrow, Wednesday at 10 AM our books discussion group will meet again and talk about Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. You are welcome to join us even if you didn’t read the book. Here is a short interview with the author where she talks about what the book is about:

Category: Events  |  Comment

Book sale at Simcha Sunday

18th October 2009, 10:14 am

Simcha Sunday

Category: About, Events  |  Comment

27th annual book discussion group

24th August 2009, 09:00 am

shelverOnce again we invite you to participate in a book discussion series that has attracted many folks who love books that stretch your mind and challenge your imagination and to discuss them with like-minded people.

We meet at Congregation Beth Ami on the first Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. beginning in November.

Here is our schedule:

  • Tolan, Sandy: The lemon tree – November 4
  • Seierstad, Asne: 101 days – December 2
  • Auster, Paul: The Brooklyn follies – January 6
  • Sabar, Ariel: My father’s paradise – February 3
  • Boling, David: Guernica – March 3
  • De Rosnay, Tatiana: Sarah’s key – April 7
  • Zusak, Markus: The book thief – May 5
  • Paley, Grace: Collected stories  - June 2
  • Manseau:  Songs of the butcher’s daughter – July 7

As in past years, we will order the first five books from Sawyer’s at a 25% discount.
Please return this form (PDF) to register for the coming season and indicate the titles you wish to purchase. Please include payment of $ 13.00 per title you wish to purchase.

Category: Events  |  Comment

Filmclub: Praying with Lior

17th August 2009, 11:00 am

Praying with Lior, the last movie of the series, shortly before Rosh Hashanah, follows the life of Lior, a boy with Down syndrome, as he prepares for his Bar-Mitzvah. This portrait will put us in the humble and spiritual mood for the High Holy Days.

The film’s official site has a wealth of information. My favorites are the the praises it received from rabbis around the world.

The free viewing starts at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 16 in the synagogue’s multi-purpose room.

As usual, free, organic popocorn will be served.

Category: Events  |  Comment

Filmclub: Would I Lie to You!

17th August 2009, 10:30 am

Would I Lie to You! (La vérité si je mens) is a 100 minutes long French comedy from 1997. It will be shown in French with English subtitles. I hope the text on the back cover of the DVD gives away enough information to entice you to join uf for 100 minutes of laughter:

While hanging around the Paris fashion district, Eddie gets hired on the spot by a wealthy fabric dealer, thinking he is fellow Jew down on his luck. Eddie begins life anew by completely remaking himself, careful not to reveal his true identity. He succeeds beyond his wildest expectations, but he must maintain his Jewish illusion around the clock. Director Helmer Gilou takes you on a wild ride through the Parisian fashion world that will keep yo laughing throughout this hilarious farce.

The trailer below is in French and doesn’t have subtitles, but will give you a feel for the movie.

The free viewing starts at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 9 in the synagogue’s multi-purpose room.

As usual, free, organic popocorn will be served.

Category: Events  |  Comment

Filmclub: Arranged

17th August 2009, 09:00 am

Arranged, a 90 minutes long US movie, was the only one I’ve seen before putting together the program for this summer’s filmclub. I found it a sweet, simple and heartwarming movei. I hope you will find it too. The synopsis:

Two young women – one an Orthodox Jew, the other Muslim – meet and become friends as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. Over the course of the year they learn they share much in common, not least of which is that they are both going through arranged marriages.

For more background information read the story behind the film on the official site.

The free viewing starts at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 2 in the synagogue’s multi-purpose room.

As usual, free, organic popocorn will be served.

Category: Events  |  Comment

Book list from/for the book club

16th August 2009, 10:00 am

The book discussion’s group yearly planning meeting was held Thursday morning. 20 books were suggested for consideration to be included in the program. See the full list below, out of which nine will be selected to be read by the group.

  • Maggie Anton: Rashi’s Daughters, Book III: Rachel: A Novel of Love and the Talmud in Medieval France
  • Paul Auster : The Brooklyn Follies
  • Muriel Barbery  : The Elegance of the Hedgehog
  • Dave Boling: Guernica
  • Dov Peretz Elkins (editor): Jewish Stories from Heaven and Earth: Inspiring Tales to Nourish the Heart and Soul
  • Jonathon Keats : The Book of the Unknown: Tales of the Thirty-six
  • Steve Luxenberg: Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret
  • Peter Manseau : Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter
  • Claire Messud: The last life
  • Jonah Raskin: Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California
  • Tatiana de Rosnay: Sarah’s Key
  • Arundhati Roy: The God of Small Things
  • Ariel Sabar: My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq
  • Asne Seierstad : A Hundred And One Days: A Baghdad Journal
  • Elizabeth Strout: Olive Kitteridge
  • Sandy Tolan: The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
  • Margaret Truman : Bess W. Truman
  • Burton L Visotzky: A Delightful Compendium of Consolation: A Fabulous Tale of Romance, Adventure and Faith in the Medieval Mediterranean
  • Markus Zusak : The Book Thief
Category: Books, Events  |  1 Comment

Filmclub: Close to Home

16th August 2009, 09:21 am

Close to Home (Karov la Bayit) is a 4 years old, 98 minutes long, unrated in the US,  Israeli movie. According to the distributor:

It casts a fresh perspective on the Israel – Palestine conflict. Close to Home is the first film to focus on women within the Israeli Military Service and was inspired by the directors own experiences. ‘Smadar and Mirit , both 18 years old, are assigned to patrol the streets of Jerusalem together as part of their military service. Worlds apart in their personality their initial frosty relationship changes to friendship as they deal with their own emotional issues, the crushes are break-ups in their love lives, as well as the political reality of the city they live in.

The free viewing starts at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, August 26 in the synagogue’s multi-purpose room.

As usual, free, organic popocorn will be served.

Category: Events  |  Comment

Filmclub: One Night With the King

10th August 2009, 06:45 am

One night with the king is a sweeping story about Hadassah, the young Jewish girl who becomes the Biblical Esther, Queen of Persia. The movie has the feel of the great epics of the ’60s, a sensation underscored by the appearance of both Omar Sharif and Peter O’Toole. It is a well-made, spectacular and over two hours long) drama for the entire family.

The free viewing starts at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, August 19 in the synagogue’s multi-purpose room.

As usual, free, organic popocorn will be served.

Category: Events  |  Comment
« Previous Entries
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    • Book club selection
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    • de Rosnay: Sarah's Key (2007)
    • Wayland: New Year at the pier (2009)
    • Friedman: The importance of wings (2009)
    • New cookbooks in the library
    • Discussion group: Sarah's key
    • Engle: Tropical Secrets (2009)
    • Tel: Arafat's Elephant (2002)
    • Auster: The Brooklyn Follies (2005)
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