[books] best book of the month!
May. 16th, 2005 09:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyThis weekend I read Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of A Man Who Rescued A Million Yiddish Books by Aaron Lansky.
Boys and girls, I am here to tell you that this book is amazing. Anyone who likes books, is Jewish, or has any interest in things Judaic, should read this book AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
It was funny, it was moving, it was educational. The style was very engaging. It is a good introduction to the subject of Yiddish literature, and it whets your appetite to learn more about the subject. It is the only nonfiction book that I have ever read in one day - does that convince you?
Here is a quote: "I tried whenever possible to travel in a team of three: two to do the shelpping and the third to be the Designated Eater. The latter was the really hard job: While the others carried boxes, you had to sit with the host at the kitchen table, listening to stories, sipping endless glasses of tea, and valiantly working your way through a week's worth of dishes cooked "special," just for you - gefilte fish and khareyn (horseradish), kasha varnishkes, blintzes and sour cream, potato latkes, and lokshun kugel.. Eventually we devised an "emergency kit" that we carried with us on every trip; an old Boy Scout knapsack packed with Ben Gay ointment and Ace bandages for the shleppers, and, for the Designated Eater, a roll of Tums, a jar of salted Japanese umeboshi plums (great after too much sugar), a canteen of water, and six packets of Alka-Seltzer."
This book was simply wonderful. It goes up there with The Bone People and The Fifth Sacred Thing on my list of best books of all time. Go out and read it, quick!
Boys and girls, I am here to tell you that this book is amazing. Anyone who likes books, is Jewish, or has any interest in things Judaic, should read this book AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
It was funny, it was moving, it was educational. The style was very engaging. It is a good introduction to the subject of Yiddish literature, and it whets your appetite to learn more about the subject. It is the only nonfiction book that I have ever read in one day - does that convince you?
Here is a quote: "I tried whenever possible to travel in a team of three: two to do the shelpping and the third to be the Designated Eater. The latter was the really hard job: While the others carried boxes, you had to sit with the host at the kitchen table, listening to stories, sipping endless glasses of tea, and valiantly working your way through a week's worth of dishes cooked "special," just for you - gefilte fish and khareyn (horseradish), kasha varnishkes, blintzes and sour cream, potato latkes, and lokshun kugel.. Eventually we devised an "emergency kit" that we carried with us on every trip; an old Boy Scout knapsack packed with Ben Gay ointment and Ace bandages for the shleppers, and, for the Designated Eater, a roll of Tums, a jar of salted Japanese umeboshi plums (great after too much sugar), a canteen of water, and six packets of Alka-Seltzer."
This book was simply wonderful. It goes up there with The Bone People and The Fifth Sacred Thing on my list of best books of all time. Go out and read it, quick!
