Best Books of 2021

1. The Four Winds: Kristen Hannah has done it again. Her Cinderella-esque tale of a woman who resecues herself from a live of drugery, poverty, and low self esteem is one to be read again and again.
2. Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People: Ben M. Freeman‘s treatise on Jews, and Jewish history is a must read for anyone who for once and for all wants to defeat antisemitism and all forms of hate.
3. Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol: Mallory O’Meara‘s non fiction book explores how inspite of a certain image, women have been creating and drinking all forms of alcohol for centuries.
4. I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J Trump‘s Catastrophic Final Year: The subject of you know who will be on the lips of writers and political historians for years to come. Authors Carol Leonning and Philip Rucker examine how the former President believed that he did not need help in running the country.
5. Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood: Writer and podcaster Mark Oppenheimer tells the story of how a single neighborhood was affected by the murders of eleven Jewish residents in 2018.
6. Peril: Bob Woodward and Robert Costa take a deep dive into how close the American democracy got close to destruction.
7. The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh: This JAFF by Molly Greeley gives the spotlight to Anne de Bourgh, a minor Pride and Prejudice character who has yet to be fully seen or appreciated.
8. Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Become Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assasins-and WWII Heroes: This fascinating and powerful tale of three young ladies who led an underground war against the Nazis during World War II.
9. Why She Wrote: A Graphic History of the Lives, Inspiration, and Influence Behind the Pens of Classic Women Writers: Written by the Bonnet at Dawn podcast hosts, this book examines the life and works of the women writers we have loved and respected for generations.
10. The Matzah Ball: A Novel: Jean Meltzer’s Chanukah themed rom-com about two people who are secretly in love, but cannot speak the words due to the current and past trauma.

Here’s to the books we loved in 2021 and the books we will love in 2022.

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Peril Book Review

Up until the beginning of this year, the transition from one Presidential administration to another was a process that few outside of Washington D.C. ever thought about. That changed with the 2020 Presidential election.

Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, was published in September. Told in a spellbinding and sometimes downright scary manner, the authors detail how close this nation came to nearly abandoning our democratic ideals. Basing their narrative on interviews, transcripts, and other documents, they take us on a roller coaster ride that is solely based on you know who’s want to stay in power, regardless of the response from the voting public. It also details how unnecessarily difficult a task President Biden has ahead of him. If nothing else, this book is a warning that unless we do something ASAP, the United States of America as we know it to be maybe one day be consigned to the history books.

This book should be read by every American, regardless of where they are on the political scale. The belief that our political system is secure has been shaken to its core. We have two choices at this point in time. We can either sit back and do nothing. The other option (which in my mind is the only option) is to stand up, vote, and fight for everything we hold near and dear.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.