The Cantor Sang Off-Key


Book Description

What happens at synagogue doesnt always stay at synagogue. This lively tale of a cantor and her congregation provides a second look at the Reform Jewish world. At Temple Beth Shalom, Brunhild takes you inside the life of well-respected Cantor Abbey Rosen, thrown into the tangled ethical web involving temple finance manager, Willard Lubarsky. Lubarskys own insatiable sexual desires cause him more grief than he ever imagined, and it all comes back to haunt him in an explosive conclusion. Brunhild builds tension at the temple as well as the Lubarsky household, as Willards deceit and reckless ways involve him with the underworld and Cantor Rosen in a most unlikely scenario . Youll cheer for other characters such as Charlie Hammer, who becomes a central figure in Abbeys present and future world. The High Holidays at your temple never had drama like this. Brunhilds other works include: MISHBUCHA, THE FAMILY; WORLDS INTERTWINED; THE EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN NEXT DOOR; MAYHEM IN THE MIST and KINFOLK AND WHISKEY.




Are We There Yet?


Book Description

Starlight is raised by a family of racists, who actually believe that if she is gets too close to any Black people, their skin secretions will adhere to her skin, and she will never be able to rub it off! Aunt Myrtle, from northern Wisconsin, warnng her that the odor of the Black people is very pugnant, and will make her vomit, if she gets to close to the. Later in her teens, when the handsome Black boys followed her around town, her Father told her: "You will not be allowed to return home, if you ever bring one of them to the house." It was revealed at her Mother's funeral,that her Uncle LeRoy was a leader in the KluKlux Klan in the 1930's-60's. Starlight tells the sometimes humorous, insanely serious, and the eventual peace she made with the hate and fear that suirrounded her. She shares her redemptive tale of connecting with the the African-American people, in her 40 years of teaching across America.




Wave of Terror


Book Description

This novel is a major literary discovery, and Odrach is drawing favorable comparisons with such eminent writers as Chekhov and Solzhenitsyn. Odrach wrote in Ukrainian, while living an exile's life in Toronto. This remarkable book is a microcosm of Soviet history, and Odrach provides a first-hand account of events during the Stalinist era that newsreels never covered. It has special value as a sensitive and realistic portrait of the times, while capturing the internal drama of the characters with psychological concision. Odrach creates a powerful and moving picture, and manages to show what life was really like under the brutal dictatorship of Stalin, and brings cataclysmic events of history to a human scale.







Uncle John's Curiously Compelling Bathroom Reader


Book Description

The latest, greatest volume in the popular Uncle John’s series, flush with fun facts and figures and plenty of trademark trivia. Uncle John’s Curiously Compelling Bathroom Reader, the 19th edition of this best-selling series, has more than 500 pages of the perfect reading material for the throne room. Settle in and read about: Great Moments in Bad TV, the First Detective, the Story of Prohibition, the Queen of the Roller Derby, and the jiggly history of Jello. Plus all of your bathroom reading favorites are back: Dumb Crooks, Amazing Luck, Forgotten History, Pop Science, Celebrity Gossip, Brainteasers, and much, much more. So cultivate your curiosity with this truly compelling read!




Fraternal Relations in Monasteries


Book Description

This is a book about the tensions between Christian ideals of love and the concrete realities of everyday monastic life. Based on a study of Cistercian monasteries in France, it develops a novel conceptualization of fraternal relations and addresses how monks and nuns strive to accomplish such relationships within their communities. By focusing on the main interaction contexts of monasteries as a form of voluntary total institution, the book shows how attempts to generate collective solidarity, relate to other members as equals and avoid preferential relations conflict with practices of everyday life. Although fraternal ideals are similar for monks and nuns, the analysis reveals significant gender differences regarding the legitimacy of different forms of interaction and relationships as well as how to control them. The book appeals to readers with an interest in total institutions, sociology of religion, sociology of friendship, sociology of intimacy and also to scholars with an interest in theology of love and practical theology.




Adam Unrehearsed


Book Description

In the vein of The Chosen, Catcher in the Rye, and The Kite Runner comes Adam Unrehearsed, a “hilarious, deeply moving, coming-of-age comedy” (Yossi Klein Halevi). From the moment he’s mugged on the subway home from Bat Day at Yankee Stadium, things go wrong for twelve-year-old Adam Miller. He is in the Special Program for brainy kids, but his new junior high is on triple shift. When he gets on the wrong side of several gangs and needs them most, his friends disappear. As if that’s not enough, Adam discovers that his older brother has become a Zionist militant, his synagogue is repeatedly vandalized, and despite Adam’s “skinny voice,” his crazy new Cantor has grandiose plans for his Bar Mitzvah. Meanwhile, Adam dreams of his summer camp girlfriend in far off New Rochelle, but he’s too shy to pick up the phone. He even fails at shoplifting. Bewildered and alone, Adam finds his only solace onstage, where he discovers the power of theater to bridge social divides. As he learns to stand out and stand up for himself, friends appear in the most unexpected places and Adam Miller discovers his own voice. Adam Unrehearsed is a story of friendship, betrayal, life, death, and acting. Colum McCann called it “comical…lyrical…menacing…gritty…tender…compassionate and propulsive.” Adam Unrehearsed will do for Flushing what Philip Roth did for Newark. Set in New York in 1970, just as American Jewry is coming of age, this is the next generation of great American Jewish fiction.




The Land of Opportunity and Other Fictions


Book Description

The Land of Opportunity and Other Fictions is a collection of related short stories that tell of a time long gone, when immigrants from Slavic countries arrived in America on boats in droves. Told in intimate detail, these stories portray the families who settled in the coal regions of Pennsylvania and the hardships that they endured as their communities grew to become burgeoning towns full of families. Times were tough as they forged their way in the new country. To many immigrants, America was not the land of opportunity. Many died because of the coal mines. Many died of influenza, but more than that, they found themselves fighting a war where the European soldiers against whom they fought were often family from their native countries. Among the stories are many memorable characters, like Nicholas Noble, the interpreter and mediator between the captain and the passengers on the Carpathia, a ship that brought many immigrants from Eastern Europe to America. The ship is notable in that it saved the few survivors of the sinking of the SS Titanic from the cold northern seas. In the end, the Carpathia was destroyed by German torpedoes, and Nicolas Noble along with it. Through these heartfelt and vivid stories, the experiences of the Eastern European immigrants and life in the coal towns of Pennsylvania will come to life.




The Harvest Reaped


Book Description

Born to poor immigrant parents in 1921, author Dr. Sam Gendler grew into a bright, highly-motivated teenager whose potential was recognized by his teachers. They urged him to seek admission into the top schools, and he succeeded, becoming an engineer and founding an electronics company. Despite his success, Gendler was forced to change career paths at age fifty. In The Harvest Reaped, Gendler shares his life story, telling how he entered the medical field later in life. Battling tough odds, he gained entrance into a Colombian medical school, earning high scores. He later transferred to a California medical school, graduated, and built a thriving medical practice, which included serving as an associate clinical professor in family medicine. In this memoir, Gendler narrates how, with determination, he navigated a sea of change and his novel life journey led to a successful second career in medicine. He tells how careful planning, diligent studying, and working hard can lead to many successes. The Harvest Reap shares the story of a life well-lived, where at age ninety-three Gendler still attends to his patients.




Life After Death Threatened


Book Description

Just imagine that you have become unconscious from an unknown viral infection and have been that way for more than eight days in the hospital. When encephalitis or a brain abscess was determined, author Maurice J. Robinson knew at this time that most adults don't live very long to talk about it. But for him, God had another plan. He just wanted Maurice to believe in Him and to believe that the new life would come. At that point, it was out of his hands; he had to depend on his family and friends to ask God to bring him back to life. Read how God would answer!