The Bubble: I'm not sure what I was expecting from this film, but wow! It completely blew me away. The story of an Israeli man who falls in love with a Palestinian man and their attempts at making their relationship work amid the Israeli/Occupied Territories situation. The story was incredibly moving and I feel like it exposed me to a much more human version of the political situation than I've had in the past. The ending at first disturbed me (I won't give it away) but as I thought about it later (this film really lingered with me), it made such utter sense. Highly, highly recommend this film!

Disobedience: A Novel by Naomi Alderman: An interesting story of an English woman, raised in a traditional Orthodox Jewish setting, who flies back to England, from her adopted home in New York, when she hears of her father's death. Her father had been a prominent rabbi and she, as a gay woman, had been ostracized from her community. The story was quite insightful on how a traditional community might deal with a strong woman, never mind a lesbian, and I found the writing to be quite beautiful. I wanted more in places, but was also satisfied that not everything was completely spelled out. Worth the read if you're interested in either traditional Judaism or books about being gay.

The Rabbi's Daughter by Reva Mann: This is one of those memoirs that I read and think, "I want to be friends with this woman." Fascinating account of Mann--who is the granddaughter of the former chief rabbi of Israel--who strayed as far from orthodoxy as you can get but then went to the opposite extreme, becoming an Hasidic wife. She then reverts back to the other extreme. I wish there was more on how she lives her life today, but overall, I learned a lot about the ultra-conservative lifestyle and generally was glued to the book.

The Saturday Wife by Naomi Ragen: I really disliked the other book by Ragen that I had read, but a friend recommended this, so I thought I'd give her another shot. I have to say--and this may be because my expectations were so low--I enjoyed this story of a conniving woman who worms her way into becoming a rabbi's wife. Details of the Orthodox Jewish community were interesting to me, and while the writing wasn't always strong, the character was interesting enough to keep me going.

Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir by Shalom Auslander: I was so looking forward to this book--I even bought it in hardcover--and it turned out to be a real disappointment. Auslander keeps waiting for God to wreak his revenge on him and by the end of the book, I was really hoping he wood. It feels like one very long complaint, without enough supporting material to say why he was complaining. Bummer.

Ushpizin: This is a really interesting Israeli film about a haredi couple in Jerusalem who don't have enough money to build a sukkah. They are not "frum from birth," but have a past to deal with and the husband, Moshe, finds himself with a guest from his old days. The movie was fascinating from a cultural aspect--seeing this aspect of ultra-Orthodox life. It's definitely a movie about faith and people's ability to change and the ending was moving. The characters are very likable and the whole movie has a sort of Yiddish folk tale-feel to it. I'd recommend to anyone interested in Israeli/Jewish film.

Away by Amy Bloom: The writing in this saga of a young Jewish woman fresh in New York from the Old World is captivating. Lillian Leyb discovers after a short time in New York that her daughter, whom she had thought to be dead, was still alive, and she treks across the country in hopes of making it to Alaska where she will sail across to Siberia to find her. The story lost me a little on the journey, but the writing kept me going and by the end, the story was once again delectable. Beautifully done.

Joy Comes in the Morning by Jonathan Rosen: The writing in this story is so seamless that I was engaged even when the plot stretched my patience a bit. The story focuses on a Reform female rabbi and the man she becomes involved with, however, it is much more than that. The man's father had a stroke and seems to struggle with coming to terms with his feelings about Judaism against the devastation of having lost his family in the Holocaust. The man's best friend had a schizophrenic breakdown. The rabbi's family isn't as religious as she is and are wary of her and her devoutness. Issues of competency and feeling a fraud play a large role in this novel. Beautifully written and a satisfying ending.

Sotah by Naomi Ragen: A sotah is a woman accused of adultery and this story is about three sisters in the haredi world of Israel as they are matched off in marriage. The middle daughter is the main character and the one "sotah" refers to. I'm interested enough in the subject matter (the haredi world; not adultery) that I was willing to overlook the choppy writing and lack of depth in the characters. But the ending was so ridiculous and so facile that I actually felt angry at the book for not being better. The characters were cardboard and one-dimensional to the point of ridiculousness. I so wanted to like this book....

Rashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved by Maggie Anton: What an incredibly disappointing book. I was quite interested in the subject matter--a woman in medieval times studying Talmud--but the writing was heavy handed and uninspiring. I learned little about the Talmud, little about medieval times, and little about the lives of people in the time. The characters were broadly drawn, clearly meant to illustrate a point. I won't be reading the sequel.

Job by Joseph Roth: A lovely retelling of the story of Job. I've loved other books by Roth and was surprised at how different, yet still successful, the tone of this book was. Felt very Yiddish-y, for lack of a better word, like how the older folks tell stories.

Ten Thousand Lovers by Edeet Ravel: I thought that this book about a young woman falling in love with an Israeli army interrogator was going to be dry, but it was anything but. Ravel interweaves pieces of the woman as an adult mom living in Canada with her youth in Israel falling in love. Ravel uses lots of interesting techniques, including looking at the meaning of Hebrew words in a way that really adds depth to the novel.

When Do We Eat: A terribly disappointing film about a dysfunctional family Passover seder. Such great potential wasted!

The Outside World by Tova Mirvis: This is the second book I've read by Mirvis, and she continues to impress me with her glimpses into the Orthodox Jewish world. Her stories are sympathetic yet they don't paint blindly pretty pictures. I looked forward to returning to Tzippy's world every night.

Boychiks in the Hood: Travels in the Hasidic Underground by Robert Eisenberg: An interesting glimpse into the Hasidic world, but they were a little too shallow. I wanted a more in-depth look, which you're really not going to get in a book of essays, so perhaps I was expecting too much. But it was well written and engaging.

Keeping Up with the Steins: Cute. A little cliched. Warm fuzzies. I think you have to be Jewish to truly like it.

The Nimrod Flipout: Stories by Etgar Keret: This book of short-short stories by an Israeli author was supremely odd. Some of the stories were so fresh, I continued thinking about them long after I put the bood down. A few just flitted past (including the title piece). But the excellent pieces outweighed the silly, and anyone who likes short-shorts will find this collection intriguing.