Once There Was a Town: The Memory Books of a Lost Jewish World Book Review

When we talk about the Holocaust, the number six million naturally feels overwhelming. How does a mind compute that this number of people were purposefully persecuted, starved, tortured, and murdered?

Once There Was a Town: The Memory Books of a Lost Jewish World, by Jane Ziegelman, was published in January. The book follows the pre-war lives of ordinary people living in ordinary places whose lives were snuffed out or almost snuffed out.

I enjoyed this book. It humanized the event, reminding readers that behind the numbers are real people whose everyday experiences were not different than ours today.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Once There Was a Town: The Memory Books of a Lost Jewish World is available wherever books are sold.

Flashback Friday: Hunters (2020-2023)

Alternative history is fascinating. It asks “what if?” while reminding the audience of what was.

Hunters premiered in 2020 on Amazon Prime and ran for two seasons. In 1977 in Brooklyn, Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman) is a young man living with his grandmother Ruth (Jeannie Berlin). After she is murdered, he is approached by Meyer Hoffman (Al Pacino). Meyer is an old friend who was in the camps with Ruth.

Meyer is the leader of a diverse underground group whose goal is to undermine Operation Paperclip and prevent the Fourth Reich from taking power in the US. Jonah eagerly signs up to avenge his grandmother’s death and protect his country from a potential Nazi takeover.

I enjoyed this series. Produced by Jordan Peele, it feels like a companion piece to Inglorious Basterds. It is bloody, violent, and enjoyable. Though some episodes did drag on a little, it is, overall, an enjoyable series. Pacino’s accent feels authentic without bordering on being a caricature.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Hunters is available for streaming on Netflix.

Chinese Republicans Play Review

It amazes me what some will do to climb the corporate ladder.

The new play, Chinese Republicans, by Alex Lin, follows four Chinese-American women who are all employed by the same investment firm in New York City. Phyllis (Jodi Long) integrated the company’s C-Suite. Her mentee, Ellen (Jennifer Ikeda), has put her personal life on hold for the sake of her career. Iris (Jully Lee) needs to keep her job to stay in the country. Katie (Anna Zavelson) is a twenty-something who has yet to be let down by the system.

This play is brilliant. Each woman is like a puzzle piece. They have their own story and struggle, yet fit together perfectly. Lin’s ending is perfect because it is a harsh reminder that we live in a world where Caucasian men still hold most of the cards.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Chinese Republicans is playing until April 5th, 2026. Check the website for tickets and showtimes.

The Girl Who Fought Back: Vladka Meed and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Book Review

During the six years of World War II and the Holocaust, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising stands out as a moment of hope among the darkness.

The Girl Who Fought Back: Vladka Meed and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, by Joshua M. Greene, was published in 2024. Greene tells the story of the late Vladka Meed, a young woman whose entire family was deported to the concentration camps. With nothing to lose, she joins the resistance. Because she can pass as a Christian, she can move between the ghetto and the rest of the city. But her mission is dangerous. At any moment, she could be found out, tortured in prison, or killed.

Though the main readership is middle grade, the impact of Meed’s story goes well beyond the intended audience. The part of the book that most impacted me was when the individual groups (with a variety of opinions) in the ghetto realized that internal squabbling was counterproductive. If they wanted to survive, they had to fight as one. It is a lesson that we still need to learn today.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The Girl Who Fought Back: Vladka Meed and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is available wherever books are sold.

Throwback Thursday: Beetlejuice (1988)

Some people will do anything to stay in their home.

In the 1988 film Beetlejuice, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) are an ordinary couple who wake up one morning and find out that they are deceased. A new family has just moved into their house. Lydia (Winona Ryder) has just moved into their abode with her parents, Delia (the late Catherine O’Hara) and Charles (Jeffrey Jones).

Adam and Barbara call on a malicious soul Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), to remove the new residents. Only it does not go as planned when he takes an interest in Lydia.

What can be said about this movie? It is brilliant, it is funny, and it holds up nearly 40 years later. As the titular character, Keaton is spectacular in a performance that is satirical, funny, and slightly psychotic (in the best way possible).

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Thoughts On the Announcement of Bridgerton Season 5

If it is anything like the previous seasons, it will be worth the wait.

Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind Book Review

Change in life is the only thing that is constant.

Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind, by Jason Zengerle, was published earlier this year. This biography of the conservative talking head reveals that Carlson was, earlier in his career, more politically centrist. But as the years passed, he started on the path to becoming a far-right Republican and the man we see on our screens today.

For anyone aware of the arc of American politics over the last 25-30 years, Carlson’s journey feels representative of how this country has become more politically extreme (on both sides). I can’t speak for anyone else, but I sometimes feel like those of us who are trying to bring both sides together are drowned out by the loud voices on the extremes.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind is available wherever books are sold.

Pride and Prejudice in Space Book Review

When a writer chooses to adapt a classic novel to another era, it may seem like a simple task. The complications will often reveal themselves sooner rather than later.

Pride and Prejudice in Space, by Alexis Lampley, was published in 2024. The book is as the title states. Instead of being set in the Regency era, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy meet, dislike, and then fall in love in a futuristic world where space travel is the norm.

The best parts of the title are the world-building and the illustrations. Lampley holds to Jane’s original text while taking it to an alternative universe that is not physically based on any planet.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Pride and Prejudice in Space is available wherever books are sold.

The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and The Talmud Book Review

According to the Talmud, it is unwise to educate women on the more complicated aspects of the Jewish faith.

“A man should not teach his daughter Torah for most women’s thoughts are not focused on being taught rather they will extract from the Torah words lacking meaning, based on their limited interest. The Rabbis have said “whomever teaches his daughter Torah, it is as if he is teaching her Tiflut.”

The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith and The Talmud, by Maggie Anton, was published in 2022. In the 1950’s Hannah Eisin is ahead of her time. Working as a journalist, she convinces Rabbi Nathan Mandel, a Talmud professor with a thorny reputation, to teach her the text. Despite the scandal it will create and the potential loss of Rabbi Mandel’s job, he agrees to become her tutor. These meetings become something more, forcing them both to ask questions that do not have easy answers.

I normally enjoy Anton’s novels. Her Rashi’s Daughters series were memorable reads to for me. But this book, I wish I could say that I tried. But I could not get very far. Which is a shame, because it sounded appealing.

Do I recommend it? No.

The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith and The Talmud is available wherever books are sold.

Calf Scramble Play Review

Our teenage years are a time of growth, change, and trying to figure out who you are in a complicated world.

The new play, Calf Scramble, by Libby Carr, follows 5 teenage girls as they grapple with growing up while competing in a calf scramble in small town Texas. Anna Lee (Ferin Bergen), Maren (Maaike Laanstra-Corn), Vivvy (Marverlyn Ramirez), Sofi (Elisa Tarquinio) and El (Gabriela Veciana) are each facing their own issues. On top of that, there are interpersonal conflicts and the potential prize money that comes with winning the competition.

At a perfect 90 minutes, this play feels both timely and universal. Each girl both stands out while fitting in perfectly with the rest of the characters. At the end of the day, it is about friendship, learning the accept another’s flaws and appreciating the other person as they are.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Calf Scramble is playing at 59 E 59 theater in New York City until April 12th, 2026. Check the website for tickets and showtimes.

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