Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Baudy ‘Decameron’ told a story of a Jew’s conversion

By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California. –Some sixty or more years ago my parents facilitated my sex education by leaving Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, illustrated in 1949 by Rockwell Kent, on the coffee table. Adolescent curiosity took care of the rest. Kent introduced me to pornography or erotica before Playboy. From the late 1950s the Book […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak, Travel and Food

Two children’s books for Jewish holidays

Bitter and Sweet by Sandra V. Feder, illustrations by Krysten Brooker, Groundwood Books, (c) 2018, ISBN 9781554-989959; 30 pages, $17.95. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Author Sandra Feder notes that Judaism acknowledges a duality in life: with the bitter often will come the sweet, and vice versa.  “Sweet wine or grape juice is

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion

‘The Library Book’: Cleverly titled tome about libraries

The Library Book, A coffee table book that stirs the reader’s soul Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California — The Library Book, a 14½x11 3/8 coffee table book, weighs 6 lbs. I saw it in the new books section of the Richmond Public Library and “checked it out.” Then I checked it out at the circulation

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak, Travel and Food

Zenia and Chava: Two Lodz survivors – novelists

By Goldie Morgentaler LETHBRIDGE, Alberta, Canada — My mother’s best friend when she was growing up in Poland in the 1930s was Zenia Marcinkowska. Zenia would grow up to be an acclaimed novelist in Sweden under the name Zenia Larsson. My mother would also become a writer, the Yiddish novelist Chava Rosenfarb. So this is

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History

Challah: good to eat, good to meditate

Braided, A Journey of a Thousand Challahs by Beth Ricanati, MD; She Writes Press, 2018; ISBN 9787-1-63152-441-7; $16.95, 169 pages. By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California — A physician who specializes in women’s health believes that the preparation of challah for a Shabbat meal, besides having obvious culinary benefits, can be a form of prayer

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak, Travel and Food

Novel probes stress between Jews and Blacks

The Hazards of Good Fortune by Seth Greenland, Europa Editions © 2018; ISBN 9781609-434623; 614 pages, $20. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Whoever said money can’t buy you happiness would have received resounding agreement from Jay Gladstone, the fictional philanthropist, real estate developer, and professional basketball team owner who is the protagonist of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Reading on my Jewish family vacation

By Oliver B. Pollak OCEANSIDE, California — What does family vacation mean? It used to be an oxymoron ranking with giant shrimp, military intelligence, and other improbables. Destination vacations, national parks, beaches, mountains, desert, camping, rv’s, condos, five-star resorts, spas, lodges, ranches with bunk houses, and time shares all compete for our wonderment. We drive,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak, Travel and Food

Warner Brothers’ dominates Comic- Con 2018

By Shor M. Masori SAN DIEGO — Because three of the biggest pop culture staples, Marvel, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones, were absent this year, the recently concluded Comic-Con felt much quieter and much less abuzz with nerd-hype. This quiet is, of course, relative, as to the outside observer it was just as loud

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

‘Girlfriend,’ re-imagined fables enchant Comic- Con

Story and photos by Shor M. Masori SAN DIEGO — Rachel Bloom (Robot Chicken, BoJack Horseman, her own comedic music videos) and Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada, Morning Glory, 27 Dresses), co-creators of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, told journalists at Comic-Con that the musical dramedy’s final 18 episodes on the CW will deal with “the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori

A Holocaust book for older preteens

What Was The Holocaust? by Gail Herman, Penguin Random House, New York, © 2018, ISBN 978-0451533906, 105 pages, $5.99. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – That there are casualties and atrocities in war for both soldiers and civilians is summed up best by General U. S. Grant, “War is hell!” How about when there is

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, International, Jewish History

San Francisco cookbooks reflect city’s diversity

By Oliver B. Pollak SAN FRANCISCO — Erica Peters, author of San Francisco, A Food Biography (2013) and Appetites and Aspirations in Vietnam Food and Drink in the Long Nineteenth Century (2012), gave a presentation at San Francisco’s three-year-old, gorgeously designed, American Bookbinders Museum in the Yerba Buena district, wedged in between Clementina and Folsom

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak, Travel and Food

A new book for former San Diegan Marilyn Forstot

SAHUARITA, Arizona (Press Release) — More Precious than Rubies by former San Diegan Marilyn Forstot is set during and after the American Revolution. The story follows the life journey of a heroic Jewish woman, Sarah Perez, and her family. The well-researched novel shows early American life from a Jewish perspective and demonstrates the contributions Jews made

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, USA