Books with Friends
Hosted by: Elaine Prusack and Jon Lipow
The Two-Family House
Author: Lynda Cohen-Loigman - 322 pages
Thursday, May 23, 2023
An emotional but dreamy novel that...will transport you far, far away from your next dreary Monday morning. You may do a lot of sobbing, but don't worry, you'll be smiling by the end.
Brooklyn, 1947: In the midst of a blizzard, in a two-family brownstone, two babies are born, minutes apart. The mothers are sisters by marriage: dutiful, quiet Rose, who wants nothing more than to please her difficult husband; and warm, generous Helen, the exhausted mother of four rambunctious boys who seem to need her less and less each day. Raising their families side by side, supporting one another, Rose and Helen share an impenetrable bond forged before and during that dramatic winter night.
When the storm passes, life seems to return to normal; but as the years progress, small cracks start to appear and the once deep friendship between the two women begins to unravel. No one knows why, and no one can stop it. One misguided choice; one moment of tragedy. Heartbreak wars with happiness and almost, but not quite, wins. Moving and evocative, Lynda Cohen-Loigman's debut novel The Two-Family House is a heart wrenching, gripping multigenerational story, woven around the deepest of secrets.
To purchase this book from any of the retailers below just click the name.
If you have a library card, you can get books for free through Hoopla - the Nassau county book lending service.
In our hopes to offer something for everyone, we want to share a free audiobook resource, Libby by OverDrive. Libby allows you to digitally download books to various devices including iPhone, Android and a tablet. Given your busy and hectic schedules, we believe an audio option may be beneficial to you. This option is also useful for people who struggle with fine print. The website https://www.
Not Our Kind
Author: Kitty Zeldis - 368 pages
Thursday, June 27, 2024
With echoes of Rules of Civility and The Boston Girl, a compelling and thought-provoking novel set in postwar New York City, about two women-one Jewish, one a WASP-and the wholly unexpected consequences of their meeting.
One rainy morning in June, two years after the end of World War II, a minor traffic accident brings together Eleanor Moskowitz and Patricia Bellamy. Their encounter seems fated: Eleanor, a teacher and recent Vassar graduate, needs a job. Patricia's difficult thirteen-year-old daughter Margaux, recovering from polio, needs a private tutor.
Though she feels out of place in the Bellamy's rarefied and elegant Park Avenue milieu, Eleanor forms an instant bond with Margaux. Soon the idealistic young woman is filling the bright young girl's mind with Shakespeare and Latin. Though her mother, a hat maker with a little shop on Second Avenue, disapproves, Eleanor takes pride in her work, even if she must use the name "Moss" to enter the Bellamy's restricted doorman building each morning, and feels that Patricia's husband, Wynn, may have a problem with her being Jewish.
Invited to keep Margaux company at the Bellamy's country home in a small town in Connecticut, Eleanor meets Patricia's unreliable, bohemian brother, Tom, recently returned from Europe. The spark between Eleanor and Tom is instant and intense. Flushed with new romance and increasingly attached to her young pupil, Eleanor begins to feel more comfortable with Patricia and much of the world she inhabits. As the summer wears on, the two women's friendship grows---until one hot summer evening, a line is crossed, and both Eleanor and Patricia will have to make important decisions---choices that will reverberate through their lives.
Gripping and vividly told, Not Our Kind illuminates the lives of two women on the cusp of change---and asks how much our pasts can and should define our lives.
To purchase this book from any of the retailers below just click the name.
If you have a library card, you can get books for free through Hoopla - the Nassau county book lending service.
In our hopes to offer something for everyone, we want to share a free audiobook resource, Libby by OverDrive. Libby allows you to digitally download books to various devices including iPhone, Android and a tablet. Given your busy and hectic schedules, we believe an audio option may be beneficial to you. This option is also useful for people who struggle with fine print. The website https://www.
Mr. Perfect on Paper
Author: Jean Meltzer - 416 pages
Thursday, August 8, 2024
From the author of The Matzah Ball comes a pitch-perfect romcom following a third-generation Jewish matchmaker who unwittingly finds her own search for love thrust into the spotlight...
As a non-Jewish single dad, Chris doesn't check any of Dara's boxes. But her hunt for Mr. Perfect is the ratings boost his show desperately needs. If only Chris could ignore his own pesky attraction to Dara-a task much easier said than done when Dara starts questioning if "perfect on paper" can compete with how hard she's falling for Chris...
"A warm heartfelt ode to self-acceptance, honesty, and tight-knit Jewish communities...a true pleasure to read"-Olivia Dade, author of Spoiler Alert, on The Matzah Ball.
To purchase this book from any of the retailers below just click the name.
If you have a library card, you can get books for free through Hoopla - the Nassau county book lending service.
In our hopes to offer something for everyone, we want to share a free audiobook resource, Libby by OverDrive. Libby allows you to digitally download books to various devices including iPhone, Android and a tablet. Given your busy and hectic schedules, we believe an audio option may be beneficial to you. This option is also useful for people who struggle with fine print. The website https://www.
Wed, May 15 2024
7 Iyyar 5784
