Showing posts with label Judaism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judaism. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Book Review: The Faith Club by Ranya Idliby, Priscilla Warner, and Suzanne Oliver


Read for book club (5/2011). With this one the title says it "The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew--Three Women Search for Understanding." That is the book in a nutshell. I found it very interesting and definitely both learned a good deal and could identify with each woman in different ways. I think in absence of women of different faiths that one can chat candidly with, the book is a fun substitute. They talk about their doubts, the strengths and weaknesses they perceive in each others religions and their own, the varying degrees they do and don't want religion and faith in their lives, and how modern women of all three respective traditions draw a difference between faith and religion. They express how one can have faith but not necessarily be thrilled with every aspect of their religions. My only regret with this is that all the people in my book club who attended that day were from a Christian background; however, it was still interesting to discuss because we came from different sects of Christianity and had varying amounts of knowledge about different world religions, as well as different experiences and impressions of other religions than Christianity.

And so it goes...

Book Review: Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman


Read for book club (7/2011). I enjoyed this novel and felt that I learned a bit as well. It was interesting to see how a tight-knit group of Orthodox Jews related to each other in this summer vacation setting. The question of allegiance to a particular rabbi and the struggle to remain a good and faithful woman to this group while yearning for a small gesture of independence and something to have as her own was really touching (a store). Despite having zero in common with Elizabeth Shulman, I could still identify with her and felt that I could understand her, which to me, shows that the author wrote quite well. There is also a bit of revelation to be had here about small-town life and how "summer people," no matter how good they are, will never be totally welcomed by the locals.

And so it goes...

Blog Awards

Here are a few awards this blog has received thanks to some kind folks!

Friends and Favorites Award

Friends and Favorites Award
given 05/20/2009 by SquirrelQueen (http://squirrelqueen2.blogspot.com/)

One Lovely Blog Award

One Lovely Blog Award
given on 07/23/2009 by Juanita (http://juanitaharris.blogspot.com/)