I spent a lot of time reviewing offerings on the Bookshelf.  Alas, once again, I forgot to hit save when reminded and lost it all. This will be briefer but I hope just as inviting.

The Memoir: Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging
Oh, for the day when a female, East-Asian American Reform Jew will not be viewed as an unlikely candidate for the rabbinate. And by the way, Rabbi Buchdahl was ordained as a cantor two years before her rabbinic ordination. She is the first Asian-American female to have become a rabbi and a cantor and the first to lead a major American congregation (New York City’s Central Synagogue, membership 7,000.)

Buchdahl knew when she was eight years old that she wanted to be a rabbi. She led her younger sister in bedtime prayers each evening, a tradition they carry on today when they are together.  She recited the Kaddish over a dead bird her sister found in an alley and insisted on burying it properly. Some of Buchdahl’s fellow Jews did not make it easy. Born to a Korean Buddhist mother and a father who was an American Reform Jew, Buchdahl did not fit in any one box. This despite the fact that her father was a fourth-generation Reform Jew whose forefathers emigrated to Tacoma, Washington from Eastern Europe, founding the Jewish community in which Buchdahl was raised. Through it all, she held fast to her dream of becoming a rabbi. Thousands of Jews and I’d wager some non-Jews, too, are the beneficiaries.

So, the book. What makes it so rich is the way the author traces her own spiritual and religious path, and teaches us along the way. Each chapter closes with a teaching from the breadth of Jewish learning, tradition and prayer. I know, have studied with, and been led in prayer by many rabbis.  Rabbi Buchdahl’s memoir gives the reader a front row journey to her pulpit.  Let Rabbi Buchdahl’s Heart of a Stranger be the next book you read. You’ll offer up your own prayer of thanks that you did.

The Mystery: Louise Penny’s The Black Wolf
Louise Penny fans will not be disappointed by her latest novel.  The Black Wolf is riveting, dark, prescient and as terrific as any of her previous novels in the Inspector Gamache series.  Those of you unfamiliar with Penny, I envy you the hours of fabulous reading time awaiting you. The novels in the series go way beyond the whodunit, way beyond mystery. Rich in character development across the years, a setting that calls to the heart of every reader, gripping plot and terrific dialogue, Louise Penny does not dissapoint. Except of course if you’ve read every novel in the series and have to wait another year.

The Marvel: The Winter Bird, writtn by Kate Banks, illusrated by Suzie Mason.
Readers familar with the Bookshelf know that I adore children’s books and hold their authors and illsutrators in high esteem. During a recent photography trip to the Detroit Public Library I headed to the Children’s Section first. Kind of how some folks visit a museum’s gift shop before the galleries or eat dessert before the entree.

The Winter Bird is fun, sweet, and nourishing. A broken-winged nightingale cannot fly south for the winter. The animals of the forest help her survive, teaching her how to acclimate to the cold and where to find the best berries. Bunnies pull fur from their bodies to keep her warm. Come spring, the nightingale sings a song of gratitude for the new season and the friends who helped sustain her throughout the winter.