KOH BOOK CLUB - 2012

We have some great books for review this coming year, including two author appearances (Linda Frank and Michael David Lucas): *

After the Auction by Linda Frank - January 10th, 7 p.m. *
Fare Foreward by Wendy Dubow Polins - February 21st, 7 p.m.
The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman - March 20th, 7 p.m.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson - April 17th, 7 p.m.
The Oracle of Stanbul by Michael David Lucas - May 15th, 7 p.m. *
Sweet Like Sugar by Wayne Hoffman - June 12th, 7 p.m.
Stations West by Allison Amend - July 17th, 7 p.m.
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson - August 21st, 7 p.m.
Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein - October 16th, 7 p.m.
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman - November 13th, 7 p.m.

Newcomers always welcome to join us anytime!

DECEMBER CLOSURES

The KOH Library and Cultural Center will be closed December 25 through January 1.

Don't forget to make your reservations for the Bridge Players chamber music concert on January 8th! (916-485-4143).

A happy and healthy 2012 to everyone!

Fiction Book Club: Guest Author

The KOH Fiction Book Club News:

We are starting out our first book club meeting of 2012 with a special guest author, Linda Frank who will speak about her book, "After the Auction" .  

This book is about a woman who glimpses a family treasure looted by the Nazis at an art auction and her quest for justice and restitution spanning three continents. Books will be for sale and the public is welcome to attend. 

The special date for this meeting is Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 7 p.m. 

The KOH Library Fiction Book Club normally meets on the 3rd Tuesday evening of the month at 7 p.m.  We have men and women in the group and anyone is invited to join us at any time.

Save the Date: Sunday, January 8, 2012

Musical Program:  The Bridge Players

We are very excited to invite you all to attend the KOH Library and Cultural Center's first professional musical program on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 2 p.m.  

We are bringing in the professional chamber music group, The Bridge Players, who will perform the music of Mendelssohn.  In addition, we will hear a commentary about the life of Mendelssohn.  

The Bridge Players are Randall Weiss and Leslie Ludena (violins), Natalia Vershilova (viola), Victoria Ehrlich (cello).  The Players reside in the San Francisco Bay Area and regularly perform chamber music throughout Northern California. Since 2001, they have been ensemble-in-residence for Music in the Mishkan chamber music series at Congregation Sha’ar Zahav in San Francisco. 

Tickets cost $15 each and seating is limited.  Advanced reservations are suggested. (916-485-4143).

KOH DECEMBER EVENTS

We have two upcoming events in the KOH Library and Cultural Center this month that you won't want to miss!

On Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 2 p.m., we will be showing the film "Attention Aux Enfants!" . This is a documentary of the orphans and displaced children of the Shoah who were hidden in Montmorency (a suburb of Paris) during the Nazi occupation of France. For many years they refused to tell their stories of childhood, hidden from society, their separation from their families, and parents who were deported to death camps. The film has won several prizes and has been shown at film festivals in Paris, New York, and Atlanta. It is in French with English subtitles. We are privileged to have Margo Kaufman, who lived in two of these homes, and was responsible for translating this film into English. She will be leading a discussion and answering questions. Suggested donation of $5.00.

December 18th marks the first arts and crafts fair at KOH Library and Cultural Center. We will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The exhibitors will be featuring unique quality handmade crafts and fine arts, just in time for your holiday gift shopping. There will be something for everyone, including photo art, paintings, fused glass jewelry and art, tee shirts, and much more. Hot drinks and sweets for sale! This event is free to the public.

In addition to these events, we will have our monthly KOH Fiction Book Club meeting on December 13th. We will be choosing all of our books for 2012 at this meeting. We do know that to start 2012, our first book club meeting will be January 10, 2012 when we will welcome author, Linda Frank who will discuss her book "After the Auction" . This book is about a woman who glimpses a family treasure looted by the Nazis at an art auction and her quest for justice and restitution spanning three continents. Books will be for sale and the public is welcome to attend.

SAVE THE DATE!! - On Sunday, January 8, 2012, we are bringing the Bay Area Group "The Bridge Players" to perform music by Mendelssohn. In addition , this group of professional musicians will be presenting a commentary on Mendelssohn's life. Seating is limited and the cost is $15.00 per person. Advanced reservations are suggested.

I wish you all a very happy Hannukah and a happy, healthy 2012!

New Arrivals December 2011

The Shovel and the Loom, A Novel
by Carl Friedman

The Devil Himself, A Novel
by Eric Dezenhall

The Listener, A Novel
by Shira Nayman

Sharon - The Life of a Leader
by his son, Gilad Sharon

My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner,
A Family Memoir
by Meir Shalev

Ben Gurion - A Political Life
by Shimon Peres in Conversation with David Landau

Jerusalem, the Biography
by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Fare Forward, A Novel
by Wendy Dubow Polins

Love and Shame and Love, A Novel
by Peter Orner

And three titles by acclaimed author, Ursula Hegi:
   Stones From the River, A Novel
   Floating in My Mother's Palm, A Novel
   The Vision of Emma Blau, A Novel

NOVEMBER EVENTS

KOH Film Club - November 13, 2011 at 2 p.m. We will be presenting the comedy "Keeping Up With The Steins". This film is recommended for ages 12 and up. Suggested donation of $5.

All hilarity breaks loose in this heartwarming coming-of-age comedy when three generations collide in a crazy family reunion . . . and then begin to see that they are much more alike than they'd originally thought! Providing nonstop laughs In the tradition of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS stars Jeremy Piven (TV’s ENTOURAGE), Jami Gertz (ALLY MCBEAL), Daryl Hannah (KILL BILL) and Garry Marshall (A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN). Also starring Doris Roberts (TV's EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND), Cheryl Hines (TV's CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM), and Larry Miller (THE PRINCESS DIARIES).

KOH Fiction Book Club - November 15th at 7 p.m. Valla Hoffman will be leading a discussion of the book "Siegfried Follies" by Richard Alther:

SIEGFRIED FOLLIES is the 30-year story of an unlikely pairing of two orphan boys, a German and a Jew, who together survive the loss of family, witness atrocities, and struggle for identity as adults. Blond, blue-eyed Franz, a Hitler youth, in fleeing his Nazi home as bombs destroy Munich, saves a filthy, speechless boy thrown from a train. At first squatting in an opera house cellar, they soon make a proper home for themselves. Despite Franz pursuing the American dream while J ventures from an Israeli kibbutz to New York City as a Hebrew storyteller and puppeteer, they forge a remarkable brotherhood. Both defying and affirming their past, their story is also of bonds broken, the worst kind of betrayal, tragedy, forgiveness, and redemption.

KOH Art Gallery - Don't forget to come and check out Roni Galon's art exhibit before it leaves at the end of November.

SAVE THE DATE: December 18th - KOH Arts and Crafts Faire! Perfect for Hannukah/holiday gifts. Featuring the art of Jewish artists in a variety of mediums. From 10 .m. - 5 p.m. More details to follow.

KOH NOVEMBER CLOSURES

The KOH Library will closed on the following dates in November:

November 11 - Veterans Day

November 24 - 25 - Thanksgiving break

KOH NEW ARRIVALS - NOVEMBER

Come and check out/reserve our great collection of new books!

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

Next to Love by Ellen Feldman

Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi

The List by Martin Fletcher

By Fire Possessed: Dona Gracia Nasi by Sandra Toro

The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

Stations West by Allison Amend

The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg

Emma Goldman: Revolution as a Way of Life by Vivian Gornick

Sweet Like Sugar by Wayne Hoffman

The Little Bride by Anna Solomon

Jerusalem Maiden by Talia Garner

When We Danced on Water by Even Fallenberg

The Things We Cherished by Pam Jenoff

Girl Unwrapped by Gabriella Goliger

Black Elephants: a memoir by Karol Nielsen

In the Knight's Arms by Sonia Taitz

The Torah Codes by Ezra Barany

KOH BOOK CLUB - NOVEMBER

KOH Fiction Book Club - November 15th at 7 p.m. Valla Hoffman will be leading a discussion of the book "Siegfried Follies" by Richard Alther:

SIEGFRIED FOLLIES is the 30-year story of an unlikely pairing of two orphan boys, a German and a Jew, who together survive the loss of family, witness atrocities, and struggle for identity as adults. Blond, blue-eyed Franz, a Hitler youth, in fleeing his Nazi home as bombs destroy Munich, saves a filthy, speechless boy thrown from a train. At first squatting in an opera house cellar, they soon make a proper home for themselves. Despite Franz pursuing the American dream while J ventures from an Israeli kibbutz to New York City as a Hebrew storyteller and puppeteer, they forge a remarkable brotherhood. Both defying and affirming their past, their story is also of bonds broken, the worst kind of betrayal, tragedy, forgiveness, and redemption.

Newcomers always welcome!

New Arrivals - October

Come and check out the following new arrivals:

BOOKS:

Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World by James Caroll

The Arab Lobby: The Invisible Alliance That Undermines America's Interests in the Middle East by Mitchell Bard

The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel, and the Ordeals of Divine Election by Todd Gitlin and Liel Leibovitz

The Lampshade by Mark Jacobson

Far From Zion: In Search of a Global Jewish Community by Charles London

Remembering Survival: Inside a Nazi Slave-Labor Camp by Christopher Browning

The Arrogant Years: One Girl's Search for her Lost Youth, from Cairo to Brooklyn by Lucette Lagnado

Jews and the Civil War - a Reader by Jonathan Sarna and Adam Mendelsohn

DVD:

Left Luggage

KOH FICTION BOOK CLUB - OCTOBER

Please join us on October 18th at 7 p.m. for our October book club meeting. Ben Glovinsky will be reviewing the book, "Friendly Fire: A Duet" by A.B. Yehoshua:

The wryly funny and morally inquisitive Israeli writer Yehoshua considers the implications of “friendly fire,” a fraught expression if ever there was one, in this many-tiered novel of a long-married couple separated during Hanukkah. The holiday candle flames are friendly, bringing loved ones together. But Israelis often celebrate Hanukkah in the midst of violence, and war has shadowed the otherwise colorful family of Daniela and Ya’ari. Daniela, a pixieish high-school English teacher, has gone to Tanzania to stay with her brother-in-law after the sudden death of her sister. Her husband is soon overwhelmed by the demands of his children, grandchildren, Parkinson’s-afflicted father, the family elevator-design business, and two baffling cases of wailing elevators. Deeply moved by Africa, Daniela is dismayed to discover that her brother-in-law is grieving not for her sister but for his son, killed years ago by so-called friendly fire. As in each of his wisely tragicomic novels, Yehoshua orchestrates nearly absurd predicaments that serve as conduits to Israel’s confounding conflicts, which so intensely and sorrowfully encapsulate our endless struggle for peace and belonging.

Newcomers always welcome!

October Events

Mark your calendars for a wide array of events at the KOH Library and Cultural Center:

Sunday, October 9th at 2PM: 
Every Survivor Has a Story to Tell, The Story of Frank Rothman
Frank Rothman and documentary producer, Ada Chochavi Ross appearing together to present Mr. Rothman's documentary film.

Sunday, October 9th at 7PM 
Jews in the Civil War.  
The Martin London Lifelong Learning Lecture Series proudly presents Professor Adam Mendelsohn speaking on his book, Jews and the Civil War.

Sunday, October 16th  2 - 4 PM 
Left Luggage, A film starring Isabella Rossellini, Maximillian Schell, Chaim Topol set in Belgium in the early 70's - a secular Jewish college student takes a job as a nanny with a Hassidic family and, through her love of the youngest child, finds respect and acceptance of a culture steeped in traditions - and finds truly important values in life.  A touching must-see film.

Sunday, October 30th   9:30- 3:00 PM     2011 USED BOOK SALE
Monday, October 31th  9:30- 3:00  PM    2011 USED BOOK SALE
To preview some of the sale selections, visit: kohusedbooks.gameserve.com or come into KOH to browse(and buy) anytime during Library hours.
 

Shana Tova!

In observance of the High Holidays, we will be closed:
September 29 and 30     Rosh Hashana
October     13 and 14     Sukkoth
October     20 and 21     Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year from the KOH family to yours.

KOH September Closures

The KOH Library will be closed on the following days this month (September, 2011):

September 6th - Labor Day
September 29 & 30 - Rosh Hashannah

KOH ART PROGRAM/ RECEPTION

On Sunday, September 25, 2011 painter and hypnotherapist Roni Golan will open an exhibit in the KOH Library and Cultural Center as a part of the ongoing KOH Jewish Artist Series. The reception and program are scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM. Roni will be speaking on art, creativity and hypnosis and will be available to answer questions about his extraordinary art. His work is well known for its originality and creativity, bringing a fresh perspective into the contemporary art scene. Roni describes his paintings as both intentional and spontaneous; taking the viewer’s eye into shapes, patterns and colors that produce visual pleasure at first glance. Then, in the process of translating the elements in his art into the real world, one can discover the joy of ambiguity. The use of lines in his art is intended to serve as guides, leading the viewer’s unconsciousness towards a new experience and to convey the beauty awaiting us when our vision moves past both real and imagined demarcations. In his program Roni will explore the self-invented obstacles in our lives that prevent us from becoming more creative and how hypnosis and laughter can help us to move beyond those obstacles.

This event is open to everyone and there is no fee to attend. Roni's art will remain on exhibit in the KOH Library during regular library hours and by appointment through December 2, 2011.

KOH NEW ARRIVALS!

Books:

This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman
Maimonides as a Biblical Interpretor (Emunot: Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah) by Sara Klein-Braslavy
Strictly Kosher: Popular Literature and the Condition of Contemporary Orthodoxy (Jewish Identity in Post Modern Society) by Yoel Finkelman

DVD's:

Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Keeping Up With the Steins

Donated by the Sacramento Jewish Federation:

Genocide
Eagles Over Auschwitz "The Triumph of the Return"
Liberation
The Road to Jenin
One Survivor Remembers
Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century
Beautiful Music

KOH ONLINE CATALOG LINK

Please check out our online catalog by clicking the link below. You do not have to log in to search the catalog. Log in passwords have to be issued when you visit the KOH Library or call Jolie for more information.


http://koh.mysurpass.net

KOH Patron

Lloyd Shaffer hard at work in the KOH Library. When taking a break from his work, Lloyd entertains the staff with his wonderful magic tricks!

VOLUNTEERS!

Here are just a few of our amazing volunteers:

from left to right: Gay Tanner, Andrea Paval (our newest volunteer), Ruth O'Rivia (queen of the used book room)

JEWS IN CHINA PANELISTS

Back Row (left to right): Inna Mink, Linda Frank
Front Row (left to right): Gertrude and Rabbi Ted Alexander

All of us who filled the KOH Library to hear these delightful and informative panelists, enjoyed hearing their stories and the history of Jews who lived for several years in China. We heard how they happened to end up in China, what their lives were like before and after that experience, and what they are doing today. Very inspiring!

May thanks to Frank and Janie Gumpert for hosting a wonderful lunch for our panelists before our event.

KOH Library Catalog Now Online!

I am pleased to announce that the KOH Library catalog is now accessible online. You can view our collection and see if the book/CD you want to check out is in the library or checked out. You do not need to log in to browse the catalog. Enjoy!

Feedback is always welcome!

http://koh.mysurpass.net

KOH BOOK CLUB - AUGUST

Our book club meeting this month will be on August 23, 2011 at 7 p.m. Soni Meyer will be our discussion leader and will be reviewing the book, "Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky.

Newcomers are always welcome!

KOH NEW BOOK ARRIVALS!

Come and check out our new books:

1. When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: a memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin
2. Odessa: Genius and death in a city of dreams by Charles King
3. Frumkiss Family Business by Michael Wex
4. The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah
5. The Blue Mountain by Meir Shalev
6. Seven Blessings by Ruchama King
7. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer

John Rothmann Lecture

What an inspiring, knowledgeable, charismatic, entertaining speaker! The KOH Library was filled to capacity. Mr. Rothmann was very impressed with our library collection, which was great to hear. A well deserved standing ovation followed his lecture.

SPECIAL ARTIST LECTURE AND EXHIBIT

Please be sure to join us for a special evening to hear Anicca Bat Adam, an esoteric, contemporary, spiritual artist. Anicca will give a lecture about her art, play some music, introduce her art exhibit, and answer questions. Light refreshments will be provided.

DATE: August 21, 2011
TIME: 7 p.m.
PLACE: KOH Library and Cultural Center

For more information about this exciting lecture, reception, and exhibit, please contact Mehrnaz Halimi at KOHartsprogram@gmail.com or 916-508-4571.

Anicca's exhibit will be on display in the KOH Library through September 22, 2011.

JEWS FROM CHINA PROGRAM!

"Jews From China: Personal Stories and Reminiscences"

A panel presentation featuring representatives of the Sephardic, Russian, and Holocaust refugee communities that lived in Shanghai and other Chinese cities before and during World War II.

DATE: August 14, 2011
TIME: 1:30 p.m.
PLACE: KOH Library and Cultural Center
COST: $5 suggested donation

Panelists:

Rabbi Ted Alexander, who descends from a long line of German rabbis, emigrated with his parents in 1939 to Shanghai, where he was ordained in 1946. He is rabbi emeritus of Congregation B'nai Emunah in San Francisco and a beloved teacher and spiritual leader in the Bay Area. In Shanghai he met and married Gertrude, a Vienna native who had first escaped to England on the kindertransport before joining her parents in China. Rabbi Ted and their daughter comprised the first US father-daughter rabbinate team.

Inna Mink was born in Harbin but moved to Shanghai with her Russian-Jewish parents when she was two years old. She came to the United States after World War II after marrying in Shanghai. Inna worked as the West Coast representative for a nationwide sportswear company while raising a family in the Bay Area. She appeared in "Exit Shanghai," a documentary directed by German film maker, Ulrike Ottinger, that traces the stories of Shanghai Jews through interviews, historic footage, and photos.

Matook Nissim, a retired banker, comes from a prominent Sephardic clan with Baghdadi roots that settled in Shanghai via India two generations before his birth. As British citizens, he and his family were interned in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. After the war, he worked in his family's business and served as an officer of the Jewish community before emigrating from China--first to Hong Kong. He settled in the US in 1952 after participating in the "Magic Carpet" operation that airlifted Yemenite Jews to Israel.

Linda Frank, panel moderator, chaired "Jews in Modern China," a 2010 exhibit at the Presidio of San Francisco, through her role as a board member of the American Jewish Committee San Francisco Region. Recently retired from a financial services career, Linda has published her first novel, After the Auction, about a woman pursuing a Seder plate looted from her family by the Nazis. She is working on her second novel, set mainly in China, and on a nonfiction work involving China, women, and Jews.

For more information, please contact Taliah Berger at (916) 541-3720

AMAZING BOOK COLLECTION DONATED TO KOH LIBRARY!

Pictured (left to right): Taliah Berger, Jolie Baron, Allison Coudert (Dr. Weiner's widow), Daniel Khazzoom

We are pleased to have been chosen to house the collection of 2,000 books that belonged to the late Dr. Gordon Weiner, retired director of Jewish studies at Arizona State University. We now have a premiere Jewish library equipped with books on every aspect of Jewish studies for anyone wanting to do research on any area of Jewish studies for school or pleasure. Come in and learn about the history of Jews in most countries around the world, the history (past and present) of anti-semitism, and read commentaries on all religious texts....just to name a few possibilities. Look for an upcoming article in the September Jewish Voice to read more about Dr. Weiner and our special collection.

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER!!

You will want to make sure to mark your calendars now for Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 2 p.m. when the KOH Library and Cultural Center proudly welcomes Mr. John Rothmann. Mr. Rothmann is an author, lecturer, teacher, activist, political consultant, and radio talk show host on KGO Newstalk 810 AM in San Francisco.

The title of his lecture will be" The Middle East at a Crossroad: What Next?"

Questions or to R.S.V.P. (suggested, but not required), please contact Taliah Berger at 916-541-3720.

Suggested donation - $10

KOH Film Club/Hadassah Event 7-10-11

We had a very successful Hadassah/KOH film and speaker event today. We watched the very moving documentary, "The Children's Odyssey" , heard a lecture by an inspiring Joe Rosenbaum, and raised over $350 for Hadassah's Youth Alliyah Program.

Pictured (left to right) : Marlo Dewing (co-president of Sacramento Hadassah), Joe Rosenbaum, Rina Rosenbaum, Jolie Baron

KOH Library Volunteer Lunch

Check out our amazing, awesome, incredible library volunteers at our annual thank you lunch.

Front Row (left to right): Jasmina Girigan, Bob Zeff, Dwight Freund, Daniel Khazzoom, Mehrnaz Halimi
Back Row (left to right): Lloyd Rich, Sharyn Rich, Jolie Baron, JoAnn Freund, Leah Ezray
Not Pictured: Taliah Berger, Gay Tanner, Ruth O'Riva

KOH NEW ARRIVALS - JULY

Come and check out the latest new books available now for your reading pleasure: **


In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America by Albert Brooks

The Wizard of Lies by Diana Henriques

The White Space Between by Ami Sands Brodoff

Home in the Morning by Mary Glickman

Heart of the City: Nine Stories of Love and Serendipity on the Streets of New York by Ariel Sabar


**Remember, no matter how hot the weather is outside, the KOH Library is always a cool place to be:-)

KOH BOOK CLUB - JULY

The July KOH Book Club meeting will be held Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 7 p.m. Leslie Cohen will be leading our discussion of the book , "The Frozen Rabbi", by Steve Stern.

Stern’s uproarious and trouncing romp through the anguish and ironies of the Jewish diaspora matches mysticism with mayhem, beatitude with organized crime, creativity with crassness. The madcap, at times, surreal action revolves around Rabbi Eliezer ben Zephyr, whose out-of-body journeys to the realm of the divine result in his being frozen in a block of ice in the Jewish Pale in 1889, a frigid relic that becomes one family’s problematic inheritance.

Newcomers always welcome!

SPECIAL FILM AND SPEAKER

Please join us on Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 2 p.m. as we welcome Joe Rosenbaum to the KOH Library and Cultural Center. We will show Mr. Rosenbaum's film, "The Children's Odyssey".

This seldom told true story tells of Mr. Rosenbaum's Holocaust experience and the compelling story of a group of Polish Jewish children, mainly orphans, who are now known as the "Children of Tehran".

Mr Rosenbaum will speak after the film.

$5 suggested donation which includes light refreshments.

This program is co-sponsored by the Sacramento Chapter of Hadassah.

Back From Montreal

Gay, Taliah, Mehrnaz, and myself returned last evening from the Association of Jewish Libraries annual convention in Montreal. We enjoyed our stay in the beautiful city of Montreal, attended many useful workshops, visited the rare books library (one of 13 libraries) at the amazing McGill University, visited the Jewish Library of Montreal which was very impressive, and met some wonderful librarians from all over the world. As Mehrnaz says, "We are now part of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Librarians!"

Calling All Chess Players!

Come and play chess with your friends or meet new friends to play with! Bring your own set or use one of ours (we have 2). The library will be open on Sunday, June 26th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Of course, you may also come in and use the computer, check out a book and/or DVD or just say hello:-)

KOH Closures - June

The KOH Library and Cultural Center will be closed on June 8 and 9 in observance of Shavuot. We will be open on Friday, June 10th from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

We will also be closed on Monday, June 20th as we will be attending the Association of Jewish Libraries annual convention in Montreal. We will resume regular hours on June 23rd.

KOH Fiction Book Club - June - Date Change!

This month we will be meeting on Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 7 p.m. Harlan Goodson will be our discussion leader and will be reviewing the book, "Peep Show" by Joshua Braff. There are still a few copies of the book left for sale in the library for $12.00. See book review below:

In 1975, 16-year-old David Arbus, a photography buff about to graduate from high school, is fed up with attempting to straddle the chasm that separates his divorced parents' radically different worlds. His mother, a recent convert to a Hasidic sect, insists that David follow suit, while his father, who owns and operates a Times Square burlesque house, encourages his son to join him in the family business. Most 16-year-old boys would find this choice an easy one to make, and so does David, but he fails to foresee both the agony of separation from his mother and younger sister and the shocking similarity he will find in the two worlds. His father—drawing a rigid moral line between striptease and stripper and refusing to add a new revenue stream by installing peep shows in the lobby—turns out to be every bit as much a purist as his mother. Meanwhile, as David sits in the male-only room at a Hasidic gathering and peeks through the curtain separating men from women, he realizes that peep shows come in more than one variety. Braff makes the most of the comic potential inherent in his outlandish premise, but he sees well beyond the laughs. This is a powerful, sensitively told coming-of-age story about the ways in which rigid worldviews extract their pounds of flesh from us all, especially the young.

AJL Convention

The KOH Library and Cultural will be well represented this year at the annual Association of Jewish Libraries annual convention. This year the convention will be held in Montreal,Canada. Jolie Baron, Taliah Berger, Mehrnaz Halimi, Hy Kashenberg, and Gay Tanner will be attending. The convention is June 19-22nd.

The KOH Library will be closed on June 20th and will reopen on June 23rd.

New Arrivals - June!

Books:

The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies

Jewcentricity by Adam Garfinkle

Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV by Ben Shapiro

A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism by Daniel Byman

The End of the Holocaust by Alvin Rosenfeld

Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza by Adina Hoffman

The Eichmann Trial (Jewish Encounters) by Deborah Lipstadt

DVD's:

Newland
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story
The Flying Camel

NCJW Mah Jongg Fundraiser

We all had a great time at the May 12th NCJW Mah Jongg Fundraiser Event held in the KOH Library and Cultural Center.

Up Coming Events in May

Please join us at any or all of the upcoming events at KOH Lirary and Cultural Center

Thursday, May 12 6:30 - 9:30

Come play MAHJONG with National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)

Join the fun, enjoy desserts, and play Manj with friends, new and old

RSVP: jb6197@aol.com


Sunday, May 15 7 PM

KOH Film Club presents "LEMON TREE", an award winning Israeli film abount an Israeli woman, an Arab woman, the man in-between, over the background of Israel's unique political scenery.

Hillel Damron, founder of a local Jewish blog, www.good4jews.com will lead a discussion following the screening of the film.

Refreshments will be served.


Tuesday, May 17 7 PM

Monthly meeting of the KOH Book Club. New members are always welcome.
This month Ruth Baron will lead a discussion of Anita Diamant's novel, Day After Night, a dramatic story of survivors and renewal at Atlit, the British-run internment camp in Palestine following World War II.
(See earlier post, below for more information.)


Reminder:

Monday, May 30
Library Closed for Memorial Day

Online References at KOH

Please avail yourselves of the following online reference materials installed on the computers in the KOH Library.

Encyclopedoa of Religion and Ethics
JPS Digital Torah Library
Judaic Scholar Digital Reference Library
The Jewish Encyclopedia
Rabbinic Bookshelf
S.R. Driver-U: Cassuto Collection
The International Critical Commentary of the Holy Scriptures: Tanakh

We are in the process of installing Webster's Online Dictionary

In addition, we have a Hebrew keyboard program (Dagesh) available - ask the Librarian for assistance next time you visit.

May New Arrivals

Books:

Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland
by Jan Gross

The Perfect Nazi; Uncovering my Grandfather's Secret Past
by Martin Davidson


For the Soul of France; Culture Wars in the Age of Dreyfus
by Frederick Brown

A Jewish Feminine Mystique?
Edited by Hasia Dinar, Shira Kohn, and Rachel Kranson

Why Mahler? How One Man and Ten Symphanies Changed Our World
by Norman Lebrecht

Operation Exodus: From the Nazi Death Camps to the Promised Land: A Perilous Journey That Shaped Israel's Fate
by Gordon Thomas

Confronting Scandal - How Jews Can Respond When Jews Do Bad Things
by Dr. Erica Brown

Vision and Valor - An Illustrated History of the Talmud
by Rabbi Berel Wein

We are Coming Unafraid: The Jewish Legions and the Promised Land in the First World War
by Michael Keren and Shulomit Keren

The Sabbath Word: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time
by Judith Shulevititz

DVDs:

The Flying Camel
Partisans of Vilna
Newland
Decoding the Past: Secrets of Kabbalah

May Book Club Meeting

Please join us on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 7 p.m. as Ruth Baron leads us in a discussion of this month's book, "Day After Night" by Anita Diamant.

Diamant's bestseller, The Red Tent, explored the lives of biblical women ignored by the male-centric narrative. In her compulsively readable latest, she sketches the intertwined fates of several young women refugees at Atlit, a British-run internment camp set up in Palestine after WWII. There's Tedi, a Dutch girl who hid in a barn for years before being turned in and narrowly escaping Bergen-Belsen; Leonie, a beautiful French girl whose wartime years in Paris are cloaked with shame; Shayndel, a heroine of the Polish partisan movement whose cheerful facade hides a tortured soul; and Zorah, a concentration camp survivor who is filled with an understandable nihilism. The dynamic of suffering and renewed hope through friendship is the book's primary draw, but an eventual escape attempt adds a dash of suspense to the astutely imagined story of life at the camp: the wary relationship between the Palestinian Jews and the survivors, the intense flirtation between the young people that marks a return to life. Diamant opens a window into a time of sadness, confusion and optimism that has resonance for so much that's both triumphant and troubling in modern Jewish history.

Surprising Library Patron

We enjoyed coming to the library last Thursday morning to find this little guy waiting to come in!

April New Arrivals

BOOKS:

A Promise at Sobibor-A Jewish Boy's Story of Revolt and Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland by Philip Bialowitz

The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, edited by John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow

Hope Will Find You: My Search for the Wisdom to Stop Waiting and Start Living by Naomi Levy

Hush: a novel by Eishes Chayil

The Instructions: a novel by Adam Levin


DVD'S:

A Film Unfinished

Rape of Europa

Bob Alper: Rabbi/Stand-Up Comic

Guaranteed Funny: 101 Totally Clean Jokes by Bob Alper

KOH April Closures

The KOH Library and Cultural Center will be closed April 17th through April 25th for Pesach. Regular library hours will resume April 28th.

There will be no book club or film club meetings during April. Our next book club meeting will be May 17th. The next film club will be May 21st at 8 p.m. Details in the May blog post.

Be sure to come and check out your books and DVD's before April 15th!

MORE NEW ARRIVALS!

Come and check out our most recent acquisitions available for checkout:

Twentieth Century Jews: Forging Identity in the Land of Promise and in the Promised Land by Monty Noam Penkower

An Italian Renaissance: Choosing Life in Canada

The Morning Star: A Novel by Andre Schwarze-Bart

The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Jonathan Schneer

I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections by Nora Ephron

A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness--and a Trove of Letters--Revealed the Hidden History
of the Great Depression by Ted Gup

The Alhambra Decree by David Raphael

The Cavalier of Malaga by David Raphael

The Infidel: DVD
A Cantor's Tale: DVD

JEWS OF INDIA LECTURE

Please join us as we welcome Professor Mitchell Numark, PhD. who will speak about the ancient legacy and history of India's Jewish communities . Following his lecture, you will have an opportunity to ask questions of this Fulbright scholar with a doctorate in History.

Date: Thursday, March 31, 2011
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: KOH Library and Cultural Center
Fee: NONE

Philip Bialowitz Lecture

Mr. Bialowitz is one of the 8 living survivors of the infamous Nazi death camp, Sobibor, and among those who carried out what is considered the largest and most successful prisoner revolt of World War II. He has written a book called "A Promise At Sobibor: A Jewish Boy's Story of Revolt and Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland".

Date: Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Kashenberg - Ostrow- Hayward Library and Cultural Center
Fee: NONE

For more information, please contact Andy Baron: ABaron9936@aol.com

KOH Special Guest Lecturer

Please join us on Thursday, March 31st at 7 p.m. as we welcome Dr. Mitchell Numark who will speak on "The Jews of India".

Professor Numark will speak about the ancient legacy and history of India's Jewish communities followed by an opportunity to ask questions of this Fulbright scholar with a doctorate in History.

KOH Fiction Book Club - March

Please join us for our March book club meeting on March 15, 2011 at 7 p.m. Carole Crowe will lead us in a discussion of the book "Sarah/Sara" by Jacob Paul:

An engrossing meditation on the meaning of faith, Sarah/Sara is the story of a young Orthodox Jewish woman who undertakes a solo kayaking journey across the Arctic Ocean after her parents are killed and she is disfigured by a terrorist bomb in a Jerusalem café. Haunted by her parents' death, and in particular by memories of her father, a 9/11 survivor whose dream was to kayak through the Arctic, Sarah embarks on her expedition unprepared for the strenuous physical and emotional trial that lies ahead. What begins as a series of diary entries on her struggle with faith ends in a fight for survival, as Sarah slowly comes to realize that she is lost in the Arctic wilderness with the ice closing in around her.

KOH Library New Arrivals

New Books (available for checkout) received in February.

Memories of Eden; A Journey Through Jewish Baghdad - by Violette Shamash

Jewish Carpets - by Anton Felton

Esther's Children; A Portrait of Iranian Jews - edited by Houman Sarshar

The Torah; A Women's Commentary - edited by Eskenazi and Weiss

The Women's Torah Commentary;
New Insights From Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions -
edited by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein

Upcoming Lecture/Reception/Exhibit

KOH Library and Cultural Center proudly welcomes honored guest Mansour Yaghoubian who will present a program about "Jewish Artisans and The Story of Persian Carpets". Be sure to mark your calendars as you will not want to miss this informative lecture and beautiful exhibit. Details below:

DATE: Wednesday, March 2, 2011
TIME: 7 p.m.
PLACE: KOH Library and Cultural Center

For more information, please contact Mehrnaz Halimi at KOHartsprogram@gmail.com

Barbara Mendes Lecture

Please join the Jesse Yoshpe Hadassah Sh'arim Study Group, in the KOH Library and Cultural Center, for an exciting opportunity to hear dynamic artist and speaker Barbara Mendes. Barbara Mendes will speak about Dona Garcia Mendes, her family ties to this Jewish heroine, history, and art.

Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Time: Program begins at 10 a.m. (come earlier to enjoy Barbara Mendes' art exhibit)

FINAL FOUR CHESS MATCH!

Come cheer for your favorite chess players! The final four chess match will be Sunday, February 20, 2011 at 10 a.m. in the KOH Library and Cultural Center. The two winners will then face off in the final chess match on March 6, 2011 at 10 a.m. in the library.

KOH Book Club - February, 2011

Come and join the KOH Book Club on February 15th at 7 p.m. Devi Eden will lead us in a discussion of the book, "City of Thieves" by David Benioff:

This hard-to-put-down novel is based on Benioff's grandfather's stories about surviving WWII in Russia. Having elected to stay in Leningrad during the siege, 17-year-old Lev Beniov is caught looting a German paratrooper's corpse. The penalty for this infraction (and many others) is execution. But when Colonel Grechko confronts Lev and Kolya, a Russian army deserter also facing execution, he spares them on the condition that they acquire a dozen eggs for the colonel's daughter's wedding cake. Their mission exposes them to the most ghoulish acts of the starved populace and takes them behind enemy lines to the Russian countryside. There, Lev and Kolya take on an even more daring objective: to kill the commander of the local occupying German forces. A wry and sympathetic observer of the devastation around him, Lev is an engaging and self-deprecating narrator who finds unexpected reserves of courage at the crucial moment and forms an unlikely friendship with Kolya, a flamboyant ladies' man who is coolly reckless in the face of danger. Benioff blends tense adventure, a bittersweet coming-of-age and an oddly touching buddy narrative to craft a smart crowd-pleaser.

New Arrivals - February, 2011

Come and check out our newest books:

Dreyfus: Politics, Emotion, and the Scandal of the Century by Ruth Harris

Walking Israel: A Personal Search for the Soul of a Nation by Martin Fletcher

Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis by Kai Bird

Rich Boy by Sharon Pomerantz

KOH Fiction Book Club - January Meeting

The next book club meeting will be Tuesday, January 18,
2011 at 7 p.m. Simone Clay will be leading the discussion
on the book, " The Fruit of Her Hands" by Michelle Cameron.
I do have a copy available in the library for checkout.
I will have the library open today (Sunday) from
10 a.m. - noon and Monday, Thursday, and Friday from
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the 18th!

Jolie

K-O-H Library New Arrivals

New books (available for checkout) for January:

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
Peep Show by Joshua Braff
Siegfried Follies by Richard Alther
The Escape by Adam Thirlwell
My Race: A Jewish Girl Growing Up Under Apartheid in South Africa by Lorraine Abramson
Helluva Town: The Story of New York City During World War II by Richard Goldstein
The Marriage Artist by Andrew Winer
Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons
Kosher Nation: Why More and More of America's Food Answers to a Higher Authority by Sue Fishkoff
A Hidden Affair by Pam Jenoff
Blows to the Head: How Boxing Changed My Mind by Binnie Klein
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss by Edmund De Waal