Joyride, by Susan Orlean. Simon & Schuster, 2025. 368 pages.
Acclaimed non-fiction writer Susan Orlean turns her keen eye and curiosity on her own life.
Please see “Reviews – Non-Fiction”
Month: October 2025
New Biography of an Exemplary and Eccentric Feminist
A new biography of an exemplary and eccentric feminist
Winning the Earthquake: How Jeanette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress, by Lorissa Rinehart. St. Martin’s Press, 2025. 342 pages.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance readers copy of this book.
Despite its rather obscure and long title, this biography of early 20th century feminist and crusader Jeanette Rankin is written with zest and evocative language, and only occasionally some melodrama.
Please see “Reviews – Non-Fiction
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An eloquent memoir by the first Asian-American Woman Rabbi
Heart of A Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging, by Angela Buchdahl. Pamela Dorman Books/Viking/Random House, 2025. 342 pages.
I learned a great deal from Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s eloquent memoir, which shares her experiences and insights as the first East Asian-American rabbi to be ordained in America. At the end of each chapter, she includes a “dvar,” (explication) of vital Jewish values, and in doing so shares the complexity of these ideas in clear and moving words and examples.
Please see “Reviews – Non-Fiction”