I read in clumps

What I mean is, I read broadly - many books circling a similar topic - some fiction, some non-fiction.  Some books are written about the past, the distant past, the present.

Case in point - I read The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon.  Although I am Jewish by descent, I missed many of the jokes.  They were based on an insider's knowledge of Yiddish and Jewish lore.  I am not far enough "inside" to understand many of them.

The next book was The Gilded Chamber.   This was a novelized biography of Queen Esther.  In the reign of Xerxes, she convinced the king to change his mind (to an extent) about exterminating the Jews in his realm.  I learned a LOT.

The next book after that was The Turquoise Ring.  This was the "backstory" to Shylock's character from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.  This book was interesting, although I've also read enough books about the Inquisition...  And since the main character seemed to be the ring itself, when it was no longer in someone's possession, that character fell by the wayside, rarely to be seen again or followed up on.

I am currently reading, and almost finished with Miriam's Kitchen.  Miriam is the kosher keeping mother in law of the author of this book.  The book is set up in chapters which follow the months of the year.  In each chapter are memories of surviving the Holocaust (from Miriam), holidays and the foods that go with them (and recipes!), and the author's step by step development from being secular and non-kosher to keeping as kosher as she can.

Since I have one more in this loosely based series, The Jew in the Lotus (the story of a Jewish contingent going to open a dialog with the Dalai Lama, and the story of Jews who practice Buddhism - JUBUs), it is next on my agenda.