In the past weeks, Booknik worked as a loading workman, stocked his library, evaded hospitable citizens of Soodoma, leafed through old newspapers, and tasted the fruit of passion. Meanwhile, Booknik Jr. moved his flippers, and exchanged trucks for babies.
Books of Jewish Studies at the International Moscow Book Fair, 2012
Booknik’s staff philologist and literary critic David Gart tells about new releases that every Booknik reader should have on his or her shelves. One is The Metamorphoses of Love and Death in Talmudic Texts, written by our contributor Reuven Kipervasser. In fact, it is the metamorphosis of the Booknik column Exempla Rabbinica.
…and many other masterful must-reads in the Books & Reviews section.
Booknik’s reporter Andrey Krasnyashchikh interviews the poet Ilya Rissenberg who has recently won The Russian Prize. They speak about the vicissitudes of life, and the strangeness of love.
I’d Like to Be a Loading Worker. An Interview with Mark Freydkin
The poet, prose writer, literary translator, book publisher, and songwriter Mark Freydkin told our reporter about his love to menial jobs and Soviet songs, as well as his dislike for Woody Allen and journalism.
…and many other interesting interviews in the Articles & Interviews section.
Nephew, Invite Your Aunt to Visit! The Editors’ Blog
Booknik’s editors have decided to share their weekly impressions with our readers. Last week, they consumed some kosher blood, avoided the hospitable town of Soodoma, talked about Pussy Riot with an old lady from Frankfurt, and recited some Sergey Yesenin’s poetry in Jean Jacques at Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow.
…and many other zany zests in the Events & Reports section.
Booknik is proud to present the new column on old news. We are going to speak about old newspapers, and some of them would be really ancient, published 100-150 years ago, in Hebrew. Here, we are going to publish Russian translations of the most interesting, always fresh and topical stories, that seem to us touching and nostalgic. You will see what happened this week a long time ago. This post will be delivered to you by our Jerusalem mailman Nekod Singer.
Passionflower, a Flower of Passion—or Peace?
Booknik’s culinary guru Keren Pevzner suggests we all should use the fruit of passion in our kitchens.
This year, one could have safely presumed that La Mostra was the religious festival. It was enough to look at its winners. A film with a lamentation of Christ on its poster; a film called Paradies: Glaube; a film about something like scientology; finally, a film about Haredim. It is worth hearing that is believing in this case, if the person who saw all this is Booknik’s film critic Xenya Rozhdestvenskaya.
…and many other noteworthy notes in the Columns & Columns section.
The Interrogator, by Margaret Hemlin. An Excerpt
The Astrel Publishers are putting out the new novel by Margaret Hemlin, The Interrogator, that is a crime thriller set in the post-war years. The plot revolves around the murder of a woman named Lilia Vorobeytchik. The narrator of the novel says, “The lives of the people I have met in my trade happen to be ruined.”
…and many other remarkable reads in the Stories & Essays section.
With Your Head, and Not Your Tail
Rosh Hashanah is approaching, the Jewish Ney Year, that literally means "head of the year" in Hebrew. This is why we have compiled our New Year quiz on various heads.
…and many other heady hearsays in the Contests & Quizzes section.
We are happy to start webcasting the episodes of the Faces series that were parts of the Culture Park program of the YES RADUGA channel of the Israeli satellite television. We are grateful to Olya Preminger, the creator and director of those films, and to the channel itself, for the kindly provided the material. The first episode was shot in Meir Shalev’s country house in the village of Waldheim, now Alonei Abba, the colony founded in 1907 by German Christians affiliated with the Prussian evangelical church, in the green hills of Lower Galilee. The author talks about his grandparents, the first settlers, King David, Hebrew, wildflowers, and tolerance to idiots.
…and many other vicarious videos in the Video Blog section.
The animation film Sammy's avonturen 2, the sequel to Sammy's avonturen: De geheime doorgang, typically renamed by Russian distributors Move Your Flippers 2 in their usual idiotic manner to rename everything they see, opens right at the beginning of this school year. It is numbered two either because it is a sequel or because now there are twice as many creatures that, well, move their flippers. Not only adult turtles now travel underwater but their grandchildren as well.
Murmel Yourself!
The main characters in the books written by the famous Canadian storyteller Robert Munsch are usually a very intelligent little girl or a very intelligent little boy. They manage to preserve their common sense in the most unusual circumstance, and overcome the absurdities of the adult world around them.
…and many other intelligent intelligibilities at Booknik Jr., also known as Family Booknik, our own web site for kids and their parents.
And stop calling me pastries. Booknik and Family Booknik are supported by the AVI CHAI Foundation.
