Weekend Reads

Reads. For the weekend.

The book I’ll be reading this Shabbos, and the articles I enjoyed this week.

• Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman

  My book club has been suffering without me, I’m certain of it. To that end, I am reading a translation – pretty unusual for my reading list – in a rather deliberate yet whimsical voice that I’m enjoying so far.

• What the Hole Is Going On? The Very Real, Totally Bizarre Bucatini Shortage of 2020, by Rachel Handler for Grub Street

  You may not be interested in reading about the pandemic shortage of a pasta that you had never heard of before. But this article had us roaring way past our bedtime with gems like:

  In the meantime, the FDA finally replied to me, despite the fact that it was very busy approving a life-saving vaccine for billions of people … When I asked whether De Cecco was trying to fix this issue or how the FDA had even discovered the issue in the first place, Courtney replied, ‘It’s an extremely busy time for us at FDA.’

  Give yourself the gift of laughter.

• Onstage Wasn’t An Option, So Jewish Artists Reimagined Theater for the Pandemic Era. Here’s How, by Irene Katz Connelly in The Forward

  ’Tis true, my sister doth leave the Jewish nest! Nonetheless, this article about the pivot to virtual theater during the pandemic captures a lot of the struggles, but also celebrates the creativity that it inspired. Go read my Alliance for Jewish Theatre conference rave post, if you haven’t already.

  I’m also going to be a (volunteer) Social Media Coordinator for the AJT, so this is a shameless plug to follow their socials!