An astute and welcoming introduction to the daily practice of reading psalms.
Robbins, a rabbi, explores the value of routinely reading psalms in this nonfiction work.
The 150 psalms in Jewish scripture cover the spectrum of human emotion and religious life. There are psalms of praise, lament, and thanksgiving; others provide historical retellings or defy genre classification altogether. While the ancient practice of reciting the Shir Shel Yom (“Psalm of the Day”) may seem outdated in the 21st century, the author emphasizes the importance of developing spiritual routines to our mental well-being. To those interested in using psalms as the basis of their daily prayers, Robbins cautions against the natural inclination to start at Psalm 1 and read the rest chronologically—they are perhaps most effective when read in close conjunction with the Jewish calendar. This book provides analysis of the historical context needed to better understand the psalms, as well as explanations of the complex metaphors and myriad of Hebrew names used to describe God. For instance, the word Adonai, translated into English as “my Lord,” is far more meaningful after one realizes that it is the “vocalization of the ineffable Hebrew letters spelling one of God’s names, yod, hei, vav, hei”). In addition to providing learned commentary, the author also offers practical advice on how to routinize daily readings, including tips on maintaining a written journal and creating a physical space that is attentive to lighting and temperature. A member of the clergy at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas, and author of multiple books on Judaism, Robbins brings a scholarly panache to her biblical commentary that is reflected in the book’s ample endnotes and reference materials. And while there is much in this book for academics, it is impressively accessible, offering lay readers an engaging narrative, actionable guidance, and a wealth of ancillary materials to help readers navigate the Jewish calendar and holidays.
An astute and welcoming introduction to the daily practice of reading psalms.Pub Date: Nov. 20, 2023
ISBN: 9780881236415
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Central Conference of American Rabbis Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.
A charming bird journey with the bestselling author.
In his introduction to Tan’s “nature journal,” David Allen Sibley, the acclaimed ornithologist, nails the spirit of this book: a “collection of delightfully quirky, thoughtful, and personal observations of birds in sketches and words.” For years, Tan has looked out on her California backyard “paradise”—oaks, periwinkle vines, birch, Japanese maple, fuchsia shrubs—observing more than 60 species of birds, and she fashions her findings into delightful and approachable journal excerpts, accompanied by her gorgeous color sketches. As the entries—“a record of my life”—move along, the author becomes more adept at identifying and capturing them with words and pencils. Her first entry is September 16, 2017: Shortly after putting up hummingbird feeders, one of the tiny, delicate creatures landed on her hand and fed. “We have a relationship,” she writes. “I am in love.” By August 2018, her backyard “has become a menagerie of fledglings…all learning to fly.” Day by day, she has continued to learn more about the birds, their activities, and how she should relate to them; she also admits mistakes when they occur. In December 2018, she was excited to observe a Townsend’s Warbler—“Omigod! It’s looking at me. Displeased expression.” Battling pesky squirrels, Tan deployed Hot Pepper Suet to keep them away, and she deterred crows by hanging a fake one upside down. The author also declared war on outdoor cats when she learned they kill more than 1 billion birds per year. In May 2019, she notes that she spends $250 per month on beetle larvae. In June 2019, she confesses “spending more hours a day staring at birds than writing. How can I not?” Her last entry, on December 15, 2022, celebrates when an eating bird pauses, “looks and acknowledges I am there.”
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593536131
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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