Masters of the Word: Traditional Jewish Bible Commentary from the First Through Tenth Centuries (Vol. 1) Somewhat of a tedious read for me so far, but very much enjoying. For me this is an introduction to parshanut hamikra, I didn't even know what that really meant until I picked up this book. Concurrently I am listening to a series of lectures by R. Allen Schwartz (downloaded from YUtorah.org) on the same topic.
The Second World War: A Complete History By Sir Martin Gilbert (trudging through this one, very long and detailed, but I want to get through it for many reasons). I'm on a bit of a WWII kick, having recently re-read Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and an Elie Wiesel book (for the first time).
I recently read, and recommend Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer, but I'm a sucker for anything Krakauer writes. Also in middle of re-reading Into the Wild, by the same author, which I've done before and decided the last time I read it that I should try to read it once a year or so.
Also recently read Dr. Marc Shapiro's Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox, an enlightening read (Thanks to Akiva the sho'el ha'mash'il).
I might join you on the Pat Tillman book, but seriously, shouldn't there be some discussion before we choose book club books? Parshanut Hamikra? Man, thats heavy...
ReplyDeleteHey, I hear you on the heaviness. But people who didn't have the benefit of a formal MO education have no exposure to this stuff. I never even heard of the term or concept in the yeshiva world. Even for years after being enlightened, I'd heard the term thrown around but had no clue what it really meant, I thought it was something for smart girls who were too frum to learn gemara.
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