For many queer Jews, Jewish tradition seems like a rich tapestry which at best ignores them and at worst rejects them entirely. In reality, queerness and queer Judaism have been a constant subplot of Jewish history, if only we care to look. Spanning almost two millennia and containing translations from more than a dozen languages, Noam Sienna's new book, A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts From the First Century to 1969, collects for the first time more than a hundred sources on the intersection of Jewish and queer identities. Covering poetry, drama, literature, law, midrash, and memoir, this anthology suggests that Jewish texts are not just obstacles to be overcome in the creation of queer Jewish life, but also potential resources waiting to be excavated. Through an unprecedented examination of the histories of gender and sexuality over two millennia of Jewish life around the world, this book inspires and challenges its readers to create a better future through a purposeful reflection on our past.

' The right notion just might unlock your creativity For the past 25 years, Nancy Zieman has offered innovative ideas, inspiration and information designed to make sewing, serging, quilting and embroidering more efficient—and more enjoyable. Now she offers a guidebook to every tool you’ll ever need! Nancy’s Favorite 101 Notions covers the standards—not all pins are created equal!—as well as some one-task wonders that can make the difference between a frustrating failure and a wonderful work of art. Nancy describes the features of each tool—so you can find a tool that works, regardless of brand—and details the various uses. Helpful Notes from Nancy and Budget-Friendly tips are sprinkled throughout, as are illustrated mini-demonstrations. With Nancy’s Favorite 101 Notions, you can find the tools that will make sewing easier, faster, more creative and more fun!

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2001 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People for 2001 2001 ALA Notable Book for Children 2002-2003 Show Me Readers Award Master List 2003 Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award Master List Not Just for Children Anymore! 2001 2001 Notable Books for a Global Society Honor Book 2003 Winner, Storytelling World Award "A fine choice for a Kwanzaa gift."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Striking woodcuts and a resonant original folktale are the warp and weft of this understated, effective approach to Kwanzaa."—Publishers Weekly, starred review In an African village live seven brothers who make family life miserable with their constant fighting. When their father dies, he leaves an unusual will: by sundown, the brothers must make gold out of seven spools of thread. If they fail, they will be turned out as beggars. Using the Nguzo Saba, or "seven principles" of Kwanzaa, the author has created an unforgettable story that shows how family members can pull together, for their own good and the good of the entire community. Magnificent and inspiring linoleum block prints by Daniel Minter bring joy to this Kwanzaa celebration.

An excavatory collection of poems tracing the connections between Jewish transfemininity, queer desire, and cultural histories. Selected by Sean Hill for the National Poetry Series, this collection is a scrupulous chronicle of individual and cultural knowledge. In an exceptional debut, Ava Nathaniel Winter challenges our concepts of the beautiful and the sacred, delving not only into the historically marginalized, but also into the chilling subconscious of supremacy. “Let me be clear / from this beginning,” she writes, “What I mean by beauty / is a terror I have fled from / into language.” Winter writes with a documentarian’s attention, a poet’s resonance. “I’m trying,” she admits, “to find language for what we do / to one another.” From Łódź, Poland, to predominantly white suburban America, from the space shared by queer lovers to antique cabinets filled with Nazi memorabilia, from Talmudic depictions of genderqueer rabbis to archival lynching photos, she regards the tender and the difficult with equal gravity, commemorates the fraught gift of survival. At the heart of this collection—despite its moments of profound darkness—is a new, hard-won holiness. The “earthy aroma of rye” calling up a mother’s baking, her mother’s, hers. Belief in a lover’s lavishing. A chosen future, one where we are “reader, sibling, sister.” If Transgenesis began in fear of beauty, where it lands is this: “turning at last / to face her.”

Exile and the Jews anthologizes texts from all genres of Jewish literary creativity, from the Hebrew Bible to the present, exploring how the realities and interpretations of exile have shaped Jewish religion, politics, and identity.

So many lives have been lost now and the death toll still continues to rise because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The poor and the marginalized, not surprisingly, have been disproportionately affected. The pandemic has exposed the fault lines not only in our healthcare but also in our political and economic system, a system driven by the pursuit of the bottom line—profits. If we are not only to survive but also thrive as a global society, the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic must lead us to explore ways of thinking, being, and dwelling that promote our shared flourishing. It is time to take personal stock about ourselves: who we are, where we have been, and where we are heading. What can the pandemic teach us about ourselves? What is it revealing about us and our situation? How shall we dwell together? Do we want to wake up to a new and better tomorrow after this nighttime of pandemic? That will largely depend on the way we respond now. Who are we becoming in this time of pandemic? What daily practices are we doing as embodiments of the new world we are anticipating?

Henry Green's first novel, and the book that began his career as a master of British modernism Blindness—Henry Green’s first novel, begun while he was still at Eton and finished before he left university—is the story of John Haye, a young student with literary airs. It starts with an excerpt from his diary, brimming with excitement and affectation and curiosity about life and literature. Then a freak accident robs John of his sight, plunging him into despair. Forced to live with his high-handed, horsey stepmother in the country, John begins a weird dalliance with a girl named Joan, leading to a new determination. Blindness is the curse of youth and inexperience and love and ambition, but blindness, John will discover, can also be the source of vision.