I was surprised and delighted today to read that my book, Seltzertopia, was included in a best book of the year list! Hurrah!

Howard Freedman, of the The Jewish News of Northern California, published his piece today: The best Jewish books of 2018: feminism, seltzer, race and beyond. I love it! Seltzer is sandwiched between feminism and race.

Freedman begins the piece with the following frame: “This has been a great year for Jewish books, and I’m thrilled to share some of my favorites of 2018 in several areas of interest, helping to shine much-deserved light on books that haven’t always received the attention they deserve.”

He first highlights religiously oriented titles – like Jeffrey L. Rubenstein’s The Land of Truth: Talmud Tales, Timeless Teachings – then moves on to American Jewish history – like Marc Dollinger’s Black Power, Jewish Politics: Reinventing the Alliance in the 1960s. Next comes biographies (Red Hot Mama: The Life of Sophie Tucker), Israel (Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor), and Holocaust-related books (The Italian Executioners).

Then, before he wraps things up with novels, Freedman delves into the food category, where he rightly describes Seltzertopia as “the only book I’m aware of to delve into the history of seltzer water.”

Freedman concludes with his prayer for next year. “May 2019 offer us as many literary riches for the mind and soul.”

To that, I can only say one thing: L’chaim!