t's been a slow month for good books. The cow sucks up all my reading time. But I did hit a few gems, as always. Enjoy, kids!

Never Threaten to Eat Your Co-Workers: Best of Blogs - Edited by Alan Graham and Bonnie Burton

"Race and gender relations have come a long way in this country. When Condaleeza Rice was a young girl, who would’ve thought she would one day grow up to be a white man?" - J Dorchen

To tell the truth, I rarely read blogs. Sitting in front of a computer for fun, after sitting in front of one for work all day, really does not appeal. However, I think I may start reading a few of these gems. Graham and Burton culled some 30,000 blog entries from thousands of blogs to come up with this best of. There is no particular theme - simply people’s personal comments on their blogs that are funny, insightful and intelligent. Bloggers range from the infamous Dooce (for whom the term "getting Dooced" was coined), known best for being fired from her job after the management found she had blogged about her job. Others include; hilarious stories from Defective Yeti, comments on the joys and pains of being a married mother from Mrs. Kennedy, snarky, witty commentary on life in New York from Choire Sicha, comments on the war in Iraq by Christopher Allbritton and True Tales of a Porn Store Clerk, written by Ali Davis.

Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels - Hella Winston

I LOVE books on insular, orthodox religious groups. No idea why. They just fascinate me - Amish, Hutterite, Hasidim, Mormons. Why? Perhaps, as Winston points out in her introduction, we are both fascinated and revolted by the idea of living in such a close-knit, rule-ridden community because of the complete "otherness" of this life. On one hand, to live in a closed community can seem so appealing. You know your path in life, the rules are clear and easy to follow. Live a good life and support and a marriage partner are virtually guaranteed, as is a job and a home. On the flip side, any deviation from the lifestyle is not tolerated. To be one of the "chosen" is a great burden and contact with the outside world is guaranteed pollution of the mind.

Winston follows a group of Satmar Hasidim (a sect of Orthodox Judaism). Like more obvious groups, the Lubavitchers, the Satmar are a large, insular community of Jews. They follow a rebbe who rules the community. As with most orthodox religious groups, the men make the laws and the women rule the home and raise good, observant children. However, many of the members of these communities chafe against the life style and restrictions. Leaving is not easy. The Hasidim are given exceptions from education standards as they have their own schools. Most members are uneducated, extremely poor (a vast majority of the group are on public assistance), often married at a young age and many only speak Yiddish.

Winston interviewed a number of members of the Satmar, Lubavitch and other Orthodox communities. Some are perfectly happy with their lives. Others tell of leaving, or trying to leave the community, the struggles to get an education and learn English, rejection by family, problems with depression and substance abuse and other by-products of their insular world. This book is absolutely fascinating - a rare and odd glimpse into another world - Brooklyn. While many of the writer’s subjects do face huge hurdles, there are also many stories of Jews who have left the community and successfully remade themselves, often with the help of grandparents. My only beef with the book? Too darn short! A "Hella" good read -* ba-doom-ching *

Bar Mitzvah Disco - Robert Bennett, Jules Shell and Nick Kroll with a foreword by The Village People

One the flip-side of the shekel ("boooo, get the hook") is this wacky read. You don’t need to be a Jew to appreciate this glorious collection. Bennett et al. collected thousands of Bar and Bat Mitzvah photos from the 60’s through the 80’s. And lord are they hideous. Acres of acne, mounds of poof sleeves and blue eye shadow, braces gleaming left and right and horrible, horrible photos of People Who Cannot Dance getting down. Oy! And yet, it is so fun. The writers and their "subjects" gleefully share stories of the preparation for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, parental melt-downs, the careful choosing of the guest-list, the special outfit (special ruffled socks made to match the ruffled dress), the pathetic attempts at learning enough Hebrew to get through the reading (you know you are a reform Jew when the reading is spelled phonetically - Bah-ruk Add-on-i) and the gobs of cash and gifts. Perhaps what I enjoyed most about the book is the lack of snarkiness (I know, it’s a first). The only jokes made are by the participants themselves. Even the DJ is skintight, shiny purple spandex pants and tweed jacket gets only a tiny bit of ribbing. Enjoy, browse, remember ghastly middle school dances, birthday blow-outs and the horror and humor of being 13. As an added bonus, there is a great "where are they now" section at the end of the book. See, there is hope for any 13 year old dork! Ohhh, and the site says a video documentary is on the way. Joy! http://www.barmitzvahdisco.com/

Monsieur Pamplemousse Hits the Headlines - Michael Bond

Does the name Michael Bond ring faintly familiar in your head? It should. Bond was the creator of the Paddington Bear books. Apparently Bond decided to free himself from a sea of marmalade and give mystery writing a whirl. Who can judge a book by its cover? I can. This one was shiny and red and had a picture of a dog on it. Works for me. While the plot of Bond’s "mystery" is gossamer thin to start, and merely vestigial by the end, the books is still thoroughly enjoyable. The fourth in a series, Bond’s Monsieur Pamplemousse (Mr. Grapefruit) and his dog Pomme Frittes (French Fries) bobble along merrily through France, not really solving crimes. The main focus of the book is instead the heart of the Gaelic world - food. Paragraphs and even pages are devoted to long, loving conversations of French cooking and in turn, France and the areas where various foods are produced. With occasional forays into discussion of French culture and Paris architecture, this book is thoroughly enjoyable with the most minimal brain functions needed. Perhaps the next one will involve less of that clutter called plot line and just stick to the important stuff - creating the perfect tripe pie.