Teaser Tuesday: Goodbye, Columbus

"Surely, I thought, the Messiah himself -- if He should ever come -- won't niggle over nickels and dimes. God willing, he'll hug and kiss." -- From "Defender of the Faith" in Goodbye, Columbus: and Five Short Stories by Philip Roth. There is reason why Roth is considered the chronicler of 20th Century American Jewish life. And why he won the National Book Award for this, his first book. I can't believe that this gem has been sitting unread on my shelf for so long. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. .

Challenge Update: Battle of the Prizes

. J.G. from the super-duper Hotch Pot Cafe blog is the first one to complete the Sunshine Smackdown: Battle of the Prizes challenge. Congratulations, J.G.! And thank you so much for participating in the first Rose City Reader challenge. Having such talented reviewers participate made the challenge so much fun for me. The challenge runs through Labor Day, so there is still plenty of time to get your reviews in. Please remember to leave a link to your reviews on the main challenge page or on any of the update posts, including this one. I am halfway through Philip Roth's Goodbye, Columbus, my National Book Award pick, so will get my third review posted shortly. The three books J.G. read for the challenge are listed below, with links to her reviews. The rest of the reviews by participants are linked on the main challenge page. Olive Kitteridge (J.G.'s Pulitzer choice) The Great Fire (her National choice) The Fixer (her double dipper) .