Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde: A True Story
Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2013:“You meet a new person and tell yourself a story about him, except it turns out the stories are never about anyone else. They are always about you.” That’s just one of the pithy observations--not to mention self-aware mea culpas--in journalist Rebecca Dana’s winning memoir about coming to live and work in Manhattan. LikeSex and the Citywith less sex and more city,Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blondehilariously details how a not very observant Jewish girl from Pittsburgh ended up with an ultraconservative rabbi (and martial arts student) for a roommate, and how they each navigate this particular city of dreams. Dana comes off as a from-the-suburbs Holden Caulfield, a brainy Mary Tyler Moore, or a very dressed-down Carrie Bradshaw. She’s that irresistible. --Sara Nelson