Take the #Readukkah Challenge!

This holiday season, instead of stuffing your face with sufganiyot (or maybe WHILE stuffing your face with sufganiyot), enter the AJL Readukkah Challenge!

Read any Jewish book and post your review on any social media site with the hashtag #Readukkah between December 6th and December 14th and you'll be entered to win Firebrand by Aaron Barnhart, an upcoming YA novel about a Jewish freedom fighter during the Civil War.

Check out AJL's website for more information and to enter. And stop in to the NSHAHS library for a book recommendation once you've entered!

Veteran's Day 2015: Who are our veterans?

The United States Census Bureau has created a list of stats about the state of veterans in 2015. It's interesting to note things like how many female veterans there are and how that number has changed. It's hard to swallow some of the numbers about disabilities and income level. But all the more reason to get involved and find a way to help out our nation's heroes!

 Some ways you can help:

• Donate old clothing to the Paralyzed Veterans of America Foundation. It's tax deductible, helps you get organized, and they'll pick up the bags of clothing from your house! What could be simpler?
• Give through the US Veteran's Affairs Department- money will go to VA medical centers and hospitals. You can also use the same link to donate your time by volunteering at a VA medical facility in your area. 

Support our nation's veterans and have a happy Veteran's Day!

Women for Women

In May, HuffPo posted a list of 21 new(ish) books that all women should read. No surprise that Tina Fey AND Amy Poehler both made the list, along with Jhumpa Lahiri, Emma Donoghue, and Cheryl Strayed. 
Here's our own list of YA books by women that every teen girl should read before graduating high school: 

• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• The List by Siobhan Vivian
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez
• A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

What do you think, women of NSHAHS? Any other must-reads to recommend for budding feminists? Which female authors do you love? 

(via HuffPo)

Top Ten Teen Books of 2015

How many have you read?