Houses of Study: A Jewish Woman Among Books by Ilana M. Blumberg

“Tension wraps around the pages of Blumberg’s memoir, an ardent intellectual autobiography by a woman in love with both Jewish texts and secular literature. . . . [H]er memoir elucidates . . . the passion for study no matter what a person’s gender.”—Publishers Weekly

“Houses of Study is a love affair with books. . . . For Blumberg, the pleasure of knowledge is always meant to be shared. . . . Her prose soars to a breathless lyricism when she enacts for us the pleasure and perils of conquering an uncharted page of Gemara. . . This book is a union of letters no less magnetic; to enter Ilana Blumberg’s houses of study is, invariably, to become ignited.”—Lilith

“[I]t’s a book that deserves a serious readership: a memoir that reads like a poem, a voice that’s intelligent, brave, passionate and conversant.”—Sandee Brawarsky, Jewish Week