The Books That Didn’t Make the List

We get it, 101 books is a lot. But in making a list that dares to call itself 101 Great Jewish Books—even if we enlisted the help of team of talented writers and thinkers—we were bound to leave off some favorites. I asked Tablet staffers which titles they felt got snubbed, and as to be expected, got a whole lot of responses. Here they are, in no particular order other than the speed with which I received the responses:

The Human Stain, by Philip Roth

The Finkler Question, Howard Jacobson

Eighty-sixed, by David Feinberg

Genesis and the Beginning of Desire, by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg

The Garden of Emmunah, by Rabbi Shalom Arush

As a Driven Leaf, by Rabbi Milton Steinberg (mentioned by several staffers)

Shadows on the Hudson, by Issac Bashevis Singer

Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry

Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (the original comic book)

Adventures of Augie March, Saul Bellow (Bellow’s Herzog, it should be noted, was included on the list)

As for me, I’m most upset Lena Dunham’s forthcoming memoir didn’t make it into the canon even before we got a chance to read it. What say you, dear readers? Share your forgotten favorites in the comments.

The Scroll will be dark until Monday, Sept. 23 in observance of Sukkot (and my birthday, obviously). Wishing everyone a meaningful, harvest-filled holiday.

Related: 101 Great Jewish Books