We love diverse books and challenges that push us to read outside our comfort zones. We hope that this challenge will inspire you to seek out Jewish own voices books to read this year. Antisemitism is on the rise and we want to create an opportunity to connect to Judaism and Jewish authors, learn something new, and explore a different life experience from your own.

Are you Jewish and just want to read more Jewish authors? We love that too!

Why 18? 18 is a lucky number! Hebrew uses a system called Gematria to indicate numerical values through letters. The word chai, meaning life in Hebrew, has the numerical value of 18.

Who counts as a Jewish author? Anyone who self-identifies as Jewish! While any Jewish author certainly counts, we encourage you to read authors writing about Jewish characters, the Jewish experience, and uplifting Jewish joy.

If you're sharing your reads on instagram, we'd love for you to tag us (@allison_lee_reads and @hitstheplot) and use the hashtag #18BooksByJewishAuthors