As you read this, Passover is fast approaching. For some, it's all about the cooking: your grandmother's gefilte fish, the perfect brisket, perhaps the search for a new and different recipe for charoset. For others it's about the cleaning: lifting up the couch cushions to brush away the remnants of popcorn and Cheetos, clearing the cabinets of half-empty, completely forgotten boxes of cereal no one liked, scrubbing the oven until it gleams. For me, it's all about the story.

The story of Passover is compelling because of its pivotal point in the national and religious history of the Jewish people. The story is gripping even if one does not know the context. It is full of heroes and villains, unpredictable plot twists and narrow escapes. It even contains some of the elements of a modern summer blockbuster: a chase scene and a triumph over the forces of evil.

I love a good story. So this month, when we are told that to expand on the story of the Exodus from Egypt is praiseworthy, I have three other stories to recommend. They are not Passover stories, but all are Jewish books and good reads. The day after your Seder, as you lay groaning on your couch from matzah- related overindulgence, pick one up; they will challenge you, fill your spirit and leave you wanting more.

Beware of God is a collection of short stories written by sometime-National Public Radio essayist Shalom Auslander. Auslander, who was raised in the ultra- Orthodox world of Spring Valley, N.Y., and his since left the fold, focuses much of his cynical attention on God. In one story, the main character is relentlessly showered with one calamity after another for refusing, after having at one time been compliant, to accede to God's increasingly outlandish demands. In another, two hamsters argue about the nature of God and faith.

The writing is in-your-face and some might find some of the stories coarse or offensive, yet it does force one to examine personal ideas of the nature of God and truth.

I also just finished reading The History of Love: A Novel, a devastatingly beautiful tale of love, loss and redemption by Nicole Krauss. The book is set today and weaves together the story of a teenage girl living in a single-parent household with that of an aging Holocaust survivor living a solitary existence. The author captures both voices--as well as those of a few minor characters--with grace. As I read, I didn't feel like I was engaging with the printed word, but rather like I was a confidante, sitting across from these people and listening to them share their secrets.

In The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank: A Novel, Ellen Feldman imagines the life that Peter Van Pels may have had if he had survived the Holocaust and emigrated to America. Van Pels, along with his mother and father, shared the attic hiding place of the Frank family during the Second World War. In this story, he has come to America and built a successful life, denying not only having witnessed and lived through the horrors of the Holocaust, but his very identity as a Jew. Reviewers call this book "psychologically gripping" and it is. I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not becoming emotionally involved.

If you decide to read any of the books, come talk to me about them. The only thing I like better than reading a great book is arguing with someone about it. Oh, and if you have any new charoset recipes, feel free to pass those along as well.