What Beth Ricanati Reads

Author of Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs, Beth Ricanati, shared with She Reads what she reads and what inspires her life and why she writes.

I am inspired by books that share an author’s journey, that inspire, that teach us new skills – especially books that blur categories, that aren’t just a self-help book or a memoir or a cookbook, but rather a potent mix of all of these. I am also inspired by stories of meaningful rituals and how they impacted the author.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

A journey over time and space that isn’t just about a hike, about the PCT, but also about her life as well.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

A journey that isn’t just about the three different destinations, but about how she got there and where she’s going, about learning a new way of living and being and thinking; a spiritual journey.

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julia Powell

The process of cooking all of the recipes in Childs’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking transformed the author; making challah every Friday ultimately transformed me.

The Blessing of a B Minus: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Resilient Teenagers by Wendy Mogel, Ph.D.

A book that uses the teachings of the Torah as a framework for a broader message helped me realize that I could incorporate Jewish teachings in my book as well.