Join Bayonne Public Library and Mamas in Bayonne for our December 2025 Bayonne Book Club! 

All are welcomed and encouraged to attend. The genre / theme of the books chosen will vary. The discussions will be moderated by Bayonne local, Angela van Genderen (@angela_the_ninja).

This month’s meeting and holiday party will be Thursday, December 18th at 7 pm at Thai O’Brien’s (478 Ave E). In celebration of the holidays, we will be reading “I Love You a Latke” by Amanda Elliot.

Please note, our book club and holiday party will only be in-person. No virtual attendance will be available.

What’s the book about? Snow is falling, holiday lights are twinkling, and Abby Cohen is pissed. For one thing, her most annoying customer, Seth, has been coming into her café every morning with his sunshiny attitude, determined to break down her carefully constructed emotional walls. And, as the only Jew on the tourism board of her Vermont town, Abby's been charged with planning their fledgling Hanukkah festival. Unfortunately, the local vendors don’t understand that the story of Hanukkah cannot be told with light-up plastic figures from the Nativity scene, even if the Three Wise Men wear yarmulkes.

Desperate for support, Abby puts out a call for help online and discovers she was wrong about being the only Jew within a hundred miles. There's one other: Seth.

As it turns out, Seth’s parents have been badgering him to bring a Nice Jewish Girlfriend home to New York City for Hanukkah, and if Abby can survive his incessant, irritatingly handsome smiles, he’ll introduce her to all the vendors she needs to make the festival a success. But over latkes, doughnuts, and winter adventures in Manhattan, Abby begins to realize that her fake boyfriend and his family might just be igniting a flame in her own guarded heart.

How can you participate? Bayonne Public Library has eBook and eAudiobook copies available via hoopla as well as physical book copies. If you’d prefer to purchase your own physical copy, we recommend purchasing from The Little Boho Bookshop, our favorite local bookshop, located at 164A Broadway or online at https://thelittlebohobookshop.com/