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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Any converts here?  For many years I’ve felt inexplicably drawn to the religion.  Yesterday I picked up “Choosing a Jewish Life” by Anita Diamant and am reading with interest.

What books/resources are recommended?  I’m nervous to start attending services but know that will be a natural next step.  Many thanks in advance.[/quote]

Hi and welcome! I'm a convert to Judaism (my 12-year conversion anniversary is coming up next month!) and am happy to recommend some books to get you started on your search. I started with:
[i]Choosing a Jewish Life[/i] by Anita Diamant
[i]The Everything Judaism Book[/i] by Richard Bank (any Judaism 101 book will do, but this was the one I happened to find)
[i]To Life! [/i]by Harold Kushner
[i]From Darwin to Hitler[/i] by Richard Weikart (I actually read this in a college seminar on antisemitism at the same time that I was starting my Jewish journey, but would recommend it or another book on the history of antisemitism to all potential converts; the question of your readiness to face antisemitism will come up at some point in your conversion conversations with your rabbi and/or at your beit din (conversion court), so it's important to try to grasp what you're getting into)
[i]The Sabbath[/i] by Abraham Joshua Heschel (this is a somewhat dense, but short theology of the Jewish Sabbath and Heschel is one of the most respected modern rabbinic voices) 
[i]The Tapestry of Jewish Time: A Spiritual Guide to Holidays and Life-Cycle Events[/i] by Nina Beth Cardin
[i]As a Driven Leaf[/i] by Milton Steinberg (this is historical fiction that looks at the early Christian period and one rabbis struggle with faith and logic)

As some others have already suggested, when you're ready to take the next step, you should reach out to a rabbi. I would recommend trying different synagogues and different denominations to see what you like and what feels comfortable.

You'll find, unfortunately, a lot of misconceptions about conversion to Judaism among both Jews and non-Jews, as you've already seen from some of the responses here. There is a historical precedent that Jews don't proselytize. This is in part because for a long time throughout history in the places Jews lived, it was literally illegal for us to convert people. Also, because Judaism doesn't require anyone to be Jewish to be "saved" or to be a good person, so converting people is just not at the top of the Jewish priority list. That said, converts are definitely welcome in Judaism!

It's not necessarily easy to convert. There is a tradition of at least a year of study, in part so that you can experience the full Jewish calendar of holidays before committing to the religion. There are different requirements in the different movements of Judaism, but most will require:
1. a period of study (again, usually a year, but sometimes less or sometimes more)
2. appearance before a beit din (this is a conversion court consisting of three Jewish authorities, usually the rabbi you've been working with and a couple other rabbis or Jewish leaders)
3. for men, circumcision or hatafat dam brit
4. immersion in the mikvah (a ritual bath)

My rabbi also required me to volunteer in some aspect of the synagogue (I taught in the Sunday School), attend a monthly Intro to Judaism class, regularly attend Shabbat services, and keep a personal journal about my conversion for my own reflection.

Good luck on your journey, wherever it takes you![/quote]

re " immersion in the mikvah (a ritual bath)". I thought that was only for converts to Orthodox Judaism and applied also to Jews who were not originally Orthodox. 
[/quote]
No, it's generally requires across all movements. I converted in the Reform movement and went to the mikvah. I'm now in the Conservative movement and they also require it (because my Reform conversion included a beit din and mikvah, I didn't need to reconvert). If I wanted to become Orthodox, I would need to convert again, including study, beit din, and mikvah.[/quote]

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