Giving A Gentleman in Moscow to my dear friend and book club buddy for Xmas-I hope she loves it as much as I did. I just finished the latest Cork O'Connor mystery suspense novel. This is a series that is always interesting; the protagonist is an investigator of mixed Ojibwe/European ancestry and it's set in northern Minnesota. Lots of great insight and background about both topics and almost always a riveting storyline as well. I started Hillbilly Elegy last night, enjoying it very much so far. Helps that my own family background is Scots-Irish hillbilly although my family doesn't have the, um, colorful style of the author's to say the least! On my bookshelf for holiday enjoyment is the latest Flavia de Luce, the latest Longmire, Ordinary Light, Sweetbitter, and Today Will be Different which is the latest by Maria Semple of Where'd You Go Bernadette fame.

I've started listening to audiobooks in the past couple of months. While I prefer to read books, I work for a caterer three times a week and spend 5 hours on those days in a kitchen, alone. I used to listen to music, but one day downloaded a book and realized it was a great way to "read" more books. Last week I finished Chris Cleave's latest novel, Everyone Brave is Forgiven. I loved this novel, which I thought was beautifully written, with very clever use of witty humor in the dialogue. The narration was done very well, and perhaps that led to my enjoyment of the story. The downfall of an audiobook is that it doesn't lend itself to "reading in bed" at the end of the day. I found myself not wanting to stop so would listen to it every time I got in my car as well! I'm currently reading Letters to the Lost. I'm not sure where I heard about this one but it's just okay. It also takes place in London during WWII but later in the war, and it isn't really about the war at all. It's just okay - about two people who fall in love during the war but one is newly married to a man who doesn't love her. An average book that I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend. A friend recommended The Hired Girl as one of her favorites from last year but I didn't realize it's a YA novel and clearly reads that way. I'm listening to this one as an audiobook but find the narrator a bit annoying. Another one I wouldn't recommend except perhaps to my teenage daughter. I'm anxiously awaiting A Gentleman in Moscow and Hillbilly Elegy from the library. I've quickly moved up the list for A Gentleman (38 on waiting list) but for Hillbilly Elegy I'm 231 on list for the audiobook and 251 for the actual book!

A good friend of mine rated Rules of Civility as one of her favorite books. I'm thinking of suggesting it to my book club next time we make selections, as yet several months away. Or I may choose this one instead.

He lived by cashing in his gold coins as needed; their value was sufficient to sustain him through the time he was living at the Metropole. It makes sense since during times of great political upheaval (which was the case during the era of the book) gold becomes the one currency that holds or increases in value. And becoming a waiter was so he would have a purpose in life. I thought one of the author's brilliant themes was that everyone must have a reason to get up in the morning and that reason should not only enhance some part of the life of a community in some way, it should enhance a person's sense of him/herself as a necessary cog in the wheel of life. Beautiful, beautiful book. I read it over a winter break and was so sad when I finished the last page and had to come back to my ordinary life after hanging out with the Count at the Metropole Hotel for so many years :).