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.

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.

Yoyo, you might be interested in seeing the author, Amor Towles, discuss this book on .... (my new favorite show) ... Well Read TV. Here's a link to the full half-hour show: Amor Towles Interview about A Gentleman in Moscow

I had to scroll backward to see what books I last posted about. Funny, I had a stack of four from the library but ended up not reading any of them! After hearing about it here, I read The 25th Hour by David Benioff. Interesting book, quick (short) read, but definitely not as good as City of Thieves. Following that, I went "on vacation" to Southern California to help my college freshman move out of her dorm and put her things in storage so I had plenty of time to read on the plane. I took with me The Flight Attendant by Chris Bojahlian. I had mixed feelings about it. It was easy to devour, but unfortunately, it seems like his novels have gone downhill over the years. I really had to suspend disbelief and I just couldn't really get beyond the stupid decisions of the main character. Alas, it got me through the plane ride. A friend dropped off Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende just before I left so I got about 1/3 the way through before I returned home. Waiting for me at the library was a book I'd been on the wait list for that came highly rated by a friend, From Sand and Ash. Historical fiction set in Italy during WW2. I didn't realize it was really a schmaltzy romance. Plowed through it but wouldn't recommend it. I'm returning to Daughter of Fortune this evening. I have a stack of books from the library to get through - good thing I'm headed to the beach in 10 days when my kids get out of school. Can't wait to have some great time on the beach to read. Annie, I read We Were the Lucky Ones. I hate to use the word enjoy for a book about such depressing subject matter, but I really liked it.