Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Rules of Civility
Rules of Civility: A Novel | Amor Towles
The New York Times bestselling novel that "enchants on first reading and only improves on the second" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Coming this fall, A Gentleman in Moscow the highly anticipated new novel from Amor Towles This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation. On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York societywhere she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve. With its sparkling depiction of New Yorks social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Amie
post image
Pickpick

This is the 3rd time I've read this, and it's still good but I found myself being pickier about it this time. I especially kept noticing how clothing was an important detail in many scenes but the descriptions were inadequate, seemingly anachronistic, or actually anachronistic (like pantyhose). I probably don't need to read it again.

blurb
IndoorDame
post image

#12Booksof2023 I wasn‘t sure how to choose between this and Sing Unburied Sing for December, but this book has stayed in my head, continuing to replay scenes and make it‘s characters a part of my inner life more and more each day since I‘ve finished it, which for me is one of the marks of a great book. @Andrew65

Andrew65 Both great books.
Thanks for playing long, a great way to review 2023. See you for #12Booksof2024 on Christmas Day.
3mo
IndoorDame @Andrew65 thanks for hosting! Such a fun way to look back at the year! 3mo
53 likes3 comments
review
IndoorDame
post image
Pickpick

This was a lovely note to end the reading year on. Fun, flirty, unexpected period details really put me inside those jazz clubs in an era of New York history I don‘t know much about. And while at times these characters seemed vapid and frivolous, Towles has a way of cutting to the core of people so you see the same color and humanity in the unlikable characters as in the charming ones. #20in4 @Andrew65

TheBookHippie I enjoyed this book ! 3mo
Andrew65 Brilliant. 👏👏👏 I enjoyed this one, but A Gentleman in Moscow is my favourite by this author. 3mo
IndoorDame @Andrew65 A Gentleman In Moscow is one of my all time favorites! But I enjoyed this one enough that I want to read the rest of his writing. 3mo
Andrew65 @IndoorDame Definitely, I agree one of my all-time favourites too. 3mo
AmyG Great last read of the year. I loved this one. 3mo
51 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
282Mikado
post image
Pickpick

While I did not enjoy “Rules“ as much as “Moscow“ I still found it an enjoyable read. Towles has a captivating way of reading people and events, and then turning a phrase that compels you to pause and consider more deeply those people and occurrences in your own life. “Rules“ is certainly more risqué than “Moscow“, but then so is New York City.

review
wideeyedreader
post image
Bailedbailed

Sadly this one wasn‘t for me. All the parts I didn‘t like about The Great Gatsby, but more boring. #doublespin this month, but at least I tried it!

TheAromaofBooks Oh dear! At least it's off the list!! 11mo
Tamra I bailed too. 🤷🏾‍♀️ 11mo
30 likes2 comments
review
Kristy_K
post image
Pickpick

Rules of Civility immerses you in the past and I felt as if I was with Kate in the late 1930‘s New York. An enjoyable read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#botm #historicalfiction

quote
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
post image

“Uncompromising #purpose and the search for eternal truth have an unquestionable sex appeal for the young and high-minded; but when a person loses the ability to take pleasure in the mundane--in the cigarette on the stoop or the gingersnap in the bath--she had probably put herself in unnecessary danger.”

#InQuotes

ChaoticMissAdventures One of my favorite books!! He is an amazing writer. 14mo
lynneamch Yes! Love all his novels. 14mo
Eggs Well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 14mo
78 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
SanjanaGhosh
post image
Pickpick

"It's a lovely oddity of human nature that a person is more inclined to interrupt two people in conversation than one person alone with a book; even if it is a foolish romance."

I loved loved loved this book ❤️

24 likes1 stack add
blurb
jlhammar
post image

📕 Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
🖊️ Robinson, Marilynne
📺 Reservation Dogs
🎙️ Renée Fleming
🎶 Red Bull & Hennessy - Jenny Lewis

#ManicMonday #LetterR
@CBee

Leniverse Do you mean Reservoir Dogs? 😁 1y
jlhammar @Leniverse No, though the show‘s name is inspired by that movie. Reservation Dogs is a comedy series (2 seasons-FX/Hulu). 1y
Leniverse Ooh, I don't have that channel. I'm intrigued now. 1y
batsy Reservation Dogs is so good ❤️ Though I've only managed to see Season 1 so far. 1y
38 likes4 comments
review
Crystal83
Panpan

I didn't enjoy this book at all. It was boring to me. I didn't like the writing style of the book and I couldn't identify with the characters at all. I rated this book a 2 out of 5 stars.

review
akfreeborn
post image
Pickpick

Another book long waiting tbr— fantastic study of a year in the 30s in New York and a look at what people do to endure, to “improve” themselves. Great mostly likeable characters from all classes and circumstance. Everyone of them was more complicated than they seemed and while the theme of class was very important, not all assumptions of how people behave are. I loved the references to art and culture of this era. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

review
Coleen
post image
Pickpick

Actually rating this somewhere between a pick and a so-so. This author has had so much hype, so I think I was expecting more. I liked the atmosphere, but I felt it was missing something. It never really grabbed me like it had hoped. This was Towles‘ first novel, so maybe A Gentleman in Moscow is better?

SamAnne Gentleman in far better. I‘m currently reading The Lincoln Highway and really enjoying it. 1y
Coleen @SamAnne Glad to hear that. I‘ve got both on the TBR shelf. 1y
31 likes2 comments
review
brushlo
post image
Mehso-so

started out strong but the story never got going or fully captured me. i know it was supposed to be a story about new york and the social classes…which was interesting but never connected deeply enough with any of the characters after the opening 3rd. not nearly as good as the follow up of lincoln highway.

review
Bookboss
post image
Pickpick

Reading this novel reminded me of watching black and white films from the 1930s with their snappy dialogue and glamorous set pieces. I enjoyed the language and the plot, but I found the character of Katey to be rather flat. I never felt that I really knew her, but perhaps that was intentional. Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

review
terryduncan5719
Pickpick

Amor Towles wrote “A Gentleman in Moscow.“ After I read that one, I had to read another by.him. I wasn't disappointed at all! While I do believe the “Gentleman“ is better, this one was still a page turner.

review
CoveredInRust
Pickpick

Even though there were some parts that I didn't understand (why was Katey so easily accepted by upper classes) I really enjoyed the tone of this book. It's character based rather than plot focused and relies on the writing and setting to pull you in but it worked for me.

review
Maria514626
post image
Pickpick

This was a quiet, nuanced book about people I didn‘t like very much. The ins and outs of social life—what a strange world—and the beautiful writing kept me reading.

blurb
Maria514626
post image

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain
1. Rules of Civility, Excellent Women, The Golden Thread
2. A Walk in the Woods. (It‘s the only naturey book I could think of that I‘ve actually read.)
3. The Rules of Civility. Yesterday after dinner. 😍

Thanks for the prompts, Rachel!

blurb
CoveredInRust
post image

Madam Bastet continues to be my companion while I read this.

I'm still enjoying it, and it feels like a fast read, but I feel like I've been reading it for a decade and I'm on page 120 out of 324.

RaeLovesToRead Awwwww, so so so cute!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰 2y
Leftcoastzen Adorable!😻 2y
35 likes2 comments
blurb
Maria514626
post image

This type of novel isn‘t usually for me—poor women in the 1930s who meet a wealthy man and get sucked into his orbit. However, this one has me hooked.

Amor Towles could probably write a book about worms and I‘d love it. 😁

Aims42 Hahaha, I agree! He‘s an insta-buy author for me, and I wouldn‘t think twice about buying his book about worms 😂 2y
StaceGhost I would totally read his subtle look at the rich internal lives of worms 2y
Maria514626 @StaceGhost 😆😆😆 2y
Maria514626 @Aims42 🪱 😄 2y
31 likes4 comments
quote
CoveredInRust
post image

Enjoying this one more than Gentleman In Moscow. Towles does the thing where he writes so well, you believe you're one of the characters.

blurb
CoveredInRust
post image

I'm way behind on this one, but finally getting to it.

blurb
MrsReads1
post image

My May tbr for #bookspin. I can't wait!

@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
10 likes1 comment
review
rwmg
post image
Panpan

Kate reminisces after a visit in the 1960s to an exhibition of photographs of 1930s travellers on the NY Subway, one of whom she recognises.

I wanted to like this book but I actually found it a struggle to get through. Most of the characters and events made no impression at all so that I had problems understanding references to earlier events and had no idea what was going on at times when I'd picked the book up again after doing other things.

quote
rwmg
post image

On the night of October 4th 1966, Val and I, both in late middle age, attended the opening of Many Are Called at the Museum of Modern Art - the first exhibit of the portraits taken by Walker Evans in the late 1930s on the New York City subways with a hidden camera.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Christyco125 Such a great debut novel. 2y
20 likes1 comment
review
jen_the_scribe
post image
Mehso-so

I love Amor Towles‘ way with words, his eloquence, the depth of his stories. But this one took a little too long to get to the point. The plot was lacking in a bit more drama or action, so I found myself getting distracted and not being able to focus on the story during certain slow points. It finally sped up a bit toward the end. Despite that, I mostly enjoyed it and found the characters likable which is why I wanted to know where they ended up.

blurb
jen_the_scribe
post image

My next listen…

18 likes1 stack add
review
Blueberry
post image
Pickpick

Rounded up from 3.5 to 4 because the author does so good with characterization. ❤️ I feel I need a pause before starting my next book.

Leniverse How strange, that exact same cover photo is on my edition of The Great Gatsby. 2y
perfectsinner This was my least favorite from him. Loved AGIM and just recently finished The Lincoln Highway 2y
Blueberry @perfectsinner I didn't like it as much as AGIM either. I have TLP scheduled for f2f bookclub in May. 2y
70 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
JenReadsAlot
post image
Pickpick

Very enjoyable! My #doublespin for March @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
47 likes1 comment
review
RenePenn
post image
Mehso-so

While this didn‘t start out being a favorite, and I put it down a couple of times and came back, after I switched to audio about a third of the way in, it became more interesting. 3 ⭐️

Aims42 I love his other books so much, but this one never clicked with me. Not sure why 😕 2y
RenePenn @Aims42 I totally agree! 2y
21 likes2 comments
quote
Sapphire

Life doesn‘t have to provide you any options at all. It can easily define your course from the outset and keep you in check through all manner of rough and subtle mechanics. To have even one year when you‘re presented with choices that can alter your circumstances, your character, your course—that‘s by the grace of God alone. And it shouldn‘t come without a price.

quote
Sapphire

it was still a view that practically conjugated hope: I have hoped; I am hoping; I will hope.

blurb
Sapphire

I wonder if this line was the first thought/plot of the story in the Authors mind: “The year 1938 had been one in which four people of great color and character had held welcome sway over my life. And here it was December 31, 1940, and I hadn‘t seen a single one of them in over a year.” It certainly sums up the story for me.

quote
Sapphire
post image

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Sometimes, it sure seems that‘s what life intends. After all, it‘s basically like a centrifuge that spins every few years casting proximate bodies in disparate directions. And when the spinning stops, almost before we can catch our breath, life crowds us with a calendar of new concerns.

quote
Sapphire

A lost art? : he “made a reasonable stab at launching a conversation by asking people what was the best thing they did in 1940. It made me a little nostalgic for Dicky. No one could get a table talking nonsense like Dicky Vanderwhile.”

blurb
RenePenn
post image

I am struggling with this one so I switched to audio to try and finish it up. I loved A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway was good too (just not AS good). This one can‘t hold my attention. It has its moments but then I‘m back to mind wandering. 😶‍🌫️

Aims42 I almost bailed on this one too! I‘m so thankful I read “A Gentleman in Moscow” before this one. I loooooooooved Gentleman and had I read this first, I don‘t know if I would‘ve given it a shot. This book was a total “meh” for me too. But I love Gentleman and Lincoln Highway, so every book can‘t be a winner I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️ 2y
19 likes1 comment
blurb
Sapphire
post image

I love his other two books, and lots of folks I know love this one. So, here I am giving try #3 to see if I can finish it off. I just find this one hard to keep track of the characters and I don‘t feel a sense of the time setting era.

EvieBee I just read this last month. I had previously attempted it but never got past the first page. For some reason the first chapter really hit home last month and I finished it pretty quickly. I do get what you mean about all the characters though! 2y
Sapphire I had previously bailed at about 10% and 50%. I think I can make it now! 2y
18 likes2 comments
quote
Sapphire
post image

One must be prepared to fight for one‘s simple pleasures and to defend them against elegance and erudition and all manner of glamorous enticements.

quote
BekaReid
post image

"It's funny about photography, isn't it? The entire medium is founded on the instant. If you allow the shutter to be open for even a few seconds, the image goes black. We think of our lives as a sequence of actions, an accumulation of accomplishments, a fluid articulation of style and opinion. And yet, in that one sixteenth of a second, a photograph can wreak such havoc."

review
EvieBee
post image
Pickpick

“It‘s funny about photography, isn‘t it? The entire medium is founded on the instant. If you allow the shutter to be open for even a few seconds, the image goes black. We think of our lives as a sequence of actions, an accumulation of accomplishments, a fluid articulation of style and opinion. And yet, in that one sixteenth of a second, a photograph can wreak such havoc.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

catebutler I have had this book sitting on my shelf for ages! I need to get to it, ASAP!! 2y
Cathythoughts @catebutler I‘m the same ...on my shelf for ages. 🙈 2y
jlhammar One of my favorites! 2y
EvieBee @catebutler @Cathythoughts It was the same for me, but I decided to just try one chapter and I couldn‘t stop! The language is so rich and the world he created so vivid. 2y
EvieBee @jlhammar Ugh, it‘s so good! I had no idea. I can definitely see myself rereading this next year. 2y
95 likes1 stack add5 comments
blurb
melissajayne
post image

Got some #bookishmail today.

Penny_LiteraryHoarders I have both of those on my shelf that I need to read! 2y
EvieBee I just finished Rules of Civilty. So good! And I loved this paperback edition. It felt so well balanced in my hand and the font was lovely. These are the things that make paper books so great! 2y
27 likes2 comments
review
Rachel.Rencher
post image
Pickpick

Amor Towles debut novel is so beautiful. I kept pausing while reading to jot down quotes that I loved which I've only ever done before with The Gentleman in Moscow.

ATB Love this book!!! 2y
staci.reads I fell completely in love with this book. I don't reread often, but this is one I know I'll return to. 2y
104 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
Rachel.Rencher
post image

I now have all of his books, and this one is signed. 😍

Crazeedi Can't wait to read his new one!! 2y
AmyG Nice! I loved this book so much. 2y
marleed Nice! 2y
282Mikado You've sparked my interest in this author. Historical fiction is probably my favorite genre and you have me intrigued with Towles. If he is as good as you say it is a pity he has so few books out there. 2y
Rachel.Rencher @282Mikado It is a pity! I thought he was over hyped so I put off A Gentleman in Moscow for a long time, but my expectations were blown out of the water. He's now toward the top of my list of favorite authors. 2y
91 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
Lauren890
post image
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book reminded me why I thought A Gentleman in Moscow was just so good. His writing is fantastic and he writes a strong female main character so well. I think he has an uncanny ability to create a propulsive read but with a slow pace - in a similar way to Donna Tartt. I can‘t wait to read Lincoln Highway!!

BkClubCare I found out too late that he was at my local indie bookstore promoting his new one! I would have gone. Oh well. 2y
Lauren890 @BkClubCare That‘s awful! I‘d be so sad!! I saw him with Celeste Ng a few years ago. He‘s fantastic and the way he signs his books is fun. 2y
BkClubCare @Lauren890 - aw! I‘ll have to catch him next time. 2y
21 likes3 comments
blurb
TheSpineView
post image
Eggs Great choices🧡🥂❤️ 3y
53 likes2 comments
quote
BittersweetBooks
post image

If we only fell in love with people who were perfect for us, he said, then there wouldn‘t be so much fuss about love in the first place 🏙

I have hoped; I am hoping; I will hope 💙

24 likes2 stack adds
blurb
TheSpineView
post image

#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Prompt: Michelle Pfeiffer

Klou Great! 3y
61 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
TheSpineView
post image

#JulyJourneys @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
Prompt: New York City

This is Saturday's prompt. Just playing caught up.
💛📖📚

Nute Nice post! 3y
TheSpineView @Nute Thanks! 😊 3y
Eggs Lovely 👍🏼📚🌃 3y
80 likes3 comments
blurb
CoffeeNBooks
post image
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🖤💙🖤💙 3y
54 likes1 comment
blurb
OutAndAbout
post image

I love Storygraph but keep my Goodreads account for the authors notes. Amor Towles just added some comments to The Rules of Civility that are fascinating looks into his writing process. Also included are some ties from his own life that show up in the book (white Christmas wrapping paper!) and some preludes to his upcoming The Lincoln Highway.