Welcome to Litsy!

This was a slow build story, filled with the many little adventures of the lifetime resident of the Metropol Hotel. The stories were feel good and whimsical. I found myself getting frustrated, as it felt like the story wasn't really going anywhere. It picked up right when I was about to give up on it. Overall, it was a feel good story with some plot twists thrown in!

"As it turns out, one can revisit the past quite pleasantly, as long as one does so expecting nearly every aspect of it to have changed."

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐+ It has been a long time since I have been able to place a contemporary writer amongst my favorites. Amor Towles has that distinction. There was not a page of this book I did not enjoy. I cannot wait to read another, and I will likely read this again.

It took me a while to get into this, but once I did I loved it. Also, I couldn‘t help picturing Matthew MacFadyen (❤️) as the Count, which helped enormously.

I am at a loss of words. This book was well beyond my expectations. It was funny. It was sad. A reminder of how we can either overcome our circumstances or be overcome by them. Count Rostov is by far one of the most wonderful characters I've had the joy of meeting in all my years of reading. This book is more than worthy of your time. I'll definitely re-read this. #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

This is a fascinating and lovely book. It‘s a quiet book; telling years of modern Russian history through the lens of a single man imprisoned in a hotel. It‘s full of cultural and political history but really it‘s about the life of a man; about his day to day existence, the things he witnesses, what he loves and what he hopes for. It‘s a very lush book too with gorgeous and evocative description.

Great finish to this book! Although it did take me some time to get into the swing of it. That‘s no fault of the book, it‘s just been a busy month for me.
This book and it‘s prose is elegant, refined, witty and interesting - much like the gentleman it refers to.

Amor Towles has a definite understanding of the human nature, regardless its situation. I actually laughed out loud at the referenced quote. True Bolshevik.

Started my #doublespin for February. Let's see if it meets the hype.

I understand the TV series is coming up soon!

The writing is so elegant, the setting so atmospheric. In 1922 Count Rostov is sentenced to house arrest in Metropol, the most luxurious hotel of Moscow, where he lived. We witness 32 years of Russia‘s tumultuous, painful and tremendous history experienced by a man who refused to let himself defeated by harsh and inevitable changes, and whose education and humanity proved to be priceless in any era.

Starting this one for the #readathon. A gift from my mom for my birthday last month. I‘ve been reading a lot of romance and sci fi so excited to dive back into historical fiction with this novel!

"By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour."

#wondrouswednesday

1. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - birthday gift from my mom

2. Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon - Christmas gift for mom

3. Favorite love story: The Rosie Project ❤️

This book took me a couple of chapters to really get into it, but I was whole-heartedly in love with it by the end. It‘s elegant,thoughtful, and witty in a way that I did not expect. All of the characters were vivid and the story was lively. 5/5⭐️

It has been a while since we have visited our favorite flea market #usedbookstore. I found 2 for my #tbr. The tagged and Moon Shot. I really need to start The land of Stories series. Lois Lowry is a big yes for us. Felt good to go out and just be in the bookstore.

First book of the year and once again I‘m pretty sure it will be my favorite of the year. (Happened last year, too with Leave the World Behind) In fact this one is going on the FAVORITES OF ALL TIME list! What a book. I hated for it to end, as evidenced by the 10 days it took me to complete it.

Special thank you to @TheSpineView who sent this book to me in a special Litsy swap package.

“It is the business of the times to change, Mr. Halecki. And it is the business of gentlemen to change with them.”
“Fate would not have the reputation it has if it simply did what it seemed it would do.”
“I suppose a room is the summation of all that has happened inside it.”
📚
#CurrentlyReading #Bookstagram #Fiction #AGentlemanInMoscow #AmorTowles #FiveStars

January bookclub read and what a treasure this book is only 105 pages in and so many favourite passages already ! Happy 😃 new year folks

What books do you recommend the most?

Mine are:
✨The tagged book. It‘s probably my favorite book!
✨The Calculating Stars
✨Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
✨Good and Mad
✨The Handmaid‘s Tale
✨The Night Circus
✨Educated
✨Daisy Jones and The Six
✨The Sun Down Motel
✨The Island of Sea Women

#SundaySoapBox @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Can you play? @andrew61 @Bookworm54 @Reggie @catebutler @LokiDokey

This was my husband‘s choice for a couple read, but I got obsessed and finished before him. I really enjoyed how Towles incorporated Russian history around the Count‘s story. I definitely will read Rules of Civility by Towles next, which is on my Kindle.📚📖

I have read this somewhere.....an unshakeable thought throughout my reading experience of Amor Towles' A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. That "somewhere" being a style of prose attempting to evoke Ishiguro. Now....that doesn't mean I dislike the book.... I'd rather say...... I'm underwhelmed. Because, the book itself is alright, in fact, more than alright. (Continued in the comments)

For eventually, We come to hold our dearest possessions more closely than we hold our friends. We carry them from place to place, often at considerable expense and inconvenience; we dust and polish their surfaces and reprimand children for playing too roughly in their vicinity-all the while, allowing memories to invest them with greater and greater importance.

Finally starting the tagged book today. I can‘t wait. The Hopefuls was good. I love behind the scenes politics stuff, even fictional. #TBR #FirstBookof2022 #lastfirst @BookNAround

Ok, this was not easy to narrow down - I read some stellar books this year! Here are my #Top21of21, although there are quite a few others that could be on this list as well. It's been a great reading year, and yesterday, I read my 90th book, which makes it my biggest reading year ever. @Cinfhen
Thanks for the tags @Liz_M @Nute and @Graywacke

#12Booksof2021 #6thBookof2021 #June This was a really good book! @Andrew65

This was my favorite read in March of 2021
#12booksof2021
@Andrew65

5 💫 This novel demonstrates how an author can use anything as creativity. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and included some holiday back drop of Scrooge. Now the Count a man of gentlemen is jailed in a hotel. He tells stories about different characters that enter his life while he lives there. I found multiple quotes that I'm keeping for personal use. #BookSpinBingo #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers @TheAromaofBooks @StayCurious #LMPBC #GroupK

This book dragged on and on forever. I don‘t see what the appeal is. I‘ve heard of this book being book club picks and I don‘t get it. I was so bored it took me a year to get through.

I knew from the first chapter that I was going to adore Count Alexander Rostov! I don't know how Towles makes 462-page book feel so expansive when it all takes place within the walls of a single building, but he does. The characters are endearing, and the humor is smart and often unexpected. This is my 2nd Towles, having read and loved Rules of Civility. I am officially a fan. This was my November #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

I‘m VERY late to the party here and just got around to reading this book. It was indeed as delightful and charming as I had been told. And hopeful. After spending the last year and a half with Covid reducing my outings and altering my world, maybe the Count‘s circumstances resonate in a different way. It feels timely.

The wise man celebrates what he can.

I'm a little irrationally excited about this month's bookspin 😆. These 2 have been on my shelf for quite a while and I've wanted to pick them up SO many times, but my tbr piles are SO big, and my reading challenges and book club selections usually take priority. Now, they are up! Woo hoo!

A king fortifies himself with a castle, a gentleman with a desk.

I wasn‘t sure how a story about a man under house arrest would keep my interest, but it certainly did. Under one roof, the protagonist made the best of his circumstance and somehow still found lifelong friendships, family, and love. And it wasn‘t without drama too, because no matter where we are in life, we have to accept the good with the bad. The ending was perfect too, and I absolutely loved these characters.

“If one does not master one‘s circumstances, one can be sure to be mastered by them.”

“…life does not proceed by leaps and bounds, it unfolds…”

My next listen, whenever my heart recovers from the last one 😭

This is my favorite book of the year so far. I already have plans to re-read it. My god is Towles a talented writer. That ending was so unexpected, and I admire the craftsmanship on the part of the author and his characters.

Good night 🔥📖🐶

Someone described this novel to me as “cozy” and I think that stands up. The principle characters are likable and the ambience of the story makes one wish to read by the fire while listening to the light rain of winter and the tide coming in (in other words great for Seattle weather). I liked it as much as I cringe to admit liking something endorsed by Oprah. Anyway, the plot has a bit of a Shawshank Redemption vibe if that‘s not too spoilery.

Diving right in on this cloudy Saturday morning. 🤓 I'm heading out to a Friends of the Library book sale in a couple hours! 📚📚

I love Towles‘ writing, his character-driven stories are so well drawn. This tale of a true gentleman under house arrest as a Former Person after the Russian Revolution appears at first to be a gentle tale, but scratch the surface and the effects of Soviet communism are revealed just beneath.

This was August‘s #BookSpin. I‘ve got a little behind!

Book 146

I belong to that distinct minority who did not love this book. It was long and tedious for the most part. The sociopolitical commentary flew right over my head, made my eyes glaze over, and my attention wander. It wasn't a bad book per se, it just didn't hold my interest. The Count's philosophical musings often felt like I needed to have quite a bit of a background on Russia's history to be able to understand half of what's written on this book.

I was given this book. Once I started reading I was drawn in completely. The structure was elegant, the characters compelling, the prose beautiful. It is not a stretch to say I loved it. Towards the end, the gears in my head began to turn and I was able to put together several clues and hints that had been innocuously scattered throughout the book. I wanted the story to continue on forever.

#WondrousWednesday
1. A Gentleman in Moscow
2. 👍👍
3. I definitely read more historical fiction than any other genre.
@Eggs

So…❤️