A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles

A Gentleman In Moscow:  A novel by Amor Towles is a book I found on a reading list or two.

Started: 11/14/2019

Completed: 11/21/2019

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

Recommended By:  A reading list

Review:

First and foremost:  Get the audio version of this book.  Nicholas Guy Smith simply does a fantastic job.

The story is fabulous and the prose is riveting.  I enjoyed almost every moment.  The plot is surprisingly good as well, perhaps, in part, to the deftness with which it is revealed.  Seemingly hidden in the skein, but present all along.  Really a great book.  I cannot say enough good things about it.

For what it is worth, it has little to do with Moscow while being distinctly about Russia.  It is so much more about friendship and family.

The Testaments, Margaret Atwood

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood is a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.  I didn't particularly like The Handmaid's Tale, but I'm hoping this one is informed by the television series.

Started: 11/11/2019

Completed: 11/14/2019

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

Using the mechanism of Aunt Lydia's notes, this book had more of a narrative to it then The Handmaid's Tale.  It also leveraged the television series--so, it is important that you see the television series at least the first few seasons for this book to make a lot of sense.  It was written in the same general style as The Handmaid's Tale in terms of being a collection of artifacts.  It also included the meeting at the end to review how the material was found and to provide a little more context.  In general, I found this story better.  It explained a lot of things that were suggested in The Handmaid's Tale and being told from Aunt Lydia's perspective could include details that a Handmaid would simply not know.

Blink, Malcolm Gladwell

Blink:  The power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell.  I was disappointed by The Tipping Point, but I thought it was worth the read.  I'm hoping for more from this book.

Started: 11/8/2019

Completed: 11/11/2019

Recommendation: Mild Recommendation

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

So there were a bunch of interesting points in this book and it points out both the pros and cons of snap judgement.  It was nice that the pros and cons had good examples that stuck in my head.  One example that seemed to dominate the book was an example of how couples interacted.  I had read about this example in articles written by Gladwell and so that part was repetitive to me.

Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson

Just Mercy:  A story of justice and redemption by Bryan Stevenson.

Started: 11/5/2019

Completed: 11/8/2019

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended by: a bunch of people

Review:

This is very hard to read.  The stories of people charged with crimes (both those who actually committed those crimes and those who did not) take your breath away.  I have been aware that some people on death row had been found innocent.  I have been aware of notorious criminals who were unquestionably guilty (e.g. Charles Manson).  Neither of these small samples is representative of the bulk of those charged, but it is too easy to view all prisoners using these bold strokes.  This book, written by a lawyer who defends those on death row (and some lifers), looks at examples of many more types of prisoners.  It goes into detail on a few cases and still remains a small sample.  It talks about those who were executed and those who were not.  It is a hard read, but worth the read.

"Just mercy belongs to the undeserving.  That is when it is most powerful."

Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow

Catch and Kill: Lies, spies, and a conspiracy to protect predators by Ronan Farrow.

Started: 11/2/2019

Completed: 11/5/2019

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

insucciant -- showing a casual lack of concern; indifferent.

Review:

What a great book about the reporting behind the "Me too" movement.  This book is hard to read and it is important for us all to remember that it is money that allows the powerful to do what they want.  Ronan Farrow is among the free press and the free press, in general, keeps the government honest.  Heck, it even keeps itself honest.  Ask NBC.  Or CBS.

The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt was a Pulitzer prize winner.

Started: 10/27/2019

Completed: 11/2/2019

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This is a pretty impressive book.  It captures a young life with way too many twists and turns.  It tries to explore the space between pure good and pure evil suggesting that nothing in life is really either.  It also argues that loving a thing can enrich one's life in a good and productive way.  It can also be bad.  It is really, in the end, neither one and a lot of the gray space in between.

The prose is good, the conversations are really good, and the exploration of the experience of taking drugs is appropriately off-putting.