A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, 2016

A Gentleman in Moscow captivated me.  This is literature.  This is good writing.  The observations ring true and the witty, engaging dialog make this as engaging as any thriller.

All the action over a span of decades happen within the Metropol Hotel, where Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is under house arrest for writing the inflammatory poem Where Is It Now?

At the Metropol, Count Rostov maintains the company of his possessions, visits from university friend Mikhail (Mishka) Fyodorovich and screen actress Anna Urbanova, and various hotel denizens, including hotel seamstress Marina, maitre d' of the Boyarsky Andrey and fellow hotel guest & precocious nine-year old Nina Kulikova.

Rounding out the days spent in the Metropol are lively conversations and friendships struck up late at night at the hotel bar Shalyapin.

I rarely re-read books, but plan to re-read A Gentleman in Moscow as I'm sure I will pick up so many more things the second time around.  As a movie, I imagine Wes Anderson directing a masterpiece for this story.

Some passages, out of many, that resonated with me:

If one did not master one's circumstances, one was bound to be mastered by them.

...just remember that unlike adults, child want to be happy.  So they still have the ability to take the greatest pleasure in the simplest things.

I'll tell you want is convenient.  To sleep until noon and have someone bring you your breakfast on a tray.  To cancel an appointment at the very last minute.  To keep a carriage waiting at the door of one party, so that on a moment's notice it can whisk you away to another.  To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether.  Theses are the greats of conveniences, Anushka - and at one time, I had them all.  But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have matter to me the most.

Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam, 2016

A story of childhood best friends who are in their early 30s now.  Sarah and Lauren don't have much in common, but have known each other for so long, they are like sisters.

Sarah is engaged and appalled by some of Lauren's actions, while Lauren believes Sarah to be a bit conservative and typical.  They know each other so well, that they only can only share certain things with each other to get honest feedback.

Written by a male, it captures the nuances of a female best friendship, including women vacationing together but does have the male voice carry over with frank descriptions of sex.

Very readable, but having started a A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, I realize the difference between a good book (this one) and a very good (i.e. literary) book.

Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci, 2015

The first illustrated book that I've read.  I used to think illustrated books were glorified comic books, but was duly impressed with Samanci's autobiography.

The illustrations are wonderful - engaging, whimsical and humorous.  The chapters are all delightful and tell touching stories of Samanci's childhood.

I learned quite a bit about Turkey.  Such as:

- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is the "Father of Turks" who make Turkey secular to unit the country.  He also introduced the Latin alphabet since the Ottomon alphabet is so complicated.

- Students take exams to see which high school & college they qualify for; if a student is sick that day, then too bad, the student will not go to a good school

- Bribery is rampant

- During Ramandan, every city, town & village hires a drummer to stand next to an apartment building to wake people up between 3am & 4am so that they can eat before fasting; drummers will not leave until all the lights are on in the building

- In secular schools, headscarves are not allowed so female students wear hoodies; although they need to have the hood down in class

- Kurds are persecuted in Turkey

- Turks are just like Americans; the author was pressured to go into math & science so that she could have a respectable job; she pursued her love of arts & media & is now an assistant professor at Northwestern

Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield, by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, 2015

Women soldiers were recruited to help with the war in Afghanistan in 2010 when they realized that the armed services could not interact with more than half of the civilian population (women & children) in Afghanistan.

Women can not be in the presence of men who are not their family.  Even male soldiers searching a woman's empty room was offensive, that a man touched the belongings of a women.

Cultural Support Team was created.  Women soldiers were recruited to participate in night raids & village outreach.

These women put themselves through extreme physical challenges - marching for hours with blistered feet, woken up early in the morning to do drills - for the honor of serving with the Special Ops team and for their country.

American interpreters who were fluent in Pashto or Dari were also recruited.  They had to keep up with the men of the Special Ops team as well, while being treated with suspicion.

A quote that was spoken at Ashley White's eulogy:
When Ashley White-Stumpf became an angel she was at the apex of her life.  She was a newlywed with an incredibly loving and supporting husband.  She had just purchased her first home.  She had a good job and an amazing family.  And yet Ashley asked, "what can I do, how can I make a difference?"

Think about that for a minute.  How much better would this world be if every person, at the happiest, most fulfilled point in in their life, thought not of themselves but of the good they could do for things bigger than themselves?

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes, 2016

Obsessed with Scandal, so had to read this.  Surprising/refreshing to see someone so successful also be so introverted, especially in Hollywood where things are so superficial.

Similar to Mindy Kaling's book and how being successful = working really, really hard.  Another similarity, they both went to Dartmouth.

Appreciated that Shonda noted that she has a ton of help, as most "successful" women do.  Not just a nanny, but a cook, a housekeeper (not a cleaner, a housekeeper), personal assistant, stylist.  It's easy to make things look easy when you have a TEAM of people helping...

Also took to heart her advice to take the time to spend quality, completely focused time with your children.  Their attention span lasts about 10 minutes anyway, so everyone can carve out 10 minutes.  It is so true.  Now I make a conscious effort to not have my phone and just play with my baby when I get home.  It's only 10 minutes before she's bored of me.

During her Dartmouth commencement speech, she talked about being a doer v being a dreamer.  Dreamers don't do.  So stop dreaming, and start doing.

One of the more original positive-thinking-be-a-better-person book.  Stories & "lessons" are not as trite and cliched.  A bit over the top dramatic at points, but funny reading & some good nuggets.

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty, 2016

After Year of the Runaways, I wanted to read something lighter.  Australian Moriarty writes good drama, but filled with unexpected dark themes as well.

Moriarty's stories are driven by female characters and unexpected twists where instead of murders or foul play, the twists have to do with personality compulsions.  

Clementine and Erika are childhood friends who became friends more because of Clementine's mother Pam versus a natural inclination to be friends.

The novel revolves around a barbecue hosted by Erika's neighbor where a tragic accident happens that deeply affects everyone involved.

What exactly happened at the barbecue slowly unfolds as the three couples involved try to move on.

Although a page turner and very readable, not sure if I'd recommend this book.  It describes symptoms and compulsions that do not seem to ring completely true.  It feels like it's trying to achieve more than it really does.

One aspect that I did like about the novel was that one of the main characters Vid is of non-specified middle eastern decent, an identity trait that truly did not define the character in any way.  This left a positive note for the last book that I read in 2016.

End of Year 2016

Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota, 2016 - Nominated for the Man Booker Prize, Year of the Runaways is the compelling, wrenching story of Avtar, Randeep & Tocha, who flee India like countless others for a better life in England.  Narinder is a UK National, but feels compelled to return to India monthly as she struggles with her beliefs and living an independent life in a traditional family.

Powerful and ruthless, Years of the Runaways makes me realize how resilient humans can be & how powerful an opportunity, any opportunity, can be for people who have nothing.

One new English term I learned is lollipop lady, or a crossing guard who holds ups a stick with a circle on the top to halt vehicles.








The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, 2016 - Claire, Jessie & Gabriela are best friends who realize that learning from your mistakes does not mean you'll make new ones.  From being honest & not scared of family to telling the truth to really going for what you want until it consumes you, all three women make wrong decisions but end up where they are supposed to be.

- November 2016