What I Read In February

Not as much as I read in January to be sure!

February was a slow reading month for me for several reasons:

1. We are halfway through our current Bible study, Experiencing God.  That takes some evening reading time away from me to complete the daily homework and prepare for class.  But y'all, I am loving it!  Though it wasn't planned this way, I am leading three beautiful ladies through the weekly discussion and it has been so RICH!  Last time I went through this material I sensed the Lord calling me into Women's ministry so I am eager to see where He is leading now.
2. Meagan and Derrick are still staying with us.  Their house should be finished today and they plan to move this weekend.  In the meantime, we spend much more time gathered around the dinner table talking in the evenings and giving 'goodnight' hugs and kisses.  It has been a sweet time for Jim and I...and it has given us the opportunity to really get to know our little people on another level.  We will miss them when they are gone.

So, what have I read this month besides my Experiencing God: Units 1-7?

I finished Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk on February 2.  I updated January's page with my final thoughts on that one.  Lillian was not a woman to easily fit in anyone's mold, not even her own.

It took me a few days but I finally picked my next book from my TBR shelf.

A Gentleman In Moscow: A Novel by Amor Towles

Imagine living in a luxury hotel.  Makes you smile, right?  I can just imagine living in the Warwick on 54th and 6th in New York City in the 1920's.  The Warwick is my all-time favorite hotel because of it's history and the architecture is timeless.

Now imagine being told that you will can never leave said luxury hotel or you will face a firing squad.  All of the sudden the beauty and grandeur can seem small and insignificant as compared with the rest of the world.  This is the world where we meet Count Alexander Rostov, just as he is receiving his sentence and finding that he is further being moved from his grand suites at the hotel to the abandoned servants quarters of long ago.

From Amazon:
Chosen as a best book of the year by NPR, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer

“The same gorgeous, layered richness that marked Towles’ debut, Rules of Civility, shapes [A Gentleman in Moscow]” –Entertainment Weekly

“’The Grand Budapest Hotel’ and ‘Eloise’ meets all the Bond villains.” –TheSkimm

“Irresistible. . .[an] elegant period piece. . .as lavishly filigreed as a Faberge egg.”
 –O, the Oprah Magazine

He can’t leave his hotel. You won’t want to.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

“And the intrigue! … [A Gentleman in Moscow] is laced with sparkling threads (they will tie up) and tokens (they will matter): special keys, secret compartments, gold coins, vials of coveted liquid, old-fashioned pistols, duels and scars, hidden assignations (discreet and smoky), stolen passports, a ruby necklace, mysterious letters on elegant hotel stationery… a luscious stage set, backdrop for a downright Casablanca-like drama.” –The San Francisco Chronicle

I had to put this one to the side about halfway through in order to read our next Book Club pick:

Romantic Times Book Reviews - “Another stellar novel from Martin. His fabulous gift for characterization is evident on each page. Layers of the story are peeled back to show the spiritual truth underneath the gripping plot. This is a reimagining of the prodigal son story from the Bible, and the reader's faith can't help but be enriched and encouraged after completing the book. Cooper is an intricate character with an amazing story to tell, and the supporting cast is just as important to provide additional depth and understanding. This novel should be on everyone's must-purchase list.”

“No matter where you go, no matter whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no gone is too far gone. You can always come home.”

At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.

Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to the remote Colorado mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith.

When Daley shows up on his street corner twenty years later, he wonders if it’s too late to tell her the truth about his past—and if he is ready to face it himself.

A radical retelling of the prodigal son story, Long Way Gone takes us from tent revivals to the Ryman Auditorium to the tender relationship between a broken man and the father who never stopped calling him home.

Charles Martin wrote one of my all-time favorite books, Chasing Fireflies.  When I saw that he had a new novel coming out, I suggested it for our February Book Club.  It is a modern retelling of the prodigal son with a twist.  It is beautifully told by starting with 'the present', flashing back to the history and how Cooper and Daley ended up here, then picks up their stories again.  Very well done.  Beautiful prose that transports you vividly right into the story.  This one had so many layers that I felt I could relate to all of the characters in some way or another. 

My two favorite quotes from this one:

I used to think the same thing. Thought that by keeping it to myself, I was protecting you.  Truth is –“ He shook his head and spat again.  “The truth is the only thing that doesn’t hurt.  The truth is a giant hand.  It both cuts us free and holds us tight.

Said more simply: I wanted what I wanted, when I wanted it, the way I wanted it, because I wanted it.  Period.

That last one really resonated with me because I know that I have thought that many, many times in my life.

We had a great discussion and even better visit. 

I think this weekend I'll get back to my Gentleman in Moscow.  I'll update here when I finish!

What have you been reading lately?  Anything I just NEED to add to my TBR?