A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

 A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles was published in 2016, and I had heard a lot of hype about this book, so I was a bit hesitant to read it because often those books disappoint me. I listened to the audio version, and it was well narrated. 

I found the story slow moving, and for a bit wondered if I'd continue on, but I'm glad I did. The writing is gentle and beautiful. Towles builds the story of Count Alexander Rostov who is sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life in a hotel across the street from the Kremlin. The story covers many years, and while it develops slowly, it's worth it. 

I enjoyed the civility of Rostov, his gentle nature, and his ability to bring out the best in people with the exception of that rotten manager. His friendship with Nina is delightful, and when he becomes an uncle/father figure to her daughter, it's beautiful. 

I enjoyed reading about his friendships, and by the end was sorry to see the book end. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

The Winter Horses by Philip Kerr

Every so often, I read a novel set during WWII that teaches me something completely new that I didn't know before. Such is the case with The Winter Horses by Philip Kerr, which was published in 2014. 

Kerr's story is based on truth, legend, fiction, and just a bit of magic. 

The story is set in the very real nature preserve at Askaniya-Nova in Ukraine, which during WWII was part of Russia. The horses are Przewalski's - pronounced shuh-vahl-skeez primitive wild horses that have never been domesticated. 

During the German invasion of the nature preserve, most of the horses were killed by the Germans, causing this endangered species to nearly become extinct. This is the story of how Kalinka, a Jewish refugee, and Max, the caretaker of the preserve, work to save two of the horses that survived the massacre. 

This story shows how the actions of the Germans during WWII hurt more then human life. They felt the horses were inferior to German horses and should be extinct. They thought them too cunning and clever, and not as beautiful as domesticated horses. Przewakski's horses are much smaller than other horses, and no one has ever been able to tame them. 

All of the current 2,000 Przewalski's horses are descended from just nine of the 31 horses that survived WWII. Most of these 31 horses were located on in other countries in zoos that had purchased them from the preserve before the WWII. 

I listened to the audio version and it was beautifully narrated. 

 Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates was published in 2019 and was recommended to me by my good friend Kathryn, and I listened to the audio version narrated by Melinda Gates. 

This book is well written and putting the philosophy of this book into practice would make the world a better place. Often when Melinda would go to help with a problem, she would have an idea in mind of what she wanted to have happen without understanding the root of the problem. I like that she listened and learned to those she wanted to serve in order to fix the problem instead of just putting a band-aid on it. 

Melinda Gates tells many stories of people she met that helped her see the world in a new way. She is a teachable person who listens, learns, and acts to make the world a better place. I feel inspired by her actions, and appreciate that she has blessed the lives of so many. I love that she sees how making the world a safer and better place for women and girls makes life better for the entire human race. 

The cover art isn't great, but the book is wonderful. I have several students who would really like this book. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese

 A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese was published in 2019 and is a fun story of wishes. When three friends find themselves able to eavesdrop on people making wishes in an old well, they are able to help some of those wishes come true, but not in ways they or the reader might expect. 

I like the connections between things, people, kindness, hope, and just a bit of some type of magic or luck. This story shows the value of friendships and the importance of taking care of each other. 

My only complaints about this story are the injury inducing sequence that seemed very unrealistic to me and the frequent sentence fragments, but there is so much good in this story. 

Quotes I liked:

"...when you save a person's life, you then become responsible to that life" (93).

"For Ryan the other shoe never just dropped. The universe usually threw it at you" (135).

"Ernest firmly believed that condescension could keep a kid small, and not just figuratively. That it could literally, physically stunt your growth" (137).

"Ryan had let all that fear take over. He'd let it make him someone he didn't like at all" (218).

"Stories bind us together; they connect us. Our stories are a shared history, a way to relate to each other. Even if they are make-believe" (298).

"You can't fix the world. But you do your best in your own little corner of it. And you hope" (301).

"Tommy couldn't remember ever really being afraid of the dark. From an early age, he always had more practical things to fear" (301).

If you need some hope in your life, this is an uplifting book about both the bad in some, but the good that is in so many more. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

The Best Man by Richard Peck

The Best Man by Richard Peck was published in 2016, and this book is set in current day instead of Peck's usual practice of telling stories of a by-gone era. 

Peck is a good storyteller. I liked that Archer has two good parents who love each other. This book is funny, so I need to lend it to my granddaughter  who loves books that make her laugh. 

I like that Peck handles LGBTQ+ issues in this story in a beautiful way. 

Peck writes about school situations that always make me laugh. Even though there are a lot of laughs in this story, Peck knows how to be serious when necessary. 

A quote I liked:

"Archer, honey, change doesn't care whether you're ready for change or not. Change happens anyway" (137).

Read to a child even if that child is you. 

We've had a few more book donations. 

The author dropped this book into my little library, so I grabbed it for the NICU babies. 

My granddaughter Callie donated this cute pop-up book. 

This selection of board books was donated by H.ailey

Angela Jensen sent this fun selection. 

 Every donation helps us give books to babies. Thank you all so very much. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.