A Gentleman in Moscow is such a perfectly well-done book. I love Towles' writing, and I loved the story. It was a purely pleasant reading experience and made me want to read more stories set in Russia.
I, Claudius required a lot of concentration from me and wasn't an "I can't wait to pick this up and read it" experience, but I learned SO much about the Roman emperors from it, and I found myself missing the characters when I finished.
Belonging was unique reading because the book is designed as a scrapbook of sorts as a German woman looks back through her family history and deals with the past of her own family and how they interacted with Nazi Germany. I really appreciated her sharing her story because I've often wondered about how those things are processed and talked about in Germany.
The Awakening of Miss Prim is a modern book written by a Spanish journalist, originally published in Spanish. It took me by surprise with its fresh perspective and counter-cultural arguments about motherhood and homeschooling in particular.
The Thirteenth Tale was a deeply immersive page-turner for me. I was completely caught up in the story and read a lot of it on a bus ride across Paris on Mother's Day. Do I remember a lot of the details now? No. But it's a family history/mystery that involves an old English house.
The Martian was also captivating to me. It was the first book I've ever read that made me want to be better at math besides The Swiss Family Robinson. You never know when it could save your life! I also loved reading at the end of the book about the man who wrote it, just a super-smart space enthusiast and fellow lover of Doctor Who.
One of Our Thursdays is Missing is in the middle of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series. This series combines time travel, travel into books, literary word play, and alternate universes and is all wackily perfect for me because I love all those things.
Rebecca is a haunting modern English classic I'm glad I finally read. Mrs. Danvers actually shows up in the Thursday Next novels.
May your 2020 be filled with the kind of books you miss your train stop reading.
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