I absolutely loved this book by Amor Towles. It may be the perfect end to my greatest reading year ever. (I may have time to sneak one more book in, time will tell!) Count Alexander Rostov is ordered to spend the rest of his days in a luxury hotel in Moscow. His crime? Being a gentleman and an intellect in Russia in the early 1900s. The Count will also go down in...

Forensic science was basically nonexistent in 1896. Caleb Carr creates characters that use their wits and rudimentary tools to create a criminal profile, which was an idea that was unheard of at the time. The two main characters are Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, an alienist, and John Moore, a reporter. What is an alienist, you may be asking yourself, as did I. An alienist is...

While I did not particularly enjoy Diane Ackerman‘s writing style (it was a bit dry and book-reportish for my taste) I did sincerely appreciate the facts of this true story. Ms. Ackerman tells about the lives of Jan and Antonina and their time as zookeepers in Poland during WWII. After Warsaw becomes occupied by Nazis and the zoo’s population is...

One of my all-time favorite books is Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. So, any time that I see a title by this author, I grab it up, even if I don’t know one thing about the story. Some times that strategy works out for me, other times it does not. In the mid 1800s, James and Sadie move their family from Connecticut to the swamps of Ohio. James has...

This is perhaps not the spirit of Christmas that you are seeking. This book by P.D. James is a collection of short stories featuring Christmas and murder. There are four quick tales, so this was an enjoyable afternoon. The mysteries are definitely in the style of Agatha Christie. I have always been a big fan of her work, so this was entertaining for me. The most...

Full disclosure: I felt a wee bit dirty after reading this book by Mark Fleischman. Mr. Fleischman was a successful business owner who came late to the Studio 54 game. He snapped up partial ownership after the original owners were sent to prison for tax crimes. Fleischman embraced the club with his whole being. He had been somewhat of a party guy before managing the...