I just reentered my usual world after spending some time inside T.C. Boyle’s E2 world with The Terranauts: A Novel.

“The Terranauts” are eight scientists chosen to live in E2 (Earth 2) as opposed to E1 (the planet where we all currently live). E2 is a glass-enclosed terrarium that includes a rainforest, savanna, desert, ocean, and marsh, and theoretically everything they need to cultivate for surviving two years until they are allowed back out into E1. As part of a scientific project and publicity stunt, the E2 inhabitants are closely monitored by the experiments’ creator and the public, making it an “epic story of science, society, sex, and survival” as the book cover promises.

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Commonwealth is the first Ann Patchett novel I’ve read…since I’ve spent the last several years  reading old books and studying Ulysses. Wow, how I’m loving NEW books. More on that later!

Commonwealth wasn’t one of my favorite reads of the years but I still consider it “post-worthy.” (If I don’t like a book much at all I won’t post about it however I still will likely update my goodreads account.)

Obviously the 36 people waiting for this book at my local library are hoping this is a post-worthy book! Wow!! I reserve a lot of books and this is the most people I’ve noticed waiting for a certain book. I certainly bought into the hype and temporarily abandoned my fall-winter reading list.

I’ll start with what I liked about the book.

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I was pleasantly surprised by The Nix: A novel especially since I nearly abandoned it after 200 pages…this book is the longest work of fiction I can remember reading since Ulysses for my Master’s program!

The various story lines revolve around Samuel, a depressed English professor who was abandoned by his mom decades ago. He has no idea why she left or where she went until she’s on the news for attacking a presidential candidate. The (exaggerated) headline evolves to read “RADICAL HIPPIE PROSTITUTE TEACHER BLINDS GOV. PACKER IN VICIOUS ATTACK.” As his mom faces serious charges, Samuel embarks on an adventure of discovery about her past and his own.

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This book’s beautiful title and cover are why I initially added it to my fall-winter reading list, but its romantic escapades set during the construction of the Eiffel tower (late 1800s) did not disappoint. I’m calling To Capture What We Cannot Keep: A Novel by Beatrice Colin a “dra-mance” because it read as a romance set within uniquely Parisian drama.

Cait, a Scottish widow, is hired as a “chaperone” for two young Scottish adults, Alice and Jaime, as they experience the society of Paris as part of their non-formal education, as is expected of those in their social class.

No worries – Alice and Jaime certainly experience Paris! The young man, Jaime, who had finagled his way into an internship on the construction of the Eiffel Tower, instead spends most of his time carousing. The young lady, Alice, is of marriageable age and also manages to get herself into trouble, despite Cait’s watchful eye. Meanwhile, Cait finds herself in a romantic quadrangle (?) involving the head engineer of the tower, who is tied to Alice as well as a femme fatale who keeps popping up in various story lines.

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For the past two weeks I’ve been enjoying a stay at the historic Metropol hotel in Moscow.

Intriguing people from all around the world were my fellow guests, and I considered the staff as my good friends. I enjoyed political meetings, formal dinners, live jazz, and stimulating conversations.

Really everything I needed was there. Especially regarding food & drink! I had breakfast in my room with fresh fruit every morning, lunch in the Piazza, dinner in the Boyarsky, and after-dinner drinks in the Shalyapin.

The luxurious hotel is conveniently situated in Moscow’s historical district, walking distance to two famous theaters, including the Bolshoi. However, I did not leave the hotel during my stay…

Because I was there visiting Count Alexander Rostov, sentenced to house arrest at the Metropol for the rest of his life by the Bolsheviks in Amor Towles’s magnificent book, A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel  – my favorite read of 2016 thus far!

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