Group Read: Rules of Civility

Forum75 Books Challenge for 2017

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Group Read: Rules of Civility

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1msf59
Okt. 3, 2017, 7:42 pm



"On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar with her boardinghouse roommate stretching three dollars as far as it will go when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker with royal blue eyes and a tempered smile, happens to sit at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a yearlong journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool toward the upper echelons of New York society and the executive suites of Condé Nast--rarefied environs where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve."

2msf59
Bearbeitet: Okt. 3, 2017, 7:58 pm

^A Gentleman in Moscow has an army of adoring fans, here on LT but many of us have not read Amor Towles first novel, Rules of Civility. So, we decided to do a Group Read of it. There will be no time restrictions or penalties for falling behind. Read it at your leisure and share your thoughts with the group. Pretty simple, right? Please avoid any spoilers, early on. Let's not sink the ship before it is out of port.

I will be listening to the audio and I will post my thoughts about this aural experience, once I am under way. I should start it, within a week.

Let's get this party started!!

3lindapanzo
Okt. 3, 2017, 8:47 pm

I'll be reading on Kindle but probably won't start til about Monday or so.

4SomeGuyInVirginia
Okt. 4, 2017, 11:18 am

I'm in!

5karenmarie
Okt. 4, 2017, 11:18 am

Me, too!

6maikefa
Okt. 4, 2017, 11:23 am

Dieser Benutzer wurde wegen Spammens entfernt.

7jessibud2
Okt. 4, 2017, 12:53 pm

A bit sad that I have already read it but I will keep this thread starred to eavesdrop on the conversations.... ;-)

8laytonwoman3rd
Okt. 4, 2017, 12:55 pm

Maaaaybe.....

9Crazymamie
Okt. 4, 2017, 1:15 pm

Yes!

10weird_O
Okt. 4, 2017, 2:09 pm

I was at a library book sale with a friend, back in July, and she warbled about this book. She insisted on buying it for my wife.

My wife having read it and given it a tepid "yeah, it was ok," I will read it. Start by the end of the week.

11lindapanzo
Okt. 4, 2017, 2:46 pm

I have extremely high hopes for it because A Gentleman in Moscow was one of my favorite books this year. Hope I'm not disappointed.

12jnwelch
Okt. 4, 2017, 8:41 pm

Like Shelley, I’ve read it (really good), so I’ll be eavesdropping.

13msf59
Bearbeitet: Okt. 4, 2017, 8:56 pm

>8 laytonwoman3rd: No accepting"Maybes", Linda. You can do it!!

14SuziQoregon
Okt. 5, 2017, 12:48 pm

I listened to the audio a few years ago. I just went back and read my blog post about it and remembered why I liked it.

15SomeGuyInVirginia
Okt. 5, 2017, 4:25 pm

I think my copy will be here today. I'm traveling this weekend but should be able to at least start.

16SomeGuyInVirginia
Okt. 5, 2017, 5:10 pm

It's here! I've read the first three paragraphs. So far- fabulous!

17karenmarie
Okt. 6, 2017, 6:54 am

At the Friends of the Library book sale yesterday, I was chatting with Stephanie, a woman in my book club. We chatted about AGiM and then RoC - she may suggest it as her book for the coming book club year. And just then she found a beautiful trade paperback copy. We were both happy. I'm going to read it this month regardless of book club scheduling, but it was nice to see her so excited about finding it.

18katiekrug
Okt. 6, 2017, 6:57 am

I'm in but probably won't start until mid-month or so...

19EBT1002
Bearbeitet: Okt. 11, 2017, 3:46 pm

I'm just finding this thread (thanks Shelley!) and dropping off my star. I purchased my copy today, will likely start it in the next week or so.
I like it: this will be a leisurely group read!

20weird_O
Okt. 11, 2017, 6:19 pm

Reading the Preface, I had to stop and fetch my copy of Many Are Called and leaf through the pages, looking for two photos that could be of the same guy in different social levels. Wonder if Evans' photos play any more part in the book? No, no. Don't tell me! I'll find out.

21karenmarie
Okt. 14, 2017, 10:07 am

I'm just starting the section "Springtime", p 59 of 324 pages if you don't include the appendix, 335 if you do.

22msf59
Okt. 14, 2017, 11:05 am

I just started it too. Lovely beginning...

23weird_O
Okt. 14, 2017, 11:36 am

With less than 100 pages to read, all is well. The clues offered by the Preface are playing out, and the identity of the narrator's husband, one of the clues, has just hit me, though it was put before me quite a few pages back. I'll see if I am correct before the weekend is out.

Likey.

24weird_O
Okt. 14, 2017, 5:36 pm

I am done. A-ok.

25msf59
Bearbeitet: Okt. 14, 2017, 6:36 pm

>24 weird_O:



^Nice job, Bill. I am a 100 pages in. Good stuff.

26lindapanzo
Okt. 14, 2017, 8:16 pm

On my Kindle, I am 20% in. It's hard to talk about it without spoilers. Really liking it though.

27karenmarie
Okt. 16, 2017, 5:31 pm

I just finished it about 10 minutes ago, having powered through the last third of it this afternoon.

>23 weird_O: I guessed it was Valentine as soon as I heard his name - Wallace, Dicky, Tinker, and Hank couldn't be turned into Val.

28klobrien2
Bearbeitet: Okt. 16, 2017, 6:09 pm

I'm about a quarter in (I'm reading a large type book, so there are over 500 pages). LOVE it! I very recently read A Gentleman in Moscow, so two things jump into my mind: (1) Towles is a master of describing places and times and (2) his writing is so full of small little "gem"s of incidents or descriptions, and I keep reading because I can't wait to see what he shows us next.

The author bio in the back of Rules of Civility says that the author was still in the investment profession at that time; please tell me he's writing full-time now!

Karen O.

n.b. "Having worked as an investment professional for over twenty years, Mr. Towles now devotes himself full time to writing in Manhattan, where he lives with his wife and two children." (amortowles.com)

29jessibud2
Okt. 16, 2017, 6:19 pm

I posted a bunch of random quotes on my thread when I read this last month. There seems to be something quotable, some delicious turn of phrase, almost every other page, right?

Pity he has only written 2 so far. I wonder if a third is in the works....

30CDVicarage
Okt. 17, 2017, 3:58 am

>29 jessibud2: There is also a collection of short stories - Eve in Hollywood

31jessibud2
Okt. 17, 2017, 6:24 am

>30 CDVicarage: - Oh! Thank you for that. I did not know of this. I am not generally a fan of short stories but I WILL look for this.

32lindapanzo
Okt. 17, 2017, 7:00 am

>30 CDVicarage: looks like it's ebook only and not currently for sale on Amazon. I'll have to look into this further.

Thanks for letting us know about this.

33karenmarie
Okt. 17, 2017, 8:13 am

>30 CDVicarage:->32 lindapanzo: I'm nothing if not bold - I just sent an e-mail to Amor Towles from the Contact option on his website, asking if there was any way to purchase Eve in Hollywood since it wasn't available on Amazon any more.

34jessibud2
Okt. 17, 2017, 8:39 am

>33 karenmarie: - :-) That's our girl!

35CDVicarage
Okt. 17, 2017, 11:59 am

Sorry to hear about the difficulty of getting Eve in Hollywood. You probably don't want to know that it's available from Amazon UK for 99p at the moment.

36lindapanzo
Okt. 17, 2017, 12:31 pm

>33 karenmarie: Thank you for doing that. Maybe we can all do it and create a groundswell of support for it.

I finished the book just now. Absolutely loved it. Probably not quite as much as Gentleman in Moscow but it's close, for me.

37jessibud2
Okt. 17, 2017, 1:00 pm

>35 CDVicarage: - I rarely, if ever, order anything from amazon. But can someone in North America order from amazon UK?

So glad to hear that you liked it, Linda. He does have a really classy style, doesn't he. I love how he uses the language

38lindapanzo
Okt. 17, 2017, 1:18 pm

I notice that it's available for $2.99 from Books a Million. It seems to me that, for a First to Read book I won, I had to download an app that is compatible with BAM so there's hope yet.

39lindapanzo
Okt. 17, 2017, 10:08 pm

Woo-hoo. I also wrote to Amor Towles through his website's "contact me" button to tell him that I loved Rules of Civility and to ask to make Eve in Hollywood available on Amazon.com.

I got an extremely nice reply, thanking me for my kind remarks and saying "to receive a friendly reception from a seasoned reader makes it all worthwhile."

He said he originally planned to give Eve in Hollywood to the readers on his distribution list but he pulled it because he planned to turn it into a full length work but, due to demand, he will make it available soon via print on demand at his local independent bookstore. Said he'd email me the info when it's available later this fall and, in the meantime, urged me to read A Gentleman in Moscow.

40msf59
Okt. 17, 2017, 10:12 pm

>39 lindapanzo: That is very cool, Linda. You made a new friend. Let us know if you hear any updates on Eve!

Oh yeah- Go Cubbies!

41karenmarie
Bearbeitet: Okt. 17, 2017, 10:21 pm

>37 jessibud2: - I just logged into amazon.co.uk with my amazon prime email address and password, can see Eve in Hollywood, but it says it's only available to UK customers. Boo, flunk.

>39 lindapanzo: I think we got the same reply, Linda. Except that I mentioned that I'd read A Gentleman in Moscow and he didn't urge me to read it.

42lindapanzo
Okt. 17, 2017, 10:25 pm

>41 karenmarie: I forgot to mention that fact to him. He did say that he took the liberty of adding me to his email distribution list so I'll be in the know on new books etc.

Also, later on, I remembered that, to get my free copy of Radio Free Vermont, I had to download Adobe Digital Editions on my PC. I think that's the name. Anyway, Books a Million still has a copy available for sale so I picked one up and put it into my Adobe Digital Editions bookshelf and so I can read it on my PC. Not an optimal solution but I'm still trying to figure out how to use the BAM app.

43klobrien2
Okt. 18, 2017, 6:23 pm

Interesting chat on Eve in Hollywood -- this guy is addicting!

Just finished Rules of Civility: A Novel and really liked it -- like >36 lindapanzo: maybe not as much a A Gentleman in Moscow but close! I bet that would be the case with any writer--that there will be improvement or at least a settling of style in an author's writing. Or something like that. :) Anyway, I'm definitely in the warbling camp on this one!

Karen O.

44lindapanzo
Okt. 22, 2017, 7:35 pm

I've started reading Eve in Hollywood and really enjoying it. I can see why he'd want to turn this collection of into a full length novel.

45EBT1002
Bearbeitet: Okt. 25, 2017, 4:41 pm

I agree that this would have been a hard book to discuss without spoilers. Still, I enjoyed reading it and I enjoyed knowing there were others out there reading at about the same time.

The last bit of my "review" from my thread:

The plot of this novel is just shy of compelling -- a few too many chance encounters end up disrupting the magic while necessarily advancing the story -- but the storytelling is wonderful. Towles' prose is pitch-perfect; it mirrors the mood of the story absolutely. This was a great book in which to get lost. Best accompanied by a gin martini in anticipation of those consumed by the characters.

Oh, and I gave it four stars.

46Diane-bpcb
Apr. 4, 2019, 2:17 am

I remember being surprised and delighted at how many places from the NYC of years ago he remembered and included in the book. (From long before I got here.)