1- I’ve had a hard time coming up with something intelligent to say about A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, despite it being one of my favorite books. Though written in 2016, it reads more like classic literature. It’s a slow developing plot, but the payoff is excellent. The storyline is this: a Russian Count, Alexander Rostov, is placed on house arrest in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow during the Bolshevik Revolution, where he lives for thirty years. He learns to truly savor the simple pleasures in life while staying true to himself and his integrity. He develops deep meaningful relationships that prove the key to his happiness and survival. It’s a book that will make you slow down and live in the moment. You won’t fall off the edge of your seat with anticipation and excitement, but I do believe this book has the potential to move your spirit and improve your appreciation for life as it is. I highly recommend it!

2- My favorite listen so far this year is Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. You should know this about me: I don’t like celebrities and I don’t like Hollywood. At all. So I resisted this one for a long time until Hill spoke so highly of it. It’s crass and vulgar (as you could imagine), but so real and honest. And it’s absolutely hilarious. If you decide to give this one a try, do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook. McConaughey narrates the book and it’s like he is acting. I loved learning about his life experience and philosophy, as much as the straight up entertainment. 

3- A few weeks ago I wrote about an excerpt from Muhammad Ali’s autobiography where he threw his gold medal into the Ohio River as a silent protest of inequality in the 1960s. It turns out that that story is not true. Ali and his co-writer wrote a history full of embellishments. Although it is true that he did fight for civil rights and stand in solidarity with his people (although in a different way at times), he actually just lost his medal. 

That said, I do highly recommend his biography, Ali: A Life, written by Jonathan Eig. It absolutely blew my mind the life that Ali lived. The two words I have to describe his life: Contradiction and Passion.  His experience was so foreign to me and his actions made so much more sense knowing the context of his life. I was on the edge of my seat listening to the description of the “Rumble in the Jungle” against George Foreman, and the “Thrilla in Manilla” against Joe Frazier. It was fascinating to learn of Ali’s rise to the top, the obstacles he overcame to stay there, and his sad decline as he moved toward the end of his career and beyond. Such a good book though!

4- My Book of the Month for June was Outlive, by Peter Attia. It turned out to be a much longer book than I was expecting. So it’s gonna be awhile before I can get through that one.

5- Just starting How Minds Change by David McRane. Look forward to sharing my thoughts on that one soon.