The Author Guy Blog, Aug 2, 2024

2nd Aug 2024

Hello out there,

Welcome back. Today I’m going to recommend a book by another author, and this one comes as a surprise to me.

There have been numerous times when I’ve struggled to finish books that have become mega-bestsellers, and two come readily to mind. The first is Where the Crawdads Sing. I started, stopped and re-started probably a dozen times before closing the book for the last time at the last page. The second was The Gentleman from Moscow by NYTimes bestselling author Amor Towles, and I confess I never did finish it. Yet it is his latest book I’m recommending without hesitation or reservation.

The 2024 book is entitled Table for Two. I purchased it based upon a review I read (in the Wall Street Journal, I think). It is comprised of six short stories, all set in New York City and averaging thirty-five or so pages each, and a short (two hundred pages) novel set in Los Angeles.

The stories are intriguing and captivating, the characters believable and memorable, and the writing among the best I’ve ever laid eyes on. Once I’ve finished a book, I usually donate it to a charity so it can be resold for a good cause for another’s reading enjoyment. In this case, Table for Two is on my bookshelf where I place books I intend to re-read more than once. And that space on that one shelf isn’t very crowded.

I donated my unread copy of Towles’ The Gentleman from Moscow, so I’ll be trolling used book stores for a copy. I owe that to both of us.

Until next week … Vaya con Dios

Larry B. Gildersleeve


Location: Bowling Green, KY, USA

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