## Metadata - Author: [[Amor Towles]] - Full Title: A Gentleman in Moscow - Category: #books ## Highlights - One hour later, as the Count bounced twice on his new mattress to identify the key of the bedsprings (G-sharp), he surveyed the furniture that had been stacked around him and reminded himself how, as a youth, he had longed for trips to France by steamship and Moscow by the overnight train. And why had he longed for those particular journeys? Because their berths had been so small! What a marvel it had been to discover the table that folded away without a trace; and the drawers built into the base of the bed; and the wall-mounted lamps just large enough to illuminate a page. This efficiency of design was music to the young mind. It attested to a precision of purpose and the promise of adventure. For such would have been the quarters of Captain Nemo when he journeyed twenty thousand leagues beneath the sea. And wouldn’t any young boy with the slightest gumption gladly trade a hundred nights in a palace for one aboard the Nautilus? ([Location 244](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B01COJUEZ0&location=244))