My goal is to read at least 50 books a year. Keeping a book log motivates me to read more. Book choices are often inspired by upcoming trips and the language I’m currently studying. At home I try to alternate serious and light reads, but when traveling I indulge in YA or popular fiction.
Favorites are in bold.
2022

A year of travel in France and deepening my writing practice.
- The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction – Moore, Dinty W.
- Imparfait du futur – Tome 1 – Jules BD – Emile Bravo (French)
- Réplique inattendue – Tome 2 – Jules BD – Emile Bravo (French)
- Scratching the Surface – Jeff Greenwald
- The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred – Phil Cousineau
- The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing – Alice LaPlante
- Stupeur et tremblements – Amelie Nothomb (French)
- A sense of place : great travel writers talk about their craft, lives, and inspiration – Michael Shapiro
- Métronome: L’histoire de France au Rythme du Métro Parisien – Lorant Deutsch (French)
- Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book – Williams, Allison K
- Like Me – Hayley Phelan
- The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
- Odd Thomas – Dean Koontz
- Whip Smart – Melissa Febos
- Girlhood – Melissa Febos
- Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative – Melissa Febos
- American Seoul: A Memoir – Helena Rho
- Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life – Abigail Thomas
- Paris in Love – Eloisa James
- In other words – Jhumpa Lahiri
- Hidden in Paris – Corine Gantz
- My Grape Paris (The Grape Series Book 4) – Laura Bradbury
- My Grape Wedding (The Grape Series Book 5) – Laura Bradbury
- The Same River Twice: A Memoir of Dirtbag Backpackers, Bomb Shelters, and Bad Travel – Pam Mandel
- My (part-time) Paris life : how running away brought me home – Lisa Anselmo
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism – Dr. Robin DiAngelo
- Lost in Paris – Thompson, Elizabeth
- Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction – Rae Pagliarulo
- Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do – Jennifer L. Eberhardt
- Black skies – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 7 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Strange shores : an Inspector Erlendur novel – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Four thousand weeks : time management for mortals – Oliver Burkeman
- Snowblind : a thriller – Ragnar Jónasson
- Into Oblivion – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 11 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- The Girl Who Died – Ragnar Jónasson
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
- Nightblind – Dark Iceland Series, Book 2 – Ragnar Jónasson
- Last Rituals – Thora Gudmundsdottir Series, Book 1 – Yrsa Sigurdardottir
- The antidote : happiness for people who can’t stand positive thinking – Burkeman, Oliver
- A moveable feast : the restored edition – Ernest Hemingway
- The Paris wife – McLain, Paula
- The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
- How to Be Black – Baratunde Thurston
- Shakespeare and Company – Sylvia Beach
- My Grape Escape: (The Grape Series Book 6) – Laura Bradbury
- My Grape Village: (The Grape Series Book 7) – Laura Bradbury
- On Love – Alain de Botton
- The autobiography of Alice B. Toklas – Gertrude Stein
- Hidden Gardens of Paris: A Guide to the Parks, Squares, and Woodlands of the City of Light – Susan Cahill
- Alguien camina sobre tu tumba : mis viajes a cementerios – Mariana Enriquez
- The interior circuit : a Mexico City chronicle – Francisco Goldman
- Bonjour Tristesse – Françoise Sagan (French)
- My Grape Cellar: (The Grape Series Book 8) – Laura Bradbury
- 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go – Marcia DeSanctis
- Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature – Zibby Owens
- Le blé en herbe – Collette (French)
- Un certain sourire – Françoise Sagan (French)
- Déjà Dead: A riveting thriller mystery set in Paris – Susan Kiernan-Lewis
- Bruno, Chief of Police Series, Book 1 – Martin Walker
- Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. – Jeremy Mercer
- Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins
- The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War – Morris, James McGrath
- Full – Julia Spiro
- A thousand naked strangers : a paramedic’s wild ride to the edge and back – Kevin Hazzard
- Prayers for the Stolen – Jennifer Clement
- Verity – Colleen Hoover
- Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem – Laurie Notaro
- La panza del tepozteco – José Agustín (Spanish)
- No te dejaremos ir. Ellas narran el Centro Histórico – J. M. Servín (antologador) (Spanish)
- Las batallas en el desierto – José Emilio Pacheco (Spanish)
- Papeles falsos – Valeria Luiselli (Spanish)
- On the plain of snakes : a Mexican journey – Theroux, Paul
- Temporada de huracanes – Fernanda Melchor (Spanish)
- The Family Upstairs -Lisa Jewell
- Hidden in Snow (The Åre Murders Book 1) – Viveca Sten
- Short Stories in Italian for Beginners – Olly Richards (Italian)
- Ego Is the Enemy – Ryan Holiday
- Ikigai : the Japanese secret to a long and happy life – Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
- Non puoi essere tu: An Italian story of mystery for Italian A2-B1 level learners – Sonia Ognibene (Italian)
- Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life – Bill Perkins
- Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller – T.R. Ragan
- Still waters – Viveca Sten
- The Family Remains – Lisa Jewell
- The Crossing (Detective Louise Blackwell, 1) – Matt Brolly
2021

A year of learning Russian and French, and my first trip to Iceland.
- 101 Conversations in Simple Russian – Olly Richards (Russian)
- Couchsurfing in Russland: Wie ich fast zum Putin-Versteher wurde – Stephan Orth (German)
- Hell Yeah or No – Derek Sivers
- How to Speak Any Language Fluently: Fun, stimulating and effective methods to help anyone learn languages faster – Alex Rawlings
- Meditations: A New Translation – Marcus Aurelius
- On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction – Zinsser, William
- Marco Polo Didn’t Go There: Stories and Revelations from One Decade as a Postmodern Travel Writer – Rolf Potts
- Vagabonding : an uncommon guide to the art of long-term world travel – Rolf Potts
- Travel Writing: See the World. Sell the Story. – L. Peat O’Neil
- The Lonely Planet Travel Anthology: True stories from the world’s best writers – Edited by Don George
- Russian Short Stories For Beginners: 20 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Russian & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way! – Lingo Mastery (Russian)
- The Way of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing of Don George (Travelers’ Tales) – Don George
- Conversational Russian Dialogues: Over 100 Russian Conversations and Short Stories – Lingo Mastery (Russian)
- Lonely Planet Unpacked: An Anthology of Lonely Planet Disaster Stories – Lonely Planet Travel
- Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable – Seth Godin
- By the Seat of My Pants (Lonely Planet Travel Literature) – Edited by Don George
- Elizabeth Bishop : Life and the Memory of It – Brett C. Millier
- The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 12: True Stories from Around the World – Lavinia Spalding
- Short Stories in Russian for Beginners – Olly Richards (Russian)
- Why this world : a biography of Clarice Lispector – Benjamin Moser
- The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke – Theodore Roethke
- The Glass House: The Life of Theodore Roethke – Allan Seager
- The Zen of Blogging: Make money with your blog, fire your boss and live the good life – Daniel Welsch
- Refuse to Choose! Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams – Barbara Sher
- A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out – Sally Franson
- Rasskaz-Sensatsiya (The Story Sensation): for learners of the Russian language (and not only for Guadeloupeans!) – Ignaty Dyakov (Russian)
- Language Habit Handbook – Kerstin Cable
- Fluency Made Achievable – Kerstin Cable
- Operation Enough!: How to Retire Remarkably Early – Anita Dhake
- Elegy – Larry Levis
- French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris – Scott Dominic Carpenter
- The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone–Especially Ourselves – Dan Ariely
- Russian Short Stories for Beginners Volume 2 – Lingo Mastery (Russian)
- Life, Unscheduled – Kristin Rockaway
- L’appart : the delights and disasters of making my Paris home – David Lebovitz
- WINGS: Gifts of Art, Life, and Travel in France – Erin Byrne
- Me talk pretty one day – Sedaris, David
- Sixty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong – Nadeau, Jean-Benoît
- Wanderlust in the Time of Coronavirus – Don George
- Love Your Life – Sophie Kinsella
- Shopping for Buddhas – Jeff Greenwald
- Russian Short Stories for Beginners – My Daily Russian (Russian)
- Your Music and People – Derek Sivers
- How to Live – Derek Sivers
- Atomic Habits : tiny changes, remarkable results (reread) – James Clear
- Jar city : a Reykjavik thriller – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 1 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Silence of the Grave – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 2 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Voices – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 3 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- The Draining Lake – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 4 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Arctic Chill – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 5 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Reykjavik Nights – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 0 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Operation Napoleon – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Love, Comment, Subscribe (Ponto Beach Reunion Book 1) – Cathy Yardley
- Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered – Austin Kleon
- Vignettes & Postcards From Paris – Edited by Erin Byrne, Anna Pook
- 301 expressions pour parler comme les Français: FLE B1-C2 – Johan Tekfak
- Steal like an artist : 10 things nobody told you about being creative – Austin Kleon
- Scratching the Surface – Jeff Greenwald
- Hypothermia – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 6 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Outrage – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 7 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Chéri – Collette (French)
- La fin de Chéri – Collette (French)
- Gigi – Collette (French)
- Là où souffle le vent – Amélie Blanche (French)
- Belonging : a German reckons with history and home – Nora Krug
- Black skies – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 7 – Arnaldur Indriðason
- Devoted – Dean Koontz
- Watchers – Dean Koontz
- Candide – Voltaire (French)
- The Best of Brevity: Twenty Groundbreaking Years of Flash Nonfiction – Bossiere, Zoe
- The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction – Moore, Dinty W.
- Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London To Hanoi – Heather Ellis
- Réplique inattendue – Tome 2 – Jules BD – Emile Bravo (French)
- Read Between the Lines – Rachel Lacey
2020

A year of celebrating Carnaval in Brazil, relearning French, preparing for trips to France and Russia that never happened, and of diving into writing workshops instead.
- Diálogos Impossíveis – Luís Fernando Veríssimo (Portuguese)
- Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It – Gabriel Wyner
- Portuguese Short Stories for Beginners – Lingo Mastery (Portuguese)
- Crônicas para ler em qualquer lugar – Gregorio Duvivier, Maria Ribeiro, Xico Sá (Portuguese)
- Mensagem – Fernando Pessoa (Portuguese)
- Intermediate Portuguese Short Stories – Lingo Mastery (Portuguese)
- A Hora da Estrela – Clarice Lispector (Portuguese)
- Portuguese Short Stories for Beginners and Intermediate Learners – Language Guru (Portuguese)
- Felicidade Clandestina – Clarice Lispector (Portuguese)
- The Submissive – Tara Sue Me
- Queens of Geek – Jen Wilde
- Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day – Knapp, Jake, Zeratsky, John
- Poema Piada – Breve Antologia da Poesia Engraçada – Gregorio Duvivier (Portuguese)
- The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life – Before 8AM – Hal Elrod
- The Happiness Project, Tenth Anniversary Edition – Gretchen Rubin
- Successful Self-Publishing: How to self-publish and market your book (Books for Writers 1) – Joanna Penn
- Portuguese Short Stories: 9 Simple and Captivating Stories for Effective Portuguese Learning for Beginners – Language Learning University (Portuguese)
- 101 Conversations in Intermediate French – Olly Richards (French)
- Better Than Before – Gretchen Rubin
- 4 Pilules pour une vie riche et sans stress – Johan Tekfak (French)
- Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers – Timothy Ferriss
- Deep Work – Cal Newport
- 101 Conversations in Simple French: Short Natural Dialogues to Boost Your Confidence & Improve Your Spoken French – Olly Richards (French)
- Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World – Cal Newport
- The Brightsiders – Jen Wilde
- Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World – Timothy Ferriss
- How Proust Can Change Your Life – Alain De Botton
- Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur – Derek Sivers
- The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg
- Histoires à lire le soir – Marc Thil (French)
- Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples: Third Edition – Hendrix, Harville
- Histoires à lire le soir 2 – Marc Thil (French)
- Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert
- Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage – Elizabeth Gilbert
- How to think more about sex – Alain de Botton
- The architecture of happiness – Alain de Botton
- Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris – Sarah Turnbull
- Tout Sweet: Hanging Up My High Heels for a New Life in France – Karen Wheeler
- Toute Allure: Falling in Love in Rural France (Tout Sweet Book 2) – Karen Wheeler
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life – Mark Manson
- The alter ego effect : the power of secret identities to transform your life – Todd Herman
- When in French : love in a second language – Lauren Collins
- Confessions of a Paris Party Girl (American in Paris) – Vicki Lesage
- Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love – Amir Levine
- A year in Provence – Peter Mayle
- Paris to the moon – Adam Gopnik
- A week at the airport – Alain de Botton
- The Obstacle Is the Way – Ryan Holiday
- The unbearable lightness of being – Milan Kundera
- La vérité sur l’affaire Harry Quebert – Joel Dicker (French)
- On writing : a memoir of the craft – Stephen King
- The Elements of style – William Strunk Jr.
- The war of art : break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles – Steven Pressfield
- The Consolations of Philosophy – Alain De Botton
- Writing down the bones : freeing the writer within – Natalie Goldberg
- Bird by bird : some instructions on writing and life – Anne Lamott
- How to be a Travel Writer (Lonely Planet) – Don George
- The Parisian Adventures of Kimberly (Les Aventures Parisiennes de Kimberly): A Franco-American Love Story – Intermediate Level French Reader – Véronique F. Courtois (French)
- Still writing : the pleasures and perils of a creative life – Dani Shapiro
- Operating instructions : a journal of my son’s first year – Anne Lamott
- The pleasures and sorrows of work – Alain de Botton
- The Writing Life – Dillard, Annie
- Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler – Lavinia Spalding
- What to Say When You Talk to Your Self – Shad Helmstetter
- 10% Happier – Dan Harris
- Sovietistan : travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan – Erika Fatland
- Best women’s travel writing, Volume 11 : true stories from around the world – edited by Lavinia Spalding
- Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer: A Humorous Parenting Memoir – Vicki Lesage
- La Maison – Emma Becker (French)
- Confessions of an Expat in Paris: A Humorous Travel Memoir with Sassy Drink Recipes – Vicki Lesage
- Stepping Off the Relationship Escalator: Uncommon Love and Life – Amy Gahran
- Snowdrops – A.D. Miller
- To the Lake – Yana Vagner
- A Terrible Country: A Novel – Keith Gessen
- Summer Blonde – Adrian Tomine
- Scenes From an Impending Marriage – Adrian Tomine
- Shortcomings – Adrian Tomine
- Gorky Park (Arkady Renko, No. 1) – Martin Cruz Smith
- The Turkish Gambit: A Novel (Erast Fandorin Mysteries) – Boris Akunin
2019

A year of studying Portuguese in Brazil and Portugal.
- Atomic habits : tiny changes, remarkable results – James Clear
- Dragonfly in Amber – Diana Gabaldon
- Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence – Chris Mamula
- Feijoada de Bacalhau: Relatos e reflexões de um brasileiro em Portugal (Portuguese Edition) – Victor Allenspach (Portuguese)
- Portugal de perto – Nuno Ferreira (Portuguese)
- Outlander: A Novel – Diana Gabaldon
- Because internet : understanding the new rules of language – Gretchen McCulloch
- Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career – Scott Young
- The 80/20 Principle – Richard Koch
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity – David Allen
- Ten Years a Nomad: A Traveler’s Journey Home – Matthew Kepnes
- Playing with FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early): How Far Would You Go for Financial Freedom? – Scott Rieckens
- The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life – JL Collins
- Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way – Tanja Hester
- The Way of the Linguist: A Language Learning Odyssey – Steve Kaufmann
- Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required – Kristy Shen, Bryce Leung, JL Collins
- Open Mic Night in Moscow: And Other Stories from My Search for Black Markets, Soviet Architecture, and Emotionally Unavailable Russian Men – Murray, Audrey
- West Is San Francisco – Sapala, Lauren
- Invisibles – Ed Siegle
- The Power of Your Subconscious Mind – Murphy, Joseph
- Put Some Farofa – Gregorio Duvivier (Portuguese)
- Onze Minutos – Paulo Coelho (Portuguese)
- Sete dias em busca da brasilidade: Sob o olhar de uma estrangeira – Bodrozic-Brnic, Kristina (Portuguese)