Reading History

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.

1. The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction – Moore, Dinty W.
2. Imparfait du futur – Tome 1 – Jules BD – Emile Bravo (French)
3. Réplique inattendue – Tome 2 – Jules BD – Emile Bravo (French)
4. Scratching the Surface – Jeff Greenwald
5. The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred – Phil Cousineau
6. The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing – Alice LaPlante
7. Stupeur et tremblements – Amelie Nothomb (French)
8. A sense of place : great travel writers talk about their craft, lives, and inspiration – Michael Shapiro
9. Métronome: L’histoire de France au Rythme du Métro Parisien – Lorant Deutsch (French)
10. Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book – Williams, Allison K
11. Like Me – Hayley Phelan
12. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
13. Odd Thomas – Dean Koontz
14. Whip Smart – Melissa Febos
15. Girlhood – Melissa Febos
16. Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative – Melissa Febos
17. American Seoul: A Memoir – Helena Rho
18. Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life – Abigail Thomas
19. Paris in Love – Eloisa James
20. In other words – Jhumpa Lahiri
21. Hidden in Paris – Corine Gantz
22. My Grape Paris (The Grape Series Book 4) – Laura Bradbury
23. My Grape Wedding (The Grape Series Book 5) – Laura Bradbury
24. The Same River Twice: A Memoir of Dirtbag Backpackers, Bomb Shelters, and Bad Travel – Pam Mandel
25. My (part-time) Paris life : how running away brought me home – Lisa Anselmo
26. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism – Dr. Robin DiAngelo
27. Lost in Paris – Thompson, Elizabeth
28. Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction – Rae Pagliarulo
29. Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do – Jennifer L. Eberhardt
30. Black skies – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 7 – Arnaldur Indriðason
31. Strange shores : an Inspector Erlendur novel – Arnaldur Indriðason
32. Four thousand weeks : time management for mortals – Oliver Burkeman
33. Snowblind : a thriller – Ragnar Jónasson
34. Into Oblivion – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 11 – Arnaldur Indriðason
35. The Girl Who Died – Ragnar Jónasson
36. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
37. Nightblind – Dark Iceland Series, Book 2 – Ragnar Jónasson
38. Last Rituals – Thora Gudmundsdottir Series, Book 1 – Yrsa Sigurdardottir
39. The antidote : happiness for people who can’t stand positive thinking – Burkeman, Oliver
40. A moveable feast : the restored edition – Ernest Hemingway
41. The Paris wife – McLain, Paula
42. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
43. How to Be Black – Baratunde Thurston
44. Shakespeare and Company – Sylvia Beach
45. My Grape Escape: (The Grape Series Book 6) – Laura Bradbury
46. My Grape Village: (The Grape Series Book 7) – Laura Bradbury
47. On Love – Alain de Botton
48. The autobiography of Alice B. Toklas – Gertrude Stein
49. Hidden Gardens of Paris: A Guide to the Parks, Squares, and Woodlands of the City of Light – Susan Cahill
50. Alguien camina sobre tu tumba : mis viajes a cementerios – Mariana Enriquez
51. The interior circuit : a Mexico City chronicle – Francisco Goldman
52. Bonjour Tristesse – Françoise Sagan (French)
53. My Grape Cellar: (The Grape Series Book 8) – Laura Bradbury
54. 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go – Marcia DeSanctis
55. Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature – Zibby Owens
56. Le blé en herbe – Collette (French)
57. Un certain sourire – Françoise Sagan (French)
58. Déjà Dead: A riveting thriller mystery set in Paris – Susan Kiernan-Lewis
59. Bruno, Chief of Police Series, Book 1 – Martin Walker
60. Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. – Jeremy Mercer
61. Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins
62. The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War – Morris, James McGrath
63. Full – Julia Spiro
64. A thousand naked strangers : a paramedic’s wild ride to the edge and back – Kevin Hazzard
65. Prayers for the Stolen – Jennifer Clement
66. Verity – Colleen Hoover
67. Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem – Laurie Notaro
68. La panza del tepozteco – José Agustín (Spanish)
69. No te dejaremos ir. Ellas narran el Centro Histórico – J. M. Servín (antologador) (Spanish)
70. Las batallas en el desierto – José Emilio Pacheco (Spanish)
71. Papeles falsos – Valeria Luiselli (Spanish)
72. On the plain of snakes : a Mexican journey – Theroux, Paul
73. Temporada de huracanes – Fernanda Melchor (Spanish)
74. The Family Upstairs -Lisa Jewell
75. Hidden in Snow (The Åre Murders Book 1) – Viveca Sten
76. Short Stories in Italian for Beginners – Olly Richards (Italian)
77. Ego Is the Enemy – Ryan Holiday
78. Ikigai : the Japanese secret to a long and happy life – Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
79. Non puoi essere tu: An Italian story of mystery for Italian A2-B1 level learners – Sonia Ognibene (Italian)
80. Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life – Bill Perkins
81. Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller – T.R. Ragan
82. Still waters – Viveca Sten
83. The Family Remains – Lisa Jewell
84. The Crossing (Detective Louise Blackwell, 1) – Matt Brolly

2021

A year of learning Russian and French, and my first trip to Iceland.

1. 101 Conversations in Simple Russian – Olly Richards (Russian)
2. Couchsurfing in Russland: Wie ich fast zum Putin-Versteher wurde – Stephan Orth (German)
3. Hell Yeah or No – Derek Sivers
4. How to Speak Any Language Fluently: Fun, stimulating and effective methods to help anyone learn languages faster – Alex Rawlings
5. Meditations: A New Translation – Marcus Aurelius
6. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction – Zinsser, William
7. Marco Polo Didn’t Go There: Stories and Revelations from One Decade as a Postmodern Travel Writer – Rolf Potts
8. Vagabonding : an uncommon guide to the art of long-term world travel – Rolf Potts
9. Travel Writing: See the World. Sell the Story. – L. Peat O’Neil
10. The Lonely Planet Travel Anthology: True stories from the world’s best writers – Edited by Don George
11. Russian Short Stories For Beginners: 20 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Russian & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way! – Lingo Mastery (Russian)
12. The Way of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing of Don George (Travelers’ Tales) – Don George
13. Conversational Russian Dialogues: Over 100 Russian Conversations and Short Stories – Lingo Mastery (Russian)
14. Lonely Planet Unpacked: An Anthology of Lonely Planet Disaster Stories – Lonely Planet Travel
15. Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable – Seth Godin
16. By the Seat of My Pants (Lonely Planet Travel Literature) – Edited by Don George
17. Elizabeth Bishop : Life and the Memory of It – Brett C. Millier
18. The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 12: True Stories from Around the World – Lavinia Spalding
19. Short Stories in Russian for Beginners – Olly Richards (Russian)
20. Why this world : a biography of Clarice Lispector – Benjamin Moser
21. The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke – Theodore Roethke
22. The Glass House: The Life of Theodore Roethke – Allan Seager
23. The Zen of Blogging: Make money with your blog, fire your boss and live the good life – Daniel Welsch
24. Refuse to Choose! Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams – Barbara Sher
25. A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out – Sally Franson
26. Rasskaz-Sensatsiya (The Story Sensation): for learners of the Russian language (and not only for Guadeloupeans!) – Ignaty Dyakov (Russian)
27. Language Habit Handbook – Kerstin Cable
28. Fluency Made Achievable – Kerstin Cable
29. Operation Enough!: How to Retire Remarkably Early – Anita Dhake
30. Elegy – Larry Levis
31. French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris – Scott Dominic Carpenter
32. The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone–Especially Ourselves – Dan Ariely
33. Russian Short Stories for Beginners Volume 2 – Lingo Mastery (Russian)
34. Life, Unscheduled – Kristin Rockaway
35. L’appart : the delights and disasters of making my Paris home – David Lebovitz
36. WINGS: Gifts of Art, Life, and Travel in France – Erin Byrne
37. Me talk pretty one day – Sedaris, David
38. Sixty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong – Nadeau, Jean-Benoît
39. Wanderlust in the Time of Coronavirus – Don George
40. Love Your Life – Sophie Kinsella
41. Shopping for Buddhas – Jeff Greenwald
42. Russian Short Stories for Beginners – My Daily Russian (Russian)
43. Your Music and People – Derek Sivers
44. How to Live – Derek Sivers
45. Atomic Habits : tiny changes, remarkable results (reread) – James Clear
46. Jar city : a Reykjavik thriller – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 1 – Arnaldur Indriðason
47. Silence of the Grave – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 2 – Arnaldur Indriðason
48. Voices – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 3 – Arnaldur Indriðason
49. The Draining Lake – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 4 – Arnaldur Indriðason
50. Arctic Chill – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 5 – Arnaldur Indriðason
51. Reykjavik Nights – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 0 – Arnaldur Indriðason
52. Operation Napoleon – Arnaldur Indriðason
53. Love, Comment, Subscribe (Ponto Beach Reunion Book 1) – Cathy Yardley
54. Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered – Austin Kleon
55. Vignettes & Postcards From Paris – Edited by Erin Byrne, Anna Pook
56. 301 expressions pour parler comme les Français: FLE B1-C2 – Johan Tekfak
57. Steal like an artist : 10 things nobody told you about being creative – Austin Kleon
58. Scratching the Surface – Jeff Greenwald
59. Hypothermia – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 6 – Arnaldur Indriðason
60. Outrage – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 7 – Arnaldur Indriðason
61. Chéri – Collette (French)
62. La fin de Chéri – Collette (French)
63. Gigi – Collette (French)
64. Là où souffle le vent – Amélie Blanche (French)
65. Belonging : a German reckons with history and home – Nora Krug
66. Black skies – Inspector Erlendur Series, Book 7 – Arnaldur Indriðason
67. Devoted – Dean Koontz
68. Watchers – Dean Koontz
69. Candide – Voltaire (French)
70. The Best of Brevity: Twenty Groundbreaking Years of Flash Nonfiction – Bossiere, Zoe
71. The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction – Moore, Dinty W.
72. Timeless On The Silk Road: An Odyssey From London To Hanoi – Heather Ellis
73. Réplique inattendue – Tome 2 – Jules BD – Emile Bravo (French)
74. 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.

1. Diálogos Impossíveis – Luís Fernando Veríssimo (Portuguese)
2. Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It – Gabriel Wyner
3. Portuguese Short Stories for Beginners – Lingo Mastery (Portuguese)
4. Crônicas para ler em qualquer lugar – Gregorio Duvivier, Maria Ribeiro, Xico Sá (Portuguese)
5. Mensagem – Fernando Pessoa (Portuguese)
6. Intermediate Portuguese Short Stories – Lingo Mastery (Portuguese)
7. A Hora da Estrela – Clarice Lispector (Portuguese)
8. Portuguese Short Stories for Beginners and Intermediate Learners – Language Guru (Portuguese)
9. Felicidade Clandestina – Clarice Lispector (Portuguese)
10. The Submissive – Tara Sue Me
11. Queens of Geek – Jen Wilde
12. Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day – Knapp, Jake, Zeratsky, John
13. Poema Piada – Breve Antologia da Poesia Engraçada – Gregorio Duvivier (Portuguese)
14. The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life – Before 8AM – Hal Elrod
15. The Happiness Project, Tenth Anniversary Edition – Gretchen Rubin
16. Successful Self-Publishing: How to self-publish and market your book (Books for Writers 1) – Joanna Penn
17. Portuguese Short Stories: 9 Simple and Captivating Stories for Effective Portuguese Learning for Beginners – Language Learning University (Portuguese)
18. 101 Conversations in Intermediate French – Olly Richards (French)
19. Better Than Before – Gretchen Rubin
20. 4 Pilules pour une vie riche et sans stress – Johan Tekfak (French)
21. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers – Timothy Ferriss
22. Deep Work – Cal Newport
23. 101 Conversations in Simple French: Short Natural Dialogues to Boost Your Confidence & Improve Your Spoken French – Olly Richards (French)
24. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World – Cal Newport
25. The Brightsiders – Jen Wilde
26. Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World – Timothy Ferriss
27. How Proust Can Change Your Life – Alain De Botton
28. Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur – Derek Sivers
29. The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg
30. Histoires à lire le soir – Marc Thil (French)
31. Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples: Third Edition – Hendrix, Harville
32. Histoires à lire le soir 2 – Marc Thil (French)
33. Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert
34. Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage – Elizabeth Gilbert
35. How to think more about sex – Alain de Botton
36. The architecture of happiness – Alain de Botton
37. Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris – Sarah Turnbull
38. Tout Sweet: Hanging Up My High Heels for a New Life in France – Karen Wheeler
39. Toute Allure: Falling in Love in Rural France (Tout Sweet Book 2) – Karen Wheeler
40. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life – Mark Manson
41. The alter ego effect : the power of secret identities to transform your life – Todd Herman
42. When in French : love in a second language – Lauren Collins
43. Confessions of a Paris Party Girl (American in Paris) – Vicki Lesage
44. Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love – Amir Levine
45. A year in Provence – Peter Mayle
46. Paris to the moon – Adam Gopnik
47. A week at the airport – Alain de Botton
48. The Obstacle Is the Way – Ryan Holiday
49. The unbearable lightness of being – Milan Kundera
50. La vérité sur l’affaire Harry Quebert – Joel Dicker (French)
51. On writing : a memoir of the craft – Stephen King
52. The Elements of style – William Strunk Jr.
53. The war of art : break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles – Steven Pressfield
54. The Consolations of Philosophy – Alain De Botton
55. Writing down the bones : freeing the writer within – Natalie Goldberg
56. Bird by bird : some instructions on writing and life – Anne Lamott
57. How to be a Travel Writer (Lonely Planet) – Don George
58. The Parisian Adventures of Kimberly (Les Aventures Parisiennes de Kimberly): A Franco-American Love Story – Intermediate Level French Reader – Véronique F. Courtois (French)
59. Still writing : the pleasures and perils of a creative life – Dani Shapiro
60. Operating instructions : a journal of my son’s first year – Anne Lamott
61. The pleasures and sorrows of work – Alain de Botton
62. The Writing Life – Dillard, Annie
63. Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler – Lavinia Spalding
64. What to Say When You Talk to Your Self – Shad Helmstetter
65. 10% Happier – Dan Harris
66. Sovietistan : travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan – Erika Fatland
67. Best women’s travel writing, Volume 11 : true stories from around the world – edited by Lavinia Spalding
68. Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer: A Humorous Parenting Memoir – Vicki Lesage
69. La Maison – Emma Becker (French)
70. Confessions of an Expat in Paris: A Humorous Travel Memoir with Sassy Drink Recipes – Vicki Lesage
71. Stepping Off the Relationship Escalator: Uncommon Love and Life – Amy Gahran
72. Snowdrops – A.D. Miller
73. To the Lake – Yana Vagner
74. A Terrible Country: A Novel – Keith Gessen
75. Summer Blonde – Adrian Tomine
76. Scenes From an Impending Marriage – Adrian Tomine
77. Shortcomings – Adrian Tomine
78. Gorky Park (Arkady Renko, No. 1) – Martin Cruz Smith
79. The Turkish Gambit: A Novel (Erast Fandorin Mysteries) – Boris Akunin

2019

A year of studying Portuguese in Brazil and Portugal.

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