Sometimes the best antidote to winter blues is getting lost in a good book. Whether you’re looking for an easy read to toss in your beach bag for your next vacay, or just hoping to enjoy some at-home escapism for a few hours, these are the titles we can’t stop recommending to everyone in earshot.
Our Top Reads
Figuring by Maria Popova
A treasure-trove of inspiration. After years of cementing herself as a writer’s writer at the helm of the blog Brain Pickings, Popova births her own book: a modern meditation on what it means to live creatively and well, informed by great artists and thinkers throughout history.
Hollywood’s Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A. by Lili Anolik
A privileged peek behind the curtain at the life of an utterly fascinating figure—part it-girl, part lit star, ripe for a feminist rereading—as she gets tangled up with characters as diverse as Jim Morrison, Harrison Ford, and Marcel Duchamp against the dreamy backdrop of 1970s Los Angeles.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
The perfect beach read. Murata’s intimate story makes a modern heroine out of an unconventional, offbeat protagonist who finds serene satisfaction in the orderliness of a convenience store job…even as those around her pressure her to conform to voracious work culture.
Leaving The Atocha Station by Ben Lerner
Anyone who’s been tempted to reinvent themselves during a trip will appreciate this book. By turns hilarious and moving, Lerner’s novel of an academic abroad takes on a hazy, dreamlike quality as the lines between fact and fiction blur during one of Madrid’s most tumultuous moments.
L’APPART: Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home by David Lebovitz
Paris, j’taime. The famed chef takes a refreshingly real look at the eccentricities of living in Paris… and it’s not always rosy, but there *is* always time for a macaron or two. If you can’t get away, get a taste of the expat life by cooking a few of his recipes sprinkled throughout.
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