Current Reading List

These are the books I’ve read or listened to in 2026.

  1. Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray

  2. White Houses, by Amy Bloom

  3. Snow, by John Banville

  4. Maigret in Society, by Georges Simenon

  5. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, by Matthew Perry

  6. Midnight in Europe, by Alan Furst

  7. Songs for Other People’s Weddings, by David Levithan and Jens Lenkman

  8. Christine Falls, by John Banville

  9. This Strange Eventful History, by Claire Messud

  10. The Origins of Creativity, by Edward O. Wilson

  11. Blood on the Mink, by Robert Silverberg

  12. Postcards, by Annie Proulx

  13. Open, by Andre Agassi

  14. Moneyball, by Michael Lewis

  15. Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell

  16. A Hero of France, by Alan Furst

  17. The Silver Swan, by John Banville

  18. Beautiful Ugly, by Alice Feeney

  19. Strangers, by Belle Burden

  20. The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai

  21. Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America, by Michael Luo

  22. The Burning Ground, by Abir Mukherjee

  23. The Art of Misdiagnosis, by Gayle Brandeis

  24. Ride the Pink Horse, by Dorothy B. Hughes

  25. Refuge, by Terry Tempest-Williams

  26. The Story of Art without Men, by Katy Hessel

  27. Nightmare Obscura: A Dream Engineer’s Guide Through the Sleeping Mind, by Michelle Carr

  28. Dreams in a Time of War, by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

  29. 4:50 from Paddington, by Agatha Christie

  30. Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, by Ann Dowsett Johnston

  31. Mislaid, by Nell Zink

  32. The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy

  33. A Strange and Sublime Address, by Amit Chaudhuri

  34. Murder Takes a Vacation, by Laura Lippman

  35. All at Sea, by Decca Aitkenhead

  36. The Snakehead, by Patrick Radden Keefe

  37. A Question of Family, by François Bereaud

  38. The Remembered Soldier, by Anjet Daanje

  39. Murder in the Off Season, by Francine Mathews

  40. The Three of Us, by Ore Agbaje-Williams

  41. Four Maigrets, by Georges Simenon

  42. The House Sitter, by Kari Beevis

  43. Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change, by Olga Khazan

  44. Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, by Kathryn Schulz

  45. A Drop of Corruption, by Robert Jackson Bennett

  46. Crooks, by Lou Berney

  47. Somewhere Sisters: A Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family, by Erika Hayasaki

  48. Tokyo Express, by Seichō Matsumoto

  49. Dear Debbie, by Freida McFadden

  50. The Tenants of Moonbloom, by Edward Lewis Wallant

  51. The Ten Year Affair, by Erin Somers

  52. The Hollywood Godfather, by W.R. Wilkerson III

  53. A Killer in the Family, by Amin Ahmad

  54. Golden Curse, by M. Lynn

  55. Four More by Maigret, by Georges Simenon

  56. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

  57. And You Will Call It Fate, by Timothy J. Hillegonds

  58. The Informer, by Akimitsu Takagi

  59. The Other Bennet Sister, by Janice Hadlow

  60. Agatha of Little Neon, by Claire Luchette

  61. Sister Snake, by Amanda Lee Koe

  62. Terrestrial, by Suzy Eynon

  63. The First Adirondackers, by Curt Stager and David Kanietakeron Fadden

  64. The Mountain is You, by Brianna Wiest

  65. This Indian Kid, by Eddie Chuculate

  66. The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien

  67. Surfacing, by Kathleen Jamie

  68. The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt

  69. Four More Maigrets, by Georges Simenon

  70. Journal of a Black Queer Nurse, by Britney Daniels

  71. Bertram Cope’s Year, by Henry Blake Fuller

  72. Difficult Women, by David Plante

  73. Dead Man Blues, by S.D. House

  74. Coming Clean, by Kimberly Rae Miller

  75. On Juneteenth, by Annette Gordon-Reed

  76. Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers, by Jean Strouse

  77. Lives Like Loaded Guns, by Lyndall Gordon

  78. Mission to Paris, by Alan Furst

  79. The Lonely Life, by Bette Davis

  80. Stop Letting Everything Affect You, by Daniel Chidiac

  81. Flashlight, by Susan Choi

  82. A Caribbean Mystery, by Agatha Christie

  83. Street Fighting: A Memoir of the 1970s, by George Galloway

  84. The Wanderers: A Story of Exile, Survival, and Unexpected Love in the Shadow of World War II, by Daniela Gerson

  85. The Good Neighbors, Kiersten Modglin

  86. Red Gold, by Alan Furst

  87. The Best We Could Hope For, by Nicola Kraus

  88. The Brothers Grimm: A Biography, by Ann Schmiesing

  89. Those Who Vanish, by Patricia Grace King

    • Last updated July 31, 2026

Book List 2025

 Georges Simenon

The summer between my sophomore and junior years of college, I lived in Berkeley, California. I was in an intensive Ancient Greek program at the university, living in the dorms, wanting desperately to seem cool. Part of this effort involved going to a small theater and watching movies in French (obvs). Well, one of them was The Cat (1971), directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre, based on the novel by Georges Simenon.

I loved this movie. It was 100% pathos, hatred, disgust, played to a level of absurdity. I loved it, and not because I was supposed to, but because it was also funny and strange and entertaining, unlike the other movies I saw that summer, which were serious and confusing and naked, but not in a fun way.

That was 2002. I’m not sure when I read my first Simenon, since I didn’t start counting for five more years, but I read The Cat in 2008, and I’ve read bunches more since then. Since he wrote around 400 novels, I’ve quite a ways to go.

Usually, I can find one or two Simenons in bookstores. They’re often the latest Penguin reissues, and I find myself puzzling over their titles and trying to remember, based on a frustratingly spare book flap, whether I have read them. (And, to be completely honest, I also read them quickly. They are like string cheeses to me, delightful to consume but impossible to linger over.) Another complication: sometimes, translators will translate the title differently from the previous edition. I’ve been getting into the habit of finding old ones around used bookstores, too, which complicates matters.

Below, I have done my best to include the English title(s) and the original French. Novels featuring Inspector Maigret come first, in date order, followed by Simenon’s other novels, also ordered by date. If I have read it, the title has a strike-through.

I hope this list will help me the next time I’m in a bookstore or library and I come across one that I (really hope) I haven’t read. Maybe it will help you, too.

NOVELS FEATURING INSPECTOR MAIGRET

  1. Pietr the Latvian/ Pietr-le-Letton (1931)

  2. Maigret Meets a Milord [The Carter of La Providence]/ Le Charretier de “la Providence” (1931)

  3. The Late Monsieur Gallet/ M. Gallet décédé (1931)

  4. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien [Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets]/ Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien (1931)

  5. Maigret’s War of Nerves [A Man’s Head]/ La Tête d'un homme [L'homme de la Tour Eiffel] (1931)

  6. The Yellow Dog [A Face for a Clue]/ Le Chien jaune (1931)

  7. The Night at the Crossroads [The Crossroads murders] / La Nuit du carrefour (1931)

  8. Maigret in Holland [A Crime in Holland]/ Un crime en Hollande (1931)

  9. The Grand Banks Café/ Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas (1931)

  10. Maigret at the Gai-Moulin [The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin]/ La Danseuse du Gai-Moulin (1931)

  11. The Two-Penny Bar [The Bar on the Seine]/ La Guinguette à deux sous (1932)

  12. The Shadow Puppet [Maigret Mystified]/ L'Ombre chinoise (1932)

  13. Maigret Comes Home [Maigret Goes Home] [The Saint-Fiacre Affair]/ L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre (1932)

  14. The Flemish House/ Chez les Flamands (1932)

  15. The Misty Harbour/ Le port des brumes (1932)

  16. The Madman of Bergerac/ Le Fou de Bergerac (1932)

  17. Liberty Bar [Maigret on the Riviera]/Liberty Bar (1932)

  18. Lock No. 1 / L'Écluse no. 1 (1932)

  19. Maigret [Maigret returns]/ Maigret (1934)

  20. The Unlikely M. Owen/ L'improbable Monsieur Owen (1938)

  21. The Group at the Grand Café/ Ceux du Grand Café (1938)

  22. The Old Lady of Bayeux (1939)

  23. Maigret on the Riviera (1940)

  24. The Hotel Majestic [the Cellars of the Majestic] [Maigret and the Hotel Majestic]/ Les Caves du Majestic (1942)

  25. The Judge’s House/ La Maison du juge/ Maigret in Exile [1942]

  26. Maigret and the Spinster [Cecile is Dead]/ Cécile est morte (1942)

  27. Death Threats/ Menaces de mort (1942)

  28. Two Bodies on a Barge [Inspector Maigret thinks]/ La Péniche aux deux pendus (1944)

  29. The Mysterious Affair in the Boulevard Beaumarchais/ L'Affaire du Boulevard Beaumarchais (1944)

  30. The Open Window [Inspector Maigret Smokes His Pipe]/ La Fenêtre ouverte (1944)*

  31. Jeumont: 51 Minutes’ Wait/ Jeumont, 51 minutes d'arrêt (1944)

  32. Death of a Woodlander/ Les Larmes de bougie (1944)

  33. In the Rue Pigalle/ Rue Pigalle (1944)

  34. Maigret’s Mistake/ Une erreur de Maigret (1944)

  35. Madame Maigret’s Admirer/ L'Amoureux de Madame Maigret (1944)

  36. Four on Maigret: Mr. Monday / Maigret's Pipe / Maigret's Mistake / The Drowned Men's Inn (1944)*

  37. Stan the Killer/ Stan le tueur (1944)

  38. At the Étoile du Nord/ L'Étoile du Nord (1944)

  39. Storm in the Channel/ Tempête sur la Manche (1944)

  40. Mademoiselle Berthe and her Lover/ Mademoiselle Berthe et son amant (1944)

  41. The Three Daughters of the Lawyer/ Le Notaire du Châteauneuf (1944)

  42. Maigret and the Fortuneteller/ Signé Picpus (1944)

  43. Maigret’s Rival [Inspector Cadaver]/ L'Inspecteur Cadavre (1944)

  44. Maigret and the Toy Village (Felicie)/ Félicie est là (1944)

  45. Maigret Gets Angry [Maigret’s retirement]/ Maigret se fâche (1947)

  46. Maigret in New York/ Maigret à New York (1947)

  47. Death of a Nobody/ On ne tue pas les pauvres types (1947)

  48. The Evidence of the Altar-boy/ Le Témoinage de l'enfant de chœur (1947)

  49. The Most Obstinate Customer in The World/ Le Client le plus obstiné du monde (1947)*

  50. Maigret and the Surly Inspector/ Maigret et l'inspecteur malgracieux (malchanceux) (1947)

  51. Maigret’s Holiday [No Vacation for Maigret]/ Les Vacances de Maigret (1948)

  52. Maigret’s Dead Man/ Maigret et son mort (1948)

  53. Maigret's First Case/ La première enquête de Maigret, 1913 (1948)

  54. My Friend Maigret/ Mon ami Maigret (1949)

  55. Maigret at the Coroner’s/ Maigret chez le coroner (1949)

  56. Maigret and the Old Lady/ Maigret et la vieille dame (1949)

  57. Madame Maigret’s Friend [Madame Maigret’s Own Case]/ L'Amie de Mme Maigret (1950)

  58. The Man in the Street [Inspector Maigret Pursues]/ L'Homme dans la rue (1950)

  59. Maigret's Christmas/ L'Homme dans la rue (1951)

  60. Maigret's Memoirs/ Les Mémoires de Maigret (1951)

  61. Maigret at Picratt’s [Maigret in Montmarte]/ Maigret au "Picratt's" (1951)

  62. Maigret Takes a Room/ Maigret en meublé (1951)

  63. Maigret and the Burglar’s Wife/ Maigret et la grande perche (1951)

  64. Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters [Maigret and the Gangsters]/ Maigret, Lognon et les gangsters (1952)

  65. Maigret’s Revolver/ Le Revolver de Maigret (1952)

  66. Journey Backward in Time (1952)

  67. Maigret and the Man on the Bench [The Man on the Boulevard]/ Maigret et l'homme du banc (1953)

  68. Maigret is Afraid/ Maigret a peur (1953)

  69. Maigret Goes to School/ Maigret à l'école (1954)

  70. Maigret and the Dead Girl/ Maigret et la jeune morte (1954)

  71. Maigret and the Minister/ Maigret chez le ministre (1954)

  72. Maigret and the Headless Corpse/ Maigret et le corps sans tête (1955)

  73. Maigret Sets a Trap/ Maigret tend un piège (1955)

  74. Maigret’s Failure/ Un échec de Maigret (1956)

  75. Maigret Enjoys Himself [Maigret’s Little Joke]/ Maigret s'amuse (1957)

  76. Maigret Travels [Maigret and the Millionaires]/ Maigret voyage (1958)

  77. Maigret’s Doubts [Maigret Has Scruples]/ Les Scrupules de Maigret (1958)

  78. Maigret and the Reluctant Witness/ Maigret et les témoins récalcitrants (1959)

  79. Maigret in Court/ Maigret aux assises (1960)

  80. Maigret and the Old People [Maigret in Society]/ Maigret et les vieillards (1960)

  81. Maigret and the Lazy Burglar/ Maigret et le voleur paresseux (1961)

  82. Maigret and the Black Sheep [Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse]/ Maigret et les braves gens (1962)

  83. Maigret and the Saturday Caller/ Maigret et le client du samedi (1962)

  84. Maigret and the Tramp/ Maigret et le clochard (1963)

  85. Maigret's Anger [Maigret Loses His Temper]/ La Colère de Maigret (1963)

  86. Maigret and the Apparition/ Maigret and the Ghost/ Maigret et le fantôme (1964)

  87. Maigret Defends Himself [Maigret on the Defensive]/ Maigret se défend (1964)

  88. Maigret Bides His Time [Maigret’s Patience]/ La Patience de Maigret (1965)

  89. Maigret and the Nahour Case/ Maigret et l'affaire Nahour (1966)

  90. Maigret's Pickpocket [Maigret and the Pickpocket]/ Le Voleur de Maigret (1967)

  91. Maigret in Vichy [Maigret Takes the Waters]/ Maigret à Vichy (1968)

  92. Maigret's Boyhood Friend/ L'Ami d'enfance de Maigret (1968)

  93. Maigret and the Killer/ Maigret et le tueur (1968)

  94. Maigret Hesitates (1968)

  95. Maigret and the Wine Merchant/ Maigret et le marchand de vin (1970)

  96. Maigret and the Madwoman/ La Folle de Maigret (1970)

  97. Maigret and the Loner/ Maigret et l'homme tout seul (1971)

  98. Maigret and the Informer [Maigret and the Flea]/ Maigret et l'indicateur (1971)

  99. Maigret and Monsieur Charles/ Maigret et Monsieur Charles (1972)

  100. Death Penalty

    *purchased but not yet read

Alan Furst

I haven’t been this excited about an author since Monsieur Simenon! I found The World At Night in a little library and have been eating them whole since. Here’s the list, with those I’ve read crossed out. Yay!

Night Soldiers Series

   1. Night Soldiers (1988)

   2. Dark Star (1991)

   3. The Polish Officer (1995)

   4. The World at Night (1996)

   5. Red Gold (1999)

   6. Kingdom Of Shadows (2000)

   7. Blood of Victory (2002)

   8. Dark Voyage (2004)

   9. The Foreign Correspondent (2006)

   10. The Spies of Warsaw (2008)

   11. Spies of the Balkans (2010)

   12. Mission to Paris (2012)

   13. Midnight in Europe (2014)

   14. A Hero of France (2016)

   15. Under Occupation (2019) 

recovery

In no particular order, here are some of the books I recommend about recovering from drug and alcohol use:

  • Drinking, a Love Story, by Caroline Knapp

  • Lit, by Mary Karr

  • Stash, by Laura Cathcart Robbins

  • Quit Like a Woman, by Holly Whitaker

  • The Urge: Our History of Addiction, by Carl Erik Fisher

  • Quitter: A memoir of drinking, relapse, and recovery, by Erica C. Barnett

  • Undoing Drugs: How Harm Reduction Is Changing the Future of Drugs and Addiction, by Maia Szalavitz

  • Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget, by Sarah Hepola

  • The Recovering: Intoxication and its Aftermath, by Leslie Jamison

  • Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, by Ann Dowsett Johnston