My top ten books of all time

Or, more precisely, my favorite novels — enjoy!

Books:
L’Éducation sentimentale (Sentimental Education) by Gustave Flaubert (1869)
Du côté de chez Swann (Swann’s Way) by Marcel Proust (1913)
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges (1944)
Katalin Street by Magda Szabó (1969)
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (1973)
Sula by Toni Morrison (1973)
A Breath of Life by Clarice Lispector (1978)
Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid (1990)
White Teeth by Zadie Smith (2000)
How to be both by Ali Smith (2014)

Socials:
StoryGraph: @sdelphis

[mediumjohnsilver]

Jorge Luis Borges’s _Ficciones_ is one of my favorites, too. I often revisit it to reread some of the stories, especially “The Library of Babel”.

[kiranreader]

master and margarita is one of my favs too! i really need to read some szabo! love hearing your favorites, i def need to refresh mine after some deep contemplation

[nathansnook]

i read How to Be Both when i first moved to france! it was the first english book that i bought amonst all my french lit and felt so much comfort in it when it came to love in the living and in the past. shaped and reinvented how i chose to see myself in another country. loving how your favorites have aligned so beautifully in certain places in my life, as if all the ways these have shaped you and my past are in talks with each other <3

[rebareads]

Well I’ll just be making my way through your favorites list - the bibliosophie essential novels :) All of these sound wonderful! I read White Teeth earlier this summer and really loved it. I think Sula might be next!

[booksthehausdown]

You were reading such good books at 16-19!! This is such a great list I can't wait to get to some Magda Szabó at some point this year!

[HakimALIGHT]

Tu as super bon goût!! J’adore Borges et Proust. Subscribed ✅

[asterisco]

How amazing that you like Clarice Lispector! As a Brazilian, I'm very happy that you appreciate our literature 🫶 Clarice is wholesome

[DogEaredMusings]

Picked up “on Beauty” this afternoon and am really looking forward to starting it and reading more Zadie!
I have really wanted to pick up an Ali Smith too- I think you convinced me to start with how to be both :)

[nathansnook]

not me adding a bunch of these to my shopping cart bc i want big brain like sophie 👀👀👀

[karlagalindo]

A Breath of Life is one of my favorite books ever. I think about it all the time, such gorgeous writing 🦋

[julie.k]

sublime selection!! can't wait to read how to be both:)

[aleksismil]

It is really wonderful to see the history of your development as a reader. It made me reflect on my own history as a reader.

[katsfieldnotes]

I am so effing scared of Borges. But its a mustttt. Youve given me the a gentle lil' push towards it again. And I saw Abigail the other day and almost picked it up because of you! But figured I'd start with Katalin Street since you spoke of it so highly

[jendheng]

I don't know if i'd be able to make my top ten but Swann's way would definitely be in it! Currently reading the 4th volume of La Recherche! It's so incomparable to anything else.
I'v added loads of your favorites to my list ! Loved The Door from Szagbo and also the Foan ! Considering Katalin street as my next one ! Completely agree with Toni Morrison. And thanks for the reminder to read The master and Margarita which has been on my shelves for so many years !

[csp]

I fucking loved this video. Added every single book to my tbr. Can't wait to give flaubert another shot

[denissemondragon]

Thanks for sharing, adding a bunch of these to my list! I'd be super interested to hear you talk more about the French books you've read, because I get most of my book recommendations from YouTube and there's not a lot of people talking about these books, même parmi les youtubeurs qui font des vidéos en français

[thelefthandedreader]

fantastic! Clarice…oh my, yes. I’d like to get to a Toni Morrison…man why haven’t I? And a few more here. 😍

[radiantchristina]

The most non committal favorite books video ever...and I loved it 😂

[nathansnook]

i too read Borges at 18 and my brain exploded. i read fiction differently, didn't realize how it could break, take shape, and recollect in the maze-like way that he writes. when i think back on writers who have altered the way i've read, i give many thanks to him and Calvino for being able to imagine and create outside the lines. the two made me realize how expansive the imagination could be, is.

[jackseney]

I have started "Sentimental Education" several times and been interested, and somehow it keeps falling by the wayside as I read other books as well. I am taking your starting with it as a sign that I will finish it this year, thank you