There’s something about spring that makes us slow down and pay closer attention—to what’s blooming, to what we’re wearing, to what we’re reading. At Res Ipsa, we like to think of spring as a time to reset. To recharge. To revisit the books we’ve loved and discover ones we didn’t know we needed.
It’s also the season for getting out of town. Whether you're catching a flight, packing your weekender, or just reading in the park, the right book has a way of becoming part of the journey.
This spring, we asked our team to share what they’ve been reading—novels for your carry-on, stories that travel across borders and time, and books that leave you seeing the world a little differently. Here’s what’s on our list:
There’s something about spring that makes us slow down and pay closer attention—to what’s blooming, to what we’re wearing, to what we’re reading. At Res Ipsa, we like to think of spring as a time to reset. To recharge. To revisit the books we’ve loved and discover ones we didn’t know we needed.
It’s also the season for getting out of town. Whether you're catching a flight, packing your weekender, or just reading in the park, the right book has a way of becoming part of the journey. This spring, our reading list spans continents, centuries, and states of mind. These are books that travel—literally and emotionally—and carry you somewhere else.
Here’s what we’re reading:
Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy
A different kind of journey—one inward. Focused on the mental side of performance and self-mastery, Inner Excellence is about quieting the noise, finding clarity, and approaching challenges with grace and resilience. A reset for the mind.
For Bread Alone by Mohamed Choukri
Set in Morocco, this autobiographical novel captures the raw, often brutal reality of street life and survival. Choukri’s story moves through the alleys and marketplaces of Tangier with honesty, grit, and a startling beauty that sticks with you.
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison’s Jazz swings between 1920s Harlem and the deeper roots of the American South. It’s a novel of rhythm, improvisation, and longing, where every sentence feels like a song and every character carries the history of a place—and a people—within them.
World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever
Few people wrote about travel like Bourdain—hungry for discovery, unfiltered, and fiercely observant. This posthumous guide is stitched together from his field notes, interviews, and stories. It bounces from Tokyo noodle joints to street food in Ethiopia, from Uruguay to the Bronx, all with the kind of voice that made you feel like you were sitting next to him at the bar.
The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut
A feverish, mind-bending narrative inspired by the life of John von Neumann, one of the sharpest and strangest minds of the 20th century. Labatut moves through Princeton, Budapest, Vienna, and Los Alamos, tracing the architecture of our digital world and the unsettling genius behind it.
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut, translated by Adrian Nathan West
A companion in spirit to The Maniac, this earlier work dives into the lives of scientific minds whose discoveries reshaped the world—and often broke them in the process. From Germany to Chile, it blurs the line between truth and fiction in a way that feels eerily real.
Piano Stories by Felisberto Hernández
From Uruguay comes this collection of surreal, musical tales that drift between the familiar and the dreamlike. Hernández, a pianist by training, writes with a rhythm that captures fleeting moments, strange encounters, and the beauty of the barely explained. A favourite read!
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (releases May 13)
Vuong’s latest work promises to continue his exploration of memory, love, and identity. His writing collapses time and place—from Vietnam to Hartford to imagined spaces of grief and tenderness—creating landscapes as rich as any physical journey.
Fish Soup by Margarita García Robayo
Sharp and darkly funny, this Colombian collection explores themes of exile, dislocation, and family dynamics in vivid, biting prose. Her characters straddle cities, coastlines, and personal crossroads, revealing the awkward space between belonging and escape.
Whether you're in motion or standing still, we believe in stories that move. Let us know what you’re reading this spring—or better yet, stop by one of our stores and share your recommendations in person.
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