• 
Just finished The Private Lives of the Impressionists by Sue Roe — great read & highly recommended, especially for struggling artists. From the description on Amazon: "Sue Roe's colorful, lively, poignant, and superbly researched biography, The Private Lives of the Impressionists, follows an extraordinary group of artists into their Paris studios, down the rural lanes of Montmartre, and into the rowdy riverside bars of a city undergoing monumental change. Vivid and unforgettable, it casts a brilliant, revealing light on this unparalleled society of genius colleagues who lived and worked together for twenty years and transformed the art world forever with their breathtaking depictions of ordinary life." So inspiring. I especially liked finding out more about Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt's lives and contributions, too.