A reading life
My reading, gathered by the shelf. Two rooms so far: the books that made me a reader, and the Russia shelf standing behind the history guide.
I read across a lot of rooms, and rather than pile it all into one long list, the books live on shelves — each with its own reason for being. Two are open now; more will follow as the reading does.
The foundation
The novel that started it, and my favorite author — signed.
The book that turned me into a reader — Louis L'Amour's The Walking Drum — and the full, autographed catalog of Erik Larson, the writer I measured my own family history against. Each book, with a line on why it's here.
Browse the shelf →Behind the history guide
The audiobooks behind the Russian History guide.
Tsars and commissars, Tolstoy to the Terror — the histories and novels I've worked through on the way into Russia, each with a line on what it is, and what's up next. Searchable, and tied to the Russian History guide.
Browse the shelf →Looking for the annotated, by-era reading list that pairs with the history? That's The Reading inside the Russian History guide — this shelf is the wider listening library it draws from.
A living shelf — part of 12toKNOW, built in the open and for the love of it. © 2026 DeWayne Searcy.