370 ratings | 328 reviews | avg rating:3.92

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Keith’s Year In Books

Keith’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Keith’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Keith Van Sickle’s Followers (52)

Keith’s Bookshelves

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Keith’s Friends (9)

Grass monster

1,259 books | 459 friends

Steve

364 books | 19 friends

Val

194 books | 20 friends

Michelle Greer

25 books | 2 friends

Olivier Delaye

610 books | 1,017 friends

Michelle

401 books | 79 friends

Karen Jackson

1,293 books | 2,982 friends

Ashley Davidson-Fisher

74 books | 16 friends

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Keith Van Sickle

Goodreads Author

Website

https://www.keithvansickle.com

Twitter

keith_vansickle

Genre

Travel, Memoir, Nonfiction

Influences

Marcel Pagnol, Peter Mayle, Bill Bryson, David Sedaris

Member Since

November 2016

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Keith Van Sickle grew up in Alameda, California, the son of public school teachers. He got his first taste of overseas life while spending a college term in England and later backpacked around the world for six months.

Grateful for the scholarships that helped him pay for college, in 1987 he started a foundation that helps students from Alameda pursue a college education.

Keith fell in love with Europe during a five-year expat assignment in Switzerland, where he and his wife Val lived in a village with more cows than people. After returning to the US, Keith helped start a company whose product was so geeky that he still doesn’t quite understand it.

Keith and Val dreamed of living abroad again but were unable to find another expat gig. So they ...more

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Combine Editions
Keith Van Sickle’s books

Average rating: 3.92 · 949 ratings · 141 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	One Sip at a Time: Learning to Live in Provence 3.77 avg rating — 567 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Are We French Yet? Keith & Val's Adventures in Provence 4.14 avg rating — 326 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Insider's Guide to Provence 4.28 avg rating — 43 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Insider's Guide to St-Rémy-de-Provence and the Surrounding Area 4.31 avg rating — 13 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

413 posts
Keith Van Sickle's Blog

Dry January in France

There is a program called Dry January that encourages drinkers to forgo alcohol for the month and ask themselves questions like: How many drinks do I have a day? Why? And how do I deal with the social pressure to drink?

Begun in the UK in 2013, Dry January has spread throughout the world. In 2020 it was launched in France as Défi de janvier (January challenge), but it was unclear if it would b

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Keith’s Recent Updates

Keith Sickle rated a book really liked it L'Adversaire by Emmanuel Carrère	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This book wasn't easy to read, given the subject, but was compelling and well-written. What kind of person does what Romand does? How does he live with himself? It is still a mystery, but Carrère helps us understand at least some of it. ...more
21 hours, 57 min ago · like · see review
Keith Sickle rated a book really liked it Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
So interesting! Calvino has quite the imagination, with so many different and fascinating takes on the city.
Jan 25, 2026 02:46PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Sickle is currently reading Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 23, 2026 09:55AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Sickle rated a book really liked it Un peu plus loin sur la droite (Les Evangélistes, #2) by Fred Vargas	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
One of Fred's better books, really a fun read. ...more
Jan 21, 2026 09:54PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Un peu plus loin sur la droite by Fred Vargas. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Un peu plus loin sur la droite by Fred Vargas <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Sickle rated a book liked it L'exil et le royaume by Albert Camus	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Some of the stories were interesting, others not so much.
Jan 16, 2026 04:16PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of L'exil et le royaume by Albert Camus. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — L'exil et le royaume by Albert Camus <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Sickle rated a book really liked it Sans feu ni lieu (Les Evangélistes, #3) by Fred Vargas	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Not Vargas' best, but still a fun read. We had less of the Three Evangelists than usual and more of Louis and his toad. I can see why Vargas didn't write any more in this series, it seems she ran out of ideas. ...more
Jan 04, 2026 05:12PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sans feu ni lieu by Fred Vargas. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sans feu ni lieu by Fred Vargas <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Sickle rated a book liked it Junil by Joan-Lluís Lluís	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A pleasant read.
Dec 28, 2025 09:13PM · like · see review
Keith Sickle rated a book liked it Mesopotamia by Olivier Guez	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The life of Gertrude Bell was fascinating, and I learned a lot about the construction of the modern Middle East and her role in it. At the same time, I found the jumping back and forth in time confusing, and
Dec 07, 2025 05:56PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mesopotamia by Olivier Guez. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mesopotamia by Olivier Guez <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Sickle rated a book really liked it Alameda by Rail (Images of Rail: California) by Grant Ute	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is kind of the definition of a hyper-local book. But if you grew up on the island as I did, it's great. Lots of Alameda history, tons of great photos, I learned a lot and appreciate all the work that went into the making of this book. ...more
Nov 23, 2025 04:20PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Alameda by Rail by Grant Ute. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Alameda by Rail by Grant Ute <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Sickle rated a book it was amazing Educated by Tara Westover (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Wow. Very well written, compelling, and thought provoking, this is an important book.
Nov 17, 2025 10:01AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Educated by Tara Westover. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Educated by Tara Westover <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">