Lust for Life

Irving Stone's biographical novel follows the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh through the hardships of his life, from a coal mine in southern Belgium to the south of France. Stone drew largely on the letters Vincent exchanged with his younger brother Theo, an art dealer, and did his own research on the ground. The narrative imagines how paintings such as The Potato Eaters and Sunflowers came about, and people close to the painter, Paul Gauguin among them, appear as characters. Its smaller books are named for places Van Gogh lived, including the Borinage, Paris, Arles and Auvers. It was Stone's first major publication, and a 1956 film version starring Kirk Douglas won one of its four Academy Award nominations.

Sailo co-founder Magda Marcu picked it as a non-business book she really enjoyed, describing it as the book about Van Gogh's life.