It’s no secret that I love swimming and pools. Hey, my sign is pisces afterall. I actually get more questions about pool advice than travel advice these days (see my Paris pool advice here and here). Originally I’d tweet my stories, and then when I set out to visit all 39 public pools in Paris I decided they needed to be documented in a visual way (never mind that taking photos at pools in Paris is forbidden), so I started Instagramming my adventures with #parispiscine, and then #PAVswim with all my pool explorations.

It’s amazing how posting something that you love, as simple as swimming pools can help foster friendships. When Lisa Congdon announced that she was writing (and illustrating) a book about swimming I was thrilled for her. You can imagine how excited I was when I was drying my hair at the pool after a swim one day, checked my email and Lisa asked me to be part of the book! I called up Meg, and we had a mini photoshoot in the middle of winter of me in my swimsuit, which is the photo Lisa used to illustrate me. Lisa also called on me for research for the Paris spread of the book, which was a huge honor (my name even made it onto the acknowledgements page!). At the time the book didn’t have a name other than #theswimmingbook on @lisacongdon‘s Instagram, but as of today The Joy of Swimming has been released into the world.

The most inspiring part of the book is that it’s all about everyday people with a passion for the water. It covers the history, puts in tidbits about swimming you never considered, and on top of it all, Lisa illustrated the entire thing! It’s seriously the perfect gift for any swimmers in your life. In fact, I think I sold Lisa’s first copy in Paris when a woman sitting next to me was curious about what I was reading. It was actually a really funny story, and I wrote about it in my latest issue of  “Underwater” my TinyLetter newsletter about swimming pools and bureaucracy (seriously, the stories are endless!).

Check out Lisa’s work, blog, shop, Instagram and The Joy of Swimming book!

P.S. I recently released a Telescope Cards “Paris Piscine” deck with my 25 favorite pools.

Static images by Lisa Congdon.