Renoir's La Liseuse (The Reader) (1877) is here seen completely absorbed in the printed page. Judging by the date at which this was painted, she's obviously not reading some tome on the Impressionist movement as we can today. So, who wrote the book on Impressionism during the 130 years that have since elapsed? Hundreds of authors, as things turn out. Have you got time to read them all? No? I didn't think so.
Perhaps the better question would be "Who wrote the best book on Impressionism?" With this, I can help you. After having read dozens of volumes, I've assembled your best bet books for Impressionistic research. If you are writing a paper, or simply wish to gain more knowledge for your own satisfaction, you may rely upon this annotated list of titles to assist you.
Classic studies, modern studies, noteworthy special exhibition catalogues and a few volumes of special interest to younger and emergent readers await you in The Essential Impressionism Bibliography. These books concern themselves in general with French Impressionism, or the birth of the movement that spawned many others. You will not find titles specific to individual artists or Impressionism as it happened elsewhere, afterwards.
I hasten to add that the titles you'll see are those upon which I, too, have relied, and so can vouch for their scholarship, overall quality and value as sources. Best of luck to those of you writing art history papers, and warmest good wishes to you autodidactic scholars. Enjoy the list.
La Liseuse can be seen as part of imaginative pairs and trios of paintings hung together in the special exhibition gallery Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein.