Elizabeth Bard

Book Club | 5 French Reads for Novembre 2020

it’s Novembre, and the beginning of a new round of lockdowns for nos amis around the world, specifically in France and the UK.

Whether you’re staying home by choice or by government order, enjoy the cozy weather of the pre-holiday season curled up with this mix of five French memoirs, nonfiction, and lifestyle guides.

Take a look back at October’s picks here, and September’s here.

Top 5 French Reads for November 2020

61zH0n7pQTL.jpg

By Aloïs Guinut
Style Guide

“Stylish women everywhere are realizing the environmental damage of fast fashion on the planet and looking for new ways to dress that don't involve cramming the wardrobe with clothes that may never get worn…French women have a lot to teach us about how to cherish the planet without sacrificing your style.”

51Lk4sBMHcL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Kathleen Flinn
Memoir

“Kathleen Flinn was a thirty-six-year-old middle manager trapped on the corporate ladder - until her boss eliminated her job. Instead of sulking, she took the opportunity to check out of the rat race for good - cashing in her savings, moving to Paris, and landing a spot at the venerable Le Cordon Blue cooking school…Filled with rich, sensual details of her time in the kitchen - the ingredients, cooking techniques, wine, and more than two dozen recipes - and the vibrant sights and sounds of the markets, shops, and avenues of Paris, it is also a journey of self-discovery, transformation, and, ultimately, love.

51CdmfG+YyL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

By David Lebovitz
Memoir

“When David Lebovitz began the project of updating his apartment in his adopted home city, he never imagined he would encounter so much inexplicable red tape while contending with perplexing work ethic and hours. Lebovitz maintains his distinctive sense of humor with the help of his partner Romain, peppering this renovation story with recipes from his Paris kitchen. In the midst of it all, he reveals the adventure that accompanies carving out a place for yourself in a foreign country—under baffling conditions—while never losing sight of the magic that inspired him to move to the City of Light many years ago, and to truly make his home there.”

51osibL6uIL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

By Elizabeth Bard
Memoir

Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs -- one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine…She learns to gut her first fish (with a little help from Jane Austen), soothe pangs of homesickness (with the rise of a chocolate soufflé), and develops a crush on her local butcher (who bears a striking resemblance to Matt Dillon). Elizabeth finds that the deeper she immerses herself in the world of French cuisine, the more Paris itself begins to translate. French culture, she discovers, is not unlike a well-ripened cheese -- there may be a crusty exterior, until you cut through to the melting, piquant heart.”

51iVfKIZyBL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

By Jean Edward Smith
Nonfiction

“Following their breakout from Normandy in late June 1944, the Allies swept across northern France in pursuit of the German army…Charles de Gaulle, the leading figure of the Free French government, urged General Dwight Eisenhower to divert forces to liberate Paris. Eisenhower’s advisers recommended otherwise, but Ike wanted to help position de Gaulle to lead France after the war…Neither man knew that the German commandant, Dietrich von Choltitz, convinced that the war was lost, schemed to surrender the city to the Allies intact, defying Hitler’s orders to leave it a burning ruin.”

French Book Club | 5 French Reads for Labor Day Weekend

5 French Reads for Labor Day WeekendBelieve it or not, this isn’t even half of my French book collection.

5 French Reads for Labor Day Weekend

Believe it or not, this isn’t even half of my French book collection.

Whomever once claimed that reading is the best form of escapism, clearly lived through a pandemic.

There’s something decidedly medieval about life in 2020. It’s given us a glimpse backwards, showing us what daily existence must have felt like for William Shakespeare and his contemporaries during the times of pestilence and the Bubonic Plague—with the added comforts of Netflix and Youtube workouts, of course.

International travel is still at a stand-still for the time being, meaning that—for now—we’ll have to travel to France the way that our forefathers did: through our imaginations, and the immortal pages of contemporary scribes.

Check out this fascinating New Yorker article about the history of pandemics, or if you’re looking something a little more uplifting to read on your holiday weekend, behold a list of some of favorite novels, memoirs, and historical perspectives on life in France. I’ve always been a reader, and I love experiencing ma belle ville through different eyes.

So pour thee a glass of thine blackberry wine and buckle up m’lady, because I’m about to share five French favorites from my collection.

5 French Reads for Labor Day Weekend

41WqiRog68L._SX362_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

By Katrina Lawrence
Memoir

“How the City of Light gave her lessons in life: an Australian beauty journalist shares her obsession with Paris - the city that has been her guide through a lifelong journey of self-discovery. Taking us on a journey around Paris's most spectacular sights, hidden secrets and most beguiling nooks and crannies, Katrina tells us the story of why this city has been her constant inspiration through all stages of life.”

51FXSYZnk1L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

By Samantha Verant
Memoir

“Take one French widower, his two young children, and drop a former city girl from Chicago into a small town in southwestern France. Shake vigorously... and voilá: a blended Franco-American family whose lives will all drastically change.”

41uXMAecdML._SX357_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Aloïs Guinut
Style Guide

“Bring a Parisian je ne sais quoi to your style, wherever you live. Dress Like a Parisian is a wise and witty guide to finding your personal style, taking inspiration from how real Parisian women dress. With personal stylist and fashion blogger Aloïs Guinut as your guide, you can explore which colors, shapes and styles work best for you, whatever the occasion.”

51AoUPLe-UL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

By Michelle Gable
Semi Fiction

“Based on the fascinating true story of a treasure-stocked Parisian apartment opened for the first time in seventy years. April Vogt, Sotheby's continental furniture specialist, is speechless when a Paris apartment shuttered for seventy years is discovered in the ninth arrondissement. Beneath the cobwebs and stale perfumed air is a goldmine…”

51uNDUkMf5L._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Alistair Horne
Non Fiction

“In this luminous portrait of Paris, the celebrated historian gives us the history, culture, disasters, and triumphs of one of the world’s truly great cities. From the rise of Philippe Auguste through the reigns of Henry IV and Louis XIV…Napoleon’s rise and fall; Baron Haussmann’s rebuilding of Paris…the Belle Epoque and the Great War that brought it to an end; the Nazi Occupation, the Liberation, and the postwar period dominated by de Gaulle--Horne brings the city’s highs and lows, savagery and sophistication, and heroes and villains splendidly to life.”

With formulas at the cutting edge of skin care technology, the Sisleÿa collection is a complete anti-aging ritual for skin that looks visibly younger for longer.