A few summer reads

About Paris, set in or near-ish Paris, or written by a French author. Plus: books to pre-order now.

Since my return from the writing & reading retreat at La Gonette in the Luberon, I have added at least a dozen new books to my library and double that many on my TBR list. Save a few moments during the early days of Covid, when I couldn’t lose myself in anything other than mania, I read constantly to make sense of the world. Sometimes I go heavy, other times I commit my attention to a thriller that feels blissfully far removed from my reality. Much of what I read wouldn’t be relevant in this newsletter (at least, not if I’m to keep with a French and French-adjacent theme), so the selection below doesn’t reflect everything I’m taking in, but I stand by each of them. I think there is enough here to carry you through the summer, and plenty to look forward to in the fall.

THE PARIS CHAPTER
by

Janet Skeslien Charles

The author of The Paris Library returns with another tale (this time, an audio-only book!) steeped in literary history and hidden resistance. The story follows Lily Jacobsen and her closest confidante, Mary Louise, who leave behind their small-town lives in Froid, Montana, to pursue their artistic dreams in Paris in 1995. Lily aspires to write novels while Mary Louise seeks to establish herself as a painter. The pair share a cramped top-floor apartment, embracing the Parisian lifestyle on a shoestring budget.

But when Mary Louise suddenly moves out, Lily finds herself unexpectedly isolated in Paris and desperate for steady income. She secures a position as programs manager at the American Library in Paris, a connection made possible through her French neighbor Odile, whose childhood stories of courageous World War II librarians had long captivated Lily's imagination. Within the library's historic walls, Lily encounters a colorful array of personalities, each with their own unique stories. With narration from actress Pauline Chalamet, among many others.

PERFECTION
by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes

One of my favorite reads of the year. In this sleek, cerebral novella, Latronico dissects the modern condition through an expat couple's attempt to build the perfect life in Berlin. It could easily be set in Paris, Lisbon, or Copenhagen—any city where foreign digital nomads have chosen to settle down and integrate only superficially. (The book's narrative structure was inspired by Georges Perec's 1965 novel, Things: A Story of the Sixties, which was set in Paris.) Minimalist apartments, curated aesthetics, club nights, performative activism—it all begins to unravel under the weight of the couple's emptiness and ennui. The book is a sharp and confronting meditation on self-curation, consumerism, and the quiet dread of getting what you thought you wanted.

THE IMAGE OF HER
by Simone de Beauvoir, translated by Lauren Elkin

First published in 1966 as Les Belles Images, this quietly subversive novel follows Laurence, a woman who appears to have it all: a chic Parisian life, a successful career in advertising, a husband, two daughters, and, naturally, a lover. Outwardly, it’s the picture of 1960s French bourgeois perfection. But beneath the polished surface of bourgeois perfection lies a growing sense of dissonance. De Beauvoir examines the psychological cost of conforming to societal pressures and the fragile line between image and identity.

OUR LAST RESORT
by Clémence Michallon

I really enjoyed Michallon’s first thriller The Quiet Tenant and was eager to read her follow-up. This one follows a brother and sister duo who escaped a cult fifteen years prior and reunite at a five-star luxury hotel in the Utah desert. That’s when trouble rears once again: the siblings end up embroiled in a murder investigation following the death of another guest on the property. A perfect page-turning distraction for summer.

NOBODY SITS LIKE THE FRENCH
by Charles Pappas

When I saw the title and cover of this book, my first thought was, huh? The second was: Who is behind this? I was keen to keep going when I learned it was an exploration of Paris through the lens of the World’s Fair from the historian (and World Fair expert, which is indeed a specialty) Charles Pappas. Combining travel guide insights with historical analysis, the book reveals how the expositions universelles between 1855 and 1937 created the Paris we recognize today.

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COMING SOON, PRE-ORDER NOW:

Surviving Paris,

Robin Allison Davis

A beautiful, emotional memoir that I had the opportunity to read in advance about Davis’s move to Paris after a decade in television in New York. Filled with possibility, she arrived in a new city only to confront a grave health crisis. As I wrote in my blurb for Robin, “she weaves a moving story of perseverance, faith, and the power of community. All of it allowed her to reclaim the French capital as her own with great triumph.”

It Girl,

Marisa Meltzer

This deeply reported portrait of Jane Birkin goes beyond her iconic style and the Hermès bag that bears her name. Meltzer traces her evolution from a shy 1960s London teen to a luminous figure of French New Wave cinema and fashion. “She is carefree elegance personified,” she writes. I sat down with her during her reporting to talk about Birkin’s role in furthering the mythology of the Parisienne, but what I learned from reading the book was how hemmed in she felt by her own image and how long it took her to assert herself as an individual, as more than an It Girl.

Dorie’s Anytime Cakes,

Dorie Greenspan

Simple cakes are the only cakes I mess with at home. Thankfully, Dorie has a vast collection of recipes for bakers like me, many of which come together in her new book. I also love that the book features art by Nancy Pappas, which I still struggle to believe is illustration and not photography! What talent.

Paris Every Day, Rebecca Plotnick
A romantic, carefree visual journey through the seasons in Paris with beautiful photography by Katie Donnelly.

Ready for Dessert (revised),

David Lebovitz

No reason or season is required for a David Lebovitz best-of compilation, but fall will be sweeter because of this new-and-improved version of his bestseller Ready for Dessert, first published in 2010. You can expect even more recipes (including a slew that are French and French-inspired), new photography, and fresh stories from Paris.

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