Wrapping up Paris in July

What I wanted to read about Paris during the month of July

Oulipo and Georges Perec, Paris in World War II, Simone de Beauvoir, Paris mystery novels originally written in French, books by immigrants to Paris, The Anomaly, and Paris Metro Tales were all successful choices from my reading list for this month, and for my participation in the blog event Paris in July. I also added a couple of books that were not on the original list. I read a total of eleven books about Paris, and cooked one very French meal for friends.

I didn't complete my plan to explore the reason why the French love Boris Vian's L'Écume des jours and Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. Also, there were a couple of other books from my list that I missed. But I think I did a lot, and I feel as if I do in fact have some new insights into life in the Paris of real people, both now and in the past. It's been a great month!

I'm wrapping up my participation a bit early because I have some travel plans for the rest of the month.

Paris Topics from the Other Bloggers at Paris in July 

I really enjoyed reading the blog posts of the other participants who reviewed many books and wrote about other Paris-related topics. Some of my favorites:

• I appreciated the contributions of Deb at Readerbuzz who was the co-host for this month's events. Deb made me think what to read while in Paris (or while imagining I was there), and made me think about the general topic of street art and graffiti. 

One of Deb’s great Paris street art photos.

• I enjoyed the book reviews by Emma at Words and Peace. Because she's a native speaker of French, she reads French books in the original versions, which enriches her insights.
• Jeanie at the Marmelade Gypsy summarized the generic plot of too many Paris books written by Americans. Her summary offers an insight into why I like to read fiction by French authors, who seem to have many more imaginative plots:

"Like dozens of other novels -- young woman decides to divorce her husband and move to Paris to find herself and take over the locksmith shop of her recently deceased uncle [or whatever business her relative left her]. Young woman meets interesting Parisian people, becomes enchanted with the city, deals with Parisian bureaucracy and then discovers a life-changing secret about her own past. Will she stay in Paris or return to California and her unfulfilled life? I think you know the answer."

• Another Paris in July contribution I enjoyed reading was from Marg at The Intrepid Reader, who wrote about a French Reality TV show, and linked to their YouTube channel:

"The Parisian Agency, or L'Agence as it is known in France, is a reality show which features high end property, predominantly in Paris, although they do occasionally venture further afield to the French countryside and other locations."

• Kwarkito, a blogger who lives in France, shared many images of his own Paris, which are wonderful. He actually posts pictures and thoughts about Paris every month of the year, not just in July.

All of us who participated owe our gratitude to Deb for co-hosting and especially to Tamara for once again linking all the many posts from bloggers who obviously love Paris!

Blog post © 2022 by mae sander for maefood at blogspot dot com.