Reading update – 4 French-themed books (and one French-adjacent book)

Is there any French teacher who hasn’t read Mayle’s Year in Provence books? If so, you now have your reading assignment! I enjoyed those quite a bit. This book is similar in that it takes place in France, but it’s more of a mystery than a culture/travel book – although there is plenty of that! It’s not particularly long and it’s not too difficult to follow. So if you’re trying to kill some time in a noisy place, or maybe you took a ZZZquil and are waiting for it to kick in, this isn’t a bad choice. It’s not boring and won’t put you to sleep – but it doesn’t require a lot of mental focus to read it, so it won’t keep you up with action scenes and cliffhanger chapters.

While I enjoyed this book, I didn’t enjoy reading it as much as I thought I would. It’s about vampires during the French Revolution – but the vampires don’t play a huge role. There is a bit of tension between the main character and the revolutionary leader and a mysterious plot, but the vampire bit is almost an afterthought for the middle 60% of the book. Are the vampires the good guys, or the bad guys? It depends on the vampire. It’s a solid 3 stars out of 5, but I was disappointed because the premise could have been the base for something really great.

I really enjoyed reading this one – as the title says, it’s about the way of life in France. It discusses things such as literature, food, and enjoying time off. It’s a good view of the differences between French culture and American culture, and will help you to understand the why behind the differences. It’s an easy read, not a dry academic text, so if you’re looking for a non-fiction read it’s a great choice.

This one is a fun read – but it’s also one that requires your suspension of disbelief. It’s the story of a woman who decides to go to Paris when her ex-husband announces that he’s getting remarried. The woman decides to make her dream of visiting Paris come true and the dream quickly turns into a nightmare. She is involved in a few different crimes – all without her knowledge or consent – and decides to spend her time solving the crimes. She’s not a detective, nor does she have any experience in investigating crime, so it’s a bit unbelievable at times. But I still enjoyed reading it and definitely a good book to relax with.

This one isn’t really in France, but it is somewhat France-adjacent. It’s based on the real life Lady Duff-Gordon who become a clothing designer and icon in the world of women’s fashion. I enjoyed reading this one, it moves quickly and is written in a style that is very enjoyable. Knowing that it’s based on a real person’s life makes it more interesting. Lady Duff-Gordon definitely had an interesting life, surviving the sinking of both the Titanic AND the Lusitania! It’s a rags to riches story that is interesting and entertaining.