It's the summer, so that means Paris in July! Hosted by Thyme for Tea, it's an annual month-long celebration of all things French -- books, movies, films, and food. I haven't participated every year, but I've always enjoyed following along. This year, I'm hopefully going to knock a few books off my owned-and-unread shelves. Some of them also qualify for my Big Book Summer Challenge.
From top to bottom:
Maman, What Are We Called Now? by Jacqueline Mesnil-Amar
The Misunderstanding by Irene Nemirovsky
La Debacle by Emile Zola
Renoir, My Father by Jean Renoir
The Complete Claudine by Colette
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
That's six books, three of which are more than 500 pages long. My list includes fiction, a WWII diary, a memoir, and a biography. Of course I probably won't finish all of them but even half the list would be an accomplishment.
I also have some French language and French-themed films and TV series to watch:
Blind Date (Netflix)
The Bonfire of Destiny (Netflix)
Call My Agent! (Netflix)
Cezanne et Moi (Netflix)
A French Village (Hulu/Amazon Prime)
My Life as a Zucchini (Netflix)
Suite Francaise (No longer streaming on Netflix in the USA, but I have the DVD)
Twice Upon a Time (Netflix)
And if I get around to it I might try and make some macarons and eclairs as well!
I love the movie 100 Foot Journey and also the movie Babette's Feast has a French connection. This sounds like a lovely July project. Trader Joe's has some lovely unique flavored macrons in the cooler section if you don't get to making them. :) Of course, a bakery probably would have fresher ones. Sigh. I got to visit Paris for a few days in 2016 and it was lovely. <3 I'll especially never forget Notre Dame.
ReplyDeleteThere is a Trader Joe's close by, I'll have to try them! There's also a patissierie called La Duree in DC that's famous for their macarons. They've been closed for the past few months but if they re-open I may try and get some. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteIf you haven't already read it, I would recommend 'Gigi' by Collette. It is short but wonderful, and the film Gigi was based upon it. 'The Greengage Summer' by Rumer Godden is great coming of age book - a family of English children on holiday in France are left to their own devices when their mother is taken to hospital. It really captures the flavour of a French summer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions! I haven't read anything by Colette but Gigi is definitely on the list, I'm sure her biography will inspire me to read more. I've also wanted to read Rumer Godden, I have China Court and Peacock Spring, I'll look for Greengage Summer.
DeleteOh, I need this! Thanks for reminding me. For films, My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle were both lovely.
ReplyDeleteI'll look for them! I think I've read the book of My Father's Glory but never seen the movies. I think they're finally available on Netflix rental, on Blu-Ray.
DeleteI might skip Paris in July this year, but plan to watch Midnight in Paris (re-watch), Madeline, and French Toast around June-July. :)
ReplyDeleteLa Debacle! Hope you'd love it.
I have been longing to watch Cezanne & Me, but apparently it's not available on Netflix in my country. :(
I hope I like La Debacle! I know it's a war novel and those aren't my favorite, which is why I've been putting it off. I hadn't heard of French Toast but it's on the US Netflix so I'll have to watch it, thanks for the recommendation!
DeleteI'm working on my list now. I didn't realize there was a movie of Suite Francaise.
ReplyDeleteI ordered a French jigsaw puzzle for July. I also plan to post photos from my trip to Paris last winter, just before the start of the pandemic.
The Suite Francaise movie never got a theater release in the US, and it took forever to get to Netflix and now it's gone! I have a DVD but it's region 2, hopefully it will play on my laptop.
DeleteI love jigsaws, never thought of that for this challenge! And I look forward to seeing your photos.
Oh, I'm so glad you're joining us again. Its going to be a great way to join with our friends around the world during our COVID months. Who better to spend time with than our friends who love Paris.
ReplyDeleteI was in Paris just over a year ago and I'm so sad that I don't know when I'll be able to go back. I should post some photos!
DeleteThanks for the reminder - I'm trying to actually read books IN French this July so this is perfect! Hope to crossover something for Back to the Classics too.
ReplyDeleteBooks IN French, that's impressive! And you can definitely crossover with Back to the Classics! I've already finished most of my BTCC list but I'm crossing over with the Big Book Summer Challenge and my second Classics Club list.
DeleteI like your first list. Going to see whether I could track any of them down.
ReplyDeleteMerci beaucoup!
DeleteIt's great that most of your book selections are actually French, not American or British titles about France (or about some imaginary country that they pretend is France). I am looking forward to your posts!
ReplyDeletebe well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I don't own that many books in translation but I thought this would be a good time to read them - I hope I can read at least three or four.
DeleteI recommend the French series Call My Agent, it is so excellent I hope they make more episodes. Each episode has a different actual French film actor loosely playing him or her self. Off topic, but I must tell you I spent July in Paris two times. What a romantic city.
ReplyDeleteI've watched a few episodes but I didn't realize that the French film actors were playing themselves, which makes it even funnier. I guess that's a nuance you wouldn't get if you're not familiar with them.
DeleteAnd how lovely to have spent Paris in July -- I was lucky enough to visit several times when we lived in Germany (the high-speed train was only 3 hours!). I took my girls in July of 2016 but didn't realize we would be there on Bastille Day. It was crowded but we still had a wonderful time. I miss it so much and who knows when I'll be able to go back?