12 Books to Read Before You Go to Paris (or to Pretend that You’re There)
In 7th grade, I loved Paris so much that I written and printed (in hard copy!) an entire novel titled Parisienne about my fantasy of living in this beautiful city. Here is a list of my favorite Paris-related books that I have read or are on my ever-growing reading list:
1. Time Was Soft Here: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. by Jeremy Mercer
In another life, I am an aspiring writer in the Tumbleweed program living and dusting books in the iconic bookstore: Shakespeare & Company. This memoir tells a story of how a journalist ended up in the bookstore and a peek of how it’s like an the colorful characters that work in Shakespeare & Co.
2. Don’t be A Tourist in Paris by Vanessa Grall
“I’m almost certain you and I have one thing in common. We are not tourists… and this is not a guide book,” is written on the back cover. I got so hooked on her Youtube channel because all the places she recommends are exactly the places I want to go. Here, she tells you the best underrated museums, places to have a date night, or where to eat inside a metro. If you have trouble finding this book, just tell the bookstore staff, "the book about Paris with a strip pole on the cover."
3. French Milk by Lucy Kingsley
Lucy Kingsley tells her six-week adventure in Paris through her photos and drawings on her journal. One of those “American in Paris” books that’s so easy to read, you could finish it in one sitting. Reading French Milk makes me wish I could actually draw and illustrate my own journal with doodles of Haussmann buildings and my afternoon chocolat chaud.
4. Paris in Stride: An Insider's Walking Guide by Jessie Kanelos Weiner and Sarah Moroz
I only realize how much I’ve walked in a day in Paris when I feel my feet ache once I lay on my bed late at night. The best way to see the city is on foot and this book is how you wish all maps should be like. It’s filled with beautiful watercolor illustrations and give you the best routes so you don’t have to do it yourself.
5. An Extraordinary Theory of Objects: A Memoir of an Outsider in Paris by Stephanie LaCava
This has a bit of a Didion feel due to how LaCava describes all the small objects that have meaning to her while she goes through her coming-of-age journey in Le Vésinet, in the western suburbs of Paris. Of all the chapters, I loved the one about an opal necklace the most.
6. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
I spotted this book years ago when I was volunteering to sell used books to fundraise. Aside from ones of France in general, a few of the essays here include stories of Paris, including: in Me Talk Pretty One Day, he recalls a French class he took in Paris and in Jesus Shaves, he recounts a day in the Parisian French class where the class explained Easter to a Moroccan woman.
7. The Only Street in Paris: Life on The Rue des Martyrs by Elaine Sciolino
"I can never be sad on the rue des Martyrs," explains the former Paris Bureau Chief of the New York Times. This book celebrates the history of Rue des Martyrs and the slowly fading street life.
8. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast." No Paris-related reading list is complete without a Hemingway classic.
9. Zazie dans le Métro (Zazie in the Metro) by Raymond Queneau
This book explores Paris from the eyes of a Provincial preteen girl. If you don’t have the time, check out the 1960 comedy based on the book. It’s good to practice your French and even if you don’t speak the language, Zazie and the charm of the colorful city will be sure to entertain you. Bonus points if you could find a secondhand one published Gallimard Nrf.
10. Paris Trance by Geoff Dyer
This is the book to read if you want to check out the 11th Arrondissement. The pseudo-memoir tells of four expats in Paris exploring the concept of happiness, ecstasy, sex, and dating strategies. I was drawn definitely drawn by the witty title of the book.
11. Brassai: Paris by jean-claude Gautrande
This book makes me wish that I was part of the Parisian elite, having reds with Miller, Picasso, Sartre, Camus, and Cocteau - who are all the photographer’s friends. Brassai captures bars and Paris at night in black and white, along with the city’s interesting characters.
12. Parisians: Photographs by Peter Turnley
When I’m in a new city, sneakily taking photos of locals in their habitats, I wish I could photograph like Peter Turnley. He breathes new life of what the city looks like through his lens that far extends the typical, though picturesque, postcard photos of the Eiffel Tower.