Recently Read Books

  • A Delicate Truth- John Le Carre (fiction)
  • Perfect - Rachel Joyce (Fiction)
  • The Expats - Chris Pavone (Fiction)
  • An Event in Autumn - Henning Mankel (Fiction)
  • Winter in Madrid - C.J.Sansom (Fiction)
  • The Brothers - John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles - non-fiction
  • LIfe Among Giants - Bill Roorbach (Novel)
  • Empty Mansions - Bill Dedman (non-fiction)
  • Woodrow Wilson (non fiction)
  • Lawrence in Arabia (Non-Fiction)
  • In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helpren (Fiction)
  • Lesson in French - Hilary Reyl (fiction)
  • Unbroken- Laura Hillenbrand (Non-Fiction)
  • Venice, A New History- Thomas Madden - (Non- Fiction)
  • Life is a Gift - Tony Bennett Autobiography
  • The First Counsell - Brad Meltzer (Fiction)
  • Destiny of the Republic - President James Garfield non-fiction by Candice Millard
  • The Last Lion (volume III)- William Manchester and Paul Reid (non-fiction, Winston Churchill)
  • Yellowstone Autumn -W.D. Wetherell (non-fiction about turning 55 and fishing in Yellowstone)
  • Everybody was Young- (non-fiction Paris in the 1920's)
  • Scorpion - (non fiction US Supreme Court)
  • Supreme Power - Jeff Shesol (non-fiction)
  • Zero day by David Baldacci ( I read all of Baldacci's Books)
  • Northwest Angle - William Kent Krueger (fiction - I have read 5 or 6 books by this author)
  • Camelot's Court-Insider the Kennedy Whitehouse- Robert Dallek
  • Childe Hassam -Impressionist (a beautiful book of his paintings)

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Paris Letters- by Janice McLeod


I just finished reading Paris Letters by Janice McLeod. This memoir traces Janice's job as a copywriter at a Los Angeles advertising agency to her life in Paris. The book spans only a couple of years in Janet’s life. She decides to save her money, pay off her bills, quit her job and then travel through Europe for a year or two.  She falls in love in love in love in Paris with a Polish butcher. Janice speaks limited French, the butcher speaks French and Polish but limited English but they fall in love, move in together and ultimately marry.  The book is a tour guide, a love story and to some extent, a self- help book about what is really important in life. 

Janice describes her walks through Paris, her life, and her new career as an artist who paints "letter pictures" that she sells online.  If you like Paris this is a good read. It is a short book that can be picked up and set down at convenient breaks.

This book makes me want to go back to Paris with the Lovely Sharon; walking hand in hand and sitting lazily in the sun in one of the green metal chairs  in the Jardin du Luxembourg  and strolling through the Jardin des Tuileries. It makes me want buy a baguette or some cheese from a cafe window and nibble on it as we walk the Left Bank seeing what's for sale at the Book Stalls.

I can't recall how I became aware of Paris Letters but I do know I ordered it online from Amazon.

If you read it, let me know what you thought of it.  You might also want to check out Janice's website at

http://janicemacleod.com/ 



I took these photos in Paris

Jardin du Luxembourg




Jardin des Tuileries





Looking at Cheese



Bon Jour



No comments:

Post a Comment