Dreaming of France -- French Rhapsody

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

I had some extra points on my Amazon account, so I ordered a paperback that I can take with me to France. I'm always looking for something good to read as I travel, and books set in France are
perfect.

I found this book, French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain and didn't even read the summary before I ordered it. I truly enjoyed his novel The Red Notebook, and his other novel The President's Hat was also a fun read.
Laurain is French and sets his books in France with real French people, unlike many of us who write novels about Americans or Brits reacting to travels in France.
This novel tells the story of Alain, who had a band in the 1980s but gave up his music dream and became a doctor. Then he receives a letter that went awry and should have reached him in 1983 that offers him and his band a music contract. Should he track down his band members and try at music again? What could have been if only the letter hadn't gotten lost?
I'll have to resist opening this book until we leave for France. Maybe I should stow it in my suitcase now.
I ordered this book on Friday and it appeared on my front porch today, Sunday. So weird. I have Amazon prime, but I didn't expect it on a Sunday.
How about you? Have you read a book set in France that you love? Please share.
And, if not, I encourage you to try Paris Runaway, It's fast-paced and will definitely put you smack dab in France, at least the way I experience it.

Here's a blurb to tempt you further:

When divorced mom Sadie Ford realizes her 17-year-old daughter Scarlett has run away to Paris, all she can imagine are terrorist bombings and sex slaves. After learning her daughter chased a French exchange student home, Sadie hops on the next plane in pursuit. She joins forces with the boy’s father, Auguste, and the two attempt to find the missing teens. The chase takes Sadie and Auguste to the seedier side of Marseille, where their own connection is ignited. Since the divorce, Sadie has devoted herself to raising kids and putting her dreams on hold, but when her daughter needs her most, Sadie finds that concrete barrier to life beginning to crack. In her journey, she learns the difference between watching the hours pass and living.

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France.
I appreciate you sharing your love for France, along with food, books, movies, stories and pictures. Please visit the blogs of others who play along so we can share the love.  

French Book Giveaway -- The Sisters of Versaille

As my husband and I start preparing for our move to France, in one year and 117 days, I'm giving away some of my books set in France. This week, it's a historical novel called The Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie. I reviewed this one for FranceBookTours and you can find the review here.
The novel, based on a true story, is about a family of five sisters, four of whom became mistresses to the king, Louis XV during the 18th century.
The book gives a true feel for the sumptuous, wasteful lifestyles of many of the royalty during this period of French history, but also delves into the emotions of the characters. I enjoyed this one and I think you will too.
I have a paperback copy that I will mail to you if you're the winner.
There are several ways to enter, beginning with leaving a comment on my blog.
Good luck, and I'll notify you next Sunday if you won so I can send you the novel.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday Intros -- The 6:41 to Paris

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
I just received a French book translated into English. I'll be reviewing it for France Book Tours, but I'm definitely going to be curling up with it over Christmas.
The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel is about Cecile, 47, who is taking the early morning train from her parents' provincial town to Paris when the empty seat next to her is occupied by a man with whom she had a torrid affair and an awful ending. That should be an interesting train ride back.
Here's the intro:

I could have taken the 7:50, or even the 8:53. It's Monday. Mondays are dead quiet at work. It's just that I couldn't take anymore. What was I thinking, staying Sunday night. I don't know what came over me. Two days are more than enough.  

 I love visiting my parents, but I can imagine this weekend with French parents who have certain expectations might be trying.
I wonder what happens between Cecile and Philippe. And I wonder why the author named the main character after himself, Jean-Philippe.
Thanks for visiting my blog! I can't wait to see what everyone else is reading.

First Paragraph, Tuesday Teaser -- My Wish List

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
I'll be reviewing this book for FranceBookTours on March 19. I've already finished My Wish List by Gregoire Delacourt, but wanted to share the intro with you.

We're always telling ourselves lies.
For instance, I know I'm not pretty. I don't have blue eyes, the kind in which men gaze at their own reflection, eyes in which they want to drown so that I'll dive in to rescue them. I don't have the figure of a model,  I'm more the cuddly sort -- well...plump. The sort who takes up a seat and a half. A man of medium height won't be able to get his arms all the way around me. I don't move with the grace of a woman to whom men whisper sweet nothings, punctuated by sights...no, not me. I get brief forthright comments. The bare bones of desire, nothing to embellish them, no comfortable padding. 

Delacourt, of course, wrote this little novel in French and it was translated into English by Anthea Bell. I love the cover too. The tag line at the bottom asks: "If you won the lottery would you trade your life for the life of your dreams?" Jocelyne runs a shop full of sewing notions. She has a husband and two grown children until one day she plays the lottery.

Also this week  is Teaser Tuesdays. Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Open to a random page of your current read  and share a teaser sentence from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.
Here's a teaser from 16%:

I haven't gone dancing since that thirteenth birthday of mine, when I danced to "Indian Summer" with my budding breasts.

 Hope your reading something you love.

Dreaming of France -- French Illusions memoir

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.
I'm always on the lookout for fun books and especially books set in France.
Emma at Words and Peace blog alerted me to a new book about an American au pair in France.

Of course, since I've written 25,000 words of my own non-fiction account as a nanny in France, I had to read this one.
I'm only a couple of chapters into reading this memoir, which is called French Illusions. The author, Linda Kovic-Skow, tells the story from the late 1970s when she wanted to be a flight attendant and was turned down because she didn't speak another language. She determined to learn French by going to France as an au pair. Of course, she pretended she already spoke French to get the job as an au pair.
I'll let you know what I think when I finish.
I'm looking forward to your Dreaming of France posts today.