A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 9 – The Joy of Books

 November 11, 2020

“Read a good book,” Fiona Ferris writes as Day 9 in her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. She describes how much fun she has being carried away into whole new worlds and experiences by a good story. She looks forward to diving into a make-believe world not only just for fun but also when life (and news programs) seem overwhelmingly negative. Her coping skill to handle a long and tough stretch of life is to take an hour or so out of the day on a regular basis for a little self-care in a new world.

I agree with Fiona whole-heartedly. One of my favorite activities as a child was to curl up in a comfortable corner and settle in for a long read.  It still is one of my favorite things to do.  I enjoy reading interesting blogs and on-line magazine articles. I like this format because it supports the introduction of an interesting idea but then leaves the more in-depth and larger discussion to come later – either in my own mind or from follow-up sources. This format is more like an appetizer portion – tasty, thought-provoking, and leaves room for more development.

My most enjoyed reading experiences revolve around a larger story (fiction or non-fiction).  I find the depth and breadth of a book a “meatier” portion (to continue with the dinner-time analogy!)  It’s tremendously fun to truly tune out the rest of my daily reality for an afternoon and dive headfirst into a whole other world.  It’s especially interesting when characters, lines or concepts from the book remain with me upon return to regular life.  A good example would be the character Silas from The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. My son and I recently visited the lovely Cimitiere Passy nearby.  We both discussed how we liked walking through cemeteries now because of that book. If you had overheard our conversation, you would have thought we were talking about well-loved, actual family members as we discussed how Silas (a vampire) showed his very deep love and care for the child orphan, Bod.

My family has the before bedtime ritual of “Family Reading Time” – a 45-60 minute part of the evening right before bedtime when the I or my husband read aloud to the rest of the family. Recently, we’ve been on a Percy Jackson kick. Interestingly, when lockdown took effect, our desire to tune into the giant struggle to save the world waned. It seemed a bit too much of a muchness. Percy and his friends will have to defeat the titans in the 5th and final book without us at the moment.  What did spark unanimous interest was a return to Louis L’Amour Westerns. I pulled out Bendigo Shafter (which I last read sometime in my 20’s) and we are now happily walking beside Bendigo (the lead character and narrator) deep in the Western Rockies trying to build a town.

My book club here in Paris has introduced me to several lovely books that I would have otherwise not encountered. The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure, and All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatz Williams, Lauren Willig & Karen White. This month we are reading Proust’s Duchesses by Caroline Weber.

I recently enjoyed a thought-provoking, non-fiction book by Cait Flanders titled, Adventures in Opting Out. Cait discusses the benefits and challanges of following your own inner guidance with regards to how you live your life. I loved her discussion so much that I had a hard time putting the book down. I raced through it the first time then immediately read it again at a much slower pace to really think about some of the things that she says. Of course, Fiona’s books are part of my list of favorites. It’s always a treat to pull out one of her books and see what inspiration strikes. (I’m currently reading A Chic & Simple Christmas to help me form a lovely AND low-stress Christmas season plan for this year.)

In the afternoons, I take a “tea break” between 3:30 and 4 right before the children come home from school and pull out a light-hearted mystery series called “Her Royal Spyness” by Rhys Bowen. I’m on book three, Royal Flush, right now. I like to check out many books from my US neighborhood library and from The American Library of Paris. Thank heavens for on-line loans! Amazon Kindle Unlimited also supports my browsing habits. It’s nice to be able to “check out” a book just because it looks intriguing without the decision-making hassle of thinking “Do I want to buy this?”

In difficult moments, I find it tremendously comforting to turn to “old friends” like Georgette Heyer, Amanda Quick, Louis L’Amour, Mary Stewart, M.M. Kaye, Janet Evanovich, Agatha Christie, Alistair McLean, Lois McMasters Bujold and settle in for a cup of tea and a refreshing break from whatever is bothering me.

Note: Fiona’s wonderful books are available at Amazon.com