Flirting with French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me, and Nearly Broke My Heart (2014
by William Alexander
Alexander catalogues his one-year quest to learn French as a forgetful 57-year-old, touring the fields of linguistics, history, and neuroscience along the way.
My (Part-Time) Paris Life: How Running Away Brought Me Home (2016)
by Lisa Anselmo
After her mother’s death, Anselmo buys an apartment in Paris to start building a new life—and ends up further outside her comfort zone than she expected.
How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City (2015)
by Joan DeJean
DeJean chronicles the changes in urban architecture, social life, and fashion that made Paris a cutting-edge city in the 17th century.
Paris to the Moon (2000)
by Adam Gopnik
Gopnik’s book is a portrait of everyday life in Paris, but also a sharp commentary on French psychology and a memoir of life as an expat dad.
Paris: A Love Story (2013)
by Kati Marton
Marton’s memoir is punctuated by visits to Paris, as she navigates a high-profile media career, two marriages, and grief.
The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs (2015)
by Elaine Sciolino
Sciolino chronicles everyday life in her Rue des Martyrs community, a part of Paris that still feels like a village.
Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) (2012)
by Amy Thomas
Thomas’s sugary adventures in Paris parallel her rollercoaster of emotions as an American transported to a new city all alone. Desserts become a metaphor for lessons about life and what happens when you get everything you wished for.
