The Sunday Salon: Reading an Absurd Number of Books for Paris in July

 

Welcome! I am glad you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. 

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a spot to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a time to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

It's summer, and I'm doing all the things I usually do in summer...I'm swimming and doing butterfly counts and working at reptile shows at the library and eating lunch with friends and going to my book groups and reading sixteen books (!) for Paris in July and loving the feeling of the sun on my face.

What I Read Last Week:

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson (Travel Memoir)

The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin (Fiction)

My Good Life in France by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Earth by Émile Zola (Fiction - Paris in July)

Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire (Fiction in French - Paris in July)

France: An Adventure History by Graham Robb (History - Paris in July)

The Shortest History of France by Colin Jones (History - Paris in July)

Toujours la France! by Janine Marsh (Memoir - Paris in July)

The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud (Children's Fiction - Paris in July)

Thirty Days in Paris by Veronica Henry (Fiction - Paris in July)

One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan (Fiction - Paris in July)

My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fiction by Deborah Levy (Fiction - Paris in July)

The Unbreakables by Lisa Barr (Fiction - Paris in July)

Quartet by Jean Rhys (Fiction - Paris in July)

Moveable Feasts: A Story of Paris in Twenty Meals by Chris Newens (Nonfiction - Paris in July)

En Route: A Journey Through France in the Company of Great Writers by Peter Fiennes (Nonfiction - Paris in July) 

This week, I found myself reading a ridiculous number of books set in France or about France for Paris in July. The two I'm enjoying the most right now are En Route and Moveable Feasts.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Off to Paris! (Virtually)

Book Titles that Include the Word “Happy” (and My Assessment of Whether or Not the Book is Good for Lifting One's Mood)

Candide by Voltaire: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

This weekend is the Reverse Readathon, 

and I forgot about it until now (eek), 

but, oh well, I think I'll jump in,

 though I'm late to the table.

Good Thing #2:

A cup of espresso!

Good Thing #3:

G-daughter Bailey and her daughter, Lucy,

are coming next week!

Yay!

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.

Candide by Voltaire: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

Today's Featured Book: 

Candide

by Voltaire

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: 1759

Page Count: 129 pages

Summary: 

Candide is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947).

It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world.

Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds".

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

In a castle of Westphalia, belonging to the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh, lived a youth, whom nature had endowed with the most gentle manners. His countenance was a true picture of his soul. He combined a true judgment with simplicity of spirit, which was the reason, I apprehend, of his being called Candide.

Voltaire. Candide, p. 1. Kindle Edition. 

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

They sat until four o'clock in the morning. Candide, in listening to all their adventures, was reminded of what the old woman had said to him in their voyage to Buenos Ayres, and of her wager that there was not a person on board the ship but had met with very great misfortunes. He dreamed of Pangloss at every adventure told to him. "This Pangloss," said he, "would be puzzled to demonstrate his system. I wish that he were here. Certainly, if all things are good, it is in El Dorado and not in the rest of the world."

Voltaire. Candide, 56%. Kindle Edition. 

Candide is a brilliant masterpiece, a scathingly brutal satire of overly optimistic philosophies of life. 

Candide lives a secluded life with a wealthy family in a castle, and his life is so affluent that Candide has his own philosophy teacher, Pangloss.

All is well, and Pangloss’ philosophies remain intact until Candide falls in love with the family’s daughter and he is expelled into real life.

Real life brings an endless series of horrible events for Candide and all the people he meets, horrible events that are so inexplicably horrible that they make the life of Job appear to be quite Edenic. 

Candide at last makes his way back to his homeland and, after all the horrible experiences, he is able to revise his philosophy of life to the practical: Cultivate your garden, he extols, cautiously. 

Brilliant. Masterpiece. A must read.

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

What’s your biggest pet peeve about the book community?  (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I feel like we are often too exclusionary, that we who read one sort of book scorn others who read other sorts of books. We often end up in jobs where we rate and ridicule the reading of others to the point that people hate books and hate reading. I hate that this happens.

Book Titles that Include the Word “Happy” (and My Assessment of Whether or Not the Book is Good for Lifting One's Mood)

Books that definitely taught me lots and lots about being happier:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben

The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger

The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky

The Blue Zones of Happiness: A Blueprint for a Better Life by Dan Buettner

How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning, and Community by Judith Valente

Books for just a quick daily dose of happiness:

Better Than Chocolate: 50 Proven Ways to Feel Happier by Siimon Reynolds

100 Simple Secrets of Happy People by David Niven

Be Happy: A Little Book to Help You Live a Happy Life by Monica Sheehan

Happy Habits: 50 Science-Backed Rituals to Adopt (or Stop) to Boost Health and Happiness by Karen Salmonsohn

Books that did not make me feel happier:

Whatever Makes You Happy by Lisa Grunwald (Fiction about an unhappy middle-aged woman)

The Happiness Code by Amy Herrick (Fiction about an unhappy family)

Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin (Fiction about, yes, another unhappy group of people)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.  

The Sunday Salon: Off to Paris! (Virtually)

 

We are happy that you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. Welcome!

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

I finished up some non-Paris-in-July books this week. For me, My Friends started slowly, but the second half of the book turned everything around for me, and I ended up rating it 4 1/2 stars. I listened to Beyond Words, but I went ahead and ordered a copy and I'll read that again before my book group meets next month. I liked the new Lisa See book a lot, but I felt like she spent a little too much time putting on paper all the details of a terrible event in Los Angeles history for a book that is historical fiction---probably that's just me. 

What I Read Last Week:

Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina (Book Club Nonfiction)

My Friends by Frederik Bachman (Book Club Fiction)

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Earth by Émile Zola (Fiction)

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson (Travel Memoir)

Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire (Fiction in French)

The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin (Fiction)

My Good Life in France by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

France: An Adventure History by Graham Robb (History)

The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud (Children's Fiction)

PBS helped me start my Paris in July 2026 journey off right with a visit to Paris via the Rick Steves' episode, Paris of the Parisians, coupled with the Daytripper's episode on Paris, Texas. 

I began seven books that feature Paris or France.

And I practiced my French on Duolingo at least one time a day.

A pretty good start...

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Northern Cardinal Chicks, Butterflies and Bees, an Alligator, and Some Gulf Coast Toads

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026

The Earth by Émile Zola:Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, and The Friday 56

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

My husband and I attended 

a Pollinator Academy last weekend,

and we came home with 

ten packets of free wildflower seeds.

Good Thing #2:

I swam Monday through Friday

this week at the Rec Center.

Good Thing #3:

It was warm this week, 

but when we saw that it was five degrees

warmer in Chicago,

it didn't feel too bad!

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.