Am I Just Imagining It? Or Do I Hear...French Music?

 

 Paris in July 2026

#parisinjuly2026 (Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter)

Am I just imagining it? Or do I hear...French music? Are those French books I see in my current TBR stack? Have I been carefully searching for French movies to watch? And why are there bookmarks in my French cookbooks? 

Could it be...is it time again for...Paris in July?!

Hurray!

Yes, Paris in July begins soon, and, happily, Emma of Words and Peace will be hosting again this year.

The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking, and eating all things French.

There are no rules or targets in terms of how much you need to do or complete in order to be a part of this experience – just blog about anything French and you can join in. Some ideas might include:

• reading a French-themed book – fiction or nonfiction;
  
• watching a French movie;
  
• listening to French music;
  
• cooking French food;
  
• experiencing French, art, architecture, and travel;
• tasting French wine, or testing French cocktails;
• celebrating le quatorze juillet or Bastille Day.

Whatever it is that you love about France---share it with us all. And pass the word...

So what are my plans for Paris in July? Here are some of the things I might do...

I have access to several adult books I might read:

The Earth by Émile Zola 

Paris Metro Tales by Ruth Paget 

Eat Post Like by Emily Arden Wells

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson

Moveable Feasts: The Story of Paris in 20 Meals by Chris Newens

The French Kitchen by Kristy Cabron

The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn

The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin

The French Ingredient by Jane Bertch

Eleanor of Avignon by Elizabeth DeLozier

Impossible City: Paris in the 21st Century by Simon Kuper

All Signs Point to Paris by Natasha Sizio

The Shortest History of France by Simon Jones

My Four Seasons in France by Janine Marsh

A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke

France: An Adventure History by Graham Robb

Satori in Paris by Jack Kerouak

I have four books in French I could read in July. All of them are from the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read list: 

L'Enfance de Bécassine

Les Six Compagnons

Les pilleurs de sarcophages

Oh, boy!; Quatre sœurs. 

I also have Candide, a group read with Emma and others during Paris in July.

I have some children's books I've saved for July: 

The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud

Claudine and the Bridge of Two Hearts by Marian Grudko

Anthony and the Gargoyle by Jo Ellen Bogart

A Pigeon in Paris by Paige Howard

I shall dial Duolingo to French for the month and browse 50 French Phrases; 15-Minute French; and Say It Right in French.

I have a lovely French music playlist.

I have some French films and tv series at the ready: 

Arco (Hulu)

The Rules of the Game: La règle du jeu (Kanopy)
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday: Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Kanopy)
Cousin Jules: A Farmer Living in the French Countryside (Kanopy)

Maigret (Kanopy)

Paris When It Sizzles (Kanopy)

The Last Time I Saw Paris (Amazon Prime)

A New Kind of Love (Amazon Prime)

Three Colors: Blue (HBO/Max)
Three Colors: Red (HBO/Max)
Three Colors: White (HBO/Max)

I shall revisit my favorite museums in Paris:

Musée d’Orsay

Centre Pompidou

And, maybe, just maybe, I will try to do some French baking.

I hope you will be joining in, too.

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: 18 Years of Blogging

 

We are very glad 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. 

Tropical Storm Arthur passed through this week. We got four inches of rain in one day, but it drained off quickly and we did not suffer any damage. 

I read almost nothing until I got home from taking care of chickens, but days of rain have allowed me to catch up on my reading this week. I'm happy to have read all nine of the Little House books at last, and I loved the new Elizabeth Strout book.

What I Read Last Week:

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House #8)

The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House #9)

Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood (Fiction)

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)

Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson (Nonfiction)

Lost Horizon by James Hilton (Classic)

Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice (Poetry)

The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim (Classic Club Spin)

What I'm Reading Now:

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

My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Book Club; Fiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Heart-Shaped Bruise

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout: 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:

It's my 18th blogoversary!

Good Thing #2:

We are sharing alligators 

with kids

for the summer reading program

at the library.

Good Thing #3:

Despite the rain, I was able to enjoy

Aqua Zumba and Aqua Aerobics

at the swimming pool a few times this week.

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.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

     

Today's Featured Book: 

The Things We Never Say: A Novel

by Elizabeth Strout

Genre: Fiction

Published: May 5, 2026

Page Count: 207 pages

Summary: 

Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?

And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.

Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters.

 

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.

It was the middle of June and the sun all day had kept right on shining with sweet mightiness. "Stay jovial, please, Artie! Just promise me that. Please stay your old jovial self!" Flossie MacDonald had wiped her napkin across her weeping eyes and told this to Artie Dam the last time she had seen him, which had been on this spectacular evening in June. And he assured her that he would.  

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. 

So blind we humans are---so blind. To each other and to ourselves, moving through life as though through shadows, putting a hand in the dark and thinking we have touched someone. And maybe we have, as Artie did with Rhonda Lazarre that day. But mostly we travel through life unsighted, grasping only the smallest details of one another's selves, including our own. Thinking all the while that we can see.

Secrets. Feelings we hide. Things we have done we do not talk about. What we think we know. People we have known deeply and yet really have not known at all. 

And why do we do these things? Is it fated? Where do the words, the thoughts, the actions, the feelings come from?

How do we help others as we go through our lives? Are we helping them? What should we tell them and what should we keep silent about? 

A good book sticks with me. I keep thinking about it after I've come to THE END. I want others to read it and talk about it. Elizabeth Strout's books are good books for me. This one may be my new favorite.

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.    

If you could pick any fictional character to live with, who would it be, and how would they change your daily life? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I would love to go spend a month in a castle in Italy with Mrs. Rose Arbuthnot, Lady Caroline Dester, Mrs. Fisher, and Mrs. Lotty Wilkins, characters from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. 

The Sunday Salon: Heart-Shaped Bruise

 

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

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 am home after taking care of three dogs, five ducks, hundreds of chickens, and a horse with my daughter-in-law's Aunt Susie while my son and his family went on vacation. 

I am exhausted. 

What I Read Last Week:

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane (Nonfiction)

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson (Nonfiction)

The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim (Fiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Chicken Sitting

Books with Handwriting on the Cover

Make Life Happier: 23 Practical Ways to Feel Better, Find Meaning, and Make a Difference by Mark Williamson: 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:

A Carolina Wren 

is nesting in a hanging basket

on our front porch.

Photo from iNaturalist.

Good Thing #2:

I did not photograph any 

new-to-me birds in East Texas,

but at dawn, when I awoke each morning,

 I heard this one, a Chuck-Will's Widow:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/369657895.

Good Thing #3:

At my age, I bruise easily.

I got this bruise from trying to 

quickly close a chicken pen.

It's a reminder to me

of my purpose here on Earth.

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.