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.
What I Read Last Week:
The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot
Fantômette et la maison hantée by Georges Chaulet
The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwartz and Iva-Marie Palmer
Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by Sebastian Smee
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie
What I'm Reading Now:
Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France by Vivian Swift (Paris in July)
In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse, and the Birth of Modern Art by Sue Roe (Paris in July)
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow (James book club discussion)
What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:
Remembering Paris by Denis Tillinac
A Bakery in Paris by Aimee Runyon
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Fantômette et la maison hantée by Georges Chaulet
The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwartz and Iva-Marie Palmer
Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by Sebastian Smee
(2) Watching...
Maigret (1992) on BritBox. (Mystery series)
Maigret (2018) on BritBox. (Mystery series)
Odette Toulemonde on Kanopy. (Movie)
(3) Practicing my French on Duolingo.
(4) Eating at Brasserie du Parc,
a French restaurant in downtown Houston.
(5) Baking croissants.

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:
Odette Toulemonde. (Kanopy).
A Mary Poppins-ish movie
for grownups.
Good Thing #2:
The Mirror Crack'd---the book and the play at the Alley Theater in Houston
Good Thing #3:
I accidentally ordered forty bananas
in my grocery order this week.
Banana bread, anyone?
Do you remember when Vivian Swift (author of Le Road Trip) had a fun blog? And wrote about her books and things? Unfortunately she deleted it when she decided not to keep blogging. But it was fun. and so are her books.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend and thank you for hosting Sunday Salon.
best…mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I loved to read her blog, it was so sharp and funny.
DeleteI loved her blog. It was so sharp and funny. I really miss it.
DeleteI never saw her blog, but I wish I had.
DeleteI remember going to Paris during my early 20s, alone and adventurous. I didn't stay too long there though, but headed to Brittany and Mont Sainte Michel and then on to Rome and Florence. Ah, those young traveling days!
ReplyDeleteForty bananas! My oldest rabbit would go nuts for them (but absolutely shouldn't be allowed that much sugar). But surely no one could complain about banana bread.
ReplyDeleteAlso oooh, croissants, now I have a craving. I hope they were awesome!
I loved Paris when we visited there a decade ago. I’d love to go back again whenever I am able to. I loved that you made croissants Deb! Have a great trip to Paris TX.
ReplyDeleteYou have the makings for many banana bread loaves! maybe you could do a lemonade stand and sell wedges of banana bread, then go on a book crawl and use the money earned for books. Hope your trip to Paris is fun. I still have a magnet of their eiffel tower tower a friend sent me.
ReplyDeleteGreat reading week.
In Montmartre sounds fascinating. You've read some good ones. Le Road Trip (and anything by Vivian) is a favorite. Every couple years I reread "When Wanderers Cease to Roam," month by month. I wish she still had her blog. She was one of my art inspirations!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed by your reading list. My reading is going very slowly this summer. I'm finding it hard to concentrate. News of current events keeps interfering.
ReplyDeleteI understand.
DeleteI have that Mark Twain on my TBR list and just added In Montmartre right now, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've in Texas and haven't even been to Paris! It's on the bucket list just so I can say I haven't read any of these books but they look great! I hope you had a great week.
ReplyDeleteAsh @ Essentially Ash
Want to follow me on Bookstagram, booktok, add my snapchat or check out my photography?
That's a lot of bananas, LOL! Sounds like a great week.
ReplyDeleteI love it when you list three good things! It reminds me of advice I’ve heard from others — that listing three things to be grateful for each day boosts happiness!
ReplyDeletehttps://embracethepandemonium.wordpress.com/
I would have to freeze most of the bananas, I'm the only one in the house who eats them besides my dog. She loves them as much as I do. I also love banana bread. I haven't made it in quite a while. Our Golden Corral sells it and it's really good so I usually stop there and get a loaf.
ReplyDeleteI am going to see if I can find Odette Toulemonde! Not sure I will get to it for this Paris in July. Maybe for next years!
ReplyDeleteMy jaw literally dropped when I read how many bananas you accidentally ordered! I freeze my overripe bananas and put one in a smoothy. I make mine with spinach, frozen mango, frozen banana and some water. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteWhich Maigret did you like best? We've seen the more recent program, but not the older one.
I liked the more recent program best.
DeleteThanks, Deb. We will probably skip the earlier version. I appreciate your opinion.
DeleteFreeze the bananas and you have smoothies for days! That's such a funny error though. I love The Mirror Crack'd and would love to see it in play form. What fun! And what fun to go to Paris, TX during Paris in July! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThat food looks so delicious! 40 bananas...LOL! I wish I could take some off your hands because I do love them, but unfortunately I'm allergic to them. Plus the whole Texas to Maryland thing could present some challenges. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you are having a wonderful time in Paris, Texas. Once when my Sweetie was asked to bring home 3-4 bananas, he brought home three huge bunches. Not quite 40, but plenty.
ReplyDeleteWow 40 bananas! I hope you had a great time in Paris. Enjoy your books and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI know I will never get to Paris, France but Paris, Texas is a possibility. I hope you have an amazing week!
ReplyDeleteLol 40 bananas!! Banana bread sounds really good right now honestly.
ReplyDeleteOdette Toulemonde also looks really good too.
I remember reading Le Road Trip for Paris in July one year... such a fun book! Forty bananas?! That's hilarious, but your freezer and friends will be well-stocked with banana bread :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know A Tale of Two Cities was set in Paris, I should read that soon! I'm currently rereading The Count of Monte Cristo again - 4th time in 4 years and I'm not bored yet but maybe it's time to branch out! 😂 Forty bananas is hilarious, but banana bread sounds perfect!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of bananas. You'll have to make smoothies for a week! The Mirror Cracked would be good to see as a play. Man when I lived in DC I went to plays a lot at the Arena Stage. I miss that. Enjoy your Paris in July and I look forward to your pics in Paris, Texas. I bet it has an Eiffel Tower.
ReplyDeleteIt does indeed.
DeleteI love banana bread (with chocolate chips added!) but maybe not that much, haha! I love Agatha Christie and have seen one of her plays. I should check around and see if there are any running nearby. What a fun night! Your meal looks Parisian and so does the café!
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow banana lover...accidentally?
ReplyDeleteTruth!
DeleteSounds like a great week.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read T.S. Eliot since college. That Mark Twain book caught my eye. Might have it in a bookshelf somewhere. The food looks amazing! That's a lot of bananas. Here are some recipe ideas: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/g63871207/best-banana-recipes Enjoy your week.
ReplyDeletehttps://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2025/07/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-mailbox_27.html
Sounds like a wonderful week ☺️
ReplyDeleteAt least you can freeze some of the bananas if you're going to use them for banana bread - which I love:). The set of the play looks awesome - I hope it was fun, Deb. And enjoying all things Parisian sounds like a very good plan. I love the sound of Odette Toulemonde and hope you have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteThe food looks so good.
ReplyDelete40 bananas?! That sounds completely overwhelming. It sounds like you'll have a major baking session to make a ton of banana bread (and that sounds delicious).
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Paris in July!
I meant to add three good things this week and I forgot! Do you know I have never read an Agatha Christie book?! What is wrong with me? I'm interested to see what you think of the Mark Twain book. I loved Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn growing up - but don't know anything about the author. Have a wonderful reading week!
ReplyDeletethe 40 bananas order made me smile.. i have had that happen when both me and my hubby ended up buying some without realizing the other had already.. :) so it was a lot of banana bread that week.. The Jules Verne Prophecy appeals to me .(my first fav sci-fi author!)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked Odette!!! Last year's Paris in July was all about Catherine Frot for me. I watched several of her movies. She is too cute.
ReplyDeleteYou're reading so many interesting books! And I love that you were able to visit paris again!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is OBSESSED with all things Paris right now. We even redecorated her bathroom in a Paris theme, all pink and black and white, it's beautiful. And since she's named after Eleanor of Aquitaine, we will be going to France when she's older she see the bits and pieces still left of the life of such an extraordinary queen. Happy Reading!
ReplyDelete