Books on France 2013 Wrap Up and 2014 Warm Up

Books on France is a fabulous year long year long reading challenge organised by the wonderful Emma at wordsandpeace. It's a great place to hang out. I read books about France anyway (although never as many as I want to read), and it's great to see other people reading about France, and check out what they're reading. 

I didn't really set a strict goal for this challenge. I figured I get to at least 12 books (Level 3, passionnement) but also figured that I wouldn't make the 52 books needed for Level 4, a la folie. Which turned out to be a rather accurate prediction. 

I ended up reading and blogging 14 Books on France in 2013. I love wrap up posts, but found a great expression recently to cover them- If You Haven't Seen It, It's New to You. I love that. 

Half of my Books on France were nonfiction as it turned out. Required reading for my trip to Paris in June 2013. 

January started off on a sweet note. With Amy Thomas' Paris, My Sweet.

I was so intrigued by Amy's Top 10 for Paris, that I turned it into a real life adventure undertaking my own Paris, My Sweet Challenge. 

My next sweet excursion was Michael Paul's Sweet Paris. 

He has a top 10 list too. Perhaps that can be my next Paris challenge adventure?

Or I could take my advice from Clotilde Dusoulier's Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris. 

Other books helped to inflame my wanderlust too.

Vivian Swift's gorgeous Le Road Trip. 

Diane Johnson's Into a Paris Quartier. 

Horrible Histories' France taught me all sorts of things.

As did Ina Caro's fabulous Paris to the Past. 

I read both kids and adult fiction too. 

Wendy Harmer's Pearlie in Paris. 

Michael Morpurgo's Joan of Arc.

Goscinny and Sempe's classic Nicholas.

Natalie Savage Carlson's Pigeon of Paris.

Kate Knapp's Ruby Red Shoes Goes to Paris

Two adult fiction reads rounded out my French reads. 

Gregoire Delacourte's The List of My Desires.

Francois Lelord's Hector and the Search for Happiness.

To finish up the 2013 year I got to wondering Why Don't French Books Sell Abroad. The complexity of how notions of language and culture affect what books are available to us to read is fascinating.

I read a number of other books, but haven't got to blogging about them yet. 

Asterix the Gaul

A Family in Paris

Hopefully my posts about these books will be some of my first posts for The Books on France 2014 Reading Challenge. I'm looking forward to it already. I think I'll shoot for Level 3 again.

http://wordsandpeace.com/2013/12/08/books-on-france-2014-reading-challenge/