Tamara is hosting Paris in July again this year and has suggested we write up our intentions here. It is such fun to look over everyone's plans, to mark off possibilities on my own personal list and add a few more from others'.
I have a new perfume to write about, an unexpected present from my husband who gave it to me under the term "end of year present" when it's really because he's such an excellent man. A hint? The designer from whose house it came was around when Dior began and just passed away this June.
Also, I have longed to read Stendhal's The Scarlet and The Black since I was twelve years old and saw it in the stack of novels my mother brought on our trip to France. I tried it then, as I delved into most of her literature, but it didn't quite suit me. Now I am three quarters of the way through and marking every other page. You'd be surprised how much a French novel in the nineteenth century applies to today.
And on a much lighter note, I'm toying with reading the true story contained in Almost French by Sarah Turnbull.
There may be more novels pertaining to Paris in July, in fact I hope that there are. Some of my favorite books of the summer have come from this particular event, including Bonjour Tristesse, A Moveable Feast, Therese Raquin, and Eugenie Grandet.
Will you be reading anything French in July?
