Bonjour and happy Wednesday! I am currently in the air and on my way to Atlanta for a road trip to New Orleans for Nola StoryCon. I get to spend a week in the south eating the best food and enjoying one last chance at summer weather (Seattle has been very disappointing, but then again no one has AC so that’s probably a good thing). I am very excited to be meeting Charlaine Harris and Delilah S. Dawson for the first time and seeing Kevin Hearne again. Posts from my previous trip to NOLA can be found here, here, here, and here.

I thought I’d change things up a bit for this Wednesday Whimsy and do a list of five of my favorite French books. Here you go:

5. The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo. The only cookbook on the list and I know I have mentioned it several times on other WW posts, but I use it so much that it has to be on here. Favorite recipes have been: Crispy rabbit with Meaux mustard, Quiche Lorraine, Chicken and mushrooms in a white wine sauce, and oeufs en cocotte. And there are so many more on my list to try.

4. Out of Sorts by Aurélie Valognes. Written by a French author, it’s about a severely grumpy old man who learns that he doesn’t have to be. It’s a great read! I listened to the audiobook.

3. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. The movie version made me cry. This book was written by a man who was completely paralyzed after a stroke. He dictated this entire book one letter at a time by blinking his eyes. That fact alone deserves a read by everyone.

2. Seven Letters from Paris by Samantha Vérant. Probably the book I recommend the most to people, after anything by Gail Carriger. This book gets happier and happier as you read it, until you want to explode with how great it is. My review here.

1. The Red Notebook (and The President’s Hat and The Portrait, but I didn’t want to take up three spots with one author) by Antoine Laurain, my tied-with-Gail-Carriger-favorite-author. Laurain’s books will make you whimsical and happy and feel like you can do anything with your life. Like write a book, which is what I started doing after reading The Portrait. My review of The Red Notebook here.

In searching for blog links relating to the books above, I discovered a similar post I did almost a year ago on the same topic. Read it here!

Also book related, David Lebovitz has a new book coming out this fall and he’s going on tour! To the United States! AND SEATTLE! So excited! Sorry for all the exclamation points!!!!!

All of the pictures in this post are courtesy of my June 2010, and first, trip to Paris.