Emily in France 🇫🇷 Is Reading. A Lot.

Self-isolation, day 5.

I'm doing my grocery shopping at 7:30am, hissing at people who come too close like the Slytherin I am, and am still reporting on the impact of COVID-19 in Paris (particularly on the restaurant world).

I'm also changing things up with today's newsletter!

Confinement seems as good a time as any to get up to date on reading. I've got a huge book pile I'm getting through, and I know I'm not alone. If you're looking for suggestions, here are seven books I love that I think you should read. (Please feel free to share your own!)

1. Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, an allegorical, magical YA about the problem with utopias. (I discovered it via Coven's book club and just reviewed it on my blog.)

2. As A River by (full disclosure, my lovely friend) Sion Dayson, a story about a young Black man who returns to his small Southern town to face the secrets he ran from years before.

3. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, aka one of my top five books ever about the end of the world. (Don't worry: it's funny enough to be escapist, even now.)

4. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, a feel-good story about found families and one of the only books I've ever read more than twice.

5. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, the source material behind the 90s film classic and one of the most interesting examples I've ever read of of writing in an accent.

6. Un Roman français by Frédéric Beigbeder, one of those navel-gazy, contemporary French books that could only have been written by a man that offers a poignant, intelligent glimpse into the modern Gallic psyche.

7. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Parker, because we could all use a dose of radical optimism right now.

Stay safe, stay INSIDE, and à bientôt !
Emily in France