Book Review: Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas
Book: Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication date: 2012
Pages: 280 (according to Goodreads)
Source: Purchased e-book
Summary: Amy Thomas leaves her favorite city, New York, for her other favorite city, Paris. The ex-pat life puts these two places in sharp contrast, giving her a chance to compare the relative merits of everything from adventure vs belonging, to career vs comfort, to macarons vs cupcakes.
Thoughts: I loaded this e-book on my phone before our trip to France. Since it took nearly the whole trip to read Paris (Book Review: Paris by Edward Rutherfurd), I didn’t start reading Paris, My Sweet until the plane trip home. Of course, I instantly wanted to turn around and go back. How did I forget to try a Nutella crepe from a street vendor? More than one person told me to get one. I liked the Ladurée macarons, but maybe I should have tried Pierre Hermé, as well. I enjoyed delicious croissants at the breakfast buffets, but would one from a good patisserie be even better?
Alongside the Paris treats, Thomas also takes us on a grand tour of similar items in New York City. The next time I’m in the Big Apple, I’ll want to check out cupcakes, carrot cake, and chocolate chip cookies — not to mention all the French-themed bakeries that have opened to please Paris-loving New Yorkers.
This reads like a memoir, though, not a special phone book with mouth-watering descriptions of sweets. We learn about Thomas’s work writing for Louis Vuitton, about her cares and concerns as a single woman in her 30s, and about her pleasure in showing friends and family around her adopted city.
Appeal: Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas will appeal to anyone who eats sweets in Paris or New York, whether as a resident or tourist.
Challenges: This is my sixth book for the Books on France 2013 Challenge. I originally signed up for three books and I’m still reading books on France so that number is going to keep growing for another month or two.
Weekend Cooking happens every week at Beth Fish Reads. Check out her post on Saturday for links to more culinary adventures in the blogging world.
Have you read this book? What did you think?
LOL My daughter fell in love with nutella crepes from a street vendor under the Effiel Tower when she was 12 (and still loves them 13 years later). We can get those nice Ladurée macarons here in NYC for big bucks, so they are usually a rare treat, but of so worth it.
All this means for you, Joy, is a chance to go back to France on a Sweets Tour. I am definitely going to have to check out Paris My Sweet, it sounds wonderful, but so does your whole trip to France.
Lucky you, going to Paris! I’ve read so much about the Laduree and Hermes macarons and nutella crepes from street vendors. I enjoyed Paris, My Sweet too :).
I am a big fan I’d Edward Rutherfurd and can not wait to get that book, I have Paris My Sweet on hold at the library. Great review!
Yum, Nutella crepes. This sounds like a book I should pick up, if only to discover her NYC suggestions.
I read (and enjoyed!) this book, too. Of course I’m a complete sucker for Anything Paris.
Here’s my Saturday Snapshot and Weekend Cooking post. And hope you will stop by to enter my giveaway for the Literary Book Blog Hop, a $15 gift card to Book Depository!
Oh I think I’d love this NYC / Paris comparison!
This sounds like a great book to read in the lead up to a trip to Paris – I’ll have to put it on my ‘someday!’ shelf. Thanks for sharing – and those macaroons look amazing!
Joy, might be a bit too tempting for me! but I love Paris too…
I remember reading this book and I think I enjoyed it but . . .
I’m glad you did. Nutella crepes sound fantastic. Yum!
I’ve never been to Paris, but may be visiting NYC again soon. Unfortunately, I’m trying to lose weight, so the French bakeries may be off-limits for me for a while!
I lost weight when I went to New York. I stayed away from sweets, and all other snacks (I find travel distracting enough that I can usually skip all snacks), and I walked a lot!
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