Saturday, June 4, 2011

What to read in Paris?

I've been thinking a lot about packing for Paris, and in particular what books to bring. I'm loading up my Reader; this is my first trip with an e-reader, and I'm very glad to be able to bring lots of free books that take up very little space. (I'm bringing a lot of Dumas; perhaps I will fall in love with D'Artagnan all over again.) I've also got quite a backlog of magazines to read on the plane; the advantage there is that I can shed them as I finish, lightening the load as I go. (Leave some in New York, leave some in Helsinki...I kind of like the idea of leaving a trail of words behind me as I move toward Paris. The trick, I suppose, is to also lay down a trail of my own words in my notebook.)

Most of my time in the city will be spent immersing myself in the sights and sounds, walking down the streets, enjoying the food, trying the wine, and, no doubt, simply marveling and trying not to gawk too obviously. (Not to mention a certain amount of amateurish fumbling with a strange currency and a not-familiar-enough language.) I also picture myself sitting in cafes and green parks with my notebook, packing my impressions and thoughts onto the page for later leisurely reminiscing and reworking. But surely there will be some time to sit and read! I am going to be staying near the Place des Vosges; perhaps my paperback Hunchback of Notre Dame would be appropriate for reading in the shadow of Victor Hugo's former residence. Would it be too touristy to sit and read Edmund White's The Flâneur? Or Hemingway's The Moveable Feast? I hope not. Let me know if you have any recommendations for what to take, either in e-form or in good old traditional dead-tree format.

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