This was my mantra for exactly five days: the amount of time it took me to devour David Lebovitz’s book The Sweet Life of Paris. I found his blog from my friend Sweet Foodie, then I promptly reserved his 2009 book at the BPL.
The Sweet Life in Paris:
The Recipe for Living in the World's Most Delicious City
by David Lebovitz
It is a sophisticated read, made even more delightful with a heavy dash of recipes and French vocabulary sprinkled throughout. The story of a San Francisco chef who packs everything up and moves to Paris is not only novel and intriguing, but his observations on French cuisine, French culture, and (best of all) French people are simply hilarious. Whether re-telling his mornings of brief “employment” at the local fish stand, to his daily defense against the French "line-cutters" (with strategic weapon of choice-a grocery basket!) his day-to-day stories are told with endearing wit. I think Lebovitz is an excellent writer, one who makes you pause and re-read his figures of speech, often savoring the humorous aftertaste long after you close the book, exit the subway, and enter life again. I'm inspired.
Dessert, yum! His flickr photo, at daveleb.
No, I’m not moving to Paris. Yes, the momentary fantasy has blown away. After dropping the book into the library return-bin, the winds quickly changed. Perhaps it was the flood of schoolwork that distracted me, or the excitement for National Nutrition Month® that once again diverted my attention to dietetics.
Some books leave tangible remains, long after we finish them. Julie and Julia prompted me to start cooking with real butter once in a while, while Lobel's Meat Bible got me excited about my new chef knife. After readingThe Sweet Life of Paris, I have a small memento in my cupboard: one tin of natural unsweetened cocoa powder.
His flickr photo, at daveleb
I’m not a baker, but perhaps you already know and love some of David Lebovitz' other books:
Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes
The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments
The Great Book of Chocolate
Room for Dessert
Ripe for Dessert
The Baker's Dozen Cookbook
As always, please tell me of any sweet reads you find!
Have you been to the land of baguettes and cheese? If so, what did you think?
Au revoir!
Rachel
5 comments:
For a moment, I thought you are really going to move to Paris hahaha ... Those desserts are yum indeed :)
Oh my gosh, I have been eyeing this book for the longest time. Since I am in a book club, I always seem to forget to pick this one up cause it's not on our list of reads! I will definitely have to get it.
I did go to France in high school but would think I would appreciate it more now that I'm older.
Have a great week!
I was just talking with a friend today about traveling and she said that of all the places she visited, there was just something about Paris. I hope to get there soon.
Sounds like a wonderful book. I spent a summer in Southern France and Paris 20 years ago. And yes, it was wonderful... :)
Sounds like a great read! I'm going to see if my library has it :)
Post a Comment