Latest Read: Paris, My Sweet

Here are the basics ...
Book: Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate)
Author: Amy Thomas
Site: http://startswitha.com/
Category: Non-fiction / Memoir / Food

Summary: Part love letter to New York, part love letter to Paris, and total devotion to all things sweet. Paris, My Sweet is a personal and moveable feast that’s a treasure map for anyone who loves fresh cupcakes and fine chocolate, New York and Paris, and life in general. It’s about how the search for happiness can be as fleeting as a sliver of cheesecake and about how the life you’re meant to live doesn’t always taste like the one you envisioned. (Adapted from goodreads.com) 

My thoughts…

The good:  I've been thinking about Paris a lot lately. It's always the first place that pops into my mind when I daydream about running off and getting away from everything.  Plus my two best friends and I just booked tickets for a French food festival so I figured this was the perfect time to read Paris, My Sweet.  I related to the main character, Amy, in a lot of ways.  She's a single woman in love with New York, Paris and desserts (pastries, cupcakes, macaroons, croissants, you name it!). Clearly you can see why I relate.  Everything she talked about brought up memories of my own short vacation there.  I found myself wishing I had read this before my trip so I would've known which places to check out! She goes into a lot of detail about different bakeries and all the delicious food she tries.  Just reading this was making me hungry.  But she also does the same for New York and I'm already filing away all the places she mentioned, to check them out later.  The book doesn't just talk about food though, she mixes in personal anecdotes as well. It was interesting to read her struggles as she tried to fit in with the French (not easy at all!) and figure out where exactly she belonged.

The bad:  When it came to her personal anecdotes, they started to get a bit repetitive.  She's very ambivalent about where she's supposed to be. Paris or New York? Do I belong here or do I belong there? Depressed one minute, empowered the next. It was definitely interesting to read about but like I said, it did start to get a little repetitive since she explores those themes in almost every chapter (Paris always winning out of course!).

Do I recommend?:  If you are a foodie, in love with Paris (or planning to visit) and/or love New York - this is a quick, enjoyable read that I would recommend!

Happy reading!