Au Revoir Paris in July, and Welcome August!

I wasn't in the mood to blog the last week updates on my #ParisInJuly, so this post will cover my activities for the last 2 weeks, which was mainly reading, with only one movie watched. It will also serve as my July reading wrap-up.

BOOKS:

📕 The Girl, The Dog, and the Writer in Provence by Katrina Nannestad - ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The girl is Freja Peachtree, a ten year little shy but intelligent and unique girl who spends more time growing up in the nature, and makes friends better with animals than with human.

The dog is Finnegan, an always hungry big dog. It belongs to Tobias Appleby, the writer, a clumsy absent-minded, but kindhearted man, in whose care, Freja was left by her ill mom.

The trio moved to a Provençal hilltop village called Claviers, where an imaginative spirited little boy lives next door, a retired famous pastry chef opens a patisserie, and a charming young woman, Vivi, who steals Tobias' heart, is staying to work as apprentice at the patisserie. (actually..ahem.. that's the main reason of the trio's move to Provence!)

Long story short, it's a charming adventure novel about love, family, and friendship, with Provençal vibes, and a little mystery. A perfect mix for a delicious reading, non?



📕 Toujours La France! : Living The Dream in Rural France by Janine Marsh - ⭐⭐⭐

After finishing the first two book of the series, I was thinking about ending #ParisInJuly with the 3rd book. Wrong idea. This one is less fun than the predecessors. Maybe I should've just stopped at no. 2, and kept this one for next year. I don't know... it's a bit boring. I felt that Janine Marsh has poured out her impressions on this small rural village in northern France in the first two, so that there's almost nothing more to be told, except for some facts or bits and pieces just popped into her mind after the first two've been published.



MOVIES/TV:

🎬 Nothing to Hide (Le Jeu) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Total lunar eclipse. Legend says that when the moon is totally hidden, your sins were washed away. Some old friends are meeting up for dinner with their spouses. To spice things up, they are playing a game where they must put their cell phones on the table, and reveal every call/message they receive during dinner. Awkward things happen when each of their hidden secrets (infidelity 🤫) are out in the open. An intense drama with intriguing topic: "secrets in relationship, hide or no hide?", and a surprising end-twist.


For Tamara and Deb, our two lovely hosts: Merci beaucoup! for hosting #ParisInJuly. It has been a blissful month for me. But for now I must say, au revoir!


📚 What I've Read for Paris in July

📕 My Good Life in France by Janine Marsh
📕 My Four Seasons in France by Janine Marsh
📕 Toujours la France! by Janine Marsh
📕 The Girl, the Dog, and the Writer in Provence by Katrina Nannestad


🎬 Movies/TV Series Watched for Paris in July

📽 Midnight in Paris (re-watch)
📽 Stuck Together (8, Rue de l'Humanité)
📽 Nothing to Hide (Le Jeu)
📺 Standing Up (Drôle)
📺 The 7 Lives of Léa (Les 7 Vies de Léa)


📚 Statistics

📊 Total books read: 19
📊 Challenge progress:
* 2022 TBR Pile Challenge: 7
* Back to the Classics Challenge 2022: 8
* 2022 Chunkster Challenge: 1


📚 What's happening in August

With no reading challenge/event to attend to this month, I've decided to pick these two I've been wanting to read:

📗 Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
📗 Mrs. Osmond by John Banville

What are you most excited for August?