Paris Reading - Books to Put on Your List

There can never be too many books about Paris. I have just acquired a huge stack of books - and have only begun to delve into this treasure trove. Here is a sampling of the titles I’ve uncovered. The beauty of books about Paris - is that a good story about Paris never grows old - so, unless you’re looking at a guide book that bases its authority on telling you what is the latest restaurant where you can see and be seen, you’ll have much better luck browsing the second hand bookstores to find dusty treasures that may win your heart.

Here’s my list of books to read in the coming months:

Paris: A Literary Companion by Ian Littlewood, Harper & Row, 1987
Chasing after Hugo, Dickens, Zola and Thackeray through the City of Light.

Paris Dreambook: An Unconventional Guide to the Splendor and Squalor of the City by Lawrence Osborne,Pantheon Books, 1990. A contemporary version of the provincial transplanted to the city.

On the Left Bank: 1929-1933 Wambly Bald, Edited By Benjamin Franklin V. Ohio University Press. Surely, you’ve heard of Wambly Bald?

Paris on the Seine: The city, the river, the romance of the centuries told in words and pictures. By Blacke Ehrlich. Atheneum. 1962.

The Paris We Remember Translated and Edited by Elisabeth Finley Thomas, Dr. Appleton-Century Company, Inc. 1942

Is Paris Burning? by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre, Pocket Books, 1965.

A Passion for Films: Henri Langlois and the Cinematheque Francaise by Richard Roud, foreward by Francois Truffaut, Viking Press. 1983 - This is required reading for any serious film buff. Some say that the dismissal of Langlois from the Cinematheque (which he had founded) yet received partial government funding, ignited the first sparks of student protest, kicking off the 1968 student riots.

And last but not least,
A Tale of Two Cities.
I have just finished reading this classic. Better late than never. This is the only great confession you’re likely to read about on Paris Logue.