So yesterday I was whining to Duchess Downith that I had absolutely nothing to write about today. Rien, tapped out. In a manner entirely befitting her royal highness she reminded me of her post called It’s The Library Stupid. Then she told me to stop being such a baby and drag my bony yet somehow simultaneously flabby arse up to my local library. She used clever tactics like multiple exclamation points and ‘seriously’.
I told her that I already had plans to go to the gym but then she broke out the tough love. “Do both,” she said. “Choose life,” she said. That’s the trouble with the Duchess, she’s very convincing and always right. So after I hit the gym (where there was actually another woman (!), naturally the most beautiful and fit woman in all of France but still) I made my way in the pouring rain to la bibliothèque.
While the outside is spectacular the inside is much like any other small town library. There’s a huge separate room for kids (separate being the key word for me here), lots of magazines and racks and racks of books. Never before I have seen so many French words assembled in one place. It was slightly horrifying for me to be in a room full of books that I have no hope of understanding but it was reassuring to see a few familiar faces …
Let me tell you there’s a French word in that title that I know all too well and it’s not powerpoint. So with the vision of Duchess shaking a ruler in my face and her admonishing voice in my head I sought out the librarian. Five minutes and five euros and ninety centimes later I had this:
As I walked away toward the children’s room to find something suitable for a nul like me (technically a nulle because I’m a girl) I thought well, it never hurts to ask, “I don’t suppose you have any English books?” Then I was handed something so precious that it was kept in a locked filing cabinet.
Oh I know it doesn’t look like much but it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. A list of ENGLISH BOOKS! Okay maybe a bit heavy on the Anne Rice side but who cares? I had to decide quickly as the librarians were slowly coming to the understanding that I was taking pictures (blind and mostly from my pocket as you can see). They operate by the rule of threes, three books and three magazines for three weeks. I didn’t want to be too greedy so in the end I left with these:
Yes, I wimped out on the French books but I compromised (no, I don’t mean the Tom Clancy, I’ve never read one so what the hell) with two French magazines. By the way you haven’t seen a home design mag until you’ve seen a French one, about five ads and the rest bursting with droolworthy maisons.
So I say to Madame Downith, merci bien. Without you I’d have nothing to read but more importantly neither would anyone else here today so ye crowd better thank her too. Oh and yes Duchess, I did eat all my brussel sprouts.
Good for you!! I love the illustration on the Harry Potter book. So much better than the American version.
I know, simple and beautiful right?
I’m glad you went. As for the rest of the post, my solicitors will be in touch.
Uh-oh.
I love that you two are friends….2 degrees of separation on the ye ol’ east coast :-)
Apparently it’s brussels (plural) sprouts. Can you believe it? Me either. Love your blog, can’t wait for the book.
Either way I ate ’em all. Thanks…
How lovely do those home magazines look? Ahhh.
When I took french many moons ago (and I can’t speak a lick anymore so keep that in mind as I give my wondrous unsolicited comment…), the teacher had us read children’s books and it was really helpful. The pictures tend to follow the words, and the conversations are basic. You could revisit childhood. Start with Board books and move up to Middle Grade then Young Adult…
Of course, that may mean going into the kids section. Maybe go late at night…
Oh I revisit childhood on a regular basis.
Absolutement perfecte!
What we need is a grab bag of blog topics. Someone needs to save me before I start badmouthing my boss again.
If I had a boss I’d be all over that action.
My dear girl, do you mean to say that you have survived in France for over a year WITHOUT ANY BOOKS?!!
And I was so mortified by that situation, I somehow posted before I was done there…I meant to say English books.
Enjoy them!
Oh god no, kindle to the rescue.
Praise be to Downith!
I’m so tempted to change the name of my blog to Les Nuls.
Now there’s a comment I can get behind. Praise be to me. Hallelujah!
I’ll tell ya what you can get behind …
The Duchess is smaht, very smaht. Never ignore the Duchess.
I need a duchess in my life.
Oh everyone needs a little duchess
Proud of you, girl. I’ve found a ton of bookstores here but they all have Spanish books (shocking in Mexico, right?). I’ve tracked down the location of English bookstores but am way too lazy to move my arse. As Ali said, I need a duchess in my life.