Paris, My Sweet

In case it’s not abundantly clear from my blog and Instagram, I love sweets. And it’s not as if I just like to eat sweets. I like to look at them, talk about them, think about them, learn about them, make them, discover and find new ones, peruse the shops that sell them…you could say I’m a bit obsessed with sweets. Which is why it’s a mystery to me as to why it took me so long to read Paris, My Sweet, which is not only named after sweets, but features a charming array of illustrated desserts on its cover. What prompted me to finally go ahead and read it was another book that I read recently about food and France, and the fact that while I was reading it one thought kept echoing through my head…”I would like this a lot more if it were just about French sweets.” Et voila!

Truth be told, I’ve read a lot of foodie memoirs so I wasn’t expecting this to be anything ground-breaking. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that I loved it! It is well-written, entertaining, and above all, relatable. It’s not just about food, but rather about Amy and her experience being a 36 year old single woman, toggling between France and New York. Obviously there’s much discussion of Parisian sweets (and, I was surprised to discover, NYC sweets…including many treat shops that I’ve blogged about!), but there’s also more of a personal story in it. I really liked that Amy kept it real and discussed the difficulties she encountered. It wasn’t all sunshine and macarons, and I truly loved her honesty in telling her story. Also, with other food-based memoirs that I’ve read, it sometimes feels like the author is trying so hard to show the connection between the food and their story/learning experience that it starts to feel forced, or like a stretch. Not the case here at all. Amy seamlessly weaves the sweets in with her story and it feels perfectly natural.

Don’t make the same mistake I did and let this book languish on your Amazon wish list! If you love memoirs, sweets, New York City, Paris, or just a good easy read, you’re in for a treat with Paris, My Sweet. You can also read Amy’s blog here.

photo by me via Instagram

Leave a Comment

  1. Marine wrote:

    Hi Jackie,

    If you dream about Paris, you should have a look at My Little Paris (http://www.mylittleparis.com/). It's in French but I'm sure you'll love the drawings and pictures!
    And here's an address of a sweets shop, Les Bonbons: http://www.mylittleparis.com/plaisirs-autorises.html (In case you don't know it yet, "bonbon" means "sweet", and it sounds just like "goodgood"!)

    xoxo

    Marine

    Published 9.10.14 · Reply
    • Thank you Marine! I just checked out My Little Paris and you're right…I love the little drawings! Too cute. Les Bonbons looks perfect!

      Published 9.11.14 · Reply
  2. Leslie wrote:

    That looks like such a lovely book! I am obsessed with sweets, so I will have to check it out. 🙂

    Published 9.10.14 · Reply
  3. Nikki wrote:

    Ohhh I am always looking for new books to read. I will have to check this out!

    Nikki
    thefashionablewife.com

    Published 9.10.14 · Reply
  4. Debbie wrote:

    A fabulous book on Paris is "The Sweet Life" by David Lebovitz, food blogger extraordinaire. And there is an English version of "My Little Paris" which is sent out once or twice a week. Their tips are great for fashion, food, etc. http://www.mylittle.fr/mylittleparis/en/

    Published 9.11.14 · Reply