books on France

New Arrivals at Bill & Rosa’s Book Room – English Books Paris

Each week in the Book Room online, we recommend newly published English books we love. We also present some in French or bilingual, for kids or adults, fiction or non. Many are books about France of course, but there are many different subjects. To discover all our titles come visit Bill & Rosa's Book Room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdoODVrfv4c This week's theme in the Book Room: Halloween

HALLOWEEN COLORING BOOK. This book comes with a brush and needs only water to make the magic paint appear. 16 Halloween-esque scenes are full of bright color and rich detail once simply wet with the brush. There's a haunted house, trick or treat, witches and more. On the practical side the cover folds over to prevent splashy painters from getting the whole book soaked at once! The same publisher has many other subjects in this same format and series: Christmas, nature,…

To Mask or not to Mask that is the question

We used to wear masks over our eyes for theatre, play, to sleep or perfidity, now we've got them on our mouths and noses for... protection. Whether the throw-away kind or reuseable cloth, bought or homemade, white or bright colors, solid colored or print masks are here to stay for a while. By desire or force they have become part of our everyday accessories, as important to pick up when going out as your phone. You'll always remember the year that those vacation pictures were taken. 2020 is clearly discernible. Here are 3 different mask experiences, thoughts and analyses from Italy, Canada and Paris. It's interesting to have perspective from a variety of places. (PS: If you would like a free homemade washable mask, just stop by Bill & Rosa's Book Room!)

Basilica San Vitale Ravenna, Italy Italy

Our "cousin" website and magazine Easy Milano, which serves English speakers in the Milan, Italy area, has recently published an article titled English Speakers Di…

Why do you call it a canicule?

Word etymologies are great fun. Here's a few pertinent ones.

Canicule

Usually this French word is translated to English as heatwave, but a more picturesque and almost literal translation would be "the dog days of summer". Basically it means that it is very hot, hotter than it usually is. But why this reference both in the French "cani" and English to dogs? What do dogs have to do with heat? It goes back to astronomy. The Dog Star, or Sirius, rises and sets with the sun during the summer. Thus the most sultry time of the year became associated with the Dog Star, called canicula in Latin. The word canicule dates from about 1500, but the Romans and Greeks had already been refering to the dog days and associating them with the star Sirius.

Sirius rises late in the dark, liquid sky; On summer nights, star of stars, Orion's Dog they call it, brightest Of all, but an evil portent, bringing heat And fevers to suffering humanity.

Homer's Illiad Once …

The Saints on the map of Paris

Whether you walk across Paris or look at the metro or street map, you often see places named after a Saint. Such familiar names as St Genevieve, St Denis, St Vincent de Paul etc... Have you ever wondered who were these saints on the map of Paris and what their history was? We did! Here is a bit of history on the Saints on the map of Paris.

Sainte Geneviève

Logically the patron saint of Paris, St. Geneviève, is the one you come across most often. Her statue by Paul Landowski graces the Pont de La Tournelle in the 4th district. There is also one in Jardin du Luxembourg. She is on the front of Notre Dame as well. The Catholic church is celebrating the 1600th anniversary of Genevieve this year. A relic, her index finger, and her sarcophagus is in a chapel dedicated to her in the church of St Etienne du Mont a church in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne Sainte Geneviève where she lived and prayed.

Genevieve-Paris,-Notre-Dame-cathedral,-portal-of-the-…

Villepreux a microcosm of French history

During the confinement we had a lot of time to walk around our town, Villepreux, 11,000 people situated in the Yvelines department west of Paris. A usually quiet, non-descript town, we hadn’t thought too much about it before but there were a couple of spots that intrigued us while out walking within one kilometer of the house. One of them was the path that we walked called the Chemin entre Deux Murs or the path between two walls. What two walls? what was that all about? Then there’s the old village with a couple of houses that look pretty old including one with visible half timbers. There’s a chateau, in fact there are two, plus centuries-old farms and a neighborhood called the Prieuré or priory. The new center of town is a 1960s construction out of cement. Town houses and a shopping area that hasn’t worn very well over the years. The first impression is that Villepreux is a rather ordinary suburban bedroom community of Paris or closer Versailles. But once you start looking…

Having a baby in France (part 1)

Following our previous article about being pregnant in France, here are two more articles with some great books, applications and products that could be useful for you after having a baby in France!

This first part is about products. All the products mentioned here are made in France. (For more Made in France companies not related to babies we also have a series of articles on FUSAC : https://www.fusac.fr/category/made-in-france/ )

Diapers – What's more essential than diapers? It comes right after milk! Finding the right diapers can be quite difficult especially as we know so much about the toxicity of some of them and it is extremely worrying. Luckily, some great brands now make safe and non-toxic diapers. They all offer a subscription system so you can get the diapers delivered to your door! Here is a selection :

Voir Plus about Having a baby in France (part 1)

Pregnant in France

This is the first of a three part series of article about being Pregnant in France

If you've just found out your are pregnant or thinking about having a baby in the near future, we've compiled for you some practical info on the different steps to follow in France. It can be overwhelming at first so in order to have a peaceful pregnancy, it is best to take one step at a time!

What should I do after I take a pregnancy test and it is positive? First of all, congratulations! It is the beginning of a beautiful and intense journey! The first thing to do is to go and see a doctor in order to confirm the pregnancy with a blood test. My personal preference is an appointment with a mid-wife (sage-femme) rather than a regular doctor as she can perform an échographie de datation (dating ultrasound) so you can hear the very first heartbeat if you are at least 5 or 6 weeks pregnant. I was about 7 to 8 weeks pregnant when I saw a mid-wife for the first time and was so p…

Recipe for Confinement Loaf

Serves 2. Active time: 10 min. Cooking time: 55 days

Ingredients for Confinement Loaf

100 crumpled attestations

100 crumbs of the pages of the book you read too many times

2 squares of minced TP because that's all you have

10 used paper masks, thinly sliced

2 pairs of worn out rubber gloves, naturally shredded

a pinch of the hair you cut yourself

1 empty gel bottle, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl. Form into a loaf with sore-from-clapping-chapped hands. Garnish with a cloth mask that needs disinfecting (since one of the suggested germ-killing options is putting them in the oven!).

Put the loaf in the oven at 60° C – the ideal temp for that mask. Let cook for 55 days, then on May 11, sprinkle on as many hashtags as you can find, take a photo and post on Instagram before gleefully dumping this unpalatable loaf in the trash!

PS: Can also be made …

A pebble for Clare Gass

FUSAC would like to share with you this humanitarian story of a Canadian nurse from the last century published by the blog Parisian Fields who posts thoughtful and very interesting posts once a month. Parisian Fields is the blog of two Toronto writers who love Paris. They are interested in everything from Paris history and architecture to its graffiti and street furniture.

Their post about Clare Gass talks about a girl from Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia born in 1887. She found her calling in nursing. She enlisted in the military and was deployed in France during World War I, then she nursed victims of the Spanish flu at a segregation hospital in Wales, then returned to Canada to work first in a military convalescent hospital in Quebec, then in social services in Montreal. Parisian Fields gives Clare Gass a well earned hommage.

Continue reading A Pebble for Clare

Routine and ritual two words to focus on when stuck at home

Ideas for things to do inside and help rhythm the day because having structure is very important.

Alternate concentrated activities with physical ones. Be sure to get up and move. Having the same order each day is beneficial and helps the time pass. Have both discipline and flexibility. Routine and ritual. For everyone, especially children routine is reassuring. When you've lost your old daily routine create a new one.

Cook:

American in Paris Charlotte Puckette who is a caterer and cooking teacher shares some recipes to make for your family. Here's a chance to experiment, learn something new and teach cooking skills to the kids.

Sesame Peanut Noodles with 5-Spice Marinated Duck (or Beef) from Charlotte Puckette Read:

See our suggestions each week in the Online Book Room. Before ordering online contact your local bookshop, many of them have been working very hard to keep their businesses alive and they are now delivering to you…