by Lise BOËLL
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious” Albert Einstein.
There are men and women we simply cannot forget. There are places and scents that follow us wherever we go. There are also books that remain with us, for a night, a summer, for life!
And behind these books there are writers we love and the pleasure begins to flow from the very first page or even from the cover itself as our imagination kicks in.
Tempted? Here are 7 delicious experiences to try out…
Experience N°1: DOLCE VITA
A journey to the birthplace of civilisation and the passion that unites a man and a woman. Much more than a witty journey with a twist, Via Appia, the oldest route of the western world, crossing Italy from Rome to Brindisi is also the world’s oldest ever emotion, of love and its pitfalls. An impassioned book on beauty, love, and the freedom of thought.
Jacques de Saint Victor
Via Appia
Equateurs Littérature
20 €
Experience N°2: UNCOMPROMISING PASSION
From the very first page, the tone is set and a frantic race begins. Guillaume Musso hits new heights to put Girl on Paper or Central Park into the joyride category. Raphaël, a successful novelist is revelling in the idea of marrying Anna, a beautiful 25 year-old intern in a Parisian hospital. But, after revealing her terrible secret, she disappears. With the help of a retired cop, the fraught fiancé sets out to find her only to unearth her tragic past and the false identity of his loved one. Victim or culprit? A book that takes the reader from the French Riviera to Paris, via the Lorraine and New York on the trail of the hero desperate to piece together the pieces of the puzzle.
Guillaume Musso
Brooklyn Girl
Xo Editions
21.90 €
Experience N°3: FREEDOM OF THOUGHT
An accentuation of the verve, style and sharp analysis that made his best-seller Le Suicide Français such a success and the reflection of a talented writer. In an uncertain and eventful electoral context, Éric Zemmour presents Un quinquennat pour rien (Five years for nothing) to highlight President Holland’s downfall that has taken France little by little towards a state of overall deliquescence. Éric Zemmour focuses on the themes that have marked public opinion irrespective of party affiliation: national identity, Islam, Europe, justice and also education.
Eric Zemmour
Un quinquennat pour rien
Albin Michel
20.90 €
Experience N°4: HAPINESS RECONCILED
Who better than Frédéric Lenoir to talk about the experience that will change your life: “Is there a more desirable experience than happiness? Happiness is more intense and deeper than pleasure, more real than joy, happiness is the manifestation of our critical power. Happiness cannot be decreed, but can it be tamed? Aroused? Grown? I want to lay out a path to self-fulfilment based on the power of happiness. A path to freedom and love, far from the false happiness of today’s narcissistic and consumption-led society and culture. Different also from the wisdoms of ataraxia, the absence of pain and suffering. I prefer a wisdom of happiness that assumes all of life’s sorrows, that accepts and transfigures them.
Frédéric Lenoir
La puissance de la joie
Fayard
18 €
Experience N°5: LAUGH ABOUT IT
This summer’s safe bet for a fun read while learning a few things at the same time. Stéphane Bern shares 100 enigmas that have never been revealed before: Why were brothels established under Saint Louis? Why is a variety of plum named after a Queen of France? Why did a jealous husband intentionally infect François I with syphilis? Why would Louis XIV never have been born if there hadn’t been a storm? Why did Napoleon divorce after a failed assassination plot? Why was Napoleon III and Eugenie’s only son killed by the Zulus? Why did anaesthetic become popular under the reign of Queen Victoria? Why did the inhabitants of the 16th district in Paris have the number of their district changed? How did Eugenie learn about her husband’s unfaithfulness thanks to a cocker spaniel? Why was a pigeon awarded the War Cross during the battle of Verdun?
Stéphane Bern
Les Pourquoi de l’Histoire 3
Albin Michel
19 €
Experience N°6: BEYOND
Can we talk with the dead? Many men and women say we can and some live off this belief. Thousands of people consult them. Are their capacities real or just an illusion? To answer these questions Stéphane Allix questioned six mediums and the findings are extraordinary. They also confirm the findings of the scientific research into the subject: life after death is a rational hypothesis. So how does one become a medium? Is it a gift or a curse? How to describe what happens at the time of death? Where do you go afterwards? Can it help to consult a medium whilst in mourning? How to spot an imposter? The book tackles many such questions, taking the reader on a journey to discover a reality that is both simple and overwhelming: it is possible to communicate with our loved ones after their death.
Stéphane Allix
Le test
Albin-Michel
19,50 €
Experience N°7: A GREAT RE-READ
Simply unforgettable. Each punctuation mark comes as a shock. And as always with Zweig, the choice of words is right on target, delicious, intoxicating, troubling even disturbing. This two-way narrative begins in 1904 with a scandal in a well run guesthouse on the French Riviera: Mme Henriette, the wife of a client runs away with a young man who has spent only one night there… The narrator tries to understand this ‘creature without principles’ with the unexpected help of an old English lady who explains the passion and outburst of emotion the adventure must have aroused. This passionate and intriguing novella is typical of the author behind Amok and The Royal Game and undoubtedly one of his greatest successes.
Stefan Zweig
Twenty-four hours in the life of a woman
Livre de Poche
4 €
