The French Connection

I started out with the best of intentions, but clearly, my 2009 Reading List has suffered for the past several weeks. I can't even remember all the books I've read since I last updated it. Sorry about that. I would like to recommend a few that I have finished recently and enjoyed. It is only coincidence that they are all set in France.

The Provence Trilogy by Peter Mayle
A Year in Provence
A review of the year after moving with his wife from a busy career in London to living in the rural south of France. ☺☺☺☺☻
Toujours Provence
More notes on living and eating in Provence, particularly since the publication of a popular book. ☺☺☺☻☻
Encore Provence
The couple returns home to France after a several-year sojourn in New York. ☺☺☺☺☻

Am I the only one who didn't realize that A Year in Provence was not a work of fiction? I thought it was a novel when I requested it from the library. I was quite surprised to find myself reading a series of personal essays on life in the south of France. Despite the genre not meeting my expectations, the book itself (and its sequels) were quite enjoyable.

Kissing Adrien by Siri L. Mitchell
I found this on the discount shelf in my local Christian bookstore. After reading the blurb on the back, I wasn't sure whether I'd like it or not, but, since it was on sale and I was in the market for a new chick-lit novel, I went ahead and got it. I'm so glad I did.

Adrien is the family friend all the girls wished we had--he knows Claire so well he can almost read her mind. It's been a few years since they'd been together, but Adrien is just as handsome as always, and, unnervingly, still able to see the Claire beneath the surface that even she barely sees in herself. A feel-good book that asks some great questions about what it really means to be a Christian along the way. ☺☺☺☺☻