It’s a new year and time to take on something new and fun. Why not start a French-themed book club with your French-loving friends? This could be a novel set in France, a non-fiction about French culture or history, a classic by a French author, or a contemporary read. It could even be a book en français if you read in French! Ooh la la!
Books set in France
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
- Chocolat by Joanne Harris
- A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
- The Paris Hours by Alex George
- The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
- A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
- The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
- Audry by Susan Hays
- All The Ways We Said Goodbye: A Novel of Ritz Paris by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White
- The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester
- The Cartiers by Francesca Cartier Brickell
- Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin
- The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure
- Bring Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman
- Notre-Dame: A Short History of the Meaning of Cathedrals by Ken Follet
- Paris to the Past by Ina Caro
- French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
- A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke
Classic French Authors
- Alexandre Dumas Count of Monte Cristo, Three Musketeers
- Stendhal The Black and the Red, The Charterhouse of Parma
- Voltaire Candide
- Marcel Pagnol My Father’s Glory, My Mother’s Castle, Jean de Florette, Manon of the Spring
- Honoré de Balzac Madame Bovary
- Gaston Leroux Phantom of the Opera
- Edmond Rostand Cyrano de Bergerac
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Le Petit Prince
- Victor Hugo Les Misérables, Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Contemporary French Authors
- Katherine Pancol The Yellow Eyes of the Crocodile, The Slow Waltz of the Turtles, Central Park Squirrels are Sad on Monday
- Frédérique Deghelt Jade’s Grandmother, The Life of Another
- Patrick Suskind Perfume
- Philippe Claudel Mr. Linh’s Granddaughter
- Marc Lévy And If It Were True, To See You Again
- Muriel Barbery The Elegance of the Hedgehog
French Poets
- Charles Baudelaire
- Paul Verlaine
- Victor Hugo
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- Jacques Prévert
- Pierre de Ronsard
- Jean de la Fontaine
- Christine de Pizan
- André Breton
Your favorite read en français
Try reading a book you already know, but in French: it could be Harry Potter! Many publishers offer translations of your favorite novels, or even a bilingual (English on the left, French on the right) copy. I know this would help my French if I would do this. I love all things about France but my French could use some help!
