In this push before the semester comes to the close, I’m doing my best to keep myself sane and balanced. So I picked up my copy of The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz, that I only put down earlier this fall because there was not a single free minute in my life. Oddly enough, I’m glad I’m just getting to some of the chapters now, because I can appreciate the Parisian life that much better. The best part is whether I’m reading on the metro or in the privacy of my bed, Lebovitz has this wonderful sense of humor and writing style that literally makes me laugh out loud every few pages. He does an amazing job of trying to explain the often inexplicable and elusive Parisian in a way that is like stating the obvious, but it’s so true. In fact, he makes mention of a set of publicite [advertising] for the newspaper, Le Parisien that makes fun of these various idiosyncracies. My French friend, Nico, had told me about these ads earlier this fall, so I thought it was high time that I checked them out myself. Pretty fantastic.

* The tagline, Le Parisien: Il vaux mieux d’avoir en journal translates to Le Parisien: it’s better to read one than meet one.

P.S. There’s a nice little compilation of the ads here.