As July comes to close, we’re wrapping up our month of SBC Reads with a guest post from Jo Piazza, the author of THE PARISIAN HEIST. Not only is Jo the hardest working author I have met in 20+ years of working in and around publishing, she’s also a former travel journalist AND secretly, an introvert. So she was the perfect person to write a Silent Book Club Guide to Paris.
by Jo Piazza
I’ve spent a lot of time in Paris over the past few years while I’ve been working on The Parisian Heist. Most of that time was spent researching, some writing (I still write 1500 words a day even when I travel) and some just wandering in search of inspiration or to let my mind gather up the tiny details it needs for sparks of creativity.
My favorite places in the city (besides anywhere I can eat cheese) tend to be the ones where I can alternate between reading a book and looking at interesting things.
My favorite bookstore in Paris is actually a used bookstore tucked inside the concept shop Merci, which also happens to be one of my favorite stores on the planet. Concept shop seems to mean a store that sells everything from soap to sneakers to curtains to candles in the shape of food.
I’ve spent entire days there, alternating between browsing the books (almost all of them in French….I like to look at the covers), sitting down to write, and strolling through the rest of the store.
I do something similar at the Musée d’Orsay, where my favorite place to post up is Le Restaurant, their wildly beautiful dining room with chandeliers, gilded ceilings, and murals overhead. I like to wander through the museum, stop for lunch and a perfect cheese plate, read or write for a while, and then go back to wandering among the art.
The Red Wheelbarrow is my favorite English-language bookstore in Paris. I like to grab a book there and then take it to the Luxembourg Gardens across the street to read in the grass and people watch.
When I need more caffeine I head to Maison Fleuret, a literary coffee shop. It’s tucked inside an old bookstore (that dates back to 1872) in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. You can have coffee, eat one of the best croissants in Paris, and surround yourself with books. If you like their pastries they also offer baking classes which I love taking in Paris because they give my brain something new to learn.
Near Shakespeare and Company, the Bistro des Livres combines books and food. It’s a perfect place to gaze at the line at Shakespeare and decide if you’re willing to brave it. But here’s a pro tip. You don’t have to. The line has gotten completely out of control as the bookstore has become more popular with influencers. But if you order a book ahead of time for pickup you can skip the line.
I am also obsessed with wandering around the Museum of Hunting and Nature in the Marais when I need a break from words. It is one of the strangest and most wonderful museums in Paris, filled with art and taxidermy and beautiful rooms that make you feel like you’ve stumbled into a mad person’s very eccentric house.
When the sun starts to go down there is a hidden bar called Bar À Bulles behind the Moulin Rouge in Montmartre with a rooftop garden and a gorgeous view of the windmill. It is weirdly not touristy, especially on a weeknight, and an absolute delight for a reading spot with a drink.
One of my favorite nighttime restaurants is Le Bon Georges for a solo dinner outside, preferably in the fall when they give you cozy blankets. They make a perfect steak poivre and serve you vats of chocolate mousse and rice pudding.
So this is my Paris prescription, buy a book, find somewhere beautiful to sit with it, order something delicious, wander around for a while, and repeat. Paris is one of the best cities in the world for being alone in public, which is frankly the greatest luxury an introverted writer can ask for.
Merci, Jo, for your expert recommendations! If you missed it, watch our author talk with Jo Piazza and Silent Book Club co-founder Guinevere de la Mare, and order your copy of THE PARISIAN HEIST today.
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