About “The New Paris”

The New Paris Image by Charissa Fay

With just under one month before “The New Paris” lands on bookshelves or arrives in your mailboxes, I thought I’d share a bit about what motivated me to write the book in the first place.

Unlike many authors, I haven’t been harboring a publishing ambition since childhood nor did I ever think that writing a book would be a realistic step in my career trajectory. In fact, if it weren’t for a conversation with my friend Nichole, astute in all creative matters and one of my longtime mentors, this book may not have even been an object to hold in your hands at all. It may have remained a nugget of an idea or come together in another way at a different time.

I have always followed books and stories written about Paris with studied interest. I have a short list of favorites that I enjoy for their wit, their edifying qualities or their humor, but a longer list of titles that I don’t feel add any value to my experience or for travelers who have been to Paris time and again. I felt frustrated that few books were depicting what everyday life was like in Paris. What the streets looked like, what the city’s successes and failures have been, where it was heading as a capital.

What Nichole did was direct my attention to what was right under my nose and encourage me to run with it. When I took a step back and considered the work I was doing editorially–  the people I was profiling, the restaurants I was reviewing, the flourishing spaces and neighborhoods I was capturing–I identified a number of themes uniting the stories:

  • Parisians, young and old, bidding adieu to the career-for-life ambition to pursue passion projects (a surge of reconversions, as career shifts are called, which are notable in part because they have been long discouraged by the old guard and rare).
  • Young talent infusing elements from their foreign training and/or foreign inspiration into their line of work (often in food).
  • A city-wide prise de conscience (awakening) about how we’re living and consuming as a society and trying to instill change by producing goods that adhere to a less is more, buy less but buy better ethos
  • A shift in perception when it comes to innovation, seen not as a threat to the past but as a necessary force to ensuring global relevance.

The book, then, captures this spirit and the changes that I have observed over the last decade. Tying it all together are profiles of Parisians, Q&As with some of the leaders in each movement, and a whole lot of context to tell you what has shifted, how, and why it’s important for the city.

I look at this spirited movement in six chapters through the lens of: food & dining, specialty coffee, libations, sweets, crafts & shopping, and places & spaces. I like to think of it as an extension of the writing I’ve been doing for 6 years, allowing me to put the disparate pieces together in a cultural study-meets-guide to understanding Paris today. And I’m thrilled with the final product and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it.

Want a little preview? Read an excerpt from the cocktail chapter on the New York Times!

 

Have you pre-ordered the book? Be sure to enter your contact details HERE to receive a custom, illustrated map after the book ships! Haven’t pre-ordered? See a selection of retailers HERE to purchase your copy and take advantage of the special offer. 

*Top photo by Charissa Fay for “The New Paris”

 

  • Mardi Michels March 22, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    “Unlike many authors, I haven’t been harboring a publishing ambition
    since childhood nor did I ever think that writing a book would be a
    realistic step in my career trajectory.” LOL I can relate to this! Also, I am SO EXCITED about your book I can hardly wait to see it! Congrats, friend!

    • LostInCheeseland March 28, 2017 at 9:00 pm

      You and I have gone through so many similar steps and can hopefully continue to talk about each of them as we go on! We do things in our own time, eh? 🙂

  • Mahée Ferlini March 23, 2017 at 1:58 am

    Great book!!

    • LostInCheeseland March 28, 2017 at 9:00 pm

      merci beaucoup!!

  • Kristin @ Camels & Chocolate March 23, 2017 at 4:14 am

    I have pre-ordered and I cannot wait to add it to my brand new Anthro coffee table!!! The cover is stunning.

  • Jennie March 23, 2017 at 12:31 pm

    I have it on order and when I return to Paris in 2018 I am going on a hunt for CakeBoyParis. I looked a little bit in September 2016 but I am going to find him in 2018. From a San Francisco fan.

    • LostInCheeseland March 28, 2017 at 8:59 pm

      Hello Jennie! Thanks so much!! Hopefully I’ll meet you in San Francisco on book tour, dates to follow! 🙂

  • Susan March 24, 2017 at 2:03 pm

    I cannot wait to hold it in my hands…I’m so very excited and happy for you my friend! xo

    • LostInCheeseland March 29, 2017 at 7:10 am

      Thank you!!!

  • camorose March 24, 2017 at 5:50 pm

    How exciting!!!

    • LostInCheeseland March 29, 2017 at 7:10 am

      Thanks, lady! Hope I’ll get to see you at some NYC events 🙂 To be continued!

      • LaurenFritsky7 April 3, 2017 at 6:37 pm

        Would love to know when you will be in NYC! I will have a newborn soon but would love to try to come to a reading 🙂 Very excited for you after following your writing for several years.

        • LostInCheeseland April 4, 2017 at 7:16 pm

          Oh I am definitely coming to New York! Full event details to follow soon (here and on Instagram) but the big one is May 4th at Rizzoli Bookstore, 6pm 🙂

  • Danielle Courtenay March 24, 2017 at 9:47 pm

    yaaaaas all the fire emoji!!!

    • LostInCheeseland March 28, 2017 at 8:59 pm

      So many emoji!!!

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  • Kirsten Alana March 28, 2017 at 12:56 am

    Love reading the background and CAN’T WAIT to read the book!!! So excited for, and inspired by, your success as well <3

    • LostInCheeseland March 28, 2017 at 8:59 pm

      Thank you so much! It’s been a very long road 🙂

  • lealspach2 March 28, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    I have my copy preordered and I’m coming to hear you speak at Read It and Eat in Chicago. I recently discovered your work and your blog through the Every Day Parisian. I’m so glad I did! You mention a short list of favorite Parisian reads above. I would love to know a few of your recommendations. It can be difficult to sift through all that is out there. Merci beaucoup!

    • LostInCheeseland March 29, 2017 at 7:11 am

      Oh hooray! I’m so glad to know who might be coming in Chicago! Of course, for reads: Les Parisiennes (about women in wartime), When in French (not limited to France but deals with language), Bonjour Kale (wonderful memoir), Paris, My Sweet (sweet-leaning memoir), Mastering the Art of French Eating (by Ann Mah – excellent)

  • WalkingJones April 6, 2017 at 9:08 pm

    Do you have a tour schedule posted somewhere? Will you hitting up several cities in the US, or just the big hubs?

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