Au Paris: True Tales Of An American Nanny In Paris


Book Description

"It's 2 a.m. and I'm wide awake, counting the days and hours until my plane leaves for Paris--3 days and 16 hours, to be exact. But ready or not, it's bonne journee for me. Croissant anyone?" When twenty-something Rachel Spencer needed a change of pace from her corporate job, she traded in her power suit and stilettos for blue jeans and flip flops, said au revoir to Houston, Texas, and bonjour to a summer in Paris. Little did Rachel know she was about to take on her most challenging job yet: nannying three rambunctious children, ages 14, 11, and 7. With razor sharp wit and heartfelt humor Rachel chronicles her hilarious adventures--and misadventures--as she works to master her new job, learn a new language, and find her place among a family of strangers: • First Day Faux Pas--Determined to make an entrance her first day on the job, Rachel winds up tumbling down the foyer steps in a short black dress--and baring all to the children! • The Nanny Book--A small leather-bound book written in Franglais (English and French)--detailing Rachel's daily nannying duties. • Dressed to Impress--Despite dreams of capturing the tres chic French style, Rachel learns that strappy sandals and nannying don't always mix. • Teen Troubles--When Rachel catches Diane, who is 14 going on 21, mixing rum and boys into her leisure time, she discovers there is a fine line between "nanny" and "friend" • Country Living--During a trip to the French countryside, Rachel learns that French Country is much more than a china pattern! • Where the Heart Is--By the end of her stay, Rachel realizes the answers she was searching for all along weren't in Houston or in Paris--they were in her heart. A hilarious real-life tale, Au Paris is a story of self-discovery, independence, and following your heart at all costs.




Au Paris


Book Description

Building on the success of The Nanny Diaries and the super-hot trend of blogging, Spencer brings together the hilarious misadventures and bitter-sweet stories of self-discovery that made Rachel Spencer's Houston Chronicle blog so popular. A sweet and humorous memoir charting one young woman's personal adventure - a story of self-discovery, independence and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to realise a dream. Rachel Spencer's honest and insightful writing allows readers a peek at Paris - and at life - from a fresh and heart-warming perspective.




French Illusions


Book Description

It's 1979 and twenty-one-year-old Linda Kovic needs to learn a language fast in order to fulfill her dream of becoming a flight attendant. Broke yet determined, she chooses French immersion and contracts to become an au pair for a wealthy family in the Loire Valley. Yielding to poor judgment, she lies on her application and claims to speak basic French, confident she'll be forgiven once she arrives at the Chateau de Montclair. As she struggles to adapt to her challenging new environment with the hard-to-please Madame Dubois and her two incomprehensible children, Linda signs up and attends language classes at the local university. When she encounters, Adam, a handsome young student, her life becomes more complicated-much more complicated-adding fuel to her internal battle for independence. French Illusions: My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley is the first of two books based on the author's diaries.







The Publishers Weekly


Book Description




Paris Was Ours


Book Description

Thirty-two writers share their observations and revelations about the world's most seductive city. "Whether you have lived in Paris or not, this captivating collection will transport you there." —National Geographic Traveler Paris is “the world capital of memory and desire,” concludes one of the writers in this intimate and insightful collection of memoirs of the city. Living in Paris changed these writers forever. In thirty-two personal essays—more than half of which are here published for the first time—the writers describe how they were seduced by Paris and then began to see things differently. They came to write, to cook, to find love, to study, to raise children, to escape, or to live the way it’s done in French movies; they came from the United States, Canada, and England; from Iran, Iraq, and Cuba; and—a few—from other parts of France. And they stayed, not as tourists, but for a long time; some are still living there. They were outsiders who became insiders, who here share their observations and revelations. Some are well-known writers: Diane Johnson, David Sedaris, Judith Thurman, Joe Queenan, and Edmund White. Others may be lesser known but are no less passionate on the subject. Together, their reflections add up to an unusually perceptive and multifaceted portrait of a city that is entrancing, at times exasperating, but always fascinating. They remind us that Paris belongs to everyone it has touched, and to each in a different way.







Lullaby


Book Description

"When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect caretaker for their two young children. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite and devoted woman who sings to their children, cleans the family's chic apartment in Paris's upscale 10th arrondissement, stays late without complaint and is able to host enviable birthday parties. The couple and nanny become more dependent on each other. But as jealousy, resentment and suspicions increase, Myriam and Paul's idyllic tableau is shattered." -- Publisher's description.




Petite Anglaise: a True Story


Book Description

"Petite Anglaise" chronicles a year in Sanderson's beloved Paris, when all that seemed stable--motherhood, romance, work, her very identity--explodes. Fizzing with candor, wit, and panache, this work offers a decidedly fresh twist on the classic story of reinvention abroad.




The 15:17 to Paris


Book Description

An ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear. On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS attack was about to begin. Khazzani wasn't expecting Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman first class in the US Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the Oregon National Guard, and all three were fearless. But their decision-to charge the gunman, then overpower him even as he turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone-depended on a lifetime of loyalty, support, and faith. Their friendship was forged as they came of age together in California: going to church, playing paintball, teaching each other to swear, and sticking together when they got in trouble at school. Years later, that friendship would give all of them the courage to stand in the path of one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations. The 15:17 to Paris is an amazing true story of friendship and bravery, of near tragedy averted by three young men who found the heroic unity and strength inside themselves at the moment when they, and 500 other innocent travelers, needed it most.