Ze French Do It Better – A Book Review

We’ve had a lot on lately. Who knew that getting ready to spend nine weeks in France would take up some serious time?

Truth be told, things have felt pretty hectic. What does that look like? Well, for us it’s looked like long days at work ensuring our teams were set up for success before we left. Getting things done around the house so that the place won’t fall apart while we’re gone. Organising our pets so our son, who will be looking after them, doesn’t have to do too much running around. And of course, booking the final bits and bobs for our trip.

All this to say, I haven’t had a lot of spare time available for reading.

Lucky for me though, I’d recently come across the perfect French inspired book for anyone who is feeling stretched for time.

Ze French Do It Better is tailor made for anyone who only has a few minutes to dip into a book here and there but still wants to learn a little something about French lifestyles.

Title: Ze French Do It Better – A Lifestyle Guide.

Authors: Frédérique Veysset and Valérie de Saint-Pierre

Published: 2019 by Flammarion. Paperback, 223 pages.

Follow on Instagram: @ze_french_do_it_better

What I Liked About Ze French Do It Better:

• The whole concept of the book. Ze French Do It Better is absolutely light hearted and fun. Which is exactly why you can dive in and out of it and always find something to make you smile. It’s a clever cross between a travel guide, a little black book and a cultural primer. And in short, it contains something for every francophile.
• The persona approach. The book is structured around seven different French personas, which in turn give readers insights into seven distinct French lifestyles. I could see a little bit of me in The Classic Frenchy, The Aristo Chic, and The Foodie.
• The quizzes. Who doesn’t love an old fashioned quiz? The cute quizzes are designed to help you establish which French persona you most align with. They are of course a bit ‘tongue in cheek’ but fun just the same.
• The physical and online shopping addresses. Want to bring more French inspiration into your life? Ze French Do It Better will help you to achieve your goal.
• The colour palette. We have blue, white and red all the way here folks. Crisp white pages, with all of the text and illustrations in blue or red. What’s not to like?

What I Wasn’t So Sure About:

• Is it cheeky to say that I wished that the authors had come up with more personas to share? The seven they did share were so fabulous, I would have been very happy to have sampled a couple more!
• The lack of an ebook option. I’d have loved to bring this book with me on our nine week adventure, but unfortunately its physical presence just took up too much real estate in my case.

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Have you read Ze French Do It Better? Did you enjoy it as much as I did? I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

And until next time – au revoir.

Please note: This is an unsolicited post and no compensation of any kind has been received from the authors or the publisher.