A Paris Year: My Day-to-Day Adventures in the Most Romantic City in the World

Janice MacLeod, author of Paris Letters, has given us another love note to the city that has clearly captured her heart. It is a beauty. Her last book was a memoir, and although I suppose this sequel falls under that category, it's laid out very differently. This time she's gone with a daybook/planner format, complete with date and saint's day at the top of every page, and then dropped in beautiful full-color visuals. (Remember how we all wished the paintings in Paris Letters were in color? Wish no more.) You can read the whole thing chronologically, following her throughout the year, or you can look up a specific day. Either way, each page contains paintings or drawings or photos or notes, or any combination thereof, on whatever small delight she's discovered. It's tempting to read this book in one gulp, but so much more satisfying to savor it, looking carefully at each page, discovering the details, right down to the ink blots and the digital tape holding the digital photos in place. It's a beautiful book - and it's clearly a labor of love.

What a charming book. The "item a day" format is perfect for readers on the go. Illustrations are especially lovely. I thought I knew a lot about Paris but this book had more to teach me. Really enjoyed sprightly combo of watercolor and photo art. Would make a good gift, too.

I love Paris, and wanted something light to read - it is part diary, part travel book - I was interested. One of the professional reviews also mentions "whimsical illustrations, captivating photographs" and that is the entire reason you should NOT buy this in the kindle version. I bought the kindle version, and the photos are, many of them, tiny little thumbnails I can hardly see, in black and white, and the drawings are all black and white - yet NOW when I go do the "look inside" with the paper back version, I see delightful color in many of the drawings, and large, interesting and COLORFUL photographs - some black and white, but some in color. The author speaks of going out and having a day for taking photos of yellow things - and I saw the photos in black and white in my kindle, and only now saw - oh, that is amazing to see the bright yellows in those photos, when I view in the "look inside." So - I am not yet finished with the book, but am sort of feeling ripped off that I bought it in kindle - and I would enjoy it differently if I had gotten the paper back, but who knew? Now you do. I have not yet finished reading the whole book - it is not the sort of book that "I can't put down." But it is light bedtime reading when you just want to look at something very light for a few minutes, and you will surely enjoy it more if you can see the photos, and see the photos and drawings in color. Look at the "look inside" and decide for yourself. I gave it 4 stars because I could not decide but wanted to write this review so that you know which edition to get, if you buy this. If you have fond memories of enjoying Paris, or you love Paris and are thinking of going - you may enjoy hearing about the places the author has gone over a year in Paris, or the things done - but it is not a guidebook, no detailed walks or extensive descriptions of tourist places. Short diary entries about getting hot chocolate here, or buying a calligraphy pen there, or small interesting things you may enjoy if you are a Paris lover.

I LOVED this book. It is a great companion to her 1st book-Paris Letters. I would recommend reading that first. I was introduced to Janice MacLeod's work through Paris Breakfast (a wonderful blog from Carol Gillot). Janice's writing is finny, intimate and gave me wonderful ideas of how to change your life when it's just not working anymore. A Paris Year is the follow-up when she actually is living in Paris. Her drawings accompanying all the history made this book a magical journey for me.

A Paris Year is an enchanting book, created by an artist for readers with the soul of an artist. Each page stimulates the senses. The descriptions of food - and the pictures of it - jump off the page and make you feel as though you must rush out and find a way to taste that very thing right now. Who can talk about Paris without talking of its food? Then there is the palette of colours, different according to season or mood. Pinks and bright greens for spring, olives for fall, blue and yellow for winter. The author's watercolours and photos capture these hues to perfection. There are the Paris stories, and the stories about Paris, the obscure facts, and the ones you knew but needed to be reminded of. It's a cornucopia of delightful tidbits sure to make you fall in love with Paris or rediscover what you loved about it in the first place. And just as the author inserts little hidden photos of herself in the book, along with personal stories with an extra splash of humour, she inserts other little Parisian gems of the sort you might find staring down at you from the walls or up at you from the crosswalks. The book is a mine of gems waiting to be discovered, with another treasure unearthed each time you read it.

The book itself is elegant and of good quality paper and cover. A Paris Year is the perfect book to get for someone who's traveling to Paris and wants to visit neat little treasures off the beaten path. (The pictures and stories come with addresses so you can find them again). It's the perfect gift to buy for someone who has never been to Paris and is longing to take a virtual tour and feel as though she's wandered its streets. Every photo and illustration vibrates with life. It's the perfect gift to offer a tired mom who lives in the suburbs of Paris and never takes the time to go explore its wonders, but who is now reconsidering ... (That last one would be me, and in full disclosure I did receive this book for free but with no strings attached or requests for a review).

And of course, it's the perfect book to buy for yourself. I guarantee it's one you won't be quick to part with.

Lovely diary of a year in Paris with words, original art and photos. Feel you are there on each page.

I've spent some time in Paris, and found nothing, nothing at all new in this book. Not only is the book a series of shop-worn stories and personal observations about the city, the author cannot even be bothered by nailing down details, which would be quite interesting. It is so superficial and silly, I don't know why the author bothered writing it, or why the publisher published it. Even if you love Pairs, perhaps especially if you love Paris, there are many books that will amaze and delight. This is not one of them.

Filled with lovely prose, beautiful watercolor sketches, and stunning photographs, this book transports the reader to the everyday world of Paris. Sit in the cafes. Explore the arrondissements, and marvel at the elegant touches that make the City of Light so memorable. I loved this book.

A perfect book for those people who always complain about their jobs and wish they could do something else to be happy. You can. Janice MacLeod is proof of that. Stop complaining, get inspired, and start a plan. The universe's got your back.

Exquisite, moving, captivating, this account of Janice MacLeod's year in Paris cannot fail to amuse, enlighten, delight and stir your emotions. You must get the hardcover to fully revel in her lovely artwork. I have both the hardcover and the Kindle version, and I'm afraid this one deserves to be consumed as a real book -- keep it on your coffee table and thumb through it at random. It's a literary box of chocolates.