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The Little Paris Bookshop
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“There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that’s how I sell books.”
Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apo ...more
Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apo ...more
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Kindle Edition, 402 pages
Published
June 23rd 2015
by Crown
(first published April 26th 2013)
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Start your review of The Little Paris Bookshop

Apr 24, 2016
Jeffrey Keeten
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
the-french,
books-on-books
”Books keep stupidity at bay. And vain hopes. And vain men. They undress you with love, strength and knowledge. It’s love from within.”
People read for lots of different reasons. They want to be entertained. They want a book to explain what is wrong with them or a confirmation of what they think is wrong with their spouse. They read for information. They read for an experience outside themselves. They read to escape the drudgery of their lives.
Sometimes I don’t understand why people read at all ...more
People read for lots of different reasons. They want to be entertained. They want a book to explain what is wrong with them or a confirmation of what they think is wrong with their spouse. They read for information. They read for an experience outside themselves. They read to escape the drudgery of their lives.
Sometimes I don’t understand why people read at all ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Absolutely perfect premise and storyline - I was hooked by that blurb. Unfortunately this book was not at all what I was expecting. I was hoping for a Parisian Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore but with a twist - an eccentric old gentleman selling books as medicine to those who are missing a certain something in their lives. As someone who's found solace and company in books ever since I was an awkward little girl, this appealed to me. Unfortunately, that's not what I got, and that book blurb ab
...more

"There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only hundred.
There even remedies --I mean books --that were written for only one person...A book
is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy".
Nina George's lyrical tribute to love, literature, people, living, dying, and all things French...
was a privilege to read.
I hope I'm not the the only 1 person this book was written for -- but just in case:
"THANK YOU, *Nina George*.
My first memo ...more
There even remedies --I mean books --that were written for only one person...A book
is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy".
Nina George's lyrical tribute to love, literature, people, living, dying, and all things French...
was a privilege to read.
I hope I'm not the the only 1 person this book was written for -- but just in case:
"THANK YOU, *Nina George*.
My first memo ...more

I have just finished this book and am astonished at the 5 star reviews; it seems I was reading a different book from the majority of reviewers.
I had such high hopes for this. I had just finished reading a very dark and disturbing thriller and needed a lovely book to make me feel warm and fuzzy; this seemed the perfect antidote, so I settled down with my faithful kindle and began reading.
The premise of the story was just utter magic to me - a bookseller hands out books like medicine to people w ...more
I had such high hopes for this. I had just finished reading a very dark and disturbing thriller and needed a lovely book to make me feel warm and fuzzy; this seemed the perfect antidote, so I settled down with my faithful kindle and began reading.
The premise of the story was just utter magic to me - a bookseller hands out books like medicine to people w ...more

Jul 11, 2015
Barbara Hale
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audible,
book-club-2
The reviews are so misleading. What a disappointment! Only one person in our book club liked it. The rest of us just plowed through, hoping it would be over. It was certainly not my cup of tea. The story could have been told in 50 pages, and the rest of the story was just meandering emotion.

Bittersweet Gallic Romance

This is a very French book. Kind of mournful, but also hopeful. Very, very emotional.
This is ironic, as the author, Nina George, is actually German, although she now lives in France (which doesn't surprise me, as her soul is French).
And yes, it's yet another homage to the vanishing independent bookseller, but it's much more than that. It's a reflection on love and death and other deep subjects. It's also a love letter to France.
Parisian Jean Perdu ("John Lost" in Englis ...more

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
There is an independent bookstore in Philadelphia called Joseph Fox. It is smallish – one floor, a big first room, a passage, a back room, and a smaller backer room where the children’s books are kept. Every conceivable space is packed with books. Does it have the selection of the big chain store or of Amazon? No. And it doesn’t offer discounts either, though it does give away bookmarks.
But here’s the thing. You can walk into that bookstore and find four books tha ...more
There is an independent bookstore in Philadelphia called Joseph Fox. It is smallish – one floor, a big first room, a passage, a back room, and a smaller backer room where the children’s books are kept. Every conceivable space is packed with books. Does it have the selection of the big chain store or of Amazon? No. And it doesn’t offer discounts either, though it does give away bookmarks.
But here’s the thing. You can walk into that bookstore and find four books tha ...more

One word review : Overkill!
There's a excellent little romantic gem of a story hidden somewhere in the text of Nina George's bestseller. After all, the sales tell their own story and are proof that most of the readers were able to see past the wooden dialogue and the saccharine sentimentality into the true heart of the story, about coping with loss of innocence, aging, death, starting your life over. There's also a lot to be said about the power of books to inspire and renew a reader's interest i ...more

Sep 14, 2016
Calista
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorite,
genre-drama-tragedy,
genre-love-story,
z-nina-george,
2015,
sub-french,
want-to-own,
bage-mature
One of my top 5 favorite books. I love it.
This is one of the better books I've read this year! It is shining with delight and Nina is so good at illuminating the human condition. I hope everyone will read about the book selling apothecary Jean and his trip down the rivers of France with cats and authors and all kinds of characters. ...more
This is one of the better books I've read this year! It is shining with delight and Nina is so good at illuminating the human condition. I hope everyone will read about the book selling apothecary Jean and his trip down the rivers of France with cats and authors and all kinds of characters. ...more

I'm giving up in this one. Life's too short to read books that bore me....
...more

“To carry them within us – that is our task. We carry them all inside us, all our dead and shattered loves. Only they make us whole. If we begin to forget or cast aside those who we’ve lost, then … then we are no longer present either”
The Little Paris Bookshop is the seventh book by German journalist, teacher and author, Nina George (written under that name). Jean Perdu is fifty years old. He lives in an apartment building with an interesting (and often eccentric) collection of other tenants, a ...more
The Little Paris Bookshop is the seventh book by German journalist, teacher and author, Nina George (written under that name). Jean Perdu is fifty years old. He lives in an apartment building with an interesting (and often eccentric) collection of other tenants, a ...more

Apr 11, 2015
Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
blogging-for-books
www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com
I am completely in love with this book. I had no idea what a gem I had in my hands. I picked this out of the books I was offered because I thought it sounded interesting, never would I have thought I would sink into the world of this book and not want to leave.
When I first met the main character Monsieur Perdu (Jean Perdu) he reminded me of Hercule Poirot in his mannerisms, but that soon went by the wayside. Jean Perdu is a very unique man. A man with his own ...more
I am completely in love with this book. I had no idea what a gem I had in my hands. I picked this out of the books I was offered because I thought it sounded interesting, never would I have thought I would sink into the world of this book and not want to leave.
When I first met the main character Monsieur Perdu (Jean Perdu) he reminded me of Hercule Poirot in his mannerisms, but that soon went by the wayside. Jean Perdu is a very unique man. A man with his own ...more

The book started out with possibilities:
There was monsieur Perdu: - ' the king of this world, a literary pharmacist, who writes prescriptions for the lovesick;
There was monsieur Perdu: - ' the king of this world, a literary pharmacist, who writes prescriptions for the lovesick;
"…My name is Jean. Jean Albert Victor Perdu. Albert after my paternal grandfather, Victor after my maternal grandfather. My mother is a professor, and her father, Victor Bernier, was a toxicologist, a socialist and mayor. I’m fifty years old, Catherine, and I haven’t known many women, let alone slept with them. I loved one. She left me.’...more

There's a Thin Line Between Life and Books
Books...Books...Books...
Friends...Masters...Healers...
Shields and Shelters built on laughs, tears and smiles...
Entrances and Exits...
Always there for Us:
Celebrating Joys
Alchemizing Sorrows!
Giving Everything
Begging Nothing!...
We Travel
We Hide
We Learn...
We find what we are!
We find what we aren't!
In books we find ourselves
In books we lose ourselves...
We Fly!
We Grow!
We Live!...
We know ourselves in the world!
We perceive the world in ourselves!...
Is it all a ...more
Books...Books...Books...
Friends...Masters...Healers...
Shields and Shelters built on laughs, tears and smiles...
Entrances and Exits...
Always there for Us:
Celebrating Joys
Alchemizing Sorrows!
Giving Everything
Begging Nothing!...
We Travel
We Hide
We Learn...
We find what we are!
We find what we aren't!
In books we find ourselves
In books we lose ourselves...
We Fly!
We Grow!
We Live!...
We know ourselves in the world!
We perceive the world in ourselves!...
Is it all a ...more

Feb 28, 2015
JenniferD
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2015-books,
in-translation
2.5- stars, really.
okay, first up: hello, my name is jennifer and i got a bit suckered into reading a romance novel. :/
(publisher lists this as 'fiction, romance, contemporary' - NetGalley listing reads 'literature/fiction' and did not have the 'contemporary romance' identifier.) i am not against romance, per se, but in reading, i am against the overly-sentimental and schmaltzy, and overuse of clichés. so this book fell apart for me on all three counts. which is really, really unfortunate. this ...more
okay, first up: hello, my name is jennifer and i got a bit suckered into reading a romance novel. :/
(publisher lists this as 'fiction, romance, contemporary' - NetGalley listing reads 'literature/fiction' and did not have the 'contemporary romance' identifier.) i am not against romance, per se, but in reading, i am against the overly-sentimental and schmaltzy, and overuse of clichés. so this book fell apart for me on all three counts. which is really, really unfortunate. this ...more

"How on earth could I have let them talk me into it?"
Holy bejeezus! If this book is any indication, French people really are romantic. At least the woman who wrote this novel is. I would love to think French men think as romantically as this author portrays them, but I highly doubt it. I suspect it is merely wishful thinking on her part, but oh how wonderful it would be to be entirely wrong.
This was a sad, yet beautiful story about love, loss, friendship, and the stages of grief. It's the ta ...more
Holy bejeezus! If this book is any indication, French people really are romantic. At least the woman who wrote this novel is. I would love to think French men think as romantically as this author portrays them, but I highly doubt it. I suspect it is merely wishful thinking on her part, but oh how wonderful it would be to be entirely wrong.
This was a sad, yet beautiful story about love, loss, friendship, and the stages of grief. It's the ta ...more

I was going to rate this 3 stars but I realized that I skimmed the last third of the book because I just wanted to be done with it. The tone of the book kept changing. Was it a romance with the idea of selling books as much a part of the romance as those between characters? But then our bookseller Perdu takes off on his bookselling boat on a river road trip. He picks up this wierd young writer who wears earmuffs all the time and it becomes a farce. They have no money and no food and have to pay
...more

What did I think?
At first I thought "What´s not to like?". A book about books and Southern France, perfect for a rainy summer day and I immediately fell for Jean Perdu.
The name game wasn´t lost on me, a man in a mature age, lost in himself, in his past and his happy and unhappy memories. He could have been "The Steppenwolf" or even the narrator in "À la recherche du temps perdu", but he´s neither.
He is a man with a mission, he is a literary apothecary, caring for all the lost souls but his own ...more
At first I thought "What´s not to like?". A book about books and Southern France, perfect for a rainy summer day and I immediately fell for Jean Perdu.
The name game wasn´t lost on me, a man in a mature age, lost in himself, in his past and his happy and unhappy memories. He could have been "The Steppenwolf" or even the narrator in "À la recherche du temps perdu", but he´s neither.
He is a man with a mission, he is a literary apothecary, caring for all the lost souls but his own ...more

You fall in love with this book first because it's about the power of books. Who can resist the idea of a book barge on the Seine in Paris where the bookseller, Jean Perdu, uses his intuition to select just the right book to deal with whichever emotion - small or large - is afflicting you? Monsieur Perdu explains it as "I wanted to treat feelings that are not recognized as afflictions and are never diagnosed by doctors. All those little feelings and emotions no therapist is interested in, becaus
...more

Historic fiction is my preferred stomping ground, but I’ve a reputation for venturing into multiple genres. I think journeying outside my comfort zone challenges me and helps me retain perspective as a reviewer which is how I found myself staring down a copy of Nina George’s contemporary romance, The Little Paris Bookshop.
Looking back, I can honestly say the story made almost no impression on me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I couldn’t rouse much enthusiasm for their personal ...more
Looking back, I can honestly say the story made almost no impression on me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I couldn’t rouse much enthusiasm for their personal ...more

I love books about bookstores so I was excited to start "The Little Paris Bookshop". Monsieur Jean Perdu's literary apothecary is located on a barge moored on the Seine. Perdu senses people's needs and problems, and prescribes books that are perfect for each customer. Unfortunately, he has been unable to deal with his own heartache since the love of his life left him 21 years ago. His lover had left him a letter when she departed from Paris, but he waited 21 years to finally open it and feels sh
...more

This book was not what I hoped it would be. I really loved the idea of the floating book apothecary, and think so much more could have been done with that idea. In the end, though, this book was rather a disappointment. First, I didn't really love any of the characters, especially Manon, the woman Jean is so tortured with love for all these years. Why? She was selfish and didn't have any clue what commitment meant. Jean just came across as a fool who somewhere along the way mistook lust for love
...more

Once again, a book that took me long enough to finish. Why am I such a slow reader? T_T
Can I blame it on my activities again? Too many distractions? Because it's true.
I chose this book right away because I think it's something like Chocolat (knew it from the movie, not the book), and it's a book about books! Amazing, right?! I knew there would be so many books told here. And I was right.
But! I didn't really like how it was told, the plot, I mean. It's a bit confusing to me. It seemed like the ...more
Can I blame it on my activities again? Too many distractions? Because it's true.
I chose this book right away because I think it's something like Chocolat (knew it from the movie, not the book), and it's a book about books! Amazing, right?! I knew there would be so many books told here. And I was right.
But! I didn't really like how it was told, the plot, I mean. It's a bit confusing to me. It seemed like the ...more

"A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therpay. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments:that's how I sell books"
Fifty year old John Perdu considers himself a dispenser of literary medicine for ailments of the human soul rather than a mere bookseller. From his barge, the Literary Apothecary, moored on the Seine in Paris he dispenses books to cure people of their ailments, whether it be sadness, disappointment, anxiety or a lost love.
"When ...more

This story of a Parisian bookseller who sets out on his bookstore on a barge to find the lover who abandoned him 20 years ago started out on a promising note but very quickly devolved. So many times I was rolling my eyes and groaning . . . and not in a good way. :) I felt the author was trying way too hard to be poignant and profound - maybe wanting to be the next Elizabeth Gilbert?
So why did I read to the end of this almost 400 page book and rate it 3 stars instead of 1 or 2? There were several ...more
So why did I read to the end of this almost 400 page book and rate it 3 stars instead of 1 or 2? There were several ...more

I received this Kindle uncorrected proof from NetGalley.
A wonderful book, one of the best I’ve read recently. It’s full of marvelous quotes, despite being a translation. Isn’t it interesting? The book was originally written in German. It takes place in France, with most of the characters French. And I’ve read it in English.
Human life in all its absurdity and beauty, warmth and ugliness stands up from the pages of this novel. Grief and betrayal, cowardice and pride, kindness and compassion, men a ...more
A wonderful book, one of the best I’ve read recently. It’s full of marvelous quotes, despite being a translation. Isn’t it interesting? The book was originally written in German. It takes place in France, with most of the characters French. And I’ve read it in English.
Human life in all its absurdity and beauty, warmth and ugliness stands up from the pages of this novel. Grief and betrayal, cowardice and pride, kindness and compassion, men a ...more

Ah, merde!
I did not read this book. I felt it. I felt every bit of it. It made me experience every word I read in a way that left me breathless.
At first I was amazed by the cuteness and sweetness of the book. It seemed so simple, but not shallow. As I read more I became more and more involved with the characters and their unique stories and personalities. It was so overwhelming feeling so much - I had tears in my eyes for almost half of the book. I felt like crying when something sad happened, ...more
I did not read this book. I felt it. I felt every bit of it. It made me experience every word I read in a way that left me breathless.
At first I was amazed by the cuteness and sweetness of the book. It seemed so simple, but not shallow. As I read more I became more and more involved with the characters and their unique stories and personalities. It was so overwhelming feeling so much - I had tears in my eyes for almost half of the book. I felt like crying when something sad happened, ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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New Beginnings | 1 | 12 | Jul 10, 2019 01:44PM |
ENG (for German Bio please scroll down).
Born 1973 in Bielefeld, Germany, Nina George is a prize-winning and bestselling author (“Das Lavendelzimmer” – “The Little Paris Bookshop”) and freelance journalist since 1992, who has published 26 books (novels, mysteries and non-fiction) as well as over hundred short stories and more than 600 columns. George has worked as a cop reporter, columnist and mana ...more
Born 1973 in Bielefeld, Germany, Nina George is a prize-winning and bestselling author (“Das Lavendelzimmer” – “The Little Paris Bookshop”) and freelance journalist since 1992, who has published 26 books (novels, mysteries and non-fiction) as well as over hundred short stories and more than 600 columns. George has worked as a cop reporter, columnist and mana ...more
Articles featuring this book
As this strange summer of staying put winds down, one thing remains truer than ever: Books offer us endless adventure and new horizons to...
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“Books are more than doctors, of course. Some novels are loving, lifelong companions; some give you a clip around the ear; others are friends who wrap you in warm towels when you've got those autumn blues. And some...well, some are pink candy floss that tingles in your brain for three seconds and leaves a blissful voice. Like a short, torrid love affair.”
—
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“We cannot decide to love. We cannot compel anyone to love us. There's no secret recipe, only love itself. And we are at its mercy--there's nothing we can do.”
—
107 likes
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