The FBC Paris

Follow Salomée on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lafemmevolcan/

A Bilingual Reader Experience: https://thefeministbookshop.com/blogs/tfb-blog/a-bilingual-reader-experience

The Feminist Bookshop: https://thefeministbookshop.com/

Books mentioned:
Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates
Babel by R. F. Kuang
BFFS by Anahit Behrooz
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation
3 Times Rebel Publishing House
Tilted Axis Press

Is Macron as progressive as everyone outside of France thinks he is? What’s the deal with Gabriel Attal, France’s new(-ish) PM? And why do the French love to protest so much?

Hannah and I spoke about French politics, both past and present, her relationship to feminism over the years, as well as her cultural recommendations. It was nice to sit down with a fellow Brit who is building a life in Paris.

Pen Friend, Hannah’s Substack
https://hannahmeltzer.substack.com/

Newsletters referenced:
https://hannahmeltzer.substack.com/p/no-problem-attal
https://hannahmeltzer.substack.com/p/when-im-64
https://hannahmeltzer.substack.com/p/doing-well-is-its-own-reward-916

Table Manners podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/table-manners-with-jessie-and-lennie-ware/id1305228910

The News Agents podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-news-agents/id1640878689

Dinner for One podcast
https://www.dinnerforonepodcast.com/podcast

In Writing podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/in-writing-with-hattie-crisell/id1490412801

Emile Zola L’assommoir
https://www.livredepoche.com/livre/lassommoir-9782253002857

All of us Strangers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O97iSjvqBlY

Perfect Days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZBbX5A1FA

Musée Zadkine
https://www.zadkine.paris.fr/

Musée de la vie romantique
https://museevieromantique.paris.fr/fr

Make a donation to Fondation des Femmes
https://fondationdesfemmes.org/

Make a donation to Nous Toutes
https://www.noustoutes.org/

Juliana’s reading recommendations:
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
A Life of One’s Own by Joanna Biggs
Le rire de la Méduse by Hélène Cixous
Niente di vero by Veronica Raimo

For the latest FBC Paris podcast episode, I happily handed the microphone over to my friend Charlotte Moreau, a French journalist and writer. 

Here’s the context: I first heard about Claire last year through friend and book club member Betsy. I started following her on Instagram and reached out when she posted about the media silence following the release of her second book but first novel, Féminin. While I wanted to offer Claire a safe space in which to talk about her experience, I knew that a native French speaker would do a much better job. This is when Charlotte entered the chat. And dear readers, she nailed it. 

Podcast references:
Le plus beau métier du monde (Giulia Mensitieri) https://www.editionsladecouverte.fr/_le_plus_beau_metier_du_monde_-9782707195401Les déférlantes - https://revueladeferlante.fr/  
Etonnantes - https://etonnantes.com/

Follow Claire on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/clairetouzard/

Buy Claire’s books:
Sans Alcool - https://editions.flammarion.com/sans-alcool/9782080232762 
Féminin - https://editions.flammarion.com/feminin/9782080265777 

Follow Charlotte on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/charlottemoreaubalibulle/ 
Discover Charlotte’s portfolio - https://bio.site/charlottemoreau 
Subscribe to Charlotte’s newsletter - https://glorybox-charlotte-moreau.kessel.media/about

Follow Anton on Instagram
Follow Anton on Twitter
Read more of Anton via his website

Anton’s books:
I Went To See My Father
Counterweight
I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki
Cursed Bunny (now available in French)
Love in the Big City
Violets

Further listening:
Anton on the Kirkus Reviews podcast
Anton on the Books & Boba podcast

Anton’s Korean to English translation:
Night Sky With Exit Wounds

Anton’s book recommendation:
Idol, Burning (Rin Usami)

I’m delighted to introduce you to Juliette and Margot, the owners of Librairie Majo in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, which opened its doors on the 18th October 2022. Having first met as students at Sciences Po over a decade ago, Juliette and Margot have lived together in Paris, in Tokyo, then in Paris again, and today they live 3 minutes away from each other. The idea of opening a bookshop together started out as a pipe-dream, a joke. But dissatisfied with their jobs, and sharing a desire to do something more meaningful, the two friends made their book-shaped dream into a wonderful reality over the course of 18 months.

Librairie Majo: 27, rue des Boulangers 75005 Paris

Books mentioned:

Hilaria - Irene

Perfect World - Rie Aruga

La puissance des mères - Fatima Ouassak

Fruits de la colère - (les Insolentes)

Le génie lesbien - Alice Coffin

The Guardian described I'm A Fan as a “fizzing debut that’s hard to put down”, and I can’t really argue with that. Sheena and I cover everything from complex female characters, The Sopranos, performative feminism and Instagram as a platform of oppression.

Books mentioned:

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Blood and Guts by Cathy Acker

Today on the podcast, I’m talking to the author Daisy Johnson. Her second novel Sisters was our October book club pick (and gave some of us nightmares!) Released in 2020, this slim novel of just 182 pages is part horror, part psychological thriller, with a serving of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Focusing on two sisters, September and July, who are born ten months apart, there's a good chance that this book will get under your skin and stay there.

Daisy was born in 1990 and her debut short-story collection, Fen, was published in 2016. In 2018 she became the youngest author ever to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize with her debut novel Everything Under. 

We spoke about the trio of women featured in Sisters, about love, about bodies, about where the horror genre fits into intersectional feminism, as well as Daisy’s writing process and current reading habits.

Show Notes:

Lou’s review of Sisters

Daisy recommends Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

The Your Shelf podcast #8: Spooky Stories with Julia Armfield and Daisy Johnson

Fiona is the French owner of Damn Fine Bookstore, an international bookshop based in Lyon, France. A few years ago, she quit her non-bookish related job to fulfil her dream of opening an independent bookshop. But there were a few hurdles along the way, including a pretty big one that goes by the name of COVID-19.

On the cusp of Damn Fine’s one year anniversary, Fiona kindly took some time out of her busy schedule to chat to me about how she set up shop, why she loves Halloween, reading women authors, and her future plans for the shop. She did all of this in English, her second language!

Books mentioned in this episode:

Madam (Phoebe Wynne)

The Silence of the Girls (Pat Barker)

Feminism, Interrupted (Lola Olufemi)

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers (Sady Doyle)

Follow DFB on Instagram: @damnfine_bookstore

Browse the online store: http://shop.damnfinebookstore.com/