Parisian Charm School was a delightful book, a quick breeze to read. It was full of stories of the author’s meetings with different individuals who exemplified charm in various ways. Many of these meetings take place in Paris, which imparts a definite flavor and feel of the city to the work, though there are some outside the city as well. One of the first sets of anecdotes are about the author’s French teacher in the States, for example. Other anecdotes are about eclairs or a bouquet of lilies or, well, men. The book is full of actionable advice, from small suggestions like clean out your closets and cupboards and start using things you’d set aside for “a rainy day,” to bigger steps like host and attend more dinner parties or travel more, even if you can only fit in short trips. Just reading the book was inspiring enough; it is filled with so many enjoyable tidbits that I could hardly put it down. I think I finished it in less than a week.
I’d recommend this book for anyone who is looking for advice on how to spice up their day-to-day life and be more interesting to others. While many of the suggestions are sound advice for everyone, such as reading more or spending some time relaxing in the out of doors, some tips are really only useful to those trying to impress romantic interests, such as how to use color to ingrain yourself in the memory of someone whose attention you want. Reading the book is really an experience in itself, as you visit so many interesting places and meet so many charming people. Many of the anecdotes were so vibrant that they stuck with me and I still think about them from time to time. I’ve definitely started taking action on many of the suggestions, such as keeping flowers in my apartment and paying more attention to how I speak. Some of the advice I appreciated most were things I was already doing however; there were quite a few little pats on the back as I already read and travel as much as I can, for example.
In summary, it’s a wonderful book! It’s a very fast read, and you learn a lot of tips and tricks in the process of reading it. It’s very entertaining and you’ll come away with a lot of ideas on how to make your life more full of whimsy and magic.
The Simple Sophisticate — a podcast interview with Jamie Cat Callan about Parisian Charm School
Tranquility du Jour — a podcast interview with Jamie Cat Callan about Parisian Charm School
