Literary awards in Paris and beyond

What do the above books have in common? They have all won Literary Awards.

And the Winner is...

Announced just a few days ago... Black Spartacus,  the biography by Sudhir Hazareesingh about the underrecognized Toussaint Louverture, is the winner of the 2021 American Library in Paris Book Award. The American Library’s $5,000 literary prize, now in its ninth year, is given to the most distinguished book of the year, encompassing all genres, written and published in English, about France or the French. The award is supported by a generous grant from the Florence Gould Foundation. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of literary awards. They come in all shapes and sizes with all kinds of selection requirements. The biggest prize is over a million US dollars and hosted by the United Arab Emirates. There are local ones such as the American Libary's prize or Le prix du roman jeunesse des bibliothèques du 20e arrondissement. Some are pr…
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Funny poems about learning English

Learning a language is fun and funny, but difficulties lurk when not done with honey. English is notoriously difficult because it is very irregular in pronunciation and spelling. Thousand years of external influences amongst which the imposition of French in the middle ages and a huge importation of foreign words resulting from exploration and colonialism turned English into a mishmash. Enjoy these poems about learning English that we have gathered from various online sources. The first of these poems about learning English dates from at least 1896! We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes; But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes. Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen? The cow in the plural may be cows o…
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The Encyclopedia of Thriller writers

At the Book Room, we know the importance of a good thriller and especially, the right thriller at the right time, so to help you choose we wrote a short encyclopedia of thriller writers, some background about each one, their writing style and their best-known characters and series. All you have to do is decide which one best suits your mood! The encyclopedia is published in installments. The first part focused on American Thriller writers - a surprising number of whom come from New Jersey! The second part is around British thriller writers including 2 Scottish Tartan noir authors. Third part focuses on Scandinavian. Please feel free to request other author profiles in the comment section. Let us know who you think we should include. To see which of these Thriller writers is currently in stock (we have tons!) at the Book Room you can browse our inventory online here. PS: Until 31 January Thrillers (and romances) are 3 for the price of 2! Don't miss out! American Thriller wr…
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The Paris Metro in 26 Easy Letters

THE PARIS METRO IN 26 EASY LETTERS

Accessibility: You’ve probably noticed that when the printed coordinates of a Parisian place of interest are given (a boutique, museum, restaurant, even a party-throwing private home), there is often a funny little symbol following the name, address, and phone number.  The funny little symbol, a capital M with a «degree» sign after it (M°) precedes yet another name, as in M° Pyramides or M° Ecole Militaire or M° Michel Bizot.  This designates the métro stop nearest the destination in question, a practice affirming that the métro is everywhere and used by everyone but the most crowd-averse snobs. (The site and app of the RATP has an interactive map which can give you door-to-door itineraries with travel time indications for the entire metro, bus and train system in the Paris region. - Ed.)

Begging: On the rise in the Paris metro and becomin…

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Why is it called? Part 3: Foods

Why is it called? Part 3: Foods Have you ever asked yourself why something is called by a particular name? Why are certain mushrooms called champignons de Paris? How do foods get named? There is often a story. Here is a short list of someFrench foods or dishes that are well-known in the Paris area and how they got their names. We invite readers to add their own favorites or ask about other foods for which they would like to know the origin in the comments. Champignons de Paris The first mushrooms in France were grown in 1670 by Jean de La Quintinie, gardener to Louis XIV. (You may still visit the King's garden in Versailles, it's called the Potager du Roi and it is a fascinating history of gardening and early techniques.) Under Napoleon I, mushrooms were grown in Paris in areas protected from sunlight, notably in the catacombs. Later in the XIXth century the majority of former quarries and grottos under Paris, which had the perfect constant temperature of 17°C were used to c…
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