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James Baldwin centennial

James Baldwin was born on August 2 1924 in Harlem, New York, to a young single mother who later married a minister. He found refuge in reading books at the public library and started writing at a young age. Despite a fraught relationship with his stepfather, Baldwin followed in his footsteps and was a preacher for three years (a period that he describes as formative in Go Tell It on the Mountain) and took odd jobs to support himself, his siblings and mother. He eventually moved to Greenwich Village where he worked as a freelance writer and met Richard Wright, who helped him get a grant that would support him. He started getting essays published in national periodicals around this time. Baldwin was unhappy in New York, where he felt like his identity as a black gay man would not be accepted. In 1948, at age 24, he moved to Paris on another grant and found that France provided reprieve from the discrimination that he had felt in the United States, making it possible for hi…

La Dictée and the Spelling Bee, Two traditions

Two spelling traditions: the Spelling Bee versus La Dictée It is quite ironic that the most often misspelled word in English is: "misspell"! Spelling is important in English and part of learning it. English speakers remember spelling bees from grade school. Classroom competitions right up to nationals! The first national United States Spelling Bee* was in 1925. Soemtimes it is part of the country fair along with 4H. The word "bee" is usually used to describe a get-together for communal work, like a quilting bee or a husking bee during harvest time. The word probably comes from been or bean (meaning "help offered by neighbors"), from Middle English bene (meaning "prayer", "boon" and additional service to one's lord). A spelling bee or test is based on single words being spelt properly! https://youtu.be/thfb9PK_tQQ?si=oxhllqW9gl76kHdm In France a similar exercise is in fact a much harder one called La Dictée . It has caused plenty of trauma amongst les écoliers as it is…

Rio Soléy Design

Rio Soléy is the designer behind the hand drawn Paris map that helps people see that Bill & Rosa's Book Room is not far at all from Paris center. We love her work which is both elegant and whimsical at the same time. Her journey in lettering started at the age of 5 when her parents enrolled her in a calligraphy class. Since then, she's been captivated by the intricacies of letterforms and the artistry involved in evoking diverse emotions through them. She tells us a bit more about herself and her art, including her beautifully thought out and crafted IRO print collection. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Hello! I’m Rio Soléy, a digital artist & designer specialised in lettering. I create and sell art prints that evoke optimism, simplicity, and tranquility. I’m from Japan, but I’ve lived in Canada, the UK, Germany, and now in France. When I’m not creating art prints, I’m painting letters on store signs and vitrines to help shop owners in Paris stand out …

Interview with Fiona Sze-Lorrain

Fiona Sze-Lorrain is a poet, literary translator and musician. She writes and translates in English, French, and Chinese and is the author of several poetry collections and most recently a novel in stories, Dear Chrysathemums, published by Scribner in 2023. Longlisted for the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, the novel celebrates diversity and women and features deeply compelling Asian women who reckon with the past, violence, and exile—set in Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Paris, and New York. Fiona lives in Paris and we were thrilled to welcome her in February to the Book Room, where she talked about her novel. If you missed her event, you can read the questions we asked and Fiona’s answers below: Bill & Rosa: You are a musician and a poet, you have published several collections of poems, I was wondering what was the determining factor in your decision to write a novel? Was it a character, or a story that you felt needed to be told? Fiona Sze-…

Are You Becoming French?

Are You Becoming French?The French say that foreigners can never truly “become” French - no matter what legal status is inscribed upon what identity papers they carry around in their France-based wallets (1). Nor might newly minted citizens or official residents wish to swap their own cultural markers, manners and mentalities for those of the local waiter who serves them their morning café au lait et croissant (to say nothing of totally being able to). But if you’re here long enough, your adaptation mirrors those Escher drawings where columns of black geese or fish on the left fly or swim straight across the page, migrating and mutating by imperceptible degrees, melting into and finally becoming their white counterparts on the right. To a greater or lesser degree, whether you expected to or not, one day you realize that you’re crossing to the other side. How do you know that you’ve arrived? When you (a very incomplete list): 1. sound as brilliantly amusing-funny-sarcastic-sn…

Coups de cœur at Bill & Rosa’s Book Room

Coups de cœur at Bill & Rosa's Book Room is an article that features a favorite selection our recent donations that are available for purchase. AS OLD AS TIME by Liz Braswell. A reimagining of classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. When Belle touches the enchanted rose, memories flood through her mind — memories of a mother she thought she would never see again. And, stranger still, she sees that her mother is none other than the beautiful enchantress who cursed the castle and all its inhabitants. Shocked and confused, Belle and the Beast will have to unravel a dark mystery about their families that is 21 years in the making. What we think: Great for the spooky season and having words explained in French on the side makes it ideal for those just starting to read in English. Available at the Book Room, 6€ THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster. For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through …

Bill & Rosa’s Book Room

Where is Bill & Rosa's Book Room?

At the newly renovated Porte de Saint Cloud! Not far at all from the centers of Paris or Boulogne-Billancourt.

Exact address: 42 rue du Chemin Vert 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt. See the map

Metro line 9 to Marcel Sembat; Busses: 22, 42, 62, 72, PC

Contact: Phone or SMS: 07.63.53.28.67, Email: BRBookRoom@gmail.com

When is Bill & Rosa's Book Room open? Click for hours What is Bill & Rosa's Book Room ?

First of all, for us, a Book Room is a comfortable place to spend some time. Think of it as the reading lounge on the ocean liners of yore with a western bent. Our maître-mots are

Read, Write, Relax. Buy, Borrow, Donate.

Bill & Rosa's Book Room has several aspects. It is first a USED BOOK SHOP and a LENDING LI…

Merde! Stephen Clarke, Interview with a Paris author

"Not one of the other Stephen Clarkes you might have read about, who include an Olympic swimmer, a world-record-holding pumpkin sculptor and various criminals. I'm just the author whose new novel, Merde at the Paris Olympics, is now out." -- Stephen Clarke

If you are an expat in Paris (or not!) you must know the adventures of Paul West, The hero of A Year in the Merde and its sequels depicting French lifestyle from his personal perspective as an English man. The books became incredibly famous as many people could relate to the story. Who never had problems adapting to a new country? The language, the workplace, meeting people... many subjects tackled in the books with a great sense of humour. As a French girl, I was very amused by those books. Even if Stephen Clarke gently points out some of our weird traits, it is obvious that deep down he really loves France. As a matter of fact, I found out he lives in France! I spent a few years in…

Anglo authors in Paris

Paris is inspiring! Did you notice? This fair city has inspired quite a few writers in the English-speaking Paris community and they have set their ideas into novels and stories. Since community is more important than ever, we are presenting recent fiction by Anglo authors in Paris, some quite well-known and some first books. The books below are not all set in Paris, but they are certainly inspired by the community here. Books are pretty much the easiest thing to choose and send for gifts! Keep an eye on Bill & Rosa's Book Room for 2024 events by these Anglo authors in Paris.

THE PARIS LIBRARY by Janet Skeslien Charles, a now Parisian who grew up in Montana down the street from a French war bride.

Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her belov…

Interview with American writer Jake Lamar

American writer Jake Lamar will visit Bill & Rosa's Book Room on June 3 to discuss his latest novel, Viper’s Dream which has just been published in English. He is an American author who has lived in Paris for almost 30 years, he teaches creative writing at Sciences Po and is the author of a memoir, seven novels, numerous essays, reviews and short stories and a play. He is also the recipient of several prestigious prizes, among which the Lyndhurst Prize and France’s Grand Prize for best foreign thriller. He is fascinating to listen to, passionate about Harlem jazz and has a excellent speaking voice that will draw you in. This is the first part of our interview with him:

Q: You started out as a journalist for Time Magazine, so my question is, have you always wanted to be a writer and have you always known you wanted to write ficiton?

A: I’ve known since the age of 12 that I wanted to be a writer and that I wanted to write fiction. The jo…

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