Alice Steinbach - Without Reservations (2001)

This wasn't so much a travel memoir as more a self-exploration memoir, where the author just happened to be in Paris, London and Venice. It started out well with some nice descriptions of Paris and then went on to explore Steinbach's past, present and future - her life mapped out by reflections she has on a train, in a cafe, looking at a garden, chatting with strangers.

Steinbach does write good descriptions of places, once she gets down to it. Yet most of the book is about her inner thoughts, her Paris love-affair, and how much the author enjoys cooking - but without a real description of what is being cooked. All I knew is that chicken, mushrooms and butter were involved.

I liked her Freya Stark quotes, they really intrigued me and I'll be looking for her books next.

I wouldn't say this was a bad book, it's just that it was touted as a travel memoir - the sub-title states 'The Travels of an Independent Woman'. The author does travel through three cities, but it is more a introspective memoir with barely a nod to the cities themselves.

Ellie Nielsen - Buying A Piece of Paris (2007)

Nielsen has written a lovely book that is exactly what the title says - it describes a bumbling attempt to buy a Parisian apartment over the course of two weeks. 'Bumbling' because Melbourne native Nielsen and her husband Jack, with son Ellery in tow, seem to go into it all halfheartedly like a couple of dreamers who want the dream without the reality and end up making oodles of mistakes along the way

I really enjoyed this book even though I don't want to buy my own piece of Paris. It was just such an interesting look at another aspect of French culture. The way homes are sold mirrors Australian real-estate in many ways. I like the lack of Auctions, I've never liked them, they make me anxious, so I was happy to find out that they just do not exist in Paris. It's also interesting that apartments are sold by the square-metre, which doesn't count inhabitable space - like cupboards. That would be so confusing for a non-native to understand and makes me wonder how complicated our own system would be to a foreigner.

I liked Nielsen because she was so flawed - she knew it and was perfectly fine narrating her constant struggles with all things Parisian. I get tired of Travel Memoir authors who are so very perfect, have absolutely no problems while traveling and conquer every obstacle with such ease. It makes the book feel like a lie and I generally chuck it before I finish reading it. Nielsen's felt like the stark utter truth. I really felt for her attempts to get the language right as she hunted for the 'right' apartment - even when it would have been easier to run away, give up and go home.

The only problem I have with the book is that I am now craving Nutella crepes!

Eloisa James - Paris in Love (2012)

I'm on a travel memoir junket at the moment - and this one is quite possibly the worst so far. It's a bunch of Facebook posts and Tweets over the year Eloisa James spent with her family in Paris. The book, well, collection would describe it better, is disjointed and without depth. The only thing I feel when I read it is frustration, because she glosses over things I'd like more detail on, and boredom, because it's all just so random.

Suddenly they're in Paris, suddenly her daughter spots a homeless man with his dog, suddenly her daughter is slapped at school, suddenly her son is sick and will only eat Froot Loops. Yes, that was the order too. It didn't make any sense as a travel memoir. It shouldn't be marketed as such and I'm so glad I only borrowed the book from the library. If I'd spent $27 on it I'd be -really- grumpy.

If you have a short attention span and aren't really interested in learning more about the day-to-day life of a person living in Paris then THIS is the book for you. It's sad since this is the work of a Shakespeare Professor with a NYC university, James got her PhD at Yale and is a published academic and romance fiction author. I really expected more from her, instead I got tripe and who likes tripe???