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Category: travel writing

reminiscing far from home

now at Librairie Ulysse

Published by JoeStartAuthor on September 22, 2017

Why haven’t you made it to the Ulysse bookstore yet?  It’s smack dab in the center of Paris.  In the middle of the Seine.  On the main street of the Ile Saint Louis.  Perhaps you needed a map to find it.  And all the maps of the world were already inside!

Maybe now you’re looking for an excuse to go there.  Here’s one: French License is now at Librairie Ulysse!

They call themselves kilometre zero, because from their door you can set out to discover the rest of the planet.  Do you know where is the island of Saint Lucie?  Not the Isle of Lucy, you goof!  It’s one of the lesser visited islands in the Caribbean.  Well, I asked and Ulysse had a map of it, right down to all the street names.  The last time I visited, a regular came in for information on travel to Yemen.  Where else can you find such treasures in Paris?  Nowhere, I tellzya!

Travel is their speciality, and exotic destinations their strong suit.  Catherine and Dominique are extremely helpful, and can procure a map or guidebook out from their shelves like a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat.

Librairie Ulysse

Open Tuesday-Friday 2 p.m.-8 p.m. 

26, rue Saint Louis en l’Ile, 75004 Paris, France

Tel: +33 143 251 735

http://www.ulysse.fr/

© Copyright Joe Start. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2017  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial licensed



 

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Nationwide

Published by JoeStartAuthor on September 17, 2017

I’m Nationwide!  French License is now available wherever you buy books in the USA!

Paperback version

Barnes & Noble: US online store linked here, but you can find a walk-in store in a town near you. They also carry the digital version at their B&N Nook store: US

eBook version

iBookstore: for Apple iOS devices an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch readable on free iBooks app and on iTunes in US  Yep, that same orange app that’s been on your phone the whole time.  Put it to good use!

Kobo: the Rakuten marketplace which makes their own popular eReader and powers a vast digital bookstore: US

 

Outside the US, our list of distributors is growing.  Check the ‘buy book‘ page to find a point-of-sale near you.

 



 

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Ch. 1 teaser

Published by JoeStartAuthor on September 11, 2017

 

The first chapter of French License sets the scene.  Called Immigration and Transportation, it explains why this story exists.  Necessity, in short, but so much craziness happened along the way…

Here’s an extract:

“…it’s impossible to complete the whole process from scratch in 12 months.

For some foreign permit holders, there’s a quicker route to a French Driver’s License.  If your country has an accord with France, you simply hand over your current State’s license, and they give you a French one.  No questions asked.  No written test.  No driving test.  Piece of cake.  For me it was, “Let him eat cake!”

This easy peasey exchangey happens with more than 100 countries, some of which you’d expect, like the 27 other EU nations. This simple license switcheroo takes place if you’re from Ireland, where the road rises to meet you… on the left-hand side.  Or the Netherlands… where there isn’t a paved road higher than 322 meters above sea level.  Or Malta, which hasn’t seen a snowflake since… ever!”

You can read the full chapter for free in the online sample.

Thanks for reading all the way here, and checking out the 42 snapshots of what’s in store for you within the pages of French License.  It’s not just for expats or folks with an affinity for travel to France.  The book appeals to all those who enjoy black humor and a perspective on the increasingly restrictive world around us.

 



 

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Paperback writer

Published by JoeStartAuthor on September 3, 2017

That new car smell!  That new book smell!  Now, introducing, that new car book smell!

French License is now available in paperback!

It’s 290 pages of pure adrenaline.  Well, one chapter of adrenaline (#39), and many laughs along the way.  Here’s how you can order a physical copy, to put behind your glass bookcase under lock and key, next to your fuzzy dice, with halogen lights shining brightly on the cover for all your friends to admire:

Buy on eStore by CreateSpace

Once you’ve read French License, please let me know what you thought on Goodreads, and help guide others in their deliberations by reviewing on Amazon.

Links to celebrate:

Paperback writer video by Beatles who seem to wish they were somewhere else reading a book

Bookshop Sketch (at last the 1948 show)

15 MOVIES STARRING BOOKSTORES

 

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Ch. 10 teaser

Published by JoeStartAuthor on September 1, 2017

If you like scatalogical humor, this is the chapter for you! And sexy double-entendres, engorged with blood. Also, if you like 10-course meals, failing at self-control and annoying your in-laws.  Chapter 10 of French License is called Christmas villages. Welcome to the island of misfit boys.



 

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Escape from Paris

Published by JoeStartAuthor on August 28, 2017

Escape games have become all the rage.  What better activity with family or for a business team, than to work together to resolve puzzles, enigmas, riddles, labyrinths and word games?

In Paris they’ve flourished.  Folks here love to solve mysteries, and they’re quite good at it.  I’ve participated in games in New York and Paris, and the main difference is that New York is more theatrical, Paris is more cerebral.  In our Paris run, we encountered at least twice as many enigmas, lock combinations, and such as New York.  The larger the group, the better to be able to solve all the problems in time.

Here is a round-up of where you can get yer Sherlock on in the City of Light:

HintHunt (can do game in English)

http://hinthunt.fr/
58 rue Beaubourg

(métro Arts et Métiers or Rambuteau)

Antichamber

http://www.lantichambre.paris/
Boulevard Saint Martin, 75003 Paris
(métro Strasbourg Saint-Dénis lines 4, 8, 9)

Mystery Escape

www.mysteryescape.com
métro Courcelles

Prisoners
www.prizoners.com

Virtual Room

(English possible)

93, rue de Turenne, 75003

www.virtual-room.fr

T Break M

in the CNIT at La Défense
http://www.team-break.fr/en/booking/escape-room-paris-la-defense/
More for Younger kids, possibility to complete it in English

Victory Escape

http://www.victoryescapegame.fr
21 rue de la victoire, Paris
four games derived from films

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Ch. 17 teaser

Published by JoeStartAuthor on August 25, 2017

Prospective readers ask “It’s not all about getting a driver’s license, is it?”  No, Virginie, the book French License is about my adventures in France, with bureaucracy as a backdrop.  Proof: here we are at chapter 17, Driver’s Ed signup, and I’ve only just begun.

A lot happened before I bit the bullet.  What led me to the straight and narrow?  The ‘i’ word.  Most Americans detest it, and the French love it most of all.

My hope is that all the ludicrousness before, during and after shines through, making for an entertaining read.  There are figures to surprise you, characters to chuckle at, and a quest to complete.  Won’t you join me?

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Ch. 18 teaser

Published by JoeStartAuthor on August 24, 2017

The story of our Dodge is a Greek tragedy in three acts.  This is Dwayne I of French License.  He’s like me, an American, far from home, bumbling about, hoping to avoid falling into traps.  This picture was taken on a drive to Brittany.  Vacation.  Better days.  You can see his California plates on the roads of France.  What an advantage that was!  That brief window allowed us carefree cruising, a fleeting chance to look at the world outside our windshield. After the window closed, we became like all the other drivers here- head down, eyes riveted on the speedometer, and fearful of oppression.  This chapter explains why.

One last pause now, at that picture of Dwayne, when he was younger, and symbolised the promise of pleasure.

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