
The French Art of Living Well
Finding Joie de Vivre in the Everyday World
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kim Niemi
-
By:
-
Cathy Yandell
About this listen
Cathy Yandell's The French Art of Living Well is a delightful look at French culture, from literature to cuisine to humor and more, showing how the French have captured that magic elixir known as joie de vivre.
What is joie de vivre, and why is it a fundamentally French concept?
In search of those ineffable qualities that make up the joy of living, this lively book takes listeners on a voyage to France through forays into literature, history, and culture. How does art contribute to daily life? Why is cuisine such a central part of French existence? Why are the French more physical than many other cultures? How do French attitudes toward time speak volumes about their sense of pleasure and celebration? And finally, to what extent is this zest for life exportable? These and other questions give way to a dynamic sketch of French life today.
Peppered with anecdotes and humor, this book uncovers some of the secrets of the celebrated French art of living well. Drawing from her years of living in France as a student, professor, and mother, Yandell crafts an honest and profound appraisal of French culture and how la joie de vivre can be developed in anyone's life.
©2023 Cathy Yandell (P)2023 TantorPeople who viewed this also viewed...
-
(Not Quite) Mastering the Art of French Living
- By: Mark Greenside
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every year upon arriving in Plobien, the small Breton town where he spends his summers, American writer Mark Greenside picks back up where he left off with his faux-pas-filled Francophile life. Mellowed and humbled, but not daunted (OK, slightly daunted), he faces imminent concerns: What does he cook for a French person? Who has the right-of-way when entering or exiting a roundabout? Where does he pay for a parking ticket? And most dauntingly of all, when can he touch the tomatoes?
-
-
Awesome Sequel, Even Better than the First Book
- By beanibubble on 12-30-21
By: Mark Greenside
-
Home Sweet Maison
- The French Art of Making a Home
- By: Danielle Postel-Vinay
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do the French create the elusive and alluring sanctuaries they call home? This question long intrigued Danielle Postel-Vinay. Thanks to a chance encounter with a French expat in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and years of immersive research, she embarked on a quest to discover the secrets of the French home aesthetic. Experiencing first-hand la belle vie - the beautiful life - Postel-Vinay now shows everyone how to create their own French sanctuary, a home sweet maison, no matter where they live.
-
-
Honestly loved it
- By Monica on 10-08-19
-
French Women Don't Get Fat
- The Secret of Eating for Pleasure
- By: Mireille Guiliano
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
French women don't get fat, but they do eat bread and pastry, drink wine, and regularly enjoy three-course meals. In her delightful tale, Mireille Guiliano unlocks the simple secrets of this "French paradox", how to enjoy food and stay slim and healthy. Hers is a charming, sensible, and powerfully life-affirming view of health and eating for our times.
-
-
Disappointing
- By JWS on 08-09-06
-
French Women Don't Get Facelifts
- The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitude
- By: Mireille Guiliano
- Narrated by: Mireille Guiliano
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With her signature blend of wit, no-nonsense advice, and storytelling flair, Mireille Guiliano returns with a delightful, encouraging take on beauty and aging for our times. For anyone who has ever spent the equivalent of a mortgage payment on anti-aging lotions or procedures, dressed inappropriate for their age, gained a little too much in the middle, or accidentally forgot how to flirt, here is a proactive way to stay looking and feeling great, without resorting to "the knife" - a French woman's most guarded beauty secrets revealed for the benefit of us all!
-
-
How to age with attitude and style
- By J on 01-01-14
-
How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are
- Love, Style, and Bad Habits
- By: Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret, and others
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In short, frisky sections, these Parisian women give you their very original views on style, beauty, culture, attitude and men. The authors—Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas—unmarried but attached, with children—have been friends for years. Talented bohemian iconoclasts with careers in the worlds of music, film, fashion and publishing, they are untypically frank and outspoken as they debunk the myths about what it means to be a French woman today.
-
-
LOVE this book, now listening for the second time.
- By Meredith on 11-03-14
By: Anne Berest, and others
-
French Chic: A French Woman’s Guide to Dress Elegantly and Live Effortlessly Chic
- By: Sophie Claire
- Narrated by: Yael Eylat-Tanaka
- Length: 2 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook is a complete guide to dress elegantly and live effortlessly chic. You will find the essential principles of French chic, elegance, makeup, skincare, and capsule wardrobe, and you’ll learn how to create your own unique style. You’ll discover how easy it is to look gorgeous and, most importantly, feel confident and beautiful. "Sometimes, a little change in our wardrobe or the way we present ourselves can do wonders for our lifestyle."
-
-
So good and refreshing
- By A. Garcia on 06-15-23
By: Sophie Claire
-
(Not Quite) Mastering the Art of French Living
- By: Mark Greenside
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every year upon arriving in Plobien, the small Breton town where he spends his summers, American writer Mark Greenside picks back up where he left off with his faux-pas-filled Francophile life. Mellowed and humbled, but not daunted (OK, slightly daunted), he faces imminent concerns: What does he cook for a French person? Who has the right-of-way when entering or exiting a roundabout? Where does he pay for a parking ticket? And most dauntingly of all, when can he touch the tomatoes?
-
-
Awesome Sequel, Even Better than the First Book
- By beanibubble on 12-30-21
By: Mark Greenside
-
Home Sweet Maison
- The French Art of Making a Home
- By: Danielle Postel-Vinay
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do the French create the elusive and alluring sanctuaries they call home? This question long intrigued Danielle Postel-Vinay. Thanks to a chance encounter with a French expat in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and years of immersive research, she embarked on a quest to discover the secrets of the French home aesthetic. Experiencing first-hand la belle vie - the beautiful life - Postel-Vinay now shows everyone how to create their own French sanctuary, a home sweet maison, no matter where they live.
-
-
Honestly loved it
- By Monica on 10-08-19
-
French Women Don't Get Fat
- The Secret of Eating for Pleasure
- By: Mireille Guiliano
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
French women don't get fat, but they do eat bread and pastry, drink wine, and regularly enjoy three-course meals. In her delightful tale, Mireille Guiliano unlocks the simple secrets of this "French paradox", how to enjoy food and stay slim and healthy. Hers is a charming, sensible, and powerfully life-affirming view of health and eating for our times.
-
-
Disappointing
- By JWS on 08-09-06
-
French Women Don't Get Facelifts
- The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitude
- By: Mireille Guiliano
- Narrated by: Mireille Guiliano
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With her signature blend of wit, no-nonsense advice, and storytelling flair, Mireille Guiliano returns with a delightful, encouraging take on beauty and aging for our times. For anyone who has ever spent the equivalent of a mortgage payment on anti-aging lotions or procedures, dressed inappropriate for their age, gained a little too much in the middle, or accidentally forgot how to flirt, here is a proactive way to stay looking and feeling great, without resorting to "the knife" - a French woman's most guarded beauty secrets revealed for the benefit of us all!
-
-
How to age with attitude and style
- By J on 01-01-14
-
How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are
- Love, Style, and Bad Habits
- By: Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret, and others
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In short, frisky sections, these Parisian women give you their very original views on style, beauty, culture, attitude and men. The authors—Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas—unmarried but attached, with children—have been friends for years. Talented bohemian iconoclasts with careers in the worlds of music, film, fashion and publishing, they are untypically frank and outspoken as they debunk the myths about what it means to be a French woman today.
-
-
LOVE this book, now listening for the second time.
- By Meredith on 11-03-14
By: Anne Berest, and others
-
French Chic: A French Woman’s Guide to Dress Elegantly and Live Effortlessly Chic
- By: Sophie Claire
- Narrated by: Yael Eylat-Tanaka
- Length: 2 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook is a complete guide to dress elegantly and live effortlessly chic. You will find the essential principles of French chic, elegance, makeup, skincare, and capsule wardrobe, and you’ll learn how to create your own unique style. You’ll discover how easy it is to look gorgeous and, most importantly, feel confident and beautiful. "Sometimes, a little change in our wardrobe or the way we present ourselves can do wonders for our lifestyle."
-
-
So good and refreshing
- By A. Garcia on 06-15-23
By: Sophie Claire
-
Lessons from Madame Chic
- 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris
- By: Jennifer L. Scott
- Narrated by: Amy Rubinate
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Each chapter of Lessons from Madame Chic reveals a valuable secret Jennifer learned in Paris - tips you can incorporate into your own life, no matter where you live or the size of your budget. Embracing the classically French aesthetic of quality over quantity, aspiring Parisiennes will learn to master the art of eating (deprive yourself not), dressing (the 10-item wardrobe), grooming (le no-makeup look), and living à la française.
-
-
I WILL BE READING (NOT LISTENING) TO THE SERIES
- By Kindle Customer on 07-24-17
-
A Bite-Sized History of France
- Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War, and Enlightenment
- By: Stephane Henaut, Jeni Mitchell
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the cassoulet that won a war to the crêpe that doomed Napoleon, from the rebellions sparked by bread and salt to the new cuisines forged by empire, the history of France is intimately entwined with its gastronomic pursuits. A witty exploration of the facts and legends surrounding some of the most popular French foods and wines by a French cheesemonger and an American academic, A Bite-Sized History of France tells the compelling and often surprising story of France from the Roman era to modern times.
-
-
Great stories, but...
- By David on 01-12-20
By: Stephane Henaut, and others
-
The French Art of Not Trying Too Hard
- By: Ollivier Pourriol, Helen Stevenson - translator
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether it's the Protestant work ethic or the capitalist need for productivity, most of us in the English-speaking world believe that in order to achieve anything worthwhile, we must first expend huge amounts of effort and energy. In fact, just the opposite is true, as French philosopher Ollivier Pourriol shows in The French Art of Not Trying Too Hard.
By: Ollivier Pourriol, and others
-
The Bonjour Effect
- The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed
- By: Julie Barlow, Jean-Benoit Nadeau
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow spent a decade traveling back and forth to Paris as well as living there. Yet one important lesson never seemed to sink in: how to communicate comfortably with the French, even when you speak their language. In The Bonjour Effect, Jean-Benoît and Julie chronicle the lessons they learned after they returned to France to live, for a year, with their twin daughters. They offer up all the lessons they learned and explain the most important aspect of all: the French don't communicate, they converse.
-
-
Terrible French pronunciation
- By CA on 01-24-19
By: Julie Barlow, and others
-
Bella Figura
- How to Live, Love, and Eat the Italian Way
- By: Kamin Mohammadi
- Narrated by: Kamin Mohammadi
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the bella figura, the Italian concept of making every aspect of life as beautiful as it can be, that Kamin Mohammadi discovered when she escaped the London corporate media world for a year in Italy. Following the lead of her new neighbors, she soon found a happier, healthier, and more beautiful way of living.
-
-
More than memoir or instruction
- By PrincessDiana on 11-23-18
By: Kamin Mohammadi
-
L'art de la Simplicité
- How to Live More with Less
- By: Dominique Loreau
- Narrated by: Jenny Funnell
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dominque Loreau is the master of the art of decluttering and simplifying. Now her groundbreaking L'art de la Simplicité, a huge best seller in her native France, is translated into English for the first time. Loreau's principle of "less is more" is set to change your life forever. Living in Japan and inspired by Asian philosophy, Loreau takes you on a step-by-step journey to a clutter-free home, a calm mind, and an energized body.
-
-
Sweet spot between Kondo and Extreme Minimalism!
- By Dee from Ohio on 12-04-18
By: Dominique Loreau
I almost didn’t listen. The cover of the book seemed very calm, compared to the stories inside.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good read with a few .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not what I expected
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.