On a Parisienne’s BookshelfTHERE ARE MANY BOOKS ON A PARISIENNE’S BOOKSHELF: The books you so often claim you’ve read that you actually believe you have.The books you read in school from which you remember only the main character’s name.The art books your parents give you each Christmas so you can get some culture.The art books that you bought yourself and which you really love.The books that you’ve been promising yourself you’ll read next summer … for the past ten years.The books you bought only because you liked the title.The books that you think makes you cool.The books you read over and over again, and that evolve along with your life.The books that remind you of someone you loved.The books you keep for your children, just in case you ever have any.The books whose first ten pages you’ve read so many times you know them by heart.The books you own simply because you must and, taken together, form intangible proof that you are well read.AND THEN THERE ARE THE BOOKS YOU HAVE READ, LOVED, AND WHICH ARE A PART OF YOUR IDENTITY:The Stranger, Albert CamusThe Elementary Particles, Michel HouellebecqBelle du Seigneur, Albert Cohen Bonjour Tristesse, Françoise SaganMadame Bovary, Gustave FlaubertL'Écume des jours, Boris VianLolita, Vladimir NabokovLes Fleurs du Mal, Charles BaudelaireJourney to the End of the Night, Louis-Ferdinand Céline