If you do not have access to books in French, I strongly recommend you order a few from my favorite bookstore in France – Librairies Decitre (www.Decitre.fr) – because reading French is a great way to learn French. Generally speaking, think of Decitre as a smaller but very French version of Barnes & Noble and you’ll have a fairly good idea of what’s available. While they have just 11 locations across the country, they are well-respected sellers of books and other related items. The first store opened in Lyon in 1907, the Paris shop in 2016, and most recently the Burgundy store in 2017. The www.Decitre.fr website launched back in 1997 so I feel confident in telling you that they’ve got the e-commerce expertise down to ensure a very positive online experience for their international customers.
So what can you find on www.Decitre.fr? A lot! They offer a wide variety of hardcover books, paperbacks, e-books, children’s books, stationary supplies, gift boxes, gift cards, etc. The tabs at the top of the home page are Books, E-Books, Favorites, New Books at Discounted Prices, Reading Lights, Stationery Store (who doesn’t want French stationery?), Leisure and Games, Smartbox (sort of an experience package that American bookstores definitely do not offer – more on Smartbox in an upcoming paragraph), and Used Books. Be sure to check out the rotating carousel for ever-changing specials such as “Buy 2 Books, Get 1 Free” or (under the New Books at Discounted Prices tab) “Books Under €5.”
Where should you begin? Glad you asked. I recommend you start by clicking on “Books” and choose a topic that you already find interesting. Be sure and take into account your reading level. For instance, if you’re a beginner and you like fiction, I would not choose Alexander Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” (Les Trois Mousquetaires) – reading a story written in 19th century French about 17th century France is way too much. I would start with a children’s book about Paris. You may think I’m kidding but many Americans who move to France without knowing how to speak the language learn French just like French children do – they start with children’s books. These books are very easy to find – click on Books and then, under Youth, you can choose from either Books 0-3 Years Old or Books 4-6 Years Old.
Also, just be aware that many French classics are very descriptive and can use extraordinarily flowery prose. You’ll realize the characters don’t even remotely express themselves like today’s average French person. The solution? Select a book from among the enormous amount of highly regarded contemporary French writers who have won literary prizes for their work. Click on Books, then under Discover, click on the link Literary Prizes and you should find a wide variety of celebrated books to choose. I could go on and on about where to go and what to look for but half the fun is clicking on the links, finding something that you’re interested in, and then enjoying the anticipation as the days pass until your new book finally arrives at your front door straight from France.
Back to Smartbox. This is definitely a pretty cool idea and it’s something I think you’ll want to check out, especially as we don’t have anything like this being offered in American bookstores as far as I’m aware. Essentially, the idea – and it’s a good one – is that you purchase a boxed experience package (hence, the name “Smartbox”) that is authentically French. Of course, you probably wouldn’t want to purchase one until you know you’ll be in the country (the experiences are, of course, located in France) but they are worth looking into just because of the range of what’s available and the French perspective on how to enjoy life.
For example, I’m looking under Smartbox Bestsellers and I’m pretty much ready to go on any and all of these excursions. The #1 Bestseller is “3 Dream Days for Lovers” (Trois Jours de Rêve en Amoureux) for €199.90 and it includes a two-night stay at your choice of over 800 destinations, breakfast for two, and is valid for two years from the date of purchase. The #2 Bestseller is “Gourmet Weekend for Lovers” (Gourmand Week-end en Amoureux) for €89.90 and includes a one-night stay at your choice of 245 destinations, a gourmet dinner for two, breakfast for two, and is valid for two years from date of purchase. The #3 Bestseller is “Temptations for Two” (Tentations à Deux) for €49.90 and includes a choice of one activity (for two people) from among a one-night stay at one of 70 different destinations, a gourmet meal for two from one of 230 restaurants, one health and well-being activity for two from over 1,200 spas, or one sporting activity for two from over 820 different events. How awesome is this!
Definitely click on the Stationery tab and then on the Paper and Correspondence tab to view an elegant selection of note cards, post cards, writing pads, maps, posters, etc. I have a feeling you’ll be spending some time here deciding on which box (or is it boxes?) of cards that you prefer.
French businesses are profiled in this blog only if they ship their product or provide their services to the United States so the good news, obviously, is that Decitre will ship any book stateside for a small fee. I’ve found the shipping charge to the U.S. to be reasonable (~$15 for 3 books) and it only took 5 days for my package to arrive, so they are definitely quick about getting the order fulfilled and out the door. My books arrived in perfect condition in a heavy, thick cardboard envelope and were completely free of damage. They felt as if I had been physically standing in the store and pulled them off the shelf myself. Hint: I recommend you consider purchasing several books at once and combine them into a single order so that you are able to minimize the “per book” cost of shipping.
Now, what if your French is still a work in progress and you’re having trouble reading and understanding the website? No worries. The two most popular internet browsers in the world, Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, both offer “Translate” options under their respective Settings tabs. In fact, when you first click on the www.Decitre.fr link, you should see a pop-up appear in the upper-right corner of your screen asking if you want the page translated from French to English – just click on Yes and you should be good to go. Very useful! If you’re connecting from your smartphone, be aware that your mobile browser may not offer this option so you may have to connect to the site using a tablet, laptop, etc. if you prefer the site to be in English.
And let me offer a small piece of general information here – look for the “EN” button. What is the “EN” button? “EN” stands for English and although you won’t find one on www.Decitre.fr, you may see it in the upper right corner of many non-English websites. Be sure to click on it – it’s an automatic translation feature that instantly switches all of the website’s pages to English.
Finally, regardless of whether you decide to order a book or not from Librairies Decitre, allow me to encourage you to read. Reading is one of the very best ways that I’ve found to learn and understand French and I’m confident that you’ll come to enjoy it so much that it will become part of your daily activities. I probably read one of my books in French for 15-20 minutes a day, at least 5 days (well, actually nights) a week. Also, I’ve found that I learn best by constantly switching up the ways that I’m learning French, and by routinely incorporating a daily dose of reading a book written in French, I’m definitely able to constantly challenge my brain to learn more of the language faster. Bonne chance!