Book Giveaway: Café Society by Joanie Osburn

I am truly excited to be giving away a copy of Café Society -Time Suspended: The Cafés & Bistros of Paris by Joanie Osburn. I have received dozens of books in the past 17 years to giveaway on Eye Prefer Paris, and Café Society is one of my favorites. The comprehensive, coffee table book is divided into 14 Parts along with hundreds of glorious photos the author, Joanie Osburn took in the 30 plus years she has been coming to Paris.

1. Paris and its Cafes
2. The Look and the Feel
3. The Food & Drink
4. Café Society
5. The People Who Make Café Society
6. The Time of the Day
7. The Time of the Year
8. Les Quartiers: Historic, Trendy, & Local Haunts
9. In Search of Lost Time
10. The Paris Café in the Early Twentieth Century
11. Looking Forward: Trending in a Good Way
12. A Little History: From Coffee to Café
13. Au Revoir …et a bientôt
14. Adresses

The book is exquisitely designed by my friend and great designer Louise Brody, and I’ve browsed through it at least a half a dozen times so far, fully devouring it.

The tenth person who leaves a comment on the bottom of this post today on this link

https://www.ipreferparis.net/2023/05/book-giveaway-café-society-by-joanie-osburn.html

will receive a copy of Café Society.

Please note, the book must be sent to a U.S. address.

If you don’t win the contest, I still urge you to buy Café Society, you will treasure it.

CLICK HERE to order on Amazon

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joanie Osburn, the author, when she was in Paris last month promoting the book at her favorite café, Le Select on Blvd. Montparnasse. Below are the questions and answers.

When was the first time you visited Paris and what was the first café you visited?

Decades ago, between Junior and Senior year at university. Café Flore and Deux Magots, of course, and there were no lines to get in.

I love the clever cover of the book. Please tell us about your cup collection.

Wherever I travel, I find that cafés are where you can get the sense of a place, the attitude of the people, the energy and spirit. The espresso cups are a beautiful memory for me of each café in each city or village I’ve visited.  The design of each cup is beautiful on its own and I love how they look together.

If someone only has a few days in Paris, what three cafes do you recommend they go to?

Each arrondissement has wonderful cafés, so I do recommend wandering and finding some that are filled with locals. On rive gauche I like La Palette on art gallery street, rue de Seine, and Le Select in Montparnasse, among multitudes of other favorites. On rive droit, Au Petit Fer à Cheval, Fouquet’s, and Café Charlot are always lively and consistently good.

How many years did it take you to put together the book and how did you organize your research?

I started with the idea twenty years ago, but we had a very busy architecture studio, a showroom at the San Francisco Design Center, and a café and retail store in Napa, so I had to abandon the work until we slowed down these enterprises. I began working on the book in earnest in 2018. By then I had thousands of Paris café photos that I had taken with various cameras for decades. I organized the book into chapters, defining the key points of café life I wanted to highlight, and built the book in much the same way as a design project. It was released by my publisher December 27, 2022.

What are your top cafes for food?

Since my book is about the cafés and bistros of Paris, I’m going to include Bistro du Peintre, Le Mesturet, Café Varenne, Le Comptoir, L’Escargot Montorgueil, and Chez Paul.

What’s your favorite neighborhood in Paris and why?

Montparnasse is my territory. It was ground zero for artists, writers, and intellectuals from around the globe in Les années folles (our roaring 20’s) and I can’t stop reading every book about that time and those people. Nor can I stay away from the five haunts that have remained and retained their spirit: La Coupole, Le Select, Le Dôme, La Rotonde, and La Closerie des Lilas.

If you can invite one person, living or dead, to a café, who would it be?

Audrey Hepburn is having a moment in Paris now, so let’s invite her.

The book has been sent to several VIPs. Can you tell us who they are?

President Macron, Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, and President Biden all have the book. It’s available at Amazon, Rizzoli, Barnes and Noble, Shakespeare and Co., the Drugstore, Musée Carnavalet, Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Galeries Lafayette, and Galignani book shop, Paris.

You are visiting Vienna after Paris. How do you compare their cafes with the Paris cafes?

They are so very different. In Vienna, Prague, and Budapest cafés are mostly indoors only with few terraces. They serve various coffees with whipped cream, cakes, and minimal to no food. The spirit is subdued, unlike the lively Paris cafés. Sadly, many beautiful old cafés in Central Europe have been remodeled and have lost their original architectural features.

Comments

[robert meeker]

makes me want to come to Paris soon- like today!!

[Marilyn A. Roofner]

I am about to visit Paris for the 6th trip and cannot wait to sit in a cafe and watch people

[MP]

The book looks so interesting! I would love a copy.

[Miriam]

I’d love to read this book. I designed my dining room to look like a Paris cafe!

[verne henshall]

Now I can indulge in the true essence
of cafe society in Paris which has always been a favorite fantasy of mine! Brava for this grascious book!

[Amy Henderson]

What a fabulous idea!! Can't wait to have the book.

Amy Henderson
[email protected]

(Washington, DC)

[Laurie Hurley @theredheadinparis]

One of my very favorite things to do in Paris is to sit, write and observe in a cafe. Thank you for writing this book and bringing cafe experiences to life!

[M Sebastian Araujo]

One of the pleasures of a visit to Paris is cafes…and this book looks to be a talisman for those of us who love them.

[Nancy]

Just returned from Paris..first trip...so so beautiful

[Donna Blazevic]

Hi, I met Joanie when I was in Paris in April. Would love to win a copy of her book.

[Renée Krakower]

I LOVE that this book is completely and lovingly dedicated to Paris cafes! To me, the cafes are the biggest part of life in this beautiful art-filled city. Spending relaxed and delicious time in one of these sacred spots is as special as viewing fine art in a museum. I’d love to own a copy of this book! It sounds wonderful!

[Jerry Stanton]

How could I forget my first visit to a Parisian cafe? It was in October 1972. The Palatino overnight train from Rome brought me to Montparnasse. The first place I went was to a neighborhood cafe. I was 20 years old. I can’t remember the name of the cafe. But I vividly remember standing at the cafe counter. And never forget my first stop on my first visit to Paris was a cafe.

[Martha Mangum]

Beautiful book! I want to return to Paris soon!

[Annette Coffey]

Félicitations Joanie pour la publication de ce merveilleux livre !

Annette Coffey

[Amy moore]

Another fabulous EYE witness report from Paris!

[Tamarra]

Looks like a lovely book! That for this offer to get one!

[Julia Gray]

It's a beautiful book that I already own. If I am the tenth person to comment, please award it to someone else. Thanks for the blog post and interview.

[Tina Buck]

What perfect timing! We enjoyed a wonderful day touring Paris with you Richard and now we have some additional places to visit. This book also looks like a fun way to "remember" Paris!!

[Kathy Graf]

I would treadure this book.

["mimi"maryann taylor]

I'm a cafe lover so this book suits me.
wish me luck