Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNicol!

I lived in Paris for a while so that’s initially why this book appealed to me at first. It’s mostly a dating and pleasure memoir, which is fascinating but also a bit redundant at times. It was cool to read and explore Paris through others eyes, but also it had the undertone of “I’m basically a local” through all the tips and detailed explorations of MacNichol’s life, which sometimes was annoying. It was a quick and appealing read and would be interesting for those who have a special interest in the Parisian love scene.

I wished I was drinking rose and eating a baguette while reading this lovely book about a woman having a lovely time pursuing pleasure (food, leisure, men) in Paris after the isolation of Covid. As a mom of three, I really loved escaping to France with Glynnis and seeing the world through the eyes of a woman who lives a very different life than I do. And how refreshing to read a (short!) memoir about someone who is actually…happy? It’s not what we’re accustomed to in personal narratives, which she aptly points out toward the end of the book, and I found it totally delightful.

I really enjoyed this for its exploration of French culture and aging as a woman. I didn’t relate to all of it but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment.

Not surprisingly, this delightful book made me wish I were in France, savoring a glass of wine and eating a plate of cheese (yes, a whole plate). MacNicol’s memoir of her time in Paris after the isolation of the pandemic is a refreshing escape. So many memoirs of women over 35 seem to be focused on being unhappy or overwhelmed or burnt out, which is valid, don’t get me wrong. But it was just plain fun to read about a women in her 40s seeking out pleasure, and without justification. Paris becomes another character, along with her interesting group of similarly aged female friends. I’ll be rereading this one in print so I can highlight all of the many lines that had me saying “yes!” as I listened to MacNicol’s narration.

This is a quick read that has some really appealing elements to it, and some that don’t appeal at all. Holistically speaking it’s mostly a dating memoir and an updated Eat, Pray, Love of sorts, neither of which holds much appeal for me and both of which feel overdone and unnecessary in the memoir space.

What’s good here is MacNicol’s adventurous spirit, which comes through strongly throughout the book, as well as the more travel-driven content relating to Paris and the surrounding area.

It’s interesting that the author mentions that she was asked when pitching the book to explain what exactly it was trying to say, because that’s pretty much the question I had after I finished it. I suppose MacNicol is mostly saying I’m free to do what I want and I’m going to indulge that,” which is a great thing to do for oneself.

But while I liked her and am therefore happy for her that she was able to do this, I don’t think it’s an especially worthy subject for a book if the rest of the content doesn’t really strongly prop up the focus on a writer’s personal life philosophy.

The writing is fine, though a little too conversational for my taste, and most of the jokes don’t land, when they’re there at all. I expect I would like MacNicol a lot more as a friend in real life than I do as a memoirist, though I would certainly admire her gutsy decision making either way.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Glynnis MacNicol, and Penguin Group Viking: Penguin Life for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I so enjoyed this and am already ready to revisit in about 20 years when I am more of the target age demographic for this book. Anything set in Paris I'm there for, and I was intrigued by MacNichol's experiences. I really enjoyed her writing, as it was funny, relatable, honest, and real. Although I could not relate to each part of her experience, as I am only 26 and partnered, I could definitely understand some of her feelings towards being a woman and how that is perceived. I think I was a little more into this book at the beginning vs the end, as I thought it would be centered more around her experience with seeing men/the experience of hook up culture during this time and it ended up being more just her general experience as a woman her age in Paris at that time. Which was fine!! I just had different expectations that affected my overall experience reading some. I still really enjoyed, and I think there is a lot to be gained from MacNicol's experience. Beyond ready to go back to Paris myself!

I really wanted to love this book. I can get into the trope of the woman coming-of-middle age in Paris - in fact, it's perfect for a summer read - but there was nothing new here in her sexual discovery. Perhaps I'm not repressed enough to find it liberating or revolutionary?

Even the feminist tangents (another reviewer suggested they could make for better essays) were not well-developed. Each one is a surface-level observation, presented as truth, without research done about the stories behind. So many times I found myself yelling, "that"s not true!" or "but do you know why?" or "and here's what happened next!"

What could made the book exceptional, perhaps saved it, was its backdrop, the beautiful city I call home. But I find it nearly impossible to read a book filled with confident, robust, false facts. So much of the "always," "never" of Paris that Glynnis describes has no basis in reality. Just because one person comes to a city for one month (or even one month a year,) to declare that bread is "always" served with butter and Parisians "never" go to the Jardin de Luxembourg, etc, etc, etc, is not only blatantly untrue, not only perpetuates false and very (very, very) priviledged stereotypes, but makes the scope of this book too narrow. If you're a personal friend of the author, maybe it'd be cool to hear about what your friend did in August. If not...?

DNF @ 78%

This was too much white woman parisian history for me to be interested in this. I love travel writing, and I love feminist writing, but I do not care about Paris, and maybe I should have known better- but I just thought this would be less about Paris and more about the author! Unfortunately, I did not care much for those parts either. I appreciate her self confidence ("people seem to hate me because i don't hate myself for being single & childless) but I think she just completely lost me when she mentioned she stopped posting on Instagram because her life makes everyone jealous.

I really enjoyed reading about MacNicol's experience in Paris & loved reading about a woman who was happy in her child-free independence. Her friendships in Paris were really the star of the show for me! That being said, I feel like perhaps this would have been better off as an essay or perhaps a series of essays? It felt repetitive at times & like a stream of consciousness rather than a memoir.

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, but this is spicier than I expected! That narrows the potential audience a bit but MacNicol's distinctive voice is sure to be a hit with the right readers.

I loved Glynnis MacNicol's first book No One Tells You This, so when I heard that she was publishing a book about her time in Paris in 2021, I couldn't wait to start reading it. It is a joy to explore Paris with MacNicol. I found myself Googling street views of different blocks she describes. I was pulling up bios of women writers, photographers, and painters who also resided in Paris whose houses MacNicol's visits. I was also searching for the art that they created while in Paris. Equal parts reflection on female pleasure and the pursuit of it as it is a memoir, a great read!

After spending the Covid lockdowns alone in NYC, Glynnis MacNicol seizes the opportunity to spend time in Paris when restrictions are lifted. While in the city, she pursues pleasurable interactions through dating/hooking up apps, enjoys girl time with friends, and savors the beauty and food of Paris. This was a great book about finding pleasure as a middle-aged woman and feeling good about it.

Parts of this book resonated with me so strongly I read them over several times. Other parts (somewhat repetitive descriptions of the Fruitz app encounters) had me saying “just get on with it” out loud. However, it was wonderful to explore Paris with MacNicol . It’s one of those books you have to read and decide for yourself.

I don’t normally read biographies but this sounded really fun and it was but also insightful and relatable. I don’t rate memories or biographies anything other then 5 stars unless the writing is really bad as it is a reflective of the authors life. I had a great time reading this and loved the Paris setting. Will be checking out more biographies in the future now.