President's Former Girlfriend Topping Book Charts? Bookshops to the Rescue!

A French bookseller writes on this sign: Sorry, but we no longer have the book of Valerie Trierweiler, but we do have the works of Balzac etc. (Too bad the bookseller misspelled the author's name, but that's another story...)

Before French President Francois Hollande broke up with girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler, just about everyone seemed to complain about this woman who was given the status and benefits of “First Lady.” Today, after the release of her tell-all (or maybe tell-some? I admit I haven’t read it and won’t do so) book “Merci pour ce moment,” she is at the top of the best seller list in France.

It is frustrating to see that with all of the great books out there by new as well as established writers, French readers are pushing this one to the top of the list. Especially at this time of year. September in France is known as the “rentree litteraire” or a sort of giant book launch. Loads of books hit the shelves at the start of the month and everyone is eager to see which ones stand out from the crowd. This year, Trierweiler’s book seems to be garnering all of the attention.

But this post isn’t about negativity.

It’s about congratulating some of the smaller French booksellers who either aren’t selling the book or are suggesting that since Trierweiler’s book is sold out, customers might instead buy copies of books by Balzac, Dumas etc.

There are plenty of places where readers can purchase Trierweiler’s book, so I don’t think the booksellers are interfering with the free-market system. They are simply supporting literature.

Thank you, French booksellers, for thinking of authors before thinking of money.