Ordered from paperbackswap.com for a birthday gift.

Sent to eponine38. Enjoy and Happy Birthday!

To the finder of this book:

This book is gift, no strings attached, from me to you. You may keep it forever, pass it along to a friend, or release it into the wild to be found by someone else.

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Thanks, and Happy BookCrossing! :)

Thank you for this, elizardbreath! I really enjoyed one of Hawks' other books, Round Ireland with a Fridge, and have also managed to acquire Playing the Moldovans at Tennis which is also on Mt. TBR. This one sounds wonderful and I thank you for your thoughtfulness!

This was a wonderful light read for the current anxiety-filled times. Many very funny passages and one-liners. I liked this even better than Round Ireland with a Fridge, maybe because it's about France? <3

I loved the description of the many village social activities, the interesting residents, and Tony's efforts to install a swimming pool in his yard. His British friends, whether village residents or visitors from home were an interesting bunch.

I have a loud group of travelers to thank for my experience of the Pyrenees: When on a semester in France, a friend and I were traveling to Barcelona for the weekend. After changing trains at the border in the wee hours, we had a compartment to ourselves and lay down for some much needed sleep. A short time later, at the next stop, a bunch of older, exuberant men boarded and crammed themselves into our compartment. We were not happy, to say the least. No sleep for us! But...as it grew light and we passed through the Spanish Pyrenees, we were treated to the most delightful scenery. I particularly remember lots of waterfalls, probably partly from melting snow (it was late May). Just beautiful! Funny how an unpleasant situation can quickly turn into something positive and memorable.

On its way to GoryDetails via the wishlist-tag game. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The wishlist tag book arrived safely today, along with some bonus BC labels - many thanks! I really loved Round Ireland With A Fridge, and wanted to try more of Hawks' work.

Later: I enjoyed this one, and it did have many funny/wacky bits, though in general it's a bit calmer than Hawks' previous books/adventures - possibly because here he's taking a shot at "adulting" (at the age of 44 {wry grin}). He does rather stumble into the idea of buying a house in France, stumbles across the actual house, bumbles his way through the paperwork and bureaucracy (hampered at every turn by his limited grasp of French and his total inability to read the find print or do any research ahead of time) - and yet, somehow, he winds up with a lovely house in a beautiful spot among villagers who (while not without their own issues and quirks) seem like a very nice bunch of people. Oh, there are still issues - he may never get that swimming pool finished at this rate - but there isn't a lot of tension. Which makes for a sweet/funny, relaxing read.

Among my favorite bits: the running theme of the "curse of the White Van", which began when Tony decided to save the cost of hiring a van to schlep his piano and other belongings to his new home - by buying a used van for cheap. This... goes about as well as you'd expect, with some really hilarious scenes - making me wonder how much of his decision-making is based on foolishness vs. an eye towards his next book: "I could do the sensible, safe thing here, but that'd be so boring to write about. What if, instead, I took a page from an early episode of "Top Gear" and tried to take a completely unsuitable vehicle on a serious trip?"

Whatever his motives, the van debacle - which resulted in mounting losses over a couple of chapters - popped up again later in the book, with yet another rent-a-van situation that didn't work out as planned. I imagine Hawks and his friends still have running jokes about white vans having it in for him!

I also enjoyed the bit about Tony stumbling across a stop on the route of the Tour de France, which he'd been oblivious to in part due to language limits and because he'd been focusing on his house and not on the news. (His comments about what it's like to watch the Tour from a single spot boils down to several hours of waiting by an empty road, a period of watching media vans (vans again!) go by, a few seconds of wild excitement as the cyclists zoom past, and then more empty road as people pack up to go home.)

The book ends with a very charming romantic interlude - another step in the "adulting" process? Or perhaps not, as it seems Hawks is currently partnered with somebody else. Ah, well!

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I left this book in the Little Free Library on this windy day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2021 Oh the Places We Can Go challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2021 4 Elements challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2021 Keep Them Moving challenge. ***