Site Fr
Guys,
Period of intense writing for me. Working on a lot of new material that will be exclusive to the book. Quite excited about it.
Not only do I have to write in English, I now also have to write in French. I’m very happy to announce that Stuff Parisians Like will soon be published in French. The publisher is 10/18 and the book should be available in November (and yes, it would make for a fantastic Xmas present 
).
So I presently find myself in the pretty random situation of having to translate my own articles into my own language. It’s a very different exercize from creating them from scratch in English but all in all quite fun.
Anyway… met up with the publisher yesterday (who kindly told me the deadline for the manuscript was no longer July but… June – as in… argh… a month from now) and we need a title for that book in French. Title needs to be in French, light-hearted and probably with the word Paris or Parisien in it.
So my question to you is: any ideas?
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I <3 rien, I'm parisien
(comme ça en plus tu auras la référence à tes premières versions anglophones)
“La vie rêvée des Parisiens” ?
Merci pour le blog qui parfois me fait rire quand je (me) reconnais (dans) les comportements et d’autres fois me dit comment vraiment devenir encore plus Parisienne lorsque ce n’est pas le cas; mais qui toujours me fais ouvrir plus grand les yeux pour observer le Parisien (dans le métro, dans la rue, dans les magasins…)
“Comment devenir parisien (et oublier qu’on a été autre chose avant)”, “Parisian 101″?
thanks a lot for the amazing blog btw dude, tout est toujours si bien vu and sooo funny!
keep up the good work!
“Coup de Foudre…and other french myths”
How about something with “alors” in it? (My favorite French word!)
Any Stuff Parisians Like get-togethers coming up? I will be in Paris in a few weeks!
Les Pariens…the good, the bad, and the ugly.
sorry for the error in my earlier post…
Les Parisiens…the good, the bad, and the ugly
Is there some sort of idiom that incorporates something like comme ci, comme ça with Paris or Parisien?
Vous, Parisiens!
Toi, Parisien
Parisien, C’est Moi!
Nous, Parisiens!
Nous Parisiens Fous!
I really like Gunther’s idea. “je <3 rien, je suis parisien". I've traveled to Paris 6 times in the past couple years, and I saw that bumper sticker the last time I was there. I thought it summed up my experience in paris pretty good – or at least – made me chuckle a little when trying to figure out why Parisiens are the way they are.
I'm not sure if your book will be in French or English – but I was thinking that if it was in English, this title might appeal to those of us who only speak a little French – as it's easy to translate. Unless of course, this is some goofy bumper sticker that Parisiens like to make fun of! haha!
Paris sera toujours Paris…
Parissi la sortie
Le parisien pour les nuls (pas mal çui là)
Le guide de survie dans Paris (sous titre Stuff Parisians like)
Comment devenir un vrai parisien (couverture Paris Hilton)
Les Paris sont pris !
Quel genre de Parisien êtes vous ?
Comment j’ai avoué à ma famille que j’étais parisien ?
Un Parisien à Paris
Me, Parisien
Tout ce que vous avez toujours voulu savoir (ou cacher) sur les Parisiens
Métro Boulot Dodo
Sorry only stupid things
Great things turn from immaterial internet to a REAL book
Keep up the good work !
Stéphan, not jalous but envious sometimes
why can’t it just be les trucs qui les parisiens aiment (or whatever is gramatically correct)?
i do like the first suggestion though… or it could be
J’<3
RIEN
(chuis parisien) (large type)
les trucs qui les parisiens aiment (small type)
A Parisien in Paris! (Instead of An American in Paris)
Say Oui to Paris!
Ok, lame. That’s all I’ve got. Hope it works out great for you! Congratulations!
Hum….p-e:
Psychologie Parisienne 101
Les secrets du parisien modéré
Les Américains vont de Mars…les Parisiens, de Paris!
Sorry, been a long week and my French is sleepy, too. If I think of anything better, I’ll let you know…
Bon courage!
Wow… Thank you guys for all these suggestions. I like the idea that we’re brainstorming together for a title. Really cool. Makes me realize that some people are still following the blog too! Will post a new article next week!!
Like it though!!
I think ‘I love Rien, I’m Parisien’ is cool but preexisted so… probably best to set out own tone?? Then, since this is strictly for a francophone audience, I probably wouldn’t go for a reference about America.. We need something catchy – with Paris or Parisien in it but that also shows the spirit of the book…
Gunther… Thx (see above).
PtiteGoutted’O… J’aime bien. Mais ca sent un peu la dépression, non?! (merci, sinon pour tes gentils commentaires – j’apprécie – même si je ne suis pas sûr que devenir plus Parisienne soit une bonne idée…)
Anne-Laure… Comment devenir Parisien… j’aime bien l’idée!
Patricia… Need more Paris!!
Judy… SP get togethers… Hmm… i’m super busy right now with work and all the writing to do so probably not until this Summer I’d say…
Robert… I think you’ve lost 95% of French people on that one
VLR… ‘Comme ci comme ça’ sounds a bit like French for foreigners. Most people here actually say it with an American accent these days!!
Judy… I like it. But then no one’s gonna want to take it off the shelves in any other city than Paris…
Jackie… It is indeed a great gimmick. But a bit “réchauffé” now. There will actually be a version in English and another one in French. The one in English will be called ‘Stuff Parisians Like’… and the one in French is… a work in progress!!
Stéphan… Merci pour toutes ces idées. Y a du bon. Faut que je digère tout ça! Thanks for your continuous support. Trust me, living down in Montpellier, you don’t need to envy any Parisian at all!
Jess.. I think ‘trucs’ is a bit too colloquial. (sorry, I’m kinda weird with words!!).
Renee… Merci. Ever considered writing slogans for polictical campaigns? You’d be good!!
Diane… I like ‘Petite Psychologie PArisienne’ but the risk is that it may sound boring or snobby. Yeah, Paris and psychology in the same title… dangerous!! Merci en tout cas.
Thank you guys for all these ideas really…
Boy it’s difficult!!
How about
“Bof!”
With a subtitle like, “Je suis Parisien.”
‘Bof’ just sums up a lot of things for me when thinking about France or Paris in particular.
Quelques suggestions:
1) Comment vivre a Paris, sans trop faire chier les Parisiens
2) Paris: Une exclusivite de premiere main (something like Paris: the inside scoop)
That’s all that comes to mind so far.
Les Petits Plaisirs des Parisiens
(with maybe a funny subtitle)
Olivier, I think Judy is on the right track, I thought of it this morning also. You said they like the words sympa and petit, maybe something like “Les petits trucs Parisiens trouvent sympa”…?
zut alors forgot the article and linking word thingie, “Les petits trucs que les Parisiens trouvent sympa”…or something more grammatical, I guess you get the idea
Oh my! The thought of a Parisien speaking in an American accent breaks my heart. Say it isn’t so!
Oh wait, just noticed you don’t like trucs. Well, after careful consultation with the dictionary, I see why. I’ll think it over once more…(why don’t the French have general words like stuff? Why is everything so précise…) You might have to go the other way.
Petits Précisions Parisiens
?
“Plaisir du Parisien”
-parisfocus.blogspot.com
+1 for Judy’s suggestion and train of thought! Something along these lines seems the best to me. “stuff parisians like” is simple and straight forward in English, so the French should behave similarly. Any explaination can be in the subtitle text.
How about: ‘Parodies et Parsonomie: Parisiens à Jouer’. Bon courage!!
Only iea I could come up with :
“Parisien de Paris”
I think that any short title should indeed come up with an explanatory subtitble : “Comprendre le Parisien dans son habitat naturel” or something like that, since your approach is clearly a zoological one (even if I don’t know if the word “zoological” actually exists in English)…
Les parisiens – trucs nous aimons
I love the word truc- but then i would, being Australian.
I like Judy’s.
Petits Plaisirs Particuliers Parisiens
?
Just adding a word to Judy’s. I want to add something about the quirkiness you try to capture in your blog, but I don’t think excentricité or bizarrerie really capture it, maybe something about a particularity? But then, perhaps it becomes too many adjectives adding another word…I like Judy’s still though for some reason. And see, some others agree!
“C’est la vie du Parisien !” Tout américain connait l’expression “c’est la vie” et en plus, je trouve que ça décrit bien tes petites chroniques.
Sinon, “Petites chroniques parisiennes” ?
“How to be a cool Parisian
and act like you don’t care”
Paris (or Parisiens): mode d’emploi
Paris “sans peine”
Paris without tears
not very original, but gives me an excuse to say how much I enjoy your blog!
Sacrés Parisiens! (ca plagie un peu trop les livres de Ted Stanger, though).
Parisiens, Mode d’emploi
Le Parisien, ce snob qui s’ignore !
Devenir Parisien sans le savoir
Je suis Parisien, et alors ?
I went through your “sound like a Parisian” at the end of each of your post. Here’s some ideas for a title, or at least what sounds hysterical out of context:
“C’est fou la différence de qualité de vie Parisian”
“Putain, viens, il faut que j’aille pisser”
“ll fait vraiment trop chaud, c’est insupportable”
“Non, enfin, le mec, chaussettes blanches, manches courte…la totale quoi, l’enfer ”
“Non, mais c’est ce con de 75 qui fait chier son monde”
“Non mais putain… c’est pas possible bordel!”
Your words, not mine…I think if you use things specific to your posts, it’s going to make the title jump more than “les choses que les parsians aiment.” Maybe something like “pourquoi les Parisians vous detestent, mais aiment la tomate cerise, le noir, et le mot sympa.” I also support any title with the words putain, bordel, and quoi. Bon courage.
Reading through the post by Stefanie, I have been swayed to agree that a title with “putain, bordel, and quoi.” would be a more fun direction and would attract younger readers too.
“Stuff Parisians like” instantly reads as “less proper” to an anglophone with that preposition “like” hanging off of the end and no “that” after “stuff.” It’s all street in it’s syntax.
My new suggestions are:
“Oh putain”
“C’est pas vrai” / “c’est un scandale”
and I like the idea of, “C’est fou la différence de qualité de vie Parisian”
Good luck!!
LOL
Le parisien facile
Maybe
Pris en flagrant délit: Les petits péchés mignons de tout parisien
… though the thought of a book called “oh putain” is hilarious. i’d buy it.
75
One more suggestion…
“Comment les Parisians pensent. Attention: Tres dangereux. Entrez a votre propre risque!”
I probably butchered this, but you get the point. Bonne chance with your book…it’ll be a huge success. Looking forward to visiting your cave when over there in December.
A bientot,
Robert
One more quick and blunt title. “Les Parisiens aiment ces choses.” It’s simple, but it implies that the writer knows it all and that this book is a definitive list of sorts. (or at least I think it implies these things…j’ai du mal avec français) I could imagine someone looking at this title and thinking, “mais, c’est pas vrai!” and reading it just to make sure it was wrong in it’s assumptions. This is just a quick idea that was floating around in my head.
Oh yea, and the subtitle could be “C’est fou la différence de qualité de vie Parisian”
75!
That is good craigkite!
did you already decide on Homo Parisianus, or is that just a gimmick for the website? that would be a pretty excellent title.
alors, Olivier! il faut commenter, non? nous avons te donner beaucoup des idees!
er, beaucoup d’idees…
Guys… Thank you for all these ideas. Really good and exciting stuff! I think we’re making big progress.
Tom… Might lead to a confusion with beauf…
Yeah, I think most languages have words for everything. Actually, English especially. Did you know the English language had more words than the French language. Many more. Words shape our daily reality. If we don’t use them with generosity, we just make our world poor and dull. On the same topic, a video I like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmLE2bliXCI&feature=related
Thank you that’s very kind. Like the idea of mode d’emploi. Though a tad technical…
Sue… Thank you for that.
Judy… Like that. Had thought about it. Thing is, I already have an article called les petits plaisirs. But that’s no big deal. Short list. Boom.
Diane… Agreed.
Vlr… Why is that? They’re just poking fun when they do so…
Florence… Yup, probably make that a plural, but that’s going up to the shortlist too.
Ingo… Cool cool. Liking that Judy love.
Trevor… Hmm… the risk is to make the title sound boring and snob. The odds are high enough already when there is Paris and Parisian in there already.
Ash… I agree with you with catchy name/subtitle.
POulette… Judy’s getting hot!!
Diane… Wow, that’s a lot of Ps…
FoodieFroggie… J’aime bien “Petites Chroniques Parisiennes”… Short list!
Patricia… I don’t think anyone in the french-speaking world wants to be a Parisian!!
Susan…
Olivier… Like the idea of ‘Devenir Parisien’. Sort of a Kafkaian vibe!!
Stefanie… Ouhh… good idea. Like that!! Short list!!! Problem with titles with words like putain is that many websites or companies actually block content with these words… Who knew Big Brother would be so shy!
Ingo… Hmm… Ok, something with “C’est fou la différence de qualité de vie” up in the short list then!
Stéphan… So the cover would be Le Parisien Facile – Olivier Magny. Shit, remind me never to take you as my agent Stéphan
BigFan… I like the idea of “Oh Putain” too. Short list!
Craigkite… Now we’re talking catchy stuff. I had thought about it before but ruled it out for it would probably not make sense to peiple in Belgium, Quebec or Switzerland… But allew, short list!!
Robert… Well, it for sure seems to be contagious. Hazardous stuff!!
Ingo… A bit too straight forward maybe?
Poulette… One point fr Craigkite!
BigFan… True… hadn’t thought about it. Boom – sort list.
Judy… Sorry… drunken weekend with an English friend (pleonasm?) then big day working and tasting yesterday!! But here I am, back on track today!!
So at this point, short list for title is:
1. Les petits plaisirs du Parisien
2. Oh Putain
3. “C’est fou la différence de qualité de vie”
4. 75
5. Homo Parisianus
And subtitles:
A. Petites chroniques parisiennes
B. Le Parisien décrypté
C. Petites psychopathologies du Parisien
D. Le Parisien, mode d’emploi
E. Le Parisien – Mythes et légendes
…
So let’s vote (Like 1A, 4C…)!!
1er. 4D
2eme. 4E
OOh i love this game!
5D
definitely
about being your agent… well I suppose you are selling yourself and O chateau well enough by yourself !
2A or 5B
2D!
Anything with Putain in it will be catchy and fly off the shelves! Now I’m wondering what the cover will look like (graphics, artwork, maybe a picture of the author doing some offbeat Parisian thing?). Looking forward to it and keep up the good work! You’re awesome!!