The 2024 Olympic Games began this weekend in Paris, meaning βBuglerβs Dreamβ β the musical fanfare ABC and NBC have used for every Olympic telecast since 1968 β may already be an earworm you hear in your sleep.
If you hear it when visiting your favorite bookstore, good news: there are dozens of recent books about the Olympics and about Paris. Predictably, volunteers with the Tucson Festival of Books were happy to share some of their favorites:
βThe Boys in the Boatβ by Daniel James Brown features an almost-forgotten rowing team at the University of Washington during the Great Depression. Sons of shipyard workers, farmers and loggers came together to win a gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Released in 2013, the book stroked its way to the top of The New York Times bestseller list. It later became a bestselling paperback and β last December β a major motion picture produced by George Clooney. β Thea Chalow
βThe Paris Novelβ by Ruth Reichl is a mouth-watering adventure in Parisian food, art and fashion during the 1980s. Released in April, the story features Stella, whose grandmother has willed her a round-trip ticket to Paris. Reluctant at first, Stella eventually goes β¦ and discovers a whole new world. A whole new Stella, as well. β Maria Parham
βAli: A Lifeβ by Jonathan Eig is an in-depth look at Muhammad Ali, whose remarkable career was bracketed by two trips to the Olympics. In 1960, he won a gold medal as a heavyweight boxer in Rome. In 1996, he lit the Olympic Torch during the opening ceremonies in Atlanta. β Jack Siry
βThe Paris Libraryβ by Janet Skeslien Charles is a love letter to Paris, books and intergenerational friendship. It features Odile Souchet, a librarian in the cityβs American Library when the Nazis arrived in 1940. Her story comes to light years later, when she is befriended by a young neighbor in Montana. β Lori Reigel
βPath Lit by Lightningβ by David Maraniss is a biography of Jim Thorpe, a Native American who for a time was considered the greatest athlete in the world. He certainly was in 1912. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. β David Nix
βMistress of the Ritzβ by Melanie Benjamin tells the story of an extraordinary American woman who worked with the French Resistance during World War II. Blanche Auzello and her husband Claude, the Ritz Hotelβs manager, were living the high life until the Nazis swept into Paris. Can she keep her many secrets safe while having to play hostess to the Nazis headquartered at the Hotel Ritz? β Pamela Treadwell-
Rubin
βInaugural Ballersβ by Andrew Maraniss is a young-adult look at the first U.S. Olympic womenβs basketball team. Players such as Pat Head, Nancy Lieberman and Ann Meyers would later become legends, but they were virtually unknown at the time. Together they won gold medals at the 1976 Games in Montreal. That team and that tournament put womenβs basketball on the map in the United States. β Kathy Short
βA Caribbean Heiress in Parisβ is a romance novel from Adriana Herrera that features Luz Alana Heith-Benzan, a Dominican heiress who has been sent by her family to the Paris World Fair in 1887. The assignment: to expand her familyβs rum business. The warning: do not under any circumstances fall in love. Cβmon, itβs Paris! β Jessica Pryde
βTriumphβ by Jeremy Schapp explores the many social and political implications of Jesse Owensβ triumph at the 1936 Games in Berlin. The son of an African-American sharecropper, Owens won four gold medals β¦ a feat that discomfited millions both in Germany and the United States. β Dave Silver
βThe Wildest Sunβ by Asha Lemmie follows an aspiring Paris author on a search for her father β¦ whom she believes is Ernest Hemingway. She travels to cities around the world to learn more about him, and herself. β Jeaiza Quinones Ivory
βThe Paris Wifeβ by Paula McLain features Hadley Richardson, the first wife of Ernest Hemingway. After a whirlwind romance, the couple sails to Paris to join the fabled βLost Generationβ of artistic superstars there. This is Hadleyβs side of the story, and readers will never experience βA Moveable Feastβ the same way again. β Darrell Durham
βThe Paris Architectβ by Charles Belfoure is a gripping and emotionally charged work of historical fiction that exemplifies the Olympic spirit β¦ in Paris. Badly in need of money in 1942, real-life architect Lucien Bernard accepts a commission to design a secret shelter for Jews hiding from the Nazis. Soon, the project isnβt about the money anymore. β Tricia Clapp
βAll the Devils Are Hereβ by Louise Penny finds Armand Gamache, the chief inspector of Quebec, in Paris to visit his billionaire godfather. A strange key and a gruesome discovery lead Armand to uncover secrets his godfather has kept for decades. Clearly, there are devils hiding in the shadows in the City of Light. β Anne Gardner
