Quality Over Quantity: A Book Review

You know the book you read again and again? No, not Pride and Prejudice. The other one. For me, it is a non-fiction book with a dash of self-help. But not preachy or depressing, just a good honest take on why less is more. And it embraces something I need to be reminded of right now, after I’ve cleaned out my closet but while I still need to shed excess possessions, especially clothes.

Entre Nous: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl by Debra Ollivier (available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk) expresses basic philosophies that seem to escape our daily existence. Through stories, antidotes, and profiles of admirable French women, this book can help you come to realize that one perfectly simple and elegant little black dress is better than a handful or mediocre ones. ‘Tis better to spend your life with good friends, good food, and good belongings instead of passing the years with things that are stop-gap acceptions. I enjoy how the book helps to explain methods to find happiness that do not come from the pursuit and collection of an abundance of things that are meant to bring happiness, but miss the mark.

This book was given to me as a gift after I had spent some time in France. While there, I developed a love of French fashion and food, but also learned that there was this essence to French culture that made culture and pursuit of happiness top priorities. It was hard to keep that in my day-to-day life in the States, but this book reminded me of the basics. If you feel that “freedom” should replace all things “French”, this book may not be for you. But I think it is a worthwhile read and I keep it on my bedside bookshelf.