I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself is a delightful love letter to Paris, to freedom of expression, and to oneself.
Long-time Tartlets may remember author Glynnis MacNicol from when I reviewed her memoir No One Tells You This back in 2019. MacNicol’s musings on being a single and childless woman in her 40s struck a huge chord with me. No One Tells You This remains one of my favorite reads to this day.
Now, seven years (omg!!! how?!?!) later, MacNicol is back with Part Deux of her amazing life. She’s still single, she’s still childless-by-choice, and she’s still writing.
But she’s doing it all in Paris. C’est chic.
What’s I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself about?
A year-and-a-half into the COVID pandemic, MacNicol decided she’d had enough of staring at the walls of her tiny NYC apartment. She packed her bags and decided to spend a month in Paris instead.
I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself follows our fearless heroine as she indulges in leisurely walks along the Seine, brunches at Parisian bistros, long conversations with friends in cafés, and bicycling with a baguette in a basket over cobblestone streets.
She also indulges in the finest European men that French dating apps have to offer.
Some of her memoir reads like a Paris “how to” guide: how to make ex-pat friends, how to navigate French bureaucracy, how to figure out the French grab-n-go city bike program, etc. MacNicol also talks about French literature, French cinema, French fashion, and French daily life.
And, of course, many chapters dive into the personal. They contain MacNicol’s musings on love and relationships, on friendships and her career.
What I liked about I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself
I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself is about the pursuit of pleasure, in whatever form that takes. Like in No One Tells You This, MacNicol writes about her adventures with her trademark candor and wry sense of humor. She’s a woman with no children or partner to consider, and she’s a freelance writer with no boss to answer to.
In other words, she makes her own rules. It’s wonderfully refreshing.
As a modern woman growing increasingly irate with our patriarchal society, I applaud each and every moment MacNicol takes to enjoy herself, spoil herself, and live a liberated life that’s governed by no one’s expectations but her own.
Brava, ma chérie.
I also loved “spending” a month in Paris with her. Reading this memoir is an act of vicarious vacation pleasure. MacNicol’s descrptions of strolling through parks, visiting museums, eating in cafes en plein air, and grabbing a croissant from the local boulangerie brought me back to my wonderful Parisian vacation. MacNicol really captures the sense of magic that pervades the City of Light , as well as the benefits a Parisian way of life can offer overworked Americans.
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? Oui, avec plaisir!
I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself isn’t all about sex. But… a lot of it is about sex.
There aren’t any “open door” sex scenes, but MacNicol isn’t shy about stating what she wants. She exudes body positivity, self-confidence, and sexual freedom. Get it, girl.
You’re going to have to be comfortable with the word “pleasure,” mes amis, if you read this book. I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself made me really think about pleasure, in all its lovely forms. But mostly about a woman’s pleasure found in bed.
Side note: I shy away from the word “pleasure.” I think a lot of women do. I put it in the same uncomfortability class as the words “moist” and “pregnant” — words that make me cringe a little bit. I think it’s because I/we have been conditioned to believe women pursuing any kind of pleasure, sexual or otherwise, is negative. I also think MacNicol would have a lot to say about this.
What I didn’t love about I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself
I didn’t love I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself nearly as much as I loved No One Tells You This. So many passages from that first memoir felt like they were plucked from my own head. And I loved that. I might have enjoyed I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself more if I hadn’t read No One Tells You This first, only because comparisons between the two memoirs ran constantly through my head.
Most topics and thoughts shared I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself weren’t relatable to me. Although MacNicol and I share many ideas about women’s expression and right to personal freedoms, she’s (enviously) much bolder and more confident than I am in most things.
Should you read I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself?
I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself definitely isn’t the book for everyone. But, I do think that everyone should try it.
Crack this book open with an open mind. There are so many wonderful things about this memoir that many people, particularly women of a certain age and life experience, will enjoy and appreciate. Overall, I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself is a memoir that champions enjoying your life and the moments within it.
Fans of the fictional travel memoir A Not So Lonely Planet: Italy will enjoy this read. It’S LESS laugh-out-funny (though I do love MacNicol’s writing style and sense of humor), but the sense of adventure and spirit is the same.
What’s the book-inspired recipe?
Check back in for the book-inspired recipe: Winter Spice Hot Chocolate.
