Hello everyone, and welcome to Speaking with Joy, a podcast to fill your soul, challenge your mind, and make you brave.

I'm your host, Joy Clarkson, and an evangelist for all things good, true, and beautiful.

So make yourself a cup of tea, find somewhere comfortable, and let's dive in to this week's episode. I am not accustomed to such a relationship

with the world. It seems to me that he views it with indulgence and curiosity, whereas the other human

beings I know display either wariness and kindness, Manuela, ingenuity and kindness, a limp, or arrogance and

cruelty, everyone else. Such a combination of eagerness, lucidity, and magnivity is delightfully unusual.

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to our summer book club on The Elegance of the Hedgehog by

Muriel Barbary. This is our, I believe, third episode in the series. So if you haven't

listened to the other ones, then get your book,

go back a few episodes, and catch up until you get to this one. And for those of you who may not

have listened up until now, we are reading this book, which takes place in Paris,

on the fortunate occasion of my getting to be in Paris for work and research reasons for the month of June.

So I have been really enjoying getting to read this book, which is just a favorite of mine.

I think it is delectable and delightful and beautiful and thoughtful, while getting to trips about Paris and tell you about a few of my adventures.

Now, if you hear any noises in the background, that is because I am recording this in the busy

15th arrondisement of Paris. And if I'd started recording this about three minutes ago,

it would have been perfect because you would have heard a loud car engine, the bells ringing for presumably evening prayer, and an ambulance on its ambulance for a police car.

I don't know the difference on its way, presumably to help someone.

So if you hear any of those busy noises, just think that it is the dulcet tones of the romantic city,

making itself known to us.

And before I talk about this week's chapter,

I thought I would fill you in on some of what I've done this week in Paris.

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