Glynnis MacNicol's memoir brings readers to a summer of pleasure in Paris

NPR's Book of the Day

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Books, Arts

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 19 June 2024

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

After riding out the first year of the pandemic alone in her small studio apartment in New York City, Glynnis MacNicol saw an opportunity and ran with it. Once vaccines had rolled out in 2021, she booked a flight to, and apartment in, Paris – and the food, wine and sex that followed is the fuel of her new memoir, I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself. In today's episode, MacNicol speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about pursuing pleasure, fully and unapologetically.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's book of the day. I'm Andrew Limbong. The word pleasure has a funny way of sticking
0:08.5	around in your mouth, right? Like, if something is pleasurable, it's like, oh, okay, that was fine,
0:12.9	that was pleasurable. But if you're experiencing pleasure, it's something luxurious,
0:17.8	something indulgent. It's the feeling, you know, they use to sell chocolate
0:21.6	or expensive skincare products. But for whatever reason, there is something weirdly prickly
0:27.8	about pleasure too, how it can rub other people the wrong way. Take, for instance, Glynis McNigle.
0:34.2	She was 47 and alone during the height of the COVID lockdowns. And when
0:38.5	2021 hit, she said, you know what, let me pack a bag, head to Paris, and maximize pleasure,
0:44.2	eat a lot, drink a lot, and have sex a lot. She wrote about the experience in her memoir,
0:48.9	I'm mostly here to enjoy myself. And she talked to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about it,
0:53.3	and there's a funny moment when they're talking about the reaction to the book. And she talked to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about it. And there's a funny moment
0:54.8	when they're talking about the reaction to the book. And Glynis laughs, this kind of knowing laugh
0:59.8	because, of course, there are Judgey McJogerson's out there who will wag a finger. And they talk about
1:05.3	the root of that judgment, where it comes from. And the binary bind women are still stuck in.
1:11.3	That's ahead.
1:17.4	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
1:24.0	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.
1:28.3	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or
1:34.2	wherever you get your podcasts. Glenys McNichael, you had me at the title. Okay, let me back up.
1:42.5	Glenys McNichael is a writer. She has a new book out,
1:45.7	and the title that hooked me, I'm mostly here to enjoy myself, one woman's pursuit of pleasure
1:52.9	in Paris. In McNichael's case, the pursuit of pleasure boils down to cheese, also wine,
	...

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