Going back to work after the holidays is never easy, but with the recession, the mood in my department was downright dreary… until yesterday we were informed that the company will give out gift cards to everyone, on an equal basis, to be spent on “cultural goods”… which means books to me (but also DVDs, CDs, tickets to exhibitions and concerts)! (Apparently we can’t have rise or benefits, but we still can get gift cards…)

I still need to confirm if the bookstores associated with these gift cards have foreign language books or can order them, but that’s definitely a piece of great news! Isn’t that funny that the company sort of acknowledges that ”cultural goods” are good for the employees’ morale? Or does it promote escapism (because results are so depressing) with the hope that it doesn’t increase absenteeism? (Yet I can’t help but remember that they never reopened the office library, which would have been great too… but you know French people’s reputation… always grumbling!) 

My mind is already reeling with tempting ideas. Surely, with 659 new novels published in France this fall for the yearly “Rentree litteraire”, the choice will be hard to make!