Damn Fine Bookstore

Damn Fine Bookstore Café - Librairie internationale - Lyon 7
Ouvert du mardi au samedi, de 10h30 à 18h30

2024’s almost over and it’s 100% over at the shop !First of all, I wanted to THANK YOU ALL for coming to Damn Fine Books...
24/12/2024

2024’s almost over and it’s 100% over at the shop !
First of all, I wanted to THANK YOU ALL for coming to Damn Fine Bookstore to buy your books, to talk about books, to drink coffee while you read your book, to smell candles while thinking about books. I love this silly little bookshop of mine most of all when you’re all there to love it with me ! So THANK YOU ! I can’t wait for 2025 and for all the silly things I planned already *chut*
Here are the big winners of 2024, for you and for me !
For you, first of all, the 6 best-sellers of the year are Intermezzo, Babel, Everything I Know About Love, Blue Sisters, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe & Funny Story.
Sally Rooney is no surprise but she still managed to sell more than everyone else while her book came out in September, insane ! R. F. Kuang, Blue Sisters & Funny Story are three fave of mine, very happy to see them here. Dolly Alderton is here with a book that’s 6 years old, isn’t she a queen ? And what’s that, a lil fall-spice-romance ?! Of course !
Now for me, swipe to see my 6 favorite reads of 2024 are Our Share of Night (750 pages of pure perfection), Big Swiss (a bookclub pick, yay !), Death Valley (Melissa Broder owns my heart), The Wedding People (what a NICE surprise, AMAZING book), I Hope this Finds you Well (this is everything I love in a book) and Perfume & Pain (now THIS is also everything I love in a book)
What’s your big 6 of 2024 ? Let me know !!
Happy holidays, I hope you’ll read plenty of books until 2025, and I’ll see you on January 3 to talk about them, around a coffee of course !!
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Here we are, your favorite bookseller (it’s me, hi !) takes a small summer break. The shop will be closed until Monday 2...
03/08/2024

Here we are, your favorite bookseller (it’s me, hi !) takes a small summer break. The shop will be closed until Monday 26 included, so that I can come back on August 27 full of energy and ideas for fall 2024 ! I already have plenty of things up my sleeve and I can’t wait for us to leave summer behind (I hate heat, did I tell you that already ?)
ANYWAY, now on the important bits & bobs :
- if you preordered a book that’ll be released during the break, it’ll be here for you on the reopening of course !
- if you want to pick up any other book on the reopening, feel free to order them online (link in bio) and if they’re out of stock, write me an e-mail and I’ll have them ready for you on the reopening !
- if you have any bookish emergency (what is this ?), you can reach me here on Instagram of course ! If you’re reading any book I recommended, feel free to tag me, I LOVE to read your post/stories/etc !
Enjoy August, I’m wishing you some very iced coffee, some very good books, some time to chill out and some wind to stop this crazy heat ! See you in three weeks damn fine readers 💖

JULY BOOKCLUB !- July theme : Let’s go to the seaside ! Summer’s here, whether we love it or not, and even if we’ll be b...
25/06/2024

JULY BOOKCLUB !
- July theme : Let’s go to the seaside ! Summer’s here, whether we love it or not, and even if we’ll be boiling in Lyon, I want us to dream about any kind of water, it can be the sea, the ocean, a lake, a pond, etc ! It can be fiction, non-fiction, a graphic novel, fantasy, SF, whatever, just bring me water !
- July book : The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I opened this book that I had on my TBR for a few months and I cried reading the first few pages. So of course I wanted you to cry with me, and here we go ! (I haven’t finished it yet, but so far so GOOD)
The plot : A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. He is drawn to the farm at the end of the road where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. As he sits by the pond that she’d claimed was an ocean, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.
TW : animal death
You can now write me an email at [email protected] (link in bio) to let me know if you wish to participate to the :
- themed bookclub : meeting on Thursday, 11, at 6.30 pm !
- classic bookclub : meeting on Saturday, 20, at 9.00 am !
Food and drinks will be there, the inscription will cost 5€ (3€ if you buy/have bought the book at the shop) that you can pay in advance or the night of the bookclub ! See you very soon 💫

UPDATE : Both events are sold out ! Thank you !!!JUNE BOOKCLUB !- June theme : Graphic novels ! I want to celebrate grap...
28/05/2024

UPDATE : Both events are sold out ! Thank you !!!

JUNE BOOKCLUB !
- June theme : Graphic novels ! I want to celebrate graphic novels this month ! The Lyon BD Festival is in June so it fits perfectly, don’t you think ? The graphic novel you’ll bring can be a memoir, a horror story, a love story, whatever, but please it needs to be in English ! (yes, we all know French are good with graphic novels but I don’t want to hear about them :D)
- June book : Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin. Is this book weird and gross and insane ? Yes. Did I love it ? Also yes ! It’s clearly not for everyone as it manages to be quite offensive on little things, but also on serious things, and also the dogs are adorable and I love unlikeable character sorry not sorry. If you know my taste for weird, it’ll give you an idea of what to expect with this one :)
The plot : Greta’s job is to transcribe discussions between Om, a kind-of-therapist, and his patients/customers. This is how she discovers Big Swiss for the first time, through her voice. But Hudson is a small town and when she meets Big Swiss for real in the local dog park, a new - and not totally honest - relationship is going to be born...
TW : su***de, physical abuse
You can now write me an email at [email protected] (link in bio) to let me know if you wish to participate to the :
- themed bookclub : meeting on Thursday, 13, at 6.30 pm !
- classic bookclub : meeting on Saturday, 22, at 9.00 am !
Food and drinks will be there, the inscription will cost 5€ (3€ if you buy/have bought the book at the shop) that you can pay in advance or the night of the bookclub ! See you very soon 💫

May’s going to be amazing, so many things will happen at the shop ! We’ll end the month on a high note because we’ll get...
23/04/2024

May’s going to be amazing, so many things will happen at the shop ! We’ll end the month on a high note because we’ll get to meet Kate Doyle for an(other) extra bookclub !!
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Next month,we’ll read Kayte Doyle’s book, I Meant it Once, that came out just last September, and meet on Thursday 30th, at 7.00 PM, with the author herself !!!!
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About the book : I Meant it Once is a debut collection that captures precisely that time of life when so many young women are caught in between, preoccupied by nostalgia for past relationships—with friends, roommates, siblings—while trying to move forward into an uncertain future. A darkly funny story of romantic humiliation, a young woman longing for a friend who has moved on, many stories about siblings Helen, Evan, and Grace, a story set in Lyon... I Meant It Once is a collection of many coming of age stories, and you know that those are my fave. I read this book back in February and I think about it so often, I just can’t wait for you all to discover it and to meet Kate !!!
About the author : A former bookseller, Kate has published her work in Electric Literature, Split Lip, Chicago Review of Books, Lit Hub and many more ! She has received fellowships from Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Hawthornden Foundation, A Public Space, New York University, and the Adirondack Center for Writing. She has a dog who loves books as much as she does.
About the event : the bookclub meeting will take place in May, on Thursday 30, at the shop, from 7.00 PM to 8.30 PM ! To register, you can buy on the website (https://shop.damnfinebookstore.com/news/show/88) a package at 24,90€ including the book, facilitation, food & drinks.
Can’t wait to see you there !
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To celebrate this year’s Literature Live Festival & in partnership with la Villa Gillet , Irish writer Sara Baume will c...
16/04/2024

To celebrate this year’s Literature Live Festival & in partnership with la Villa Gillet , Irish writer Sara Baume will come to the shop in May to join us on a very special bookclub !!
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Next month,we’ll read Sara Baume’s last book, Seven Steeples, and meet on Friday 24th, at 7.00 PM, with the author herself ! Finally we’ll be able to ask all our questions and have ANSWERS ! Yay !
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About the book : Bell and Sigh, a couple in the infancy of their relationship, move into a remote house in the Irish countryside with their dogs. Both solitary with misanthropic tendencies, they leave the conventional lives stretched out before them to build another—one embedded in ritual, and away from the friends and family from whom they’ve drifted. We move through the seasons with them as they come to understand more about the small world around them, and as their interest in the wider world recedes.
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About the author : Sara Baume’s writing has won the Davy Byrnes Short Story Award, the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award, the Rooney Prize, an Irish Book Award, as well as being nominated for countless others including the Costa and the Dublin Literary Award. She lives in West Cork where she works as a visual artist as well as a writer. Seven Steeples is her third novel.
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About the event : the bookclub meeting will take place in May, on Friday 24, at the shop, from 7.00 PM to 8.30 PM ! To register, you can buy on the website (https://shop.damnfinebookstore.com/news/show/87) a package at 22,90€ including the book, facilitation, food & drinks.
Can’t wait to see you there !

Hi everyone, important news here ! The shop will be closed from April 30 to May 9 included ! Your fave bookseller (that’...
14/04/2024

Hi everyone, important news here ! The shop will be closed from April 30 to May 9 included ! Your fave bookseller (that’s me 🙋🏻‍♀️) goes on a little trip to Scotland to drink beer, see old castles, buy a kilt & probably books (books ? as a bookseller ? groundbreaking.)
What do you care, you’ll say ? Well two things :
1. If you want to read a very specific book on the (many) bank holidays at the beginning of May, you’ll need to place your order by Monday 22 at the latest !
2. If you have an order waiting for you at the shop and can’t pick it up before April 30, you’ll have to wait an extra 10 days, as I’ll reopen as usual on May 10 !
I hope you’ll survive without the shop, and I sure hope I’ll survive without it too ! It’s the first time I’m taking days off out of August & Christmas, I’m super thrilled about it but also super scared 🤡
Next month’s bookclub will be announced as usual on the last Tuesday of the month (the 30th) and I’ll check my e-mail regularly !
In the meantime, I’m here until April 30 so SEE YOU SOON 🫶🏼

APRIL BOOKCLUB !- April theme : She’s a murderer ! To celebrate the Quais du Polar festival, let’s talk about murderer t...
26/03/2024

APRIL BOOKCLUB !
- April theme : She’s a murderer ! To celebrate the Quais du Polar festival, let’s talk about murderer this month. Your book can be non fiction (true crime may apply haha), thriller, fantasy, magical realism, ANYTHING as long as we’re following a woman that may have kill someone. She may be unhinged, she may be without remorse, I just can’t wait to discover her !
- April book : In Defence of the Act by Effie Black. Before anything else, here is a list of TW : su***de (plural), death, anorexia, domestic violence. Please take note of these before signing up for the bookclub, it may be a really difficult book to read if you’re sensitive about one of these theme, especially su***de.
I picked this book because it’s longlisted for the Women’s Prize for fiction this year, it sounded right up my alley and it felt nice to maybe read a longlisted book for once. I didn’t expect that. I couldn’t expect that book. This is probably the saddest I’ve ever picked since the beginning of the bookclub. You know the drill : this book destroyed me, you have to read it. I loved everything about it, it made me uncomfortable, it strangely made me laugh sometimes and it made me cry A LOT. I really loved it.
The plot : Jessica Miller is fascinated by the somewhat perplexing tendency of humans to end their own lives, but she secretly believes such acts may not be that bad after all. Or at least, she did. Jessica is coming to terms with her own relationships, and reflecting on what it means to be q***r, when a single event throws everything she once believed into doubt...
You can now write me an email at [email protected] (link in bio) to let me know if you wish to participate to the :
- themed bookclub : meeting on Thursday, 11, at 6.30 pm !
- classic bookclub : meeting on Saturday, 20, at 9.00 am !
Food and drinks will be there, the inscription will cost 5€ (3€ if you buy/have bought the book at the shop) that you can pay in advance or the night of the bookclub ! See you very soon 💫

Damn Fine Event : join us on March 23, at 11.00 AM for a reading with Melatu-Uche Okorie, author of This Hostel Life, in...
08/03/2024

Damn Fine Event : join us on March 23, at 11.00 AM for a reading with Melatu-Uche Okorie, author of This Hostel Life, in partnership with the Consulate General of Ireland !
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Melatu Uche Okorie is a Nigerian-born Irish writer and scholar. It was during her eight and a half years living in the direct provision system that she began to write. She has had works published in numerous anthologies and won in 2009 the Metro Éireann Writing Award for her story ‘Gathering Thoughts’. This Hostel Life is her first book.
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This Hostel Life tells the stories of migrant women in a hidden Ireland. Queuing for basic supplies in an Irish direct provision hostel, a group of women squabble and mistrust each other. In another story, a student shares her work with a class only to be critiqued about her own lived experience. And in a third story, a mother of young twins, living in Nigeria, is at risk of losing her newborns to ancient superstitious belief.
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Melatu-Uche will be at the shop on March 23 to read from her book, which you can buy from now on at the shop ! You’ll get to meet her & listen to her reading while drinking a little coffee, is there a better way to start off the week-end ?
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When ? Saturday, 23rd of March, at 11.00 AM
Where ? At the shop : 20 rue Béchevelin, 69007 LYON
How ? The entry is free but the reservation is recommended : click on the link ‘Meet Melatu-Uche Okorie ! (March 23)’ (link in bio) and follow the instructions !
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MARCH BOOKCLUB !- March theme : She’s Irish ! To celebrate St Patrick’s day (two little days earlier), we’ll talk about ...
27/02/2024

MARCH BOOKCLUB !
- March theme : She’s Irish ! To celebrate St Patrick’s day (two little days earlier), we’ll talk about Irish writers and more specifically about Irish female writers (hey, it’s March, what did you think ?) ! Your book can be fiction, non fiction, historical, contemporary, short stories, fantasy, as long as the writer’s an Irish women, I’m all in and I can’t wait to see what you’ll bring !
- March book : Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan. This book was on my list since it came out in paperback but I was really stopped by the cover (yes, I’m that kind of person). But I finally read it and I thought it would be perfect to discuss in March ! Megan Nolan’s an irish writer, and her writing is gorgeous, the chapters are super short which means that it’s a really quick read that I personally read in less than 2 days ! Beware though, loads of TW : self-harm, addiction, depression. It’s *peak* toxic relationship but oh I could talk about it for hours. Let’s just meet and talk about it properly !
The plot : She’s twenty-three and in love with love. He’s older, and the most beautiful man she’s ever seen. The affair is quickly consuming. But this relationship is unpredictable, and behind his perfect looks is a mean streak. She’s intent on winning him over, but neither is living up to the other’s ideals. He keeps emailing his thin, glamorous ex, and she’s starting to give in to secret, shameful cravings of her own...
You can now write me an email at [email protected] (link in bio) to let me know if you wish to participate to the :
- themed bookclub : meeting on Thursday, 14, at 6.30 pm !
- classic bookclub : meeting on Saturday, 23, at 9.00 am !
Food and drinks will be there, the inscription will cost 5€ (3€ if you buy/have bought the book at the shop) that you can pay in advance or the night of the bookclub ! See you very soon 💫

FEBRUARY BOOKCLUB !- February theme : Galentine’s Day ! In February, let’s forget about romantic love for once and celeb...
30/01/2024

FEBRUARY BOOKCLUB !
- February theme : Galentine’s Day ! In February, let’s forget about romantic love for once and celebrate friendship ! Bring a book revolving around female friendship, whether it’s a healthy or unhealthy one, in the real world or in a fantastic universe, contemporary or historical, female friendship is here since forever ! Can’t wait to see what you’ll bring !!
- February book : Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung. I’ve wanted to read this book since a veeeery long time and I’m so happy that it’ll be a bookclub book ! I haven’t finished it yet but I’m in the second half of it and it’s really intriguing and good so far !!
The plot : 18 yo, pregnant, and working as a pizza delivery girl in suburban Los Angeles, our heroine is deeply lost. She’s grieving the death of her father, avoiding her supportive mom and loving boyfriend, and slowly becoming obsessed with Jenny, stay-at-home mom and a new customer of the pizzeria. As one woman looks toward motherhood and the other towards middle age, the relationship between the two begins to blur...
You can now write me an email at [email protected] (link in bio) to let me know if you wish to participate to the :
- themed bookclub : meeting on Thursday, 15, at 6.30 pm !
- classic bookclub : meeting on Saturday, 24, at 9.00 am !
Food and drinks will be there, the inscription will cost 5€ (3€ if you buy/have bought the book at the shop) that you can pay in advance or the night of the bookclub ! See you very soon 💫

IT’S HERE ! I dreamed of it, and now here we are damn fine readers !We’re starting a damn fine cine book club ! YES WE A...
18/01/2024

IT’S HERE ! I dreamed of it, and now here we are damn fine readers !
We’re starting a damn fine cine book club ! YES WE ARE 🎬🍿
Our first pick is the myth, the (wo)man, the legend : Poor Things, by Alasdair Gray, adapted as a movie by Yorgos Lanthimos !
If you’re wondering how this will work, it’s very easy :
You read the fantastic book ! Then we meet, on Saturday 3rd of February at 8.30 PM, at THE movie theater of Lyon 7 : Cinéma Comoedia, we watch the movie together and afterwards we go to the bookstore to have a drink and TALK ABOUT IT ! YES damn fine readers, you’ll be able to talk about the adaptation with people that have actually read the book (can you feel in this post that I’m dying to finally be able to do this ? 🥹)
You can of course also join us at the movie theater even if you don’t think you’ll have the time to read the book before or if you just started it !
To register, you’ll have to pay the cine book club fees that you can either buy on the website (https://shop.damnfinebookstore.com/news/show/75) or in the shop next time you come ! There’s a limited number of seats so far so if you want to come, don’t hesitate to order online, this way you’re sure to be in !!
You can of course also buy the book at the shop, I have a few in stock right now and will receive more next week !!
I can’t wait to share this amazing moment with you all !
Thanks to Cinéma Comoedia for giving a little space to the english bookworms of Lyon !7

11/01/2024

🎉 Jeudi Party au Bistrot ! 🍻

Prêts à pimenter vos jeudis ? Rejoignez-nous au Bistrot Comoedia les jeudis pour une soirée à thème épique à l’étage ! 🎲

🗓 JEUDI 18 JANVIER À PARTIR DE 19H00 🕖

Plongez dans l’univers des films adaptés de romans lors de notre soirée Blindtest ! 🎼

Profitez de notre sélection de bières, vins et autres boissons rafraîchissantes tout en dégustant nos délicieuses planches, fromages et autres suggestions à partager. 🍷🧀

Au programme :

🤓 Blindtest spécial ciné-littérature - Formez vos équipes et partagez un moment fun entre amis ou en famille. 🎉
📝 Inscriptions dès 19h00 - Réservez votre place en appelant le 04 26 99 45 21.
🕖 Ouverture de l’étage à 19h00 et début du jeu à 20h00.
🎁 Cadeaux à gagner - Qui sera le vainqueur ?
⚠️ Consommation obligatoire pour jouer !

Tarifs préférentiels pour les étudiants.

Etes-vous prêts à chanter et à danser aux rythmes de ces sons emblématiques ? Que la meilleure équipe l’emporte !

🔗 En partenariat avec la Librairie Internationale

JANUARY BOOKCLUB !- January theme : Favourite book of 2023 ! I love to create new traditions and I feel like January wil...
26/12/2023

JANUARY BOOKCLUB !
- January theme : Favourite book of 2023 ! I love to create new traditions and I feel like January will always be the perfect month to think about aaaaall the books read the previous year and pick *the one* ! I knowww it’s difficult to pick only one, you don’t necessarily have to choose your fave book, you can just pick the one that made you laugh the most, cry the most, the one that warmed your heart the most, etc. ! I can’t wait to see what you’ll bring (and what I’ll bring 🤡)
- January book : Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. I discovered Sayaka Murata earlier this year with Earthlings and my jaw is still on the floor. I would have loved to pick it as January’s book but I can not force this story on anyone 🙃 and Convenience Store Woman is just the perfect amount of Sayaka Murata for a bookclub !! It’ll be our first translated book too, and I can’t wait to discuss it with you !!
The plot : Keiko Furukura had always been considered a strange child. People find her odd and her family worries she’ll never fit in. To make them happy, she takes a job at a newly opened convenience store where she finds peace and purpose in simple daily tasks. But in Keiko’s circle, it just won’t do for an unmarried woman to spend her time stacking shelves. As the pressure to find a new job — or worse, a husband — increases, Keiko is forced to take desperate action...
You can now write me an email at [email protected] (link in bio) to let me know if you wish to participate to the :
- themed bookclub : meeting on Thursday, 11, at 6.30 pm !
- classic bookclub : meeting on Saturday, 20, at 9.00 am !
Food and drinks will be there, the inscription will cost 5€ (3€ if you buy/have bought the book at the shop) that you can pay in advance or the night of the bookclub ! See you very soon 💫

Adresse

20 Rue Béchevelin
Lyon
69007

Heures d'ouverture

Mardi 10:30 - 18:30
Mercredi 10:30 - 18:30
Jeudi 10:30 - 17:00
Vendredi 10:30 - 18:30
Samedi 10:30 - 18:30

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