Her hilarious Instagram account exploded during the first lockdown thanks to a barrage of humorous posts gleaned from the internet. Since then, Julie Mamou-Mani has become known as " the Lol influencer ." And while she prefers to call herself a " content producer ," this journalist and author has enough humor (and modesty) to make the label work for her. Her production company, Mamouz, creates bespoke podcasts and documentaries for major cultural institutions such as the Shoah Memorial and the Maison de Châteaubriand.

On May 10th, she will release her second book, * Petit éloge du rire . De la naissance à la mort les secrets de l'humour* (A Short Eulogy of Laughter: From Birth to Death, the Secrets of Humor), published by Éditions Leduc. Co-written with Jessica Cymerman and illustrated by Tiffany Cooper, this book is an exploration of the importance of humor. When she's not rushing from one interview to the next, Julie reads " at a rate of one book a day, and in any case, three a week! " To mark the Paris Book Festival , which will be held from April 21st to 23rd at the Porte de Versailles, and for which she is producing a podcast, she shares her current favorites with us. And just like her laughter, her reading recommendations are… contagious!

Women's Hour by Adèle Bréau

"I loved everything about this story of the life of Ménie Grégoire, the voice of the radio and a pioneer of women's intimate lives. The pen is held by her granddaughter, the journalist Adèle Bréau. I knew before even opening the book that it would fascinate me. I love learning, I am a great reader of biographies and novels that are part of history. I see Ménie Grégoire a bit like the ancestor of "Doc and Difool", the Skyrock hosts in the 90s! In any case, she is the first radio host who will be interested in all the questions of women of the time, from mistreatment to sexuality, early pregnancy or even relationship problems... I have always heard that she had accompanied the voice of women in the 60s and 70s.

We discover her as a mother, bourgeois, married to an enarque. And, then one day, the RTL team, which knows her and knows she is audacious, wishing to renew its program schedule, entrusts her with the antenna. From 1967 to 1981, every afternoon for half an hour, accompanied by a doctor, Ménie Grégoire will listen, advise listeners, mainly women. Adèle Bréau recounts admirably how her grandmother will seize this position as a mission, to answer all their questions. It is also a history of feminism. A very good book that reminds us that we always forget too quickly how recent women's rights are. »

The Hour of Women , Adèle Bréau, JC Lattès Publishers

The Partisans, Kessel and Druon, a family story, by Dominique Bona

“Dominique Bona is my favorite biographer. She has just published this exciting new book on the relationship between Maurice Druon and Joseph Kessel, co-author in 1943 of Chant des partisans which is also my favorite song! I have just started reading, a 500-page book, and it's already magnificent!

Maurice Druon was the nephew of Joseph Kessel, the son of his brother who committed suicide, his "almost son". The story takes place between 1930 and 1945. Once again it is the small story in the big one. That of an extraordinary complicity. We follow these two heroes in the writing of the words of this song that André Malraux will deliver later, in 1964, in his speech during the transfer of the ashes of Jean Moulin to the Pantheon. This book is also the story of their engagement in the war, that of anti-Semitism and Free France. »

The Partisans, Kessel and Druon, a family story , Dominique Bona, Gallimard Publishers

Inconsolable, by Adele Van Reeth

"You have to be armed to open the latest book by the philosopher Adèle Van Reeth. I thought a lot about my father while reading it. This book is Adèle in all her splendor! It is surgical without ever falling into emotion. She tells so well the "before", before the end, that is to say during the illness, then the "after", through the daily lack, by noting small details of sound, music, advice, phone calls...

There are no words when you lose a loved one. Everything seems illusory. We become a machine that must endure daily life. She deciphers this state with meticulousness and fine precision. It's a grace … and it's overwhelming. Like Adèle Bréau, Adèle Van Reeth, whom I know, is at first sight a rather reserved woman who knows perfectly well how to make us think by revealing herself in writing. And without taking yourself seriously! This book is an ode to filial love that reminds us how precious it is. »

Inconsolable , Adèle Van Reeth, Gallimard Editions

Hang in there ! Small treatise on ardor, by Blanche de Richemont

“I met the philosopher and writer Blanche de Richemont quite by chance. She told me she was taking entrepreneurs and people who were questioning their lives on walks in the desert. In this book, she interviews witnesses: a hermit, a surgeon, a soldier, a writer, a former member of the RAID (French National Police Intervention Group), a firefighter who responded to the Notre-Dame fire, and the mother of a child with autism. These people, often well-known, sometimes anonymous, tell us what it means to have courage. Blanche poses the question to these people who embody bravery. She has an impeccable way with words. She says, for example, ‘ Courage is not a call to arms, it is a call to souls ,’ or ‘ The death of the ideal is the success of slippers .’ If we rediscovered a little more fervor, we would complain a little less, she tells us.”

What I find attractive in this book is that it seizes courage as I took humor head on. Like a GPS that would lead us on the right path. This book is also a questioning of society: what discomfort do young people seek to drown in the screens? How to find the breath in this urbanized and very capitalist life? How do you keep the ardor in a monotonous life that can gnaw at the soul? And keep the faith when everything pushes us to stay in front of Netflix... Now my dream is to travel with her to the Sahara, for a crossing of the desert! »

Come on, cheer up! A short treatise on ardor , Blanche de Richemont, Presses de la Cité Publishers

The Sex of Women: Fragments of a Bellicose Speech, by Anne Akrich

“I met Anne Akrich, an author of Polynesian and Tunisian origin who has a crazy sense of humor, while writing my next book on laughter. In this book, she questions herself about today's feminism. But if she is arch-feminist, Anne Akrich takes things on the wrong foot here, and it is this posture that I like. She asks questions with a lot of humor. She is even irreverent. We live in a deeply comic world, but we are incapable of joking about it, she tells us. The laughter has turned yellow, the smile, to a rictus. Anne continues to think that we can laugh at feminism.

In this book, written as a manifesto or even a pamphlet, where she speaks for the first time in her name, she drags us into her anger, she recounts terrible events such as the rape of her little sister, or other comic , talks about desire and the relationships between men and women with great freedom of tone. Just like Adèle Van Reeth, Adèle Bréau or even Blanche de Richemont, she is a brilliant person who does not take herself seriously. These women move the discourse forward, always keeping a touch of humor. And it's a posture that obviously speaks to me! »

The Sex of Women: Fragments of a Belligerent Discourse , Anne Akrich, Gallimard Publishers