John von Sothen
John von Sothen is an American magazine writer based in Paris, where he\u2019s lived since 2002. He dabbles a little in French TV and comedy, too. When I started talking to him for this podcast, I forgot that I\u2019d never met him before. That\u2019s because last year John wrote a memoir that was so hilarious, so warm, and so personal that I felt as if we\u2019d known each other for ages, though we\u2019d never even been in the same room. Luckily, he\u2019s American, not French, so I don\u2019t think my informality shocked him! His book was called Monsieur Mediocre: One American Learns the High Art of Being Everyday French. In it he lays out the mysterious rules of French social behavior, which he\u2019s decoded during his years in France first by breaking them, then by learning to roll with them.