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Julie’s Year In Books

Julie’s 2025 Year in Books

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Julie Scolnik

Goodreads Author

Born

in Lewiston, MAINE, The United States

Website

https://www.JulieScolnik.com

Twitter

https://twitter.com/julie_scolnik

Genre

Memoir, Music, Travel

Member Since

September 2011

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Paris Blue, Julie Scolnik’s debut memoir, is a story which lingered in the corridors of her psyche for more than forty years, and one which she always knew she would have to tell. Set against a magical backdrop of classical music and Paris in the late 70’s, Paris Blue is a true fairy-tale memoir (with a dark underbelly) about the tenacious grip of first love, heartache, and the role of memory in our lives. It has garnered over 18 awards and a quote from John Irving: Not every true story is like a good novel, but this one is. Not every memoir of first love has a satisfying ending, but this one does. The confluence of first love with becoming an artist makes this memoir special.”

Scolnik is a concert flutist and the founding artistic director ...more

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What is the best thing about being a musician?

Julie Scolnik I cannot for a moment imagine my life in any other field! I have been a musician my whole life.
When I was a child, there was always music filling our …moreI cannot for a moment imagine my life in any other field! I have been a musician my whole life.
When I was a child, there was always music filling our home. The gorgeous, poignant records that my mother found for her three daughters became the soundtrack to our childhood, seeped into our DNA, connected us most profoundly as sisters, and very likely influenced the direction of our careers.

Ballet was my first love, but I realized at the tender age of 13 that it was my emotional response to music that made me crave a physical outlet for the deep stirrings it evoked. So off I went to spend three idyllic summers at a music camp in Maine, where Beethoven and Brahms symphonies were broadcast through loud speakers to awaken us in our woodland cabins, as if the trees had burst into song.
I connected deeply with these young peers of mine, each day listening to friends rehearse the Schubert Cello Quintet in the woods before lunch. When I played the recording at home after camp was over, my eyes filled with tears. And then I knew: Music would become my life.
I think that the (slightly urgent) desire to tell a story in writing probably comes from the same place as the desire to share a piece of music in a live performance. I recently discovered a beautiful quote from Maya Angelou, and I feel it encapsulates this same urgency to share art, whether it is a writer’s story or a piece that a musician yearns to perform: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

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Hello Julie! I'm a book reviewer and freelance editor and I just wanted to reach out just in case you were looking for an editor, proofreader, or book reviewer (I review books on GR, Amazon, B&N, and Bookbub). I can be reached here on Goodreads or at lilylyu7@gmail.com. I also wanted to ask, how did you decide that you wanted to be an author? Wishing you all the best!

Julie Scolnik Hello Lilyyy!
I never "decided" to become an author! For over forty years I knew I had a story that one day I would have to tell. It took me decades to…moreHello Lilyyy!
I never "decided" to become an author! For over forty years I knew I had a story that one day I would have to tell. It took me decades to finally find its truest form but I am thrilled beyond words that I am finally sharing it with the world.
I have always enjoyed telling stories, personal true stories, but I also learned that a memoir is a universal truth as illustrated by a personal story. Once I figured out my truth and my title, I knew I had found my book.(less)

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Julie Scolnik’s books

Average rating: 4.36 · 236 ratings · 103 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	Paris Blue: A Memoir of First Love 4.36 avg rating — 236 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nat Pinkerton: Diez novelas policíacas en lengua sefardí 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Julie Scolnik's Blog

Connecting with my readers!

Hello readers!
I apologize for not connecting with you through Blog posts! I was feeling overwhelmed with all that book promotion entailed. But thank you for your interest in Paris Blue, whether you have read it already, or plan to.

Besides the thrill of seeing this story in print after 43 years of it lingering in my psyche, the most gratifying part has been hearing from readers about how they read Read more of this blog post »

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Published on April 11, 2022 05:01

Julie is Currently Reading

Julie Scolnik is currently reading

Map of a Heart: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Finding the Way Home

by Jacque Gorelick (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 21, 2026 04:10AM

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Bad Bad Girl

by Gish Jen (Goodreads Author)

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Jan 29, 2026 08:26PM

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Calypso

by David Sedaris

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Oct 26, 2025 08:23PM

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Julie Scolnik rated a book it was amazing Paris Blue: A Memoir of First Love by Julie Scolnik (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 18, 2026 03:22AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Julie Scolnik liked Jennifer Wood's review of Paris Blue: A Memoir of First Love: "Paris Blue is one of the most moving and beautifully written memoirs I’ve read in years. Julie Scolnik tells her story with a kind of raw honesty that stays with you long after you turn the last page. What begins as a young woman’s first love in Pari" Read more of this review »
Apr 07, 2026 04:54AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Julie Scolnik and 2 other people liked Ann Campanella's review of Paris Blue: A Memoir of First Love: "This is a dreamy memoir that lulled me into a place of memory and youth, a time when I was still learning about myself and the world and everything in it. Julie travels to Paris to study music and is swept up in waves of melancholy and emotion, searc" Read more of this review »
Apr 07, 2026 04:54AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Julie Scolnik liked Elena Jones's review of Paris Blue: A Memoir of First Love: "In Paris Blue: A Memoir of First Love, Julie Scolnik delivers an evocative and deeply reflective story about the enduring imprint of first love. The memoir begins in Paris in 1976, when twenty-year-old Julie arrives as an American music student determ" Read more of this review »
Apr 07, 2026 04:53AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Feb 27, 2026 11:58AM
Julie Scolnik is currently reading Map of a Heart: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Finding the Way Home by Jacque Gorelick (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 21, 2026 04:10AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Map of a Heart by Jacque Gorelick. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Map of a Heart by Jacque Gorelick <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Jan 29, 2026 08:26PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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