One thing that helps me enjoy the anticipation is reading novels set at my destination in the weeks leading up to a trip. I am thoroughly enjoying Edward Rutherford's "Paris", and have "The Paris Wife" loaded on my Ereader. I have read Marie Antoinette as well. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Guy de Maupassant short stories for Normandy.

John Baxter has several great books about Paris. " The Most Beautiful Walk in the World" is one.

If you have not read "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay....it's wonderful and heartbraking.

Cara Black has a series of mystery type books, each set in a different arrondisement of Paris. Murder in the Marais was the first in the series.

The Sweet Life in Paris by david Lebovitz is pure fun, especially fir the foodie in you!

Death a l'Orange, by Nancy Fairbanks. The heroine is a food writer/dectective who follows the trail of murder from Normandy to the Loire.

Totally agree about Sarah's Key and Cara Black's books. ANd David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day.

This is a bit of a stretch since it actually takes place in Mont St. Michel, which is "very close" to Normandy: Old Bones, by Aaron Elkins. Good mystery.

Not fiction, but a good read: Susan Loomis' On Rue Tatin, about moving to Normandy.

Madame Bovary for Normandy. The Longest Day.

The Sun Also Rises nails Paris in the Twenties (in the early chapters). A Moveable Feast.

I too love reading books about France in between our trips and have acollection which I enjoy re-reading . Mine are mostly non fiction.
For Normandy -
On Rue Tatin and Tarte Tatin - Susan Loomis
At My French Table and French Ties - Jane Webster
French Kisses - George East
A place in Normandy - Nicholas Kilmer

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World, Cooking for Claudine, The Perfect Meal - John Baxter
Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs - Jeremy Mercer
Paris to the Moon - Adam Gopnik
Paris on a Plate - Stephen Downes
Lunch in Paris -Elizabeth Bard
The Parisiens - Graham Robb
A Town Like Paris - Bryce Gilbert
Found Meals of the Lost generation - Suzanne Rodriguez Hunter
Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky [ fiction ]
The Cara Black series -[ fiction].

The Distance from Normandy by Jonathan Hull. A story about a grandfather and his grandson. I highly recommend this book!