do not quote me, but i think Bill Bryson does a lot of those things?

or for less of a travel-memoir and more of a living-and-working-in-france-for-a-few-years, there is 'A Year in the Merde'... it's funny, and vaguely informative. but more to do with office works.
there used to be an entire section dedicated to those types in Borders, so i feel wandering into B&N, or even Book People, would prove helpful?