I truly wanted to have a favorable opinion of this work. However, Julie Powell simply would not allow me to do so.

Her continuous whining and her neurotic, self-absorbed personality were so irritating to me that they completely overshadowed the aspects of the book that actually did have some appeal: namely, cooking and humor.

After reading this, I don't even have the slightest inclination to watch the movie adaptation. Nevertheless, I still maintain a strong desire to read "My Life in France" by Julia Child.

This book seems to hold a certain allure that the one by Julie Powell failed to capture for me. I am curious to explore the experiences and stories that Julia Child has to offer in her own account.

Perhaps her writing style and perspective will be more in line with my tastes and provide a more enjoyable reading experience.

I finally read this book and I am truly and deeply grateful for it. It has not only contributed to the improvement of my English but also allowed me to listen to audiobooks while going about my chores or loading the dishwasher.

I have this desire to make my husband read this book if I ever get married at some point in the future.

This is not merely a book about a cookbook. It delves into the concept of taking risks and having the belief that one can undertake a year-long project. It serves as a reminder of the significance of having a loving family and a wonderful husband. Most importantly, it showcases how good fortune can arrive in the most unexpected of ways. This blog was transformed into a book, and that book was then adapted into an amazing movie starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. And it all originated from an old book that many people have in their possession.

The thing that stands out the most in my memory about the film is that I couldn't fathom how Julia could hate this. I had hoped that reading the book would provide me with a better understanding of it. However, it didn't.

I'm really glad that Julie found the strength within herself to persevere after that. I, on the other hand, wouldn't have continued if I knew someone despised me. I'm just that kind of an idiot in that regard.

I truly liked reading "Julie & Julia".

Sure enough, Powell's snarky sense of humour and her tendency towards histrionics might not be to everyone's liking. But then again, what really is? This book is a good and quick read.

If you're anything like me, it will inspire you to pick up the tongs and get cooking in the kitchen instead of constantly ordering UberEats for the fourth night in a row.

Even if it doesn't seem like it's something that would interest you, that's okay. Because I'm going to share with you the single most important take-away from the whole book: put more butter in everything. Seriously. That pat of butter you normally use? Double it.

My review of Julie & Julia can be found in full on Keeping Up With The Penguins.

This book is likely one of those that have led me onto the path I am currently on regarding my relationship with food and baking.

Not only did it inspire me to ultimately create a food blog (Tasty Fever!), but it also gave me the idea that I didn't require a luxurious kitchen to produce amazing things.

Julie Powell's story of ambition as a means to discover herself through an unusual way really resonated with me when I was reading it, and it still does now.

Similar to a lot of memoir works, I can understand how some people might not appreciate Powell's voice in the book, especially when she has a kitchen breakdown due to the failure to assemble a complicated French dish with bone marrow.

Perhaps because I'm accustomed to reading the blogs of my friends and writing my own, I didn't mind what others might consider as self-absorbed freaking-out. I liked the humor; she seemed to me like someone I could be friends with, or at least know and have a drink with occasionally. In other words, her actions, cursing, and crying, seemed honest and real to me.

Although at times I felt a bit burdened by some of the relationship dramas she had with her friends, the book as a whole had enough personality to carry through the traumas of an ill-cooked dinner, as well as the wonders when everything, even despite a city-wide power outage, comes together beautifully.

In other words, her account of cooking her way through Julia Child's book is a very personal and charming tale that I could relate to, having dealt with my share of small apartment and house kitchens. After reading the book, I began to gradually try out new recipes, which eventually led to the explosion of mainly baked goods that I now produce weekly - thanks to the further inspiration of my snack-loving boyfriend.

You can find the original blog here. Julie Powell also has a new blog out. You might think that since I loved her book so much, I would be keeping up with her latest antics. Well, I'm lazy like that, plus I guess I have my own blog to take care of.

A Resounding Nope

It was truly an unfathomable disappointment. I had been filled with such eagerness to read this particular book that when I caught sight of it at the library, I couldn't help but let out an audible gasp of cheer. I am a huge fan of the film adaptation. After all, when it features the amazing Amy Adams and the legendary Meryl Streep and is literally centered around French cooking, how could I not be? However, alas, I simply couldn't manage to get past the first 10 pages of this truly dreadful book. I ended up quite literally tossing it aside in frustration and immediately picking up a nearby Tolkien work to try and mitigate the disappointment that had washed over me. sigh It's a pity that what seemed so promising on the surface turned out to be such a letdown. Maybe I'll give it another try someday, but for now, I'm content to lose myself in the wonderful world of Tolkien.

I really can't remember precisely how many times I've read this book, nor can I recall exactly how many times I've seen the movie adaptation. Does it truly require any further effort to recommend it? Well, all I will say is that this work has polarized opinions. Some people absolutely love it, finding in it profound meanings, engaging storylines, and memorable characters. They are captivated by its charm and are drawn back to it again and again.

On the other hand, there are those who hate it. Maybe they didn't connect with the themes, or perhaps the writing style didn't suit their tastes. It's not too difficult to see which side of this divide I fall on. I am firmly in the camp of those who love it. The book and the movie have left an indelible mark on me, and I would highly recommend them to anyone willing to give them a chance.

Whether you end up loving it or hating it, one thing is for sure: this is a work that will spark discussion and debate, and that alone makes it值得一读 (worth reading).

Some very cute parts, and well written. Powell is likeable and the book is a quick and easy read.

Most of the book is set in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, which I always like. Powell's apartment at the beginning of the book is a few blocks from where I live.

But I just didn't get it.

This is the story of a bored, depressed temp/secretary. She isn't quite sure what to do with her life. She wants a baby but isn't sure if she can have one. She hates where she lives. So, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child's 1961 classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She decides that she will cook all 524 recipes in one year and write a blog about it. I'm sorry but... why?! This is going to, and apparently does, give her purpose and refreshes her life. It sounds like a horrible year and the cooking seems to be a real chore for her. I don't recall a single passage where Powell appeared to actually enjoy the process. And yet, at the end we're to believe this experience was somehow purifying and enlightening. I just didn't get the point.

Also, vegetarians, be warned. The descriptions of cooking meat are graphic and, for me, really, really gross. Avoid the section where she talks about removing marrow from bones.

I think the genre of books about blogs that are turned into books about people who write blogs and are turning those blogs into books needs to end. Now. It seems a bit of a circular and perhaps overdone concept. There are only so many times one can read about someone's blog-to-book journey before it starts to feel repetitive and unoriginal.

The book, penned by Julie Powell, delves into her one-year self-imposed challenge of cooking every single recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of Fine Cooking.

This project was spurred by her feeling of being trapped in her job as a low-level drone in a government office and a sense of rebellion against the whole Alice Waters, locovore, trendy foodie craze.

I immediately identified with the author. She was a Buffy the Vampire fan (the blog was active during the show's last season), found the act of preparing food to be highly sensual, and was grappling with what to do next in her life.

The book is highly entertaining, seamlessly weaving together stories about Julie Child and her own family with the trials and tribulations of cooking the recipes. This includes her adventures in sourcing ingredients like bone marrow, brains, and other offal. Her husband Eric is depicted as a saint, while her friends are rather eccentric. It's truly a fun read.

However, what really caught my attention was not the cooking challenge itself but the blogging aspect. In addition to cooking each recipe, she blogged about every single dish she prepared. I went online and perused some of her blogs. She blogged almost daily, and not just with simple statements like "I checked Filets to Poisson en Souffle off the list, didn't puff but tasted good." No, she delved into the details of procuring the ingredients, the moods of her husband and her cats, occasional Buffy references, how the food was prepared, what worked, what tasted great, and what didn't. And it was thoroughly engaging. She had a massive following. Eventually, she even set up a way for people to donate money to help buy lamb and more butter to sustain the project, and they did.

Interestingly, she never discusses the challenges of blogging in the book. These are things that I find extremely difficult, such as making it witty (but not forced), not offending others (although being from New York might have helped in this regard), determining how personal to get, crafting a good story without going on and on, and ensuring the punctuation and grammar are good enough to make it readable. Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. She discovered her true calling as a writer.

Julie & Julia is truly one of my all-time favorite movies.

The main reason for this is that I am a huge fan of Meryl Streep. Her acting skills are simply outstanding, and she brings the characters to life in the most captivating way.

In addition to my admiration for Streep, I also have a deep love for anything related to cooking and the amateur. The movie beautifully showcases the passion and dedication that Julie Powell has for cooking as she attempts to cook all 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook in one year.

It is inspiring to see how she overcomes the challenges and setbacks along the way and discovers her own love for cooking and writing.

The movie also gives us a glimpse into the life and career of Julia Child, who is an icon in the world of cooking. Her enthusiasm and joy for food are contagious, and it is impossible not to be charmed by her.

Overall, Julie & Julia is a heartwarming and entertaining movie that combines great acting, a delicious story, and a celebration of the joys of cooking and the amateur spirit.

The audiobook was truly an absolute delight to listen to.

It was like embarking on a wonderful journey through Julie's cooking adventures.

As I listened, I could vividly imagine all the delicious dishes she was creating, the aromas filling the kitchen, and the excitement in her voice as she described each step.

Julie's stories were not only entertaining but also inspiring.

They made me want to get into the kitchen and start cooking up my own masterpieces.

The narrator did an excellent job of bringing Julie's words to life, adding an extra layer of charm to the already engaging content.

Overall, listening to this audiobook was a truly enjoyable experience that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves cooking or just enjoys a good story.

I can't wait to listen to more of Julie's adventures in the future.

For a few months, it seemed as if everyone was engrossed in reading this particular book.

Then, just as abruptly, everyone was flocking to the movie and enjoying it!

I, however, wasn't the least bit tempted to do either and felt rather out of place for being so out of the mainstream.

Still, I was firm in my stance as I had no desire to read about a woman who had attempted all of Julia Child's recipes from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

To be honest, French cooking didn't appeal to me, and aside from seeing Dan Aykroyd's satire of Julia Child on Saturday Night Live, I didn't know much about the famous chef.

When this book arrived in my mailbox as part of a long-distance book club I had joined, it felt like destiny was having a laugh at my attempt to snub a popular book. So, I begrudgingly read it.

As it turns out, my initial instinct was spot on.

The author, Julie (and did you notice my little play on words there? Clever, right?), who seemingly has a fundamental dislike for Republicans, shows little respect for her husband who, amazingly, appears to respect her.

Moreover, she can't seem to form a sentence without flaunting her "I'll-throw-in-the-F-bomb-anytime-I-feel-like-it" mentality. Needless to say, Julie and I would not get along.

While we both enjoy blogging and perhaps both imagine ourselves to be more important than we actually are, we have very little in common.

For some rather undeveloped reason, she embarks on an obsessive journey to cook all of the hundreds of recipes in Child's cookbook within the span of one year.

Never mind that it means she'll have to eat things she finds revolting, serve meals to her friends, family, and husband that they find equally disgusting, and spend money she doesn't have on ingredients she can't find - she just has to do it!

Fortunately for her, her meaningless obsession led to a lucrative book deal and an even more profitable movie deal.

We should all be so rewarded for devoting the majority of our time and energy to something that benefits so few, if any.

I think, however, that because her story was made into a book and, incredibly, a movie with big-name movie stars, her experience was somehow validated as having meaning.

It changed her, I guess. Gave her something to proudly claim she had accomplished. I guess. And definitely gave her free rein to curse and cuss at anyone who objected to her swearing.

Okay, I'll admit it - her tacky swearing in print really annoyed me.

Why on earth would someone writing a memoir, with the luxury of time, a thesaurus, and editors at their disposal, choose to use such a vulgar and limited vocabulary in something that will outlive them?

I understand it in novels. Some characters think and speak that way. I can even accept it in non-fiction. After all, much of life is R-rated. But in a memoir? In a "I'm-a-pretty-funny-lady" memoir? That's the word you want to use when you have the time and plenty of alternatives?

In the end, I just wanted it to be over. I wanted to know if and how all the eggs, cream, butter, and bone marrow mattered. They didn't.

I was tired of reading about her messy and absolutely nauseating kitchen (maggots, people. Maggots!).

I was really, really tired of Julie. Not Julia, because she's hardly in the book, but Julie.

The last page, which took a while to reach after a couple of cruel false endings, couldn't come soon enough.

I still haven't seen the movie. I've heard it's better than the book. But I'm now weary and untrusting.

Meryl and Amy might be able to salvage this story, but I'll never know because I'm not going to give in a second time.

Once was more than enough.

Okay, I don't know why I even read this, seeing as I'm not into cooking. It seems like an odd choice for someone with my lack of interest in the culinary arts. But I thought, what the heck, maybe it'll be interesting.

And that kind of came back to bite me in the butt, as I was really just not interested as I read this book. I found myself kind of skimming everything, and I didn't really see the point of what the narrator was doing. The descriptions of the cooking processes and the ingredients just didn't hold my attention.

And yes, the maggots in the kitchen. And the flies. They weren't deal-breakers for me, and they didn't make Julie seem like a terrible person, but it was still disgusting. And I'm not sure I'd want to eat something cooked in a kitchen maggots have called home. It's just not an appealing thought. Overall, this book just wasn't for me.