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Saturday, September 26, 2009

Julie & Julia... my take on it


Well I have finished Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell. And now I feel like sharing my opinion on the book with you, whether you care or not. Ha. Just kidding. Well not really, I am going to share. But you can choose to stop reading. I won't judge you. Maybe.

I finished the book in a week, which is super fast for me. It is an easy read, meaning it does not take alot of brain power to understand what she is saying so you can read quickly and still understand.

Things I liked about the book:
  • I love reading about or watching people cook, so hearing her adventures in cooking French food was fun.
  • She is very real in the book, showing all her sides whether good or bad, and I found that refreshing.
  • Learning even more about Julia Child, I swear guys she is addicting in some strange way.
  • Her husband, he comes across as such a loving and sweet guy.
Things that annoyed me about the book:
  • She is as negative as they come. I actually think she tried really hard to come across as overly negative.
  • I feel like she tried way to hard to be a funny or witty author. She wrote like this alot, where it felt forced (the humor that is). Now I love when Will Ferrell does these type of humor in movies, but it just didnt feel real to me in the book. So it annoyed me each time bc I felt like she was being fake and, as afore mentioned, overall I felt she was super real in the book. Exhibit A:
(If it had been Eric with me, the day would have ended with us rebuilding a diesel engine with a giant timer ticking over our heads, in front of a live studio audience, while Hi mechanics nduwho disapproved of my mode of dress jeered at us and pelted us with stones. Or something.) pg. 51
  • The fact that Julia Child apparently didn't like Julie or the project & that Julie never ended up meeting her. By the time Julia said this though she was like 92 or something, and we all know how most 92 year olds get kinda grumpy.
Overall I would recommend the movie over the book. I know this doesn't happen often, but the Julie in the movie was sweet and timid and lost as opposed to the real Julie who is boldly negative and self-indulged and lost. Maybe watching the movie first ruined it for me? And that's all I have to say about that.

4 comments:

  1. I have read many mixed reviews about this book. I have it in my TBR pile but it keeps getting pushed further down the pile. Great review. I like how you gave us the postives and the negatives. Maybe I'll just wait for the dvd.

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  2. I agree with you about Julie coming across (at least to me) as very angry or hostile and that wore on me.

    I L-O-V-E-D the movie though, Amy Adams portrayed her more softly I thought.

    I definitely want to read more about Julia Child now. What a woman!

    Found you through the Fall Into Reading challenge/review. Happy reading!

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  3. Thanks for the review...I had been thinking about reading this book but I think I will just watch the movie instead. :)

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  4. Thanks for the review! This has been a book/movie combo that I've been really curious about. "...and we all know how most 92 year olds get kinda grumpy." I loved that! So true, and a great way to interpret. Thanks again!

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