"Julie & Julia"
I recently (in the past 3 months) viewed and thoroughly enjoyed the "Julie & Julia" movie based on the blog turned book written by Julie Powell. With my new turned leaf to be a reading inspiration to my kids, I picked up the book, Julie &Julia 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen, written by Julie Powell. I have a thing for reading books movies are based on, keeps my interest. So, like many others The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series (Teenager at heart, what can I say), I loved the movie and thought I'd for sure love the book.
I was wrong. Well, kind of. The movie, I believe, was rated PG13. I'm sure this was to allure a greater audiance. What I found was the book was more R rated. Not a bad thing per se. Just not what I expected. Granted some of what is written is fictional, so she says (not that it matters). So, it's hard to know what really happened in her real life, other than she made it through Mastering The Art of French Cooking and cooked 524 recipes in 365 days (incredible, really). So here are the highlights and low.
Reasons I kept reading...
*Hilarious! Julie is absolutely cunning and says it like it is.
*It took place during 2002-2003, which is when we lived in NYC and my husband worked in LIC (Long Island City). The parallel gripped me.
*She wrote about the Blackout of 2003, I remembered it like it was yestrerday. We were at Jone's Beach that day and while driving into the city, noticed all the traffic lights were out. I had to drive across Brooklyn to LIC to pick up Aaron at work. Not a small feat (much like cooking 524 recipes in 365 days) with no traffic lights.
*She even talks about a women in MN who comments quite often.
*Her use of the word F*** had me, sorry, but it did. She reminded me ofthe "old" Jolene myself.
*"Lobster Killer! Lobster Killer! Lobster Killer!"
*I couldn't put it down. I.had.to.know.the.end.
Reasons I would have liked to put it down....
*The swearing, crude talk...contradicts the above, but it could bother others quite a bit.
*She talks of friends who cheat on their spouses. Hard to read, but insightful.
*She also talked about IMing affairs. Close to home, but also nice to know my husband isn't the only one. Julie claims if you work in a cubicle, are under 30, and have IM access, chances are you'll fall victim. Or something like that.
*She is a liberal. I mean bleeding liberal! Me, I'm more of a "Gov't stay out of it" kind of girl.
All in all, I didn't love the book. However, if you don't mind talk of the sexual kind, swearing, affairs, and bleeding liberals, it's an entertaining read.
I was wrong. Well, kind of. The movie, I believe, was rated PG13. I'm sure this was to allure a greater audiance. What I found was the book was more R rated. Not a bad thing per se. Just not what I expected. Granted some of what is written is fictional, so she says (not that it matters). So, it's hard to know what really happened in her real life, other than she made it through Mastering The Art of French Cooking and cooked 524 recipes in 365 days (incredible, really). So here are the highlights and low.
Reasons I kept reading...
*Hilarious! Julie is absolutely cunning and says it like it is.
*It took place during 2002-2003, which is when we lived in NYC and my husband worked in LIC (Long Island City). The parallel gripped me.
*She wrote about the Blackout of 2003, I remembered it like it was yestrerday. We were at Jone's Beach that day and while driving into the city, noticed all the traffic lights were out. I had to drive across Brooklyn to LIC to pick up Aaron at work. Not a small feat (much like cooking 524 recipes in 365 days) with no traffic lights.
*She even talks about a women in MN who comments quite often.
*Her use of the word F*** had me, sorry, but it did. She reminded me of
*"Lobster Killer! Lobster Killer! Lobster Killer!"
*I couldn't put it down. I.had.to.know.the.end.
Reasons I would have liked to put it down....
*The swearing, crude talk...contradicts the above, but it could bother others quite a bit.
*She talks of friends who cheat on their spouses. Hard to read, but insightful.
*She also talked about IMing affairs. Close to home, but also nice to know my husband isn't the only one. Julie claims if you work in a cubicle, are under 30, and have IM access, chances are you'll fall victim. Or something like that.
*She is a liberal. I mean bleeding liberal! Me, I'm more of a "Gov't stay out of it" kind of girl.
All in all, I didn't love the book. However, if you don't mind talk of the sexual kind, swearing, affairs, and bleeding liberals, it's an entertaining read.
Comments
The content in books allows for more character development. I feel cheated by films.
I have learned that if I read the book not to see the movie, and if I've seen the movie don't read the book. They're never the same and I'm always left feeling disappointed.