Search - Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously

What I'd heard about this book made me think that it would be charming, original, even insightful. It didn't take long for me to realize that it was not. The "Julia" parts, passages about the recipes or about the difficulties of finding ingredients and preparing the dishes, or about Julia herself, were often delightful, funny, and believable. The "Julie" sections, by contrast, sounded like ill-mannered whining by unlikable and self-centered people. Powell certainly has a way with words when she wants to, and she must be an above-average cook, not to say slightly crazy to take on such a project. But overall I thought the book was a disappointment.

I found this book boring, with sub-par writing. I know it started as a blog, so maybe that was the problem for me--everything seemed so disjointed. I didn't feel like there was really anything cohesive about the book (aside from the cooking--but that didn't seem all that consistent, either). To be fair, I didn't make it past the first couple of chapters, so maybe it gets better. But I just couldn't stick around to find out. Just as an aside, I felt like the author made light of 9-11 and the work done in its aftermath. I didn't care for that, either.

I really enjoyed this book - it was involving and I could sympathize with the need to do SOMETHING with your life and wish I had an outlet like Julie did. The book features several mouthwatering scenes, and you'll definitely feel like having some French Cuisine afterwards! Note: Unlike the movie, the book does not really tell Julia Child's story (with the exception of some fictionalized letters from her husband) - to capture the story told in the movie, you'll also want to pick up "My Life in France" by Julia Child. "Julie & Julia" (the book) only deals with Julie Powell's blog and her goal to cook all 524 recipes in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year. A real treat for foodies especially.

Good book! Sometimes Julie trails off into some boring topic and I catch myself having to struggle to stay interested so I just skip ahead a bit, but otherwise she's pretty witty and honest!

Not the greatest read. I skipped a lot of pages.

I devoured this book in less than a week. I loved this book because it is about a woman's journey to find meaning in her life.