I love Julia Child and I love the movie “Julie and Julia” so I would have thought that I would have been head over heals in love with this book which the movie is based off of. I hated this book! In the movie, Julie Powell comes off as an innocent, well meaning, fan of Julia Child who cooks her way through the cookbook. In her book she comes off as a terrible person! She encourages her friends to have affairs, she complains about the tedious work she does as a temp for the government, and she is cruel to her husband. I couldn’t even finish it because the writing is so poor as well in it. It was unclear in the movie why Julia Child didn’t like Julie Powell, it became very clear in the book.

While the movie version of Julie's story is rated PG-13, this book is definitely rated R. While still an interesting story of a woman's year-long journey navigating life through cooking, it is not quite as polished as the sweet experiences found on screen. This reads more like a diary and has the same kind of candid quality. I recommend this for readers who like snarky memoirs and can handle foul language and less-censored thoughts on sex and politics (and, of course, French cooking).

I saw the movie first and then read the book--well over half of it anyway. The movie is very entertaining and the book...well, had she stuck to just a relation of the cooking it would have been good. The author gets rather crude and vulgar, going into topics that have really nothing to do with her cooking project. I found the addition of these episodes a big turn-off and stopped reading. My opinion: don't bother.

Witty! Hilarious and absolutely gorgeous book oozing with spicy and sweet details into her life and journey through cooking. Couldn't put it down!! I loved it!! I didn't know there was a movie until others saw me reading it--given the comments, I'd love to watch the movie now too...perhaps it is me wanting to like Julie more too besides being amazed at her wit and perspective.

I saw the movie when it first came out and loved it. I found I liked the book less than the movie. Julia and her quirkiness figure in it but not as much as in the film, and Julie is much more frenetic than I remember her in the movie. You might want to read in snatches to protect your sanity. The whole account is one manic note after another generously smothered with buttery creamy sauces. I am sure I would not like Julie as a friend because of her hyper neediness, but I do admire her for her crazy choice of challenge and her amazing ability to apply herself to 'getting it right', or as right as she can often after more than one attempt. She is turning thirty but you would think her still in her teens. Her husband is a saint.

Stuck in a job she dislikes and worried about pushing thirty, Julie Powell decides to rescue herself by cooking every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In between sauces, organ meats and lots of butter, Julie learns Julia's real message: the art of living with gusto. I loathe cooking, but I was cheering Julie on the whole way.

I enjoyed the movie, which is what moved me to pick up the book. Honestly, I could have just stuck with the movie. It's not that the book is bad, it just left me with no emotional takeaway. Julie Powell uses Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and Julia Child, to find meaning in her life. Except that we never see how that's accomplished, if it is in any way, as apparently blogging about such a feat is what REALLY brought meaning to her life (in terms of a job opportunity). What we do see is an often hysterical, quite self-depricating, funny but occasionally too bitter for my tastes 29 year old panicking about getting old and having a crap job. And also about cooking. I enjoyed most her explanations about how each recipe was done (as I don't speak French, hearing a firsthand account about stripping marrow from bones, for example was both funny and educational). What I liked least was the fact that she apparently throws tantrums a lot, and in the book she makes no excuses for it (which is fine) but it happens so often that is just seems....pointless. And distracting. I appreciate that she portrayed her marriage as very even-keel and balanced, and she apparently became a tinge less judgmental (of friends, anyway- members of an opposing political party are fair game) by the end of her year-long journey. Also, maybe this bitter cynicism and holier-than-thou crap is a New Yorker thing? In which case, that was educational as well.

In my honest opinion, if you are looking for a "year in the life" book, fascinated by the early days of blogging, or need some support that you are not alone in being frustrated by French cooking, this is a good book to pick up.

Having LOVED the movie I was a little disappointed in the book. I'm glad I read it but found "Julie" a lot less likable than the movie version.

This book was better than the movie. There are swears in it. Just a heads up! It's a decent read.

100 times more satisfying than watching the movie. If you like this I highly recommend also reading Julia Child's "My Life in France".