Julie & Julia, My Year of Cooking Dangerously, by Julie Powell--a review

What would you do if you were approaching 30, unsure of your fertility, and stuck in a dead-end job? Why, take on a crazy project and blog about it, of course.

That's what Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, did. Bored with secretarial work, she decided to cook every recipe in her favorite old cookbook, Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in one year.

Not to get personal, but when you write a memoir, people respond personally. At first, I wasn't so sure I liked Julie. Sure, she's an obsessive, sailor-mouthed, vintage-wearing Democrat--I could get behind all that--but she's also kind of whiny. But then somewhere in the middle of the book she sort of relaxes, and all of a sudden I could relate. Ultimately her love of books, the way she deals with her crazy friends, her sweet relationship with her husband, and her willingness to slog through Julia Child's insanely complicated recipes won me over.

When I finished the book, I toasted her with a brioche and jam. I'm looking forward to her next zany project. I also realized I have to read Julia Child's book, My Life in France, so I put it on my night table...