apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Oh how does this book make me long for a trip back to Paris!

I had no idea she didn't start cooking until her mid-30s, which made me quite happy since I didn't really start until last year when I was 28! But felt quite connected to her since I quickly became enthralled by good food and obsessed with collecting cooking gadgets of all shapes and sizes much like she did.

I am also watching her DVDs the French Chef 2 that I borrowed from our local library, it's quite thrilling to me, who really only remembers tibbits of watching her on tv, but more so the SNL skits, to not only read about, but see, her true love of France and cooking and get to know her on a personal level. I am positve I'm going to love this book!

I just love the description of her first sole meuniere. It's the meal heard round the world, given the career it inspired, and it's wonderful to hear the story in Julia's own voice.

I have to say that this book reads very well - Julia's personality flys off the pages and though I never had the honor of meeting her, it feels like I have. I finished the book over the weekend and am amped to talk about all of it.

The intro and first chapter were great. The fact that she didn't get into France and cooking until her 30s in an inspiration to me, since I'm 23 and already feel like a lot of my life is over.

It is wonderful to read so much about France - a country I've always wanted to visit. Unfortunately, I know that when I one day do get to visit France, it will be nothing like what Julia has shared with us.

The "forward" ?! Please tell you're kidding. I would expect it to be the "foreword".

I, too, loved that Julia was in her 30s before she really started settling not just into her passion for food, but into life in general, with her new marriage and role in life. As someone who's only a couple of years into her third decade and has been loving every moment of it, this was a heartening example!

I was also struck that Julia readily admitted how the media's portrayal of the French had tainted her opinion even before she'd ever visited. It's strange how those old stereotypes still continue today.

And of course, I enjoyed Julia's visual description of the places she went through--every landscape and building. Having never traveled outside of the country, I was hoping this would give me a wonderful view of France as it was, and it has! She really does have a poetic eye!

Also, I saw that bobcatsteph3 found The French Chef 2 at the library. Coincidentally, I just got back from my lunchtime walk, which included a stop at the bookmobile, and the same DVD set was there, so I snagged it! I'm tempted to pop them in now to listen to them while I work, but I know it would be too distracting!

angorian, thanks for the typo alert!

I have been meaning to read this for awhile, ever since I read "Julie and Julia" and caught Julie Powell's admiration for Julia.

I love how vividly Julia describes each experience and how aware she is of a new smell or flavor or sight. It reminds me of my own intense experiences when I first arrived in Italy for my junior year abroad. Everything was so fresh and incredible, I often wonder whether it just seemed that way because I was naive or because it actually was incredible and it was intense because it was so new to me.

Julia's writing has so much humor, little digressions to talk about her father's politics or her mother's cooking, things which fill in the gaps of who she is (which is a great mystery to me). I can't wait to read further; I love looking at the photos of her later in the book.

I think that the writing reminds me of Frances Mayes (Under a Tuscan Sun). The vivid details of little things is wonderful, and I also have the same kinds of memories from my travels abroad. I also found it amazing that she was not at all passionate about food until she arrived in France - that was a surprise to me!

I just love Julia's voice... how she is excited about the whole adventure... enjoying every minute of it.... even with the no heat at home and what not... it just shows that if one wants to learn and excell in anything, it is never too late...

I love her voice in these first few chapters. This book is so compelling to read! Her descriptions are lovely--I wish I was there. I also love the inclusion of Paul's snapshots.

I didn't realize her age, either, until I started reading this book. I think it's inspiring!

Before reading the book, I had seen a PBS profile about Julia Child but never seen any of her cooking shows. So I knew many of her biographical details, but didn't realize what a cheerful, fun and vivacious person she was. It's so evident in the writing

What also struck me is how it often takes a change of scenery for someone to open their eyes, mouths and minds to the possibilities food. Julia does it when she moves to France; Anthony Bourdain does it when he's summering in Normandy. For me it was a wonderful meal in Mérida, Spain. Perhaps we perceive things more intensely when we are out of our usual surroundings...

I am having a lot of the same reactions - I'm enthralled by her voice, encouraged by her age when entering Le Cordon Bleu, and entranced by the photographs. Loving it - great selection!

I think one of the things that struck me was how quickly she caught on to the French respect for food. The joy in serving, the knowledge of its origins, the care and time spent in preparing, serving and enjoying. Even the anticipation. The section about the Couronne restaurant was so vivid. It must have truly changed her thinking.

Another inspired thirty-something chiming in! Although, I don't think I've "discovered" food and cooking at this age, it's just now I'm starting to feel confident and it's become a bigger part of my life.

Michelle mentioned a few posts above this one that a change in surroundings often causes us to look at things in a new way. I agree, and also think that another cause for change can be a change in our circumstances.

For me it's been the arrival of my babies and spending more time at home that has motivated me to think more about food. I want my family life to have at its heart respect and love for preparing and eating wonderful, nourishing food.

I thought that the foreward was a wonderful way to begin this book, but I was dissapointed that there wasn't more about her time before heading to france. I had heard details about her time overseas, meeting Paul and had hoped to hear more details about the beginning of their relationship.

I started reading this book and I just couldn't stop.
Her voice comes through clear and I enjoyed the storytelling quality,
I am facinated at the life she lived and the fact that she fell in love with a country and found her true calling with one meal of sole meuniere.
Very inspiring!

I also love the descriptions of France, the "late bloomer" success story, and how Paul is such a vital part of this story. I love her voice, and the details she shares, such as being in a cafe with the cat asleep on the pile of ledgers (p.48 in the edition I'm reading). It's so authentic and lovely, all of it.

I am fascinated not only by her descriptions of the beginning of her love affair with French cooking and La Belle France, but also by the Childs' experiences working for the USIS following WWII. I can't wait to read more!

I knew very little about Julia Child before reading this book, so it was a treat to be introduced to her personality and passion for life. I tore through the book in a couple of days, so please forgive me if I'm jumping ahead, but I love her attitude about never apologizing for a dish. I'll definitely remember her advice the next time something I make doesn't turn out quite right.

I love that for her first meal as a married woman, she made "brains in wine sauce." How ambitious! I too am loving this book, she's so inspriational. Can't wait to read more!

She is so excited about everything being so new that she is experiencing whether it's food, cooking, traveling or just walking through Paris. She makes me wish I could have that I could move somewhere new and experience it all for the first time.

Oh I am loving this book! For one thing, France has never been much of a destination for me...but after these first two chapters I am seriously jonesin for some Paris.

One thing that struck me is how My Life in France seems like a continuation of Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. I mean, obviously different styles of writing, but just the atmosphere of being new to Paris, not being very well-off and exploring the city and befriending eclectic characters. And then Bumby Hemingway even made an appearance! Has anyone else read a Moveable Feast?

Merganp--read on, there's more about their pre-France life in ch. 2 (I, too, couldn't resist reading ahead...).

I am very struck by the youthful quality of Julia Child's writing. Her attitude toward discovery reminds me of my grandmother, a woman whose "you learn something new every day" motto kept her sharp and happy until her peaceful death in her late 80s. It makes Child's character as a woman in her 30s discovering her vocation so easy to imagine, since she never seems to have lost any of that joie de vivre...

The one thing that really strikes me when reading this is the sheer joy that everything brings her. I loved watching Julia on PBS when I was a kid – it was clear that she was having fun, and I really loved that when she messed up, she would laugh and just move on. That’s the same Julia that I see here – one who has fun in everything she does and always wants to learn more, but never in a way that is competitive or pressured – she does it for the joy of it. I think I could definitely benefit by taking on her attitude just a few days out of every month!

...err, that would be Alex Prud'homme, not to be confused with the Cajun chef, Paul Prud'homme...

I am constantly surprised that I fall more in love with France and the French everyday (we live right on the French border in Geneva, and the market is barely a 5 minute drive). So much of what Julia writes about is still true today. I count myself as very fortunate to be able to go to our local French market every week and buy local produce and traditional products -- the Poulet de Bresse and foie gras, the cheeses, the wines, the onions de Roscoff... Everyone who can should try and live for a summer or a sabbatical in France.

I too didn't know much about Julia before starting this book--except for enjoying reading Julie and Julia . This book is definitely reviving my practically lifelong desire to go to France--plus making me think about brushing up on my high school French skills. I think it was a great choice for Alex and Julia to put the book in her voice--it could have ended up another boring biography of someone's life, but instead it sparkles with Julia's personality and charm.

I thoroughly enjoyed the reading assignment for this week. I understood the excitement about everything little thing in France that Julia experienced because I went through the same thing during my semester abroad in France a couple of years ago. Like Julia, I had to hang bottles of milk out of window during the winter time to keep it chilled since I didn't take to the UV milk very well. The book does make me regret not delving more into French cuisine while I was over there; I loved the pastries, but I couldn't do organ meats like kidneys.

I like her "voice" in the book so far, and it feels as if I'm reading letters she sent to me from France. That's pretty cool because my family and I used to watch her show on PBS when I was a kid.

I am behind in my reading due to a sick baby last week, but have finally gotten a chance to catch up and am thoroughly enjoying what I have read in these first pages. I can't help but repeat what has been said in regards to Julia's age at the time they moved to France and her passion for cooking was revealed. When she referred to herself as "young" at 36 I was thrilled!

I'm so looking forward to the rest of this book. I can't wait to settle in for a good read this weekend!

Life everyone else, I'm so charmed by this book, and inspired by the fact that Julia couldn't cook until she was 36! There's still time, for everything ...
And who doesn't love the Camembert Madame, who could squeeze and sniff out the best cheese, so it would be ready for the time you were going to serve it? And like Julia, I'd love to see a cheese whisperer at work, and it made me wonder if I could find one in the local fancy cheese shops around here.
A lovely, lovely book - it reads just as if Julia is at your kitchen table telling you about all these adventures. C'est chouette!