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Even though I knew the cookbook was eventually published, it was such a relief when I read in the book that it was published! Funny how closely I connect to events in books. And how daring of Julia to jump headfirst into a sequel! I love her tenacity!

It was such a thrill to read about the first few television shoots, and I loved how Paul was in the background washing up dishes! Their relationship is the underpinning of this whole story, of course, and it's fun to watch where he pops up in Julia's new adventures.

I loved how she rehearsed her cooking lesson for TV over and over again - couldn't help but compare to today's flashy TV cooking. Seems rather different...

I'll admit, I'm loving all the little loyal and supportive things Paul does for her, too! I don't have my library copy with me, but somewhere on the jacket, doesn't Julia talk about how the book is about all the things she's loved, including and especially Paul? It's a true love story without being overly sweet and cheesy. It also struck me how, of all the Julia shows I've seen, she's never gone on and "cooked for Paul" the way, say, Ina would cook for Jeffrey on the Food Network. Not that Ina's sweet dedications are bad, but I appreciate Julia's focus on the food.

Julia's voice is what continues to strike me the most in this book. She is so very genuine in everything she does. So rare it is to find someone that truly loves everything she does and puts her all into it - that is what Julia Child was and we need more people like her.

I am very impressed by how, throughout the book, she is so studious and scientific about figuring out what makes a recipe work and getting it down right--repeating the cooking again and again. (and, similarly, as Faith noted, she rehearsed for her early shows again and again). For me, as an ordinary "civilian" cook, it wouldn't occur to me to bother to try something again if it didn't work, but this is inspiring to me and makes cooking more of an adventure. A recent recipe I found here - the popovers - didn't come out right at all the first time I made them (I substituted a lot of ingredients), so a couple of days later, I made them again with (mostly) all the ingredients in the recipe, and it was so satisfying and magical when they came out right. I was inspired by Julia.

Another thing is that the most alive sections of the book to me seem to be when they first live in Paris. Maybe it's seeing where and how she first caught fire with her life's work or maybe it's because it seemed like they were the most carefree or maybe it's because she's fairly young and seems like a fresh, new, unfamous, and very lively person rather than the icon we know as Julia Child. After they leave Paris, I felt a real loss and kept waiting for their return to Paris to live, which doesn't happen.

Yes, their leaving Paris was sad. I was really sad about the way that Paul was treated. It was interesting read a firsthand account of the McCarthy era. It feels so distant now - it was a shock to see how real and unnerving it was for Paul and Julia.

I was especially sad when they moved to Germany - think of all the letters that Julia must have written back and forth to Simca!

I love how she talks about some "Today Show" that she's never heard of! I also agree with Pixie's comments. It's interesting how hard she works to become great at what she does. I also was hoping she would move back to Paris.

Paul seems like an amazing husband to step out of his important role and wash her dishes. He's so amazingly supportive of her!