alldaffer's review against another edition
3.0
Review here: http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/73984542.html?page=2&c=y
Author of Julie and Julia
Author of Julie and Julia
offbalance80's review against another edition
3.0
There are blogs that I read because they're written by friends.
There are blogs that I read because they teach me new things.
And, there are blogs that I read simply because the writer's life is an utter, total trainwreck, and I can't get enough of the delicious, schadenfreude-stuffed drama.
Julie Powell remains a great blog writer - even though she's in print form. Each chapter was another entry - there was no real narrative thread in connection, so that made the book feel like a collection of slightly connected essays, rather than a fully realized work.
Still, her candor - both about her love affairs with men and with meat, made this an enjoyable read. I just think it needed a more thorough edit.
There are blogs that I read because they teach me new things.
And, there are blogs that I read simply because the writer's life is an utter, total trainwreck, and I can't get enough of the delicious, schadenfreude-stuffed drama.
Julie Powell remains a great blog writer - even though she's in print form. Each chapter was another entry - there was no real narrative thread in connection, so that made the book feel like a collection of slightly connected essays, rather than a fully realized work.
Still, her candor - both about her love affairs with men and with meat, made this an enjoyable read. I just think it needed a more thorough edit.
annegvall's review against another edition
1.0
Couldn't bring myself to finish that whiny disgusting cheating story with a butcher shop background...
linneahedvig's review against another edition
4.0
I love this woman.
This book was great, cozy and cathartic. It just felt so, well, strangely wholesome to read about cutting up animals and figuring out life and men and affairs and marriage and cooking meat. I loved her descriptions of the butcher shop. It felt like the kind of place we're all looking for, that kind of community, the humor, the sarcasm, the large haunches of pork... the coffee. I love reading about people drinking hot beverages. It's really relaxing for me. I don't know, I just found the whole thing weirdly encouraging. Reading about someone else fumbling through life and not giving up, it's just good. That's how I felt when I read [b:Julie and Julia|3632689|Julie and Julia|Julie Wilson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|3675517], back when I'd just graduated from college and that's how I felt reading this now.
It's also nice to read about someone else who goes to Buffy for comfort when things get hard.
This book was great, cozy and cathartic. It just felt so, well, strangely wholesome to read about cutting up animals and figuring out life and men and affairs and marriage and cooking meat. I loved her descriptions of the butcher shop. It felt like the kind of place we're all looking for, that kind of community, the humor, the sarcasm, the large haunches of pork... the coffee. I love reading about people drinking hot beverages. It's really relaxing for me. I don't know, I just found the whole thing weirdly encouraging. Reading about someone else fumbling through life and not giving up, it's just good. That's how I felt when I read [b:Julie and Julia|3632689|Julie and Julia|Julie Wilson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|3675517], back when I'd just graduated from college and that's how I felt reading this now.
It's also nice to read about someone else who goes to Buffy for comfort when things get hard.
biblialex's review against another edition
1.0
I picked up the book out of curiosity after the post-publication backlash. I thought the subject matter seemed somewhat courageous for an author previous known through print and film as that plucky girl who cooked her way through a Julia Child cookbook in a year. Unfortunately, the more of the read of the book, the less I enjoyed it. It's really painful to read knowing that these are real people making such a mess of their lives. I did finish, but I don't really recommend it.
madae's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't love Julie and Julia, but I was interested in seeing what happens in Julie Powell's second memoir. I think it was on page 18, when she revealed her affair, I started to really dislike her. Knowing that all of this dysfunction is real (she's one twisted person if she made this up as her life) is sad. And not, sympathetic sad, more like "You are messed up...what the heck happened?!?" While her journey to becoming a butcher and her world travels are interesting, the drama of her marriage and her affair should have been kept private. She was quirky and likeable in Julie and Julia. Here she's just a mess and it's not pretty.
bkmaedel's review against another edition
2.0
The butchering part of the book was interesting and fun to read; the personal story of what was going on in her life during that period was really sad. I just could not even identify with her actions, and it left a bad taste in my mouth about the book as a whole. Definitely not as enjoyable to me as Julie & Julia.
caroparr's review against another edition
2.0
Way too long, way too self-absorbed, but somehow I read the whole thing.
lisaeirene's review against another edition
1.0
This book is lacking the magic that the first book had.I loved Julie & Julia and enjoyed the book so much, and the movie was great too. This book just isn't very good. First, the story starts out with her cheating on her husband. I just don't want to read about that. Instead of the affair being something relatable, it makes her really unlikable. I just don't want to read about her meeting some douchebag in a hotel room.
The other part of the book is about her learning to be a butcher. It's so not interesting to read. I may not finish the book. Big disappointment.
The other part of the book is about her learning to be a butcher. It's so not interesting to read. I may not finish the book. Big disappointment.