A review by cdcsmith
Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life by Karen Karbo
4.0
Disclaimer first: I received my copy free as part of a Goodreads, first reads giveaway.
Being from the Boston area and raised on PBS for television, Julia Child was someone I "knew" well and was proud to say was local. Okay, she wasn't exactly local, but living in Cambridge for as long as she did (and during my lifetime), I claimed her (as do a great many Bostonians.
I learned a great deal about Julia from this book. Honestly, I had no idea about her upbringing and I found myself having some truly mixed feelings about it because it was so far different than my own and what I imagined hers to have been. I got over that rather quickly because quite frankly, she makes it easy to forgive offenses such as being born into a fair amount of money with a dad who is just about as opposite in thinking than I ever could be.
About the book and the writing... This was a fast, easy read. I was so entertained as I read, it felt a bit like talking with a friend about someone she knew who was really cool. The influx of "rules" was funny, insightful, worth giving thought to (the bit for saying "sorry", I've been known to apologize for saying I was sorry, so yes, point taken.)
This will not be a literary great discussed in high school English classes in decades to come, but a perfect summer read in my opinion. Great for people who have a fondness for cooking (which I do not), a fondness for Julia Child, or just want to learn some interesting things about a woman who was much more than I had given her credit for.
Being from the Boston area and raised on PBS for television, Julia Child was someone I "knew" well and was proud to say was local. Okay, she wasn't exactly local, but living in Cambridge for as long as she did (and during my lifetime), I claimed her (as do a great many Bostonians.
I learned a great deal about Julia from this book. Honestly, I had no idea about her upbringing and I found myself having some truly mixed feelings about it because it was so far different than my own and what I imagined hers to have been. I got over that rather quickly because quite frankly, she makes it easy to forgive offenses such as being born into a fair amount of money with a dad who is just about as opposite in thinking than I ever could be.
About the book and the writing... This was a fast, easy read. I was so entertained as I read, it felt a bit like talking with a friend about someone she knew who was really cool. The influx of "rules" was funny, insightful, worth giving thought to (the bit for saying "sorry", I've been known to apologize for saying I was sorry, so yes, point taken.)
This will not be a literary great discussed in high school English classes in decades to come, but a perfect summer read in my opinion. Great for people who have a fondness for cooking (which I do not), a fondness for Julia Child, or just want to learn some interesting things about a woman who was much more than I had given her credit for.