Cooking Class
Saturday night I had a Barnes and Noble gift card burning a hole in my pocket and a restless, I've-been-working-at-home-all-weekend-and-I'm-sicka-this-place dh, and two boys who needed picking up from their spontaneous get-together with an old friend, and the pickup spot was conveniently down the street from our local Barnes and Noble. Whoo-eee! What more excuse did we need? Anyway, we hightailed it down to B&N, where on the way to the ladies' room (always the first stop when you have a six-year-old daughter) I walked past the display of new releases, and what did I see but Julie and Julia (Julie Powell), nestled, of course, right beside a stack of new editions of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Julia Child).
It only took me three pages to determine that the gift card was now committed. I brought it home and read till midnight, then picked it up again Sunday morning even before getting out of bed. And then finished it after church. VERY satisfying way to read a book, btw... while there are some books you want to savor and take your time finishing (The Time Traveler's Wife and Five Quarters of the Orange come to mind), there are others that make you want to put the rest of life on hold until you finish. Julie and Julia had that effect on me. For one thing, I love books about food. Like, Like Water for Chocolate. Or the aforementioned Five Quarters (thanks to Crissy in WA for letting me know about it!).
Another reason this book is so great is that it is about breaking out - going down an unconventional path and finding freedom. This has become a precious truth to me over the last few years - that following your instincts, even if you make a few false starts, is not as scary or as fraught with danger as you think it is. In fact, taking that risky path might just lead you to joy. Freedom. Fulfillment.
Anyway, Julie and Julia is a fun read. (I will insert a disclaimer about salty language... if language is an issue for you, then you might want to pass on this book. However, I personally found her word usage very funny. There is profane cussing, and there is laugh-out-loud cussing. Hers is the latter.)
What are you guys reading?
It only took me three pages to determine that the gift card was now committed. I brought it home and read till midnight, then picked it up again Sunday morning even before getting out of bed. And then finished it after church. VERY satisfying way to read a book, btw... while there are some books you want to savor and take your time finishing (The Time Traveler's Wife and Five Quarters of the Orange come to mind), there are others that make you want to put the rest of life on hold until you finish. Julie and Julia had that effect on me. For one thing, I love books about food. Like, Like Water for Chocolate. Or the aforementioned Five Quarters (thanks to Crissy in WA for letting me know about it!).
Another reason this book is so great is that it is about breaking out - going down an unconventional path and finding freedom. This has become a precious truth to me over the last few years - that following your instincts, even if you make a few false starts, is not as scary or as fraught with danger as you think it is. In fact, taking that risky path might just lead you to joy. Freedom. Fulfillment.
Anyway, Julie and Julia is a fun read. (I will insert a disclaimer about salty language... if language is an issue for you, then you might want to pass on this book. However, I personally found her word usage very funny. There is profane cussing, and there is laugh-out-loud cussing. Hers is the latter.)
What are you guys reading?
posted by Mamabird @ 11:35 AM
2 Comments:
At 12:00 PM,
Crissy said…
Funny, I was just thinking of Five Quarters as I was driving my sons to swimming lessons this morning. I'm currently reading Harris' Jigs and Reels, a collection of short stories. Faith and Hope go Shopping, the first story, had me in tears at the pool. I just love her writing.
I lent Five Quarters to my sister-in-law months ago, and I'm about to buy a new copy. I do want to read it again.
Crissy
At 4:23 PM,
Mamabird said…
Yes, I agree - she is a good writer. I started Five Quarters in an airport bookstore, and the descriptions of all those arcane essences and reductions and barrels of anchovies and such just seduced me. I figure my next move has to be Chocolat. I didn't realize she'd written that till after I'd finished FQotO.
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