My Life in France

Julia Child's My Life in France was one of the most enjoyable nonfiction books I've ever read. (Which, admittedly, isn't very many.) I've never seen her cooking show, so my only picture of Julia is Meryl Streep's portrayal in Julie and Julia, but the same joie de vivre in Meryl's performance comes across on the page. One of her most endearing traits is her habit for nicknaming everything and everyone--her first Paris apartment on Rue de l'Universite was Rue de Loo, and her cookbook work was cookery-bookery.

Also noteworthy is that she really didn't start cooking seriously until her mid- to late-thirties. I still have time! But when she started cooking seriously, she took it very seriously . . . trying every recipe over and over to find exactly the right combination of ingredients and technique. She broke cooking down to a science, and she wanted every recipe in her cookbooks to be fool proof.

There was one part of the book that I did not find so enjoyable: the discussions she and her editor had when it came time to name Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She goes into detail about the different names that were proposed and the sales manager's objections . . . it all just reminded me too much of work! Actually, it was the part of the book I probably related to most.

In any case, it's a great read--I think it would even be interesting for people who don't like to cook. Because I do enjoy cooking, it made me want to get into the kitchen and try something new!