How to use this Page

Bluewater Productions has created an app edition of the Female Force: Julia Child comic book. After the original print version of this biographical comic had sold out, the publisher used Authorly to transform it into an interactive app. The price for this app has been set at $2.99; readers can download it from iTunes, Google Play, or the Amazon Appstore. Here's more from the press release: "Click on 'audio hotspots' to hear sound effects play and swipe to navigate through Child's journey toward being a chef. Authorly apps include features such as narration, word-by-word highlighted text, audio and video hotspots, basic animation and movements, sound effects and background music, and more!"

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Jeffrey Yamaguchi has been hired as the director of digital marketing at ABRAMS, the first person to hold that new title.

Previously, Yamaguchi served as director of digital marketing for the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. He guided many digital projects, including Julia Child‘s Mastering the Art of French Cooking app. Here’s more about the new post, from the release:

he will oversee the company’s web and social media program; spearhead creative online campaigns for major titles and authors; and execute all digital initiatives in conjunction with ABRAMS’ existing marketing efforts. He will work with both the adult and children’s publicity and marketing departments, and with ABRAMS’ digital assets and publishing technology department.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Julie & Julia. Sony Pictures. DVD 2009.

The Plot: Julia Child moves to France and falls in love with France and French cooking, and hopes to find a way to share that love. Present day Julie Powell cooks and blogs her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1.

The Good: This summer, I reviewed the two books that are the basis of this book, Powell's Julie & Julia and Child's My Life in France.

Powell's book inspired the title, and as I said in my review of the book, "Powell at times imagines a scenario from Child's life. At the end of the book, she finds out that Child knows about her project and is less than impressed. Ultimately, Powell realizes that the "book" Julia Child is who matters to Powell, not the person."

Julie & Julia the movie is not solely Powell's book; it is also Child's book, which means that the movie Julia Child is indeed Julia Child, not Powell's Child. The movie establishes that this is about Julia Child, and the real Julia Child, by starting the movie with Child and her husband arriving in France and ending the movie with Child holding the first copy of her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. So why, one wonders, entwine Powell's story with Child's?

In her book, Powell used Child (and I mean that respectfully) and Child's importance to the story was filtered through Powell. In the movie, this becomes how Powell is important to Child. Oh, the two never meet; and we see Powell hearing from someone that Child was less than impressed and not very understanding of Powell's blogging project, but we don't see movie Julia Child saying or doing anything of the sort. Except for the recreation of an episode of Child's cooking show, Julia Child is only shown during her time of becoming Julia Child. So how is Powell important to Julia Child? Because it is Julie Powell, the servantless cook, that Julia Child is writing for. Child's success is shown in two ways: the publication of the book, and her continuing impact on American society as represented by one woman.

It's nice to have a gap between reading books and watching films. The Julie Powell and "my" Julie Powell, the one I met in the book, seemed very different people. Film Julie Powell seemed less rough around the edges, a little too perfect and cute, who never really gained weight despite complaining about it. Book Julie Powell owned her messiness and maggots and dissatisfaction.

Meryl Streep is amazing as Julia Child. One thing I adore about Streep? She plays people younger than she is! Child went to France at 36;

My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Random House. Paperback edition 2009.

The Plot: Julia Child's memoir (with great nephew Alex Prud'homme) of how she became, well, Julia Child.

The Good: Having finished Julie & Julia, I had to pick this up to find out more about Julia Child.
Swoon.

OK, now with that over.

Child describes her life in France as a newlywed. Child and her husband, Paul (who met and wooed during World War II) travel to France for Paul's job shortly after their marriage. The Childs' married when Julia was in her mid 30s, Paul ten years older. Oh, to be in post-World War II France. Reading this is not just traveling through someone else's experiences; it is doing so to a time long past. Paris, sixty years ago. I adored all the details of living in France, traveling, and, of course, eating.

In France, Child falls in love first with French food and then with French cooking. Half of the book follows her as she discovers and builds this passion. The second half is about where she takes this -- plans to teach soon grow to writing a cookbook and then cooking on TV. As I mentioned in my review of Julie & Julia, I adore a book about someone who does this in their 30s and 40s and 50s.

Some of the interesting history in the book: Julia and Paul being liberal Democrats AND anti-communist AND anti-McCarthy. Current fiction set during this time period does not usually allow for or show this complexity.

The writing and process of creating Mastering The Art of French Cooking is detailed, in all its complexity. And time! Years and years it took, to write the book, to not just translate French into English but also to take into account American measurements, food (the flour is different!), eating habits.

Child is fascinating, enthusiastic, funny, passionate. On eating: "Our goal was to eat well, but sensibly, as the French did. This meant eating a great variety of foods and avoiding snacks. But the best diet of was Paul's fully patented Belly Control System: "Just don't eat so damn much.""

Julia and Paul's love story is touching and beautiful. She matter of factly addresses how they could not have children, decided not to adopt, but instead to embrace fully the life they had and live it. And wow, did they! How can you not love a couple that sends the following Valentine's Day Card to all their family, friends, and work colleagues: "a self-timed Valentine photo in the bathtub, wearing nothing but artfully placed soap bubbles." At the time, she's in her 40s, he is in his 50s.

By the way? While I love this book and Julia Child, and it makes me hungry, and makes me want to travel to Paris (but traveling to Paris in the 40s/50s may be tough), I'm still not motivated to start cooking Julia Child's French recipes.

Finally, my list of favorite books is for favorite books read in a year regardless of publication date. So yep, this is added to that list.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. Little Brown, 2005. Paperback edition renamed Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. Reviewed 2005 hardcover; personal copy.

The Plot: One of the first "book based on blog," this recounts Julie Powell's year long obsession with making every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One.

The Good: Believe it or not, I bought this back in 2005, when it first came out, but only got around to reading it now because of the movie version of the book, Julie & Julia. I cannot wait till that film is on DVD.

I really enjoyed Powell's memoir; what led her to start cooking Julia Child's book, and to blog about it. Thankfully, Powell never calls what she was going through as any type of "life crisis" (seriously, one of my pet peeves is the whole quarter life crisis etc.) What she is going through is something that is not so uncommon: feeling adrift in your own life. We live in such a driven culture, where the young achiever and go-getter is the one who is given prestige and honor, that we need reminders: not everyone knows what they want to be, and goes for it, at age 14. Or 18. Or 21. Or 25. Or, for that matter, at 35, 40, 45. Or, people may know what they want -- and life happens and they, wait for it, change their mind. But because, again, we're in a culture that demands you know, at every moment, your endgame, the idea that someone doesn't know is viewed as wrong. The idea that what one wants may change is viewed as negative. I still get odd looks because I changed careers, as if there is something wrong, with me, for changing my mind. And I'm sure, should I change careers again, I'd get the same looks. The only acceptable path, it seems, is the one where you know from age 14 what you want and go for it and anything else is less.

But it's not just twentysomething Powell that this is about -- it's not just Powell reinventing herself as a writer. It's also about Child, who reinvented herself as cook and writer in her 30s and 40s.

So here we have Julie Powell: in a dead end job that pays the bills, lacking anything to be really passionate about, and deciding to put that passion into a slightly odd cooking project. I love her honesty about this, about her searching. I love how in her own memoir, she isn't afraid to show her own flaws -- and despite this, no, because of it, she remains likable. But I have to make a disclosure: she likes Buffy! You know I'm going to love anyone who loves Buffy.

While there are things in the book about cooking, and the cooking project, this is so much more. Powell created a narrative around that project; those interested in the actual Julie/Julia cooking experiment can check out the Julie/Julia blog, which is still around. So, a handful of recipes are mentioned and described, but not each. and. every. one. Instead, it's her life, her friends, and what she learns along the way.

What's also interesting is the real person versus the imagined; Powell at times imagines a scenario from Child's life. At the end of the book, she finds out that Child knows about her project and is less than impressed. Ultimately, Powell realizes that the "book" Julia Child is who matters to Powell, not the person. But isn't that true of many of us, who think we "know" someone? Here among book bloggers, how many people think they know an author or blogger based on there words? But, really, don't. And does it really matter? I read Meg Cabot's blog (and love when she comments here or otherwise throws out a shout out to this blog), and am secretly convinced that if we met we'd be best buds and spend our time watching TV and movies and eating. But, really, I don't know her. Not really.

Finally, as a blogger, I love the blog stuff! The happiness over comments, the oddness of people you don't know knowing you, the realization that real people read your blog.

Powell's next book is out this December, and is called Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession. Do I care about butchery or butchering? Nope; but I love Powell's voice, so cannot wait for it to be published.

Am I inspired to start French cooking? Are you crazy? It's like 80 degrees in the shade! My kitchen doesn't have air conditioning! Plus I'm trying to lose weight! I don't have the time, hello, I blog, don't make involved French recipes. But if you are so inspired, invite me over.


© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

My book club read My Life in France by Julia Child right before my trip to France. So consider me a little bit biased to everything French. Needless to say, I was looking forward to seeing the film Julie & Julia, based in part on Child's book. The movie was written and directed by Nora Ephron. And I must admit, I got a bit teary-eyed - there were many touchingly sweet scenes, and Meryl Streep does a fantastic job of staying in Julia's character and capturing her enthusiasm that I was totally swept up in the story. The other characters were well cast; loved Julia's husband and the blogger Julie's husband. The scenes felt comfortable and real, with a touch of "I wish my husband would do/say that" thrown in there. And the food! My god, the food. We caught the 3:05 matinee and by the time the movie was over, it was about dinner time, and boy do I wish Julia was in my kitchen cooking. I was so ready to be her taste tester! But alas, I made lamb meatballs with small potatoes and yellow beans with butter and dill. Tasty for someone who doesn't cook well. Oh, and two glasses of wine. That always makes a meal taste better. (Except for cereal. Baily's Irish Cream is a better pairing.)

Remembering Ted Kennedy, America’s Eulogist
Vanity Fair’s Todd Purdum remembers Senator Ted Kennedy as America’s “unofficial eulogist laureate.”

Frustrated Novelist Julia Child Finally Tops Bestseller List
Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking debuts at number one on the New York Times bestseller list this week.

Lemony Snicket Threatens a ‘Dreadful’ New Series
The Guardian features a humorous article announcing that “elusive author Lemony Snicket (aka author Daniel Handler) is working on a four-book series as a follow-up to the bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

Apple joins with Publisher to put First Picture Book on iPhone
The UK’s Winged Chariot Press is the first publisher to offer a children’s picture book for the iPhone, publishing The Surprise by Sylvia van Ommen.