I savored this love story of Paul and Julia Child.

Originally checked out to read only the section(s) about French bread, but kept running into other interesting tidbits so ended up reading the whole book. A little bit long on "we went here, and ate this food with this wine", but the sections about her culinary education are often delightful.

I really enjoyed this book and loved the description of the restaurants that she and Paul went to when they first arrived and how she, a self admitted non-cook in her late 30s, became a cook by diving into French culture by learning the language, the customs of buying food at a local market and by taking classes at the famed Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (which was also attended by the author of Kitchen Counter School) in the late 1940s. While I am not a cook myself (as you probably all know by know), I could really appreciate the chance that Julia took to learn to become an accomplished cook (she came across as the sort of person that has the expectations to become an accomplished cook; I think also the fact that she was trying to get to the same sort of level as Paul's mother had a large effect on her) and even though I probably will never get to the level of Julia herself (somehow we always compare ourselves to her), I think even taking the chance to cook or bake something is a step in the right direction. I did appreciate her frankness about her frustration in writing the first cookbook and even though there was great success with the second one as well, she didn't bow into pressure into writing a third book. I also appreciate that the book felt personal, even though it was only a glance into her private life, and that not everything was perfect and how she worried about things just like we all worry about things and how concerns about what was going on in Paul's work in the 1950s was of equal concern for her and probably didn't make things any easier when living abroad in Europe, far away from family and friends in the States. Also, I appreciated that she didn't constantly talk about food in the book and that you felt like you got to know Julia and her husband, albeit on a surface level, and the fun little facts that she passed along in the book (did you know that Judith Jones, the editor for Mastering Vol.1 & 2, was the person that got The Diary of Anne Frank into the hands of American readers in the 1950s, when it was just sitting on "the pile" of manuscripts that had been submitted to her while she was working for Random House in Paris?) that made the book enjoyable to read.

a wonderfuly and honest memoir; the voice is the voice i remember from television OPL has DVD's of Julia's television programs

Having first seen the Movie Julie & Julia I enjoyed the book even though I knew some of the stories that were chosen for the book. For non-fiction it was a good read and the title explains the plot well. To learn about the process of writing her iconic cookbook was quite interesting.

You need to know a little French to appreciate the book!

An endearing romance, vivid depictions of life in Paris, and luscious descriptions of food and wine make this a marvelous story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm a little too young to have watched Julia on tv and only vaguely remember the SNL skits, but as an adult I have slowly become a foodie and can appreciate good food and those passionate about cooking. Julia was both. This autobiography details her life before food, her life while discovering food and her life while teaching others about the wonderful joy of food. She was sharp, witty, outgoing, adventurous, loyal and committed. I loved reading about her adventures in the kitchen, her trials over writing The Book and her wonderful relationship with Paul. This is a fantasic book that I would recommend to any of my foodie friends, as well as anyone who enjoys a well written look into an interesting person's life.

love, love, looooooooooove this book. it's like travelling, eating, and cooking - without actually doing any of it. takes you right there. and, the relationship between julia & paul is so sweet and endearing.

Absolutely delicious! How could anyone not like Julia Child? How could anyone not like this book?