Welcome to the first edition of the Janes-List.com book club. Let’s face it, we read a lot. We read on planes en route to business meetings, we read on the beach unwinding from our week. And yes, we sometimes read in the car during a red light. Don’t judge.
But we’re not in a book club. There’s no time for that. So that’s why we’re launching this digital book club. We read, write a review and you comment, giving us your feedback. If there’s something you’ve read and want to introduce to our book club, email us at jane@janes-list.com and we’ll ask you to write a guest review.
Our first book is Julie & Julia, the bestselling memoir of Julie Powell. Stuck in a quarterlife-and-then-some crisis Julie embarks to cook all 524 of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year and blog all about it. Sounds like our kind of girl!
Well, the book piqued my interest because I plan to see the movie by the same name, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams on this opening weekend. And in true fashion the book is better than I think the movie could possibly deliver.
The book’s protagonist, Julie Powell is pushing 30 and has pushed aside her dream of making it big in Manhattan and having a child with her high school sweetheart husband. Delving in Julia Child’s cookbook means returning to safer memories of her childhood and using a familiar foundation to challenge herself and change her life. We can relate to that!
In fact, the entire book is entirely relatable. If you’ve ever been stuck in a dead-end job. If you’ve ever botched dinner. If you’ve ever had a screaming match with your spouse. If you’ve ever had a disastrous visit from your parents, then you can find something in this book to connect with.
The book is as relatable as it is readable. It reads like a magazine that you can pick up and put down with ease. But, it doesn’t always flow as easily and contains all the contradictions that tend to make up a post-9/11 heroine. Riddled with anxiety that she is doing something important with her life because she’s seen firsthand how short life can be. Clinging to love and familiarity as much as she’s trying to stretch to expand her wings. And while this can still be relatable, it does make for some inconsistent tone in some chapters of the book.
At the end of the day this will make for a great poolside read and may even inspire you to submit your recipes for Recipe Wednesday!
Next up…The Time Traveler’s Wife
Photo by: Sony Pictures
