Book Club: Week One

My Life in France by Julia Child

Welcome to the first week of our book club.  This month we’ll focus on all things Julia.  The movie Julia & Julia has been out now for just under a month so it will be a timely book for us to read and share.  (I have not seen the movie . . . yet.)

Julia Child is best know for her book (which she co-authored with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle), The Art of French Cooking (1961) and subsequently, her show “The French Chef” (first airing in 1963).

If you’re not a cook, I encourage you to read along with us anyway.  Child’s passion for food is contagious.  I found myself making scrambled eggs ‘the French way’ with surprising results.  Anyone can make a scrambled egg, right?  (Yes. You can.)

At the introduction of  The Art of French Cooking, American housewives were presented with haute cuisine (in French – high cooking) in a way that was approachable and with ingredients that were usually available at the local supermarkets.

The book we are reading is not the story Julia & Julia.  My Life in France is a memoir of Julia Child’s years in France where she ‘found herself’ and her passion for cooking.  We will take five weeks to read the book.  Go ahead and read faster if you love the story!  It’s a busy time of year for mom’s, so I thought we’d take it easy.

The book begins when Julia and her husband Paul move from their home in Washington D. C. to Paris in 1948.  Her husband Paul had been offered a job with the United States Information Service in France.  Her enthusiasm is perceptible from the start.  I really think you’ll enjoy this book.  And so, without further ado,

bon appétit!

Your first reading assignment: Part 1, Chapter 1 The Belle France

Be sure to check FoodieMama’s blog on Thursday.  She will have a Julia-inspired post for your eating pleasure!!

Next Friday: Kit Lit.

Next Monday: Book Club: Week 2