Maybe I should be more specific: Julia Child’s writing reeeeeeaaaaally bugs me!
Please don't let the title of this post fool you: I am a HUGE Julia Child fan. Always have been. Always will be. Circumstantially, she drives me nuts. I think you know what I mean. Have you ever met someone that you really think you like, but deep down they make you want to scratch your eyes out. You may not be able to pin point it at first, but with time you realize that the reason you would rather roll around in mud than have dinner with them is because they are exactly. like. you.
Last June I posted about her book in my summer reading review (see here). I thought I was going to speed through it so I blogged about what I had read so far (which was about 2 chapters). Well I totally counted my chickens before they hatched. It took me until January to finish this book (and yes it was the only book I was reading and it took me 7 months). It was like pulling teeth with each page. Her attention to detail is no doubt what made all of her recipes beyond spectacular and mouth-wateringly delicious. But to read about each detail for chapter after chapter....oh my goodness, I couldn't do it.
A carbon copy of yourself seems good, because doesn't everyone love themselves? It really isn't good though, because you see your own faults so clearly. This is how I am: I am Julia Child’s stunt double. When I take on a task I don't rest until I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is absolutely the most perfect product I can make. My perfectionist ways must be annoying to others. Julia just wrote about it, while I am actually living it. Is this how annoying I am to other people? Great! Just great!
I learned a few things from Mrs. Child after reading her memoir: 1) From now on I should stick to her cookbooks. Her recipes are amazing and I have a deeper appreciation for the decades she invested into creating her recipes, but no more memoirs for me by Julia Child. I still love her books in my kitchen, just not on my nightstand. 2) Maybe I don’t always need to be perfect at everything. After reading this memoir and fully realizing that the reason she was driving me batty was because she was so much like myself, I realized that I have the similar desire to go to the extreme for perfection. Not everything has to be perfect. I will never be perfect, so I am just wasting time trying to accomplish something that will never be. Sure I should always strive to do my best, but striving for perfection will ultimately lead to disappointment and drive everyone around me coo-coo. 3) Do not write a blog post on a book for which I’ve only read a couple chapters. You’d thinking being a professor this would be obvious, but no, it wasn’t lol
Since Julia drove me to drink….and by drink I don’t mean alcohol, I mean lower my pleasure reading standards, I followed her book up with something a lot less taxing on my cognitive resources. To get over my break-up with Julia I read “White Girl Problems” by Babe Walker, and yes I have actually read this cover to cover. (Thanks Katie for the recommendation). As offensive as this title may seem, this fictional book had me giggling with each page. This new version of “Clueless” is a simple read that is full of fluff, awkward upper-class satire, unimpressive writing, and wont teach you anything, except to be grateful that you’re you.
From the back of the book:
Babe Walker, center of the universe, is a painstakingly manicured white girl with an expensive smoothie habit, a proclivity for Louboutins, a mysterious mother she's never met, and approximately 50 bajillion Twitter followers. But her "problems" have landed her in shopping rehab—that's what happens when you spend $246,893.50 in one afternoon at Barneys. Now she's decided to write her memoir, revealing the gut-wrenching hurdles she's had to overcome in order to be perfect in every way, every day. Hurdles such as:
- I hate my horse.
- Every job I've ever had is the worst job I've ever had.
- He's not a doctor, a lawyer, or a prince.
- I’ll eat anything, as long as it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, low-fat, low-calorie, sugar-free, and organic.
- Every job I've ever had is the worst job I've ever had.
- He's not a doctor, a lawyer, or a prince.
- I’ll eat anything, as long as it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, low-fat, low-calorie, sugar-free, and organic.
In an Adderall-induced flash of inspiration, Babe Walker has managed to create one of the most enjoyable, unforgettable memoirs in years.
“The epitome of the urban socialite you love to hate.” --Time magazine
What have you been reading lately?
Summer reading is about to start up so what reading recommendations do you have for me?
