Book club again already, this one came round quick and I only just managed to finish the book the night before...slacker!
We met at Matthews yard - now the official venue due to awesomeness (and availability of cakes) to talk about 'My Life in France' which is about the Life of Julia Child and how she became a chef. I think I was the only one who had seen the film 'Julie and Julia' which is loosely based on some of Julia's experiences and time in France, and I loved the film so much that I thought the book would be interesting, which is why I added it to our list.
It was a really mixed bag in terms of everyone's thoughts and opinions about the book and the characters. I had mixed feelings myself...I really liked Julia's personality, her husband and the other characters in the book, but what was interesting is that other people read her in a completely different way and I'm not sure if that's because I have seen Meryl Streep's quirky interpretation of Julia or whether each of us just processes what we read in a different way. A couple of us myself included, thought Julia was a very strong, passionate woman who was ambitious and inspirational in that after trying her hand at a few random hobbies she threw herself into cooking and made a career out of it. But she didn't just cook she took preparation and technique to extreme, she was a perfectionist and became a writer and a TV personality, all with the help and support of her husband and the people around her. But others who read the book felt she was too strong willed, she almost trampled over people and pushed her way to the limelight, and she was more out for herself. Another thing that was interesting was talking about class. Its clear in the book that Julia didn't consider herself and her husband to be wealthy but in fact the way of life she describes was very upper class particularly for a time in France where many people were very poor. They ate out ALOT, they could afford to spend a lot on ingredients which would often have been thrown away after several trial recipes a day and just the fact that they were so well travelled. Money never appeared to be an issue and her husband had a very high level job with the government. But I didn't so much get the impression that they were snobs but others did feel Julia came across this way.
I think for me about two thirds of the way through I began to struggle with the book and it was because it was just so detailed, specifically about the food and recipes that she prepared and ate. Obviously being a book about a chef I was expecting her to talk about food but I began to find it tiresome, particularly when some sentences were in French and then explained in English but others were in French and then there was no translation at all, as if it assumed the reader would know what she was talking about. I also found it incredulous that at 92 years old Julia would remember all these details about what she ate in each restaurant including which wines went with which course, but perhaps being so obsessed with food she would have written these details down in a diary or letters.
Overall I enjoyed reading it because it was totally different to anything else we have read and it was a change to read something about a real persons life rather than fiction, however I think it makes an interesting addition to watching the film 'Julie and Julia' and is enjoyable if you have an interest in Julia Child and/or cooking. If not I think random readers may find this less interesting and hard to wade through. The scores for the book averaged around 5-6 out of 10 although Neil gave it a generous 7.5.
This month we decided we needed a good bit of fiction to dig our teeth into so we decided to go for a 'who done it' that our newest addition Brenda suggested and here it is:
'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn
'On a warm summer morning in Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favours with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behaviour. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?'
Grab your copy and get reading!
Next Book Club:
Date: 4th June 2014
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Matthews Yard
The idea is to write a sentence a day. I don't know whether this will be an interesting account of my mood swings, achievements or just a boring day to day account of the weather but I'd like it to be a reminder of what iv done, seen and felt rather than regurgitating my to do list. I started this on Saturday February 22nd, a random day in which I came across the idea so here goes.
- I can't remember the last time I cried at the cinema, 'Dallas Buyers club' is a powerful film and Matthew McConaughey is creeping up my list of favourite actors.
- Cinema weekender double whammy, 'The Wolf of Wall Street' a crazy film about crazy ass people, very funny but looooooooong - result: numb bum.
- Booked a holiday to Cape Verde, with the prospect of 2 weeks relaxation, but I'm sure there will time for the odd trip or two...
- Zombie day: I quote Jamie 'Who stole my sleep?' (I'm allowed to quote other people, it's still my sentence)
- First attempt at Pilates today, did some major stretching, discovered I cannot do push ups to save my life.
- I didn't win, but I didn't come last at the ICT bowling night, as a member of the Smurf team I can live with that. I did however eat a lot of chicken nuggets. (Damn It that's two sentences)
- Friday, what happened to Friday?
March (Of the Penguins?)
- It's been too long since I got dressed up and went out to shake my tail feather, destination: Jenny's 30th.
- I got lots of driving practice today, mostly around B&Q car park.
- Put on the spot in sign language tonight conversation practice in front of the class, I could barely remember my own name.
- Discovered an excellent new therapy for work related stress, table tennis!
- I'd go so far as to say I felt a bit stronger in Pilates today, it turns out I do have some muscles, although not immediately obvious.
- It annoys me when people do countdown's but fuck it one day left at work *sighs*
- I feel free, I legged it out the door into the sunshine, looking forward to some much needed time off.
- Holding back the tears (not the years) sitting between two men, 'The Book Thief' was triumphant, we just had to eat our weight in Tapas afterwards to recover, its a hard life.
- Happy Birthday Graham it's curry time, oh zafran how we love thee.
- It's getting tough now iv got to practice BSL more if I want to pass, this sentence is a reminder that that's what I should be doing right now...
- There seems to be a continual flow of money departing from my account, however all for great stuff happening over the next few months, exciting but expensive.
- Hair done and shopping, I've become a fully fledged woman of leisure for the day.
- Lovely spa day with mum, it was like being on holiday, snoozing on a sunbed, must make this a regular occurrence.
- 3 hours gardening, essentially 3 hours of squats, thighs are hurting already, I think tomorrow I may have issues walking.
- A tasty burger in Camden with Letty its a shame about the bar, definitely not the right 30th venue, house party it is then.
- Thighs still aching so decided 3 more hours of gardening would be a good idea, it feels like spring is finally here at last.
- I think I have lost the ability to park the car, however maybe I'm being hard on myself, when there are no spaces and you have to park backwards up a hill 10 minutes walk away from the house.
- Today I watched two films 'Melinda & Melinda' and 'Julie & Julia' I assure you this was a coincidence.
- The neighbours who live opposite won 107 million on the euro lottery, I'm not sure if I now conclude 'wow so it is possible to win the lottery' or 'what's the likely hood of the people living opposite the winners of winning the lottery this week'
- As I passed her my glasses the dentist said 'remind me to give these back when you leave' I responded appropriately 'I'm not going to get very far, il remind you by falling off the chair'
- Eyebrow threading never gets any less painful, that is all I have to say.
- Catching up with friends and celebrating Chris' 30th with fajitas, banoffee pie and an intense biscuit discussion.
- The first insanity fit test complete, DIG DEEP! weigh in, measurements, sweating, done.
- Got up at 6.15am on a Monday to exercise, now that is a first which must be documented.
- I fear the next weeks sentences are going to revolve around how much I ache.
- Delicious curried lamb shank at Sangri for Mums birthday, we love a good birthday curry!
- Finally the book 'My Life In France' has arrived, I was starting to think the next book club might arrive before the book, bon apetit!
- 7 workouts in the last 6 days, I'm either going to be very fit by the end of this 2 months or collapsed on the floor in a heap, no exercise tomorrow yeeeha!
- 'Gravity' was so good, amazing filming and special effects, I felt so tense that I even forgot to breathe during some of the film, no wonder it won awards.
- Happy Mothers day to my wonderful mum, unfortunately my attempt at scones came out a bit flat more like biscuits but with a heap of jam on they were still edible.
- The term has been building up to this BSL exam and I think I did well, although I was a little thrown by the curveball that was questions about my grandmother and Christmas...now to wait for the results.
March: The End. Spring: The Beginning!
