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laila4343's review
3.0
Ended up skimming the last 1/4 of the book - it got a bit repetitive and I got bored. I do love Julia, though - such a fascinating, intelligent, funny lady!
littletaiko's review
5.0
A couple of years ago I read Julie & Julia and became fascinated by Julia Child. I vaguely remembered her from my youth, but learning more about her was really interesting. After that, I moved on to My Life in France which was even more interesting. Most recently, I discovered As Always, Julia a compilation of the letters between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto which can only be described as fascinating. Reading the letters between these two amazing women that spanned quite a number of years was a real education. Not only were you able to see the development of a great cookbook, but you were able to see history from the perspective of the people living at the time. Learning about new household conveniences, the politics of the day, and various other issues made for a very enjoyable read.
danibean19's review
2.0
While I truly enjoy Julia Child, I had to give a low rating because of how much it diverged into other non-food topics. I found the correspondence fascinating, and to really see how friendships and pen pals formed in those times, so differently than the real-time communications we are now to accustomed to. However, I'm not that well versed on the politics of the time period. They correspond a great deal about politics and often in a shorthand that requires extensive footnotes to be understood. Slogging through that political content detracted from the fun and interesting tidbits about the cookbook she was working on, and made me feel like I might never finish the book. I ended up only skimming through the second half of the book for the parts that interested me.
kdurham2's review
1.0
Well, this book was a hard and long read. I am a fan of Julia Childs and loved reading about her life in the parts of Julie and Julia, but this book was rough.
A book that is 90% letters between the pen pals - Julia Childs and Avis DeVoto. This was a great way to get to know two women who changed the face of not only cookbooks, but food on tv. The structure of the book was appealing - but I had a few issues.
I did not enjoy the parts of the letters between Avis and Julia that pertained to politics. I skimmed sweetly over it to get back to the writing of the cookbooks. The length of the book was overwhelming. I am not sure if this is due to my reading it on the computer, but I felt like a few to some of the letters could have been ommitted to make for quicker reading.
The one positive take away - is that I enjoyed reading the extensive work that went into publishing the cookbook. The rounds of edits and revisions was beyond comprehension.
I would send this book off to friends that like a book formatted in letters and who don't mind reading about the politics of the time.
A book that is 90% letters between the pen pals - Julia Childs and Avis DeVoto. This was a great way to get to know two women who changed the face of not only cookbooks, but food on tv. The structure of the book was appealing - but I had a few issues.
I did not enjoy the parts of the letters between Avis and Julia that pertained to politics. I skimmed sweetly over it to get back to the writing of the cookbooks. The length of the book was overwhelming. I am not sure if this is due to my reading it on the computer, but I felt like a few to some of the letters could have been ommitted to make for quicker reading.
The one positive take away - is that I enjoyed reading the extensive work that went into publishing the cookbook. The rounds of edits and revisions was beyond comprehension.
I would send this book off to friends that like a book formatted in letters and who don't mind reading about the politics of the time.
lissac's review
4.0
As Always, Julia is a book comprised of the letters of Avis DeVoto and Julia Child. This isn't a light read, and I would only recommend it to you if you were truly interested in Julia's life, and specifically the publishing process for Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This book is very dry and definitely not a quick read, but it gives you insight in the publication process and details the lives of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. That said, I found it completely fascinating and loved how much I learned from reading it.
You can read my full review here: http://outwardlyintroverted.com/book-review-as-always-julia/
You can read my full review here: http://outwardlyintroverted.com/book-review-as-always-julia/
heartofoak1's review
5.0
absolutely devoured this book! joan reardon did a wonderful job of taking letters exchanged between Julia Child and her friend Avis Devoto and making them into a cohesive story that detailed the road taken in getting "mastering the art of French cooking" to publication along with the politics of the times (1950's- 60s) and the personal lives of the two women who "met" because of a fan letter!
I did find myself skimming over a lot of the political stuff, it just didn't interest me so much. I found it interesting that as recently as 50 years ago Julia and Avis couldn't easily find ingredients that we pick up so easily at markets today! a great read for any Julia child fan.
I did find myself skimming over a lot of the political stuff, it just didn't interest me so much. I found it interesting that as recently as 50 years ago Julia and Avis couldn't easily find ingredients that we pick up so easily at markets today! a great read for any Julia child fan.
zellm's review
3.0
I enjoyed the focus on cooking here, and loved reading Julia and Avis's notes on recipes and sourcing ingredients. The political conversation wasn't for me, it just isn't something I find interesting, but I did appreciate the explanatory footnotes. Very thorough and perhaps overly lengthy.
jenniferdenslow's review
4.0
Julia's large and effervescent personality suffuses the letters she wrote. The correspondence between the two women makes me long for a time when people wrote such wordy, luxurious missives to each other instead of the terse e-mails we use now.
This book was my 'blind date' at a recent library open house, and it was a perfect choice!
This book was my 'blind date' at a recent library open house, and it was a perfect choice!
brendaclay's review
4.0
The collected correspondence of two smart, insightful, accomplished women. Even when I didn't understand what they were talking about, I was fascinated. LOVE.