On January 1, 2010, I wrote the following:
I suppose I should not have let curiosity get the better of me and seek out the source material for the “Julie” half of Julie & Julia, but what can I say, I’m a process nerd. If any good came of this experience, it was coming to a place in my life where I could look upon the work of Julia Child and receive her message.
And receive it I did, although I must admit I have a long way to go on the path of slavish devotion to Julia Child, forsaking all other cooks.
Then again, she never did that either.
My discipleship inched along since writing the aforementioned article. I moved to Kenosha WI later that year and in my efforts to acclimate to the area I found a small independent bookshop just before it went out of business. Despite being so tiny, I held a spark of hope that maybe it would have some cookbooks for sale, and maybe, just maybe, a well-worn copy of From Julia Child’s Kitchen would be in stock.
Well, yes and no.
The store had a copy, but not a well-worn one. Instead I snapped up a near-mint (!!!) copy for – and I am not making this up – $7.95 USD. I’m supposed to be wearing down my copy with countless hours of love and adoration but frankly I am afraid to gunk up the book. This is how hoarding starts, I know. I really do need to crack the cover more often and revel in Julia’s voice – and she has a voice, even in print – but for now it is sitting closed and at the ready.
My serendipitous find took a further back seat to another bookstore treasure: As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. The New York Times book review pretty much nailed the target audience:
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