Item 12 has been kind of a challenge for me. I love to read but I get in moods. I seem to always be pulled strongly toward a certain genre and if a book looks even remotely boring, it’ll take me ages to read. I very specifically wanted to read the EW 100 New Classics in reverse order. Unfortunately, number 100 is Jon Stewart’s America which is not written in traditional narrative form. It is very funny but not something I’d just sit down and devour.

When I was packing for Seattle, I decided to throw number 99 and 98 in my bag because they were small paperbacks while my copy of America is the big hardback version. So I’m going to keep going with the rest of the books and just read America slowly.

That said, on the way to Seattle, I read Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I had seen the movie so I had an idea of the characters and story but, as is often the case, the book barely resembled the movie. I thought the book was fantastic. I had trouble putting it down. Hoffman writes with such a whimsical, matter-of-fact style that is somehow so charming. She really wrote a fairy tale for adults. It had cursing and sex and people acting like real people and magic and somehow it all worked together.

I am going to try to avoid comparisons with the movie here because I think the book stands completely on it’s own. I will say that I was totally surprised how much older the characters were for the bulk of the novel than the bulk of the film. Sally’s children were teenagers and Jillian had been screwing up her life for much longer than the Nicole Kidman character.

The thing I enjoyed most about the book was all of those whimsical little touches Hoffman threw in and how they related to Sally’s journey. She is so practical every step of the way and yet, as someone who dealt with magic and magical gardens and signs from nature, she regarded them with total nonchalance, never explaining the reason for the magic beyond how it pertained to the story at hand. The reader was immediately forced to accept that things in this world simply were and its our misfortune for not knowing about them earlier. I found the restraint refreshing. So many authors over-explain everything to death but Hoffman, like many great writers, found the story in the things she didn’t say.

It was a magical world because she said it was but there was none of that seance and spells and bringing back from the dead stuff like in the movie. At it’s core, it was a story about three generations of very flawed women and how they get by in both the real world and their own magical one.

I watched the movie again after I finished the book and although I had remembered quite liking it when I first saw it, I found it nearly unwatchable after the book. I am not one of those, “Oh, the book is ALWAYS better,” kind of people. I can readily admit that somethings work better on film, at the hands of a thoughtful director and judicious editor. However, Practical Magic was simply so far from the charming simplicity of the book. They kept the idea of sisterhood but they glammed it up and took out all the things that came through so subtly in print. Also, it was super-cheesy.

Read the book. You won’t be sorry.

I love to cook. I’ve said so before and I’ll say it again. My mother had a little apron and stool for me when I was a child and she taught me how to do everything in the kitchen. For me, cooking is a stress relief. I rarely find it too difficult and though I like to challenge myself, I try to never make it a chore.

Julia Child’s cooking style was never something we really tackled in my house. The ingredients were too expensive or too hard to find. The methods were too complicated or the names of foods were too scary sounding. But we knew Julia. Everyone knows Julia.

When I heard about the Julie and Julia project blog (and book and movie) I just had to find out more. I had to know why anyone would try to cook themselves to death. I could not understand why anyone would take something that they love and nearly destroy themselves and that love for some strange quest.

I’m still not really sure I understand.

Julie Powell, a New Yorker (by way of Austin), did just that. In tackling all 500+ of Julia’s recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she seemed to have way more awful days than great ones, way more kitchen failures than triumphs. I could never imagine tackling what she did. She had a full-time job and a tiny kitchen and no reliable access to half the ingredients Julia required. She had support from her husband and family and friends and blog readers and with all that, she managed to make it through her year. She managed to come out on the other side of her crazy project a different person with a renewed sense of purpose.

The best thing about the book was the way she laid her flaws out there. I listened to the audio book and Julie Powell was the reader, giving her flaws a kind of “can you believe I was like this” tone. Her neglect of her husband in favor of the project, the near unraveling of their marriage, and their simple reconciliation are all laid out over the course of the story. I also loved when she talked about food and the kitchen disasters and what recipes worked. A lot of the negative reviews on Amazon said there wasn’t enough foodie talk in the book and…they were right. It’s a chick lit book at heart.

What I really didn’t love about the book was Julie. I was tired of her “character” by the end of it. She whines a lot and cries a lot and is mean to her husband and friends. Some of her inner thoughts are so cynical and unkind. I poured over dozens of her blog posts before I downloaded the book and I have to say, I enjoyed the voice in her blog much more. There was a certain spontaneity that was washed clean from the book. Every blog post made it clear, without expressly stating it, that she was overwhelmed and tired, while the book shouted it.

Julie Powell IS a good writer but when I wanted her to talk about food and what the project meant, she veered into topics like sex and hating Republicans and 9/11. She spoke of the Julia in her head while speaking very little about the real Julia. But still, her story is fairly extraordinary. Few of us will ever try anything as hard as what she did. Even less of us will actually succeed. And fewer still will come out of it with a new career and a new life.

Overall, I’d say that if you are interested in Julia, skip the book. If you are interested in the story of Julie and Julia…still skip the book. Read the blog. Probably see the movie.

Next on the audio book front: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer

I’m reading three books right now. America by Jon Stewart, Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan, and Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.

I’m reading America for the life list and am having trouble getting through it. It’s almost too disjointed to devour as I like to do with a good book. Obviously, it is a spoof of a text book and is meant to be disjointed but right now I am hungry for a good narrative. I need to get through it though because next is Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman and I can’t wait to read that.

Apathy was a recommendation from Steve and it is pretty funny so far. I am going to try to power through it by this weekend so I can return it.

I’m listening to the Julie and Julia audio book. I ran across the story last night and spent hours pouring through the Julie and Julia blog. If you don’t already know, it’s about one woman’s attempt to figure out her life by doing something insane. She decided to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in just one year. The article that introduced me to her story described the feat as the culinary equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. I was intrigued.

I’ll be sure to post reviews of all three.

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Is it weird that I kind of want to add “Hang out with Cat Deeley” to my life list? Do you think there’s anyone that doesn’t like her? Like…does she have enemies? I hope not. Enemies of Cat Deeley are enemies of me!

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I got my eyebrows waxed today. I tried a new place right near my new apartment and…wow, y’all. Turns out most of the pain I usually feel when I get them waxed is directly related the person who pulls off the strips. This lady worked some kind of magic and it seriously barely even stung. I was scared to try a new place but I’m so glad I did. It was great - more expensive but worth it.

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Went to Whole Foods over lunch today. I wanted to stir fry some broccoli tonight to serve over rice but I had no fresh vegetables at all in the house. I picked up the broccoli and also the ingredients for carrot parsnip stir fry for tomorrow. I bought some frozen vegan stuff and some stuff for smoothies as well.

Have you ever noticed that Whole Foods and Central Market and places like that always have a distinct smell? I think it must be the bulk aisle. With the bins opening and closing, I guess the smells waft out. Something about that smell always makes me feel like cooking something adventurous. It also reminds me that I’m paying something like 20% more for organic and natural food.

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For dinner tonight, I steamed some white rice and stir fried some broccoli in a simple sauce. I made the sauce with corn starch, water, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and a couple of dashes of teriyaki sauce. I think I cooked it a little too long because instead of thickening into a glaze, it congealed a bit. I could have also had the pan a little too hot. Either way, it was still heaven served over the rice.

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I think I’m going to cancel Audible once and for all. I decided that the life list books have to all be physically read and I really listen to podcasts way more than audio books these days. I have 4 credits built up right now which means I haven’t downloaded an audio book in four months. I like Audible but it seems like, more often than not lately, they don’t have the books I want. Time to let it go.

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Did you know about this Lady Gaga person? I guess this is like how I don’t know what Megan Fox looks like but know the most obscure films and actors. Anyway, Ryan sent me a picture of Lady Gaga. Do you think she means to look that way? It can’t be on purpose, right? Is she blind? No, seriously…I know nothing about her. Is she blind? Maybe she is and has untrustworthy advisers. Poor Lady Gaga.

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Today I went to Kohl’s to buy some summer shirts. I’ve lost enough weight since last summer that I have nothing that fits. It was pretty standard Kohl’s shopping fun. Except for the teenage girl and her mom in the dressing room. They were in the same room together and the mom seemed to be trying on clothes while the girl just sat in there. Now, weirdness of that aside, this girl seemed to have no concept of the fact that dressing room stalls are not completely private.

First she was just singing loudly. That’s fine I guess. But then she started talking about how she thinks she has a cute butt. She told Xavier that when she was laying on her bed. But it’s okay because he doesn’t even like her! He’s not that kind of boy! Anyway, she likes her butt.

Can you imagine?

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I have decided to wait until closer to time to buy my Seattle plane tickets. There have been some rumblings at work that lead me to believe my job might not be stable for much longer. To nearly quote Daniel Faraday, whatever happens, happens. But, if it might happen, I really don’t want to commit to several days off plus plane tickets. Most likely, it’ll be fine and I’ll just pay a bit more for tickets closer to time but…I’d rather be sure.

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The beer I’m drinking tastes like college.