Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen

Julie Powell describes, with the wit of Bridget Jones and the energy of Augusten Burroughs, how she overcame every dish in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking—thus sparing her soul!

Julie Powell, 30, works in a soul-destroying secretarial job that doesn't seem to be going anywhere and lives in a dilapidated apartment in Queens. In an attempt to shake up the monotony of her existence, she creates a bizarre task. Taking her mother's well-worn book of Julia Child's 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she plans to prepare every dish in its 524 pages. throughout the course of a year.

She first believes it will be simple. But she discovers there's more to Mastering the Art of French Cooking than meets the eye as she progresses from the straightforward Potage Parmentier (potato soup) to the trickier aspics and crépes. Julie visits the nearby butcher often, purchasing kidneys and sweetbreads, all the while bearing Julia's harsh cries in her ear. She seldom serves supper before midnight and often sends her husband on late-night errands for additional butter. She learns the secret of extracting marrow from bone, how to create the ideal Orange Bavarian, and the profound joy of consuming liver.

She eventually comes to the realization that she has transformed her kitchen into a culinary wonderland. She has transcended the ordinary in her life with her hysterics, humor, and tenacity.