I got the book after having watched the movie twice. Nora Ephron's movie makes Julie Powell out to be a quirky, fun person who takes on a daunting task, perseveres through many challenges, and learns life lessons from following in Julia Child's giant footsteps. Nora also splits her screen time between the two characters, drawing interesting comparisons between the two women.Unfortunately, Julie Powell's character in the book comes off as whiny, self-centered, alcoholic, and intolerant. In the movie, Julie is thrilled and amazed that people start reading her blog and commenting. In the book she scorns her readers, amazed that anyone would waste their time. The way she mocked their interest in her blog was unpleasant, along with her lack of respect for her long-suffering husband. I read about a third of the book, but there are too many good books I haven't read yet to waste more time on this one.