Julie Powell, best known as the blogger who spent a year cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, released a new memoir on December 1.

It’s called Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession and it details Powell’s apprenticeship with a New York butcher. During this time she was also going through a rough patch in her marriage.

USA Today has an interview with Powell where she discusses the new book. The article says:

Shortly after she finished writing Julie & Julia, in which she speaks adoringly of her “sainted” husband, Eric, Powell and her husband both had affairs that nearly destroyed their marriage.

In Cleaving (the film rights have not been sold), she writes in graphic detail about her two-year affair with a man she refers to as “D.” She describes their sexual encounters and even having sex with a stranger as she struggled with shame and self-loathing.

Over the summer, I attended a book signing for Julie & Julia and Powell took questions from the audience. The very first question was “Please tell me you’re still married to Eric.” Powell responded, “I am still married to Eric. Yeah, absolutely.[pause] is that it?” The audience was giggling and her tone was friendly, but there was still some awkwardness in that moment. Now I can understand why she probably didn’t want to elaborate.

I enjoyed Julie & Julia and I’m curious about Julie and Eric’s relationship troubles, but reading about her sex life seems a little too voyeuristic for me. Is anyone planning on reading Cleaving? Leave your comments below!

Take a look at the December book releases I think you’ll be interested in:

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

Available December 1, 2009 (Order on Amazon)

From the publisher:

It’s April, 1988, a month before Kinsey Millhone’s thirty-eighth birthday, and she’s alone in her office doing paperwork when a young man arrives unannounced. He has a preppy air about him and looks as if he’d be carded if he tried to buy booze, but Michael Sutton is twenty-seven, an unemployed college dropout. Twenty-one years earlier, a four-year-old girl disappeared. A recent reference to her kidnapping has triggered a flood of memories. Sutton now believes he stumbled on her lonely burial when he was six years old. He wants Kinsey’s help in locating the child’s remains and finding the men who killed her. It’s a long shot but he’s willing to pay cash up front, and Kinsey agrees to give him one day. As her investigation unfolds, she discovers Michael Sutton has an uneasy relationship with the truth. In essence, he’s the boy who cried wolf. Is his current story true or simply one more in a long line of fabrications?

Grafton moves the narrative between the eighties and the sixties, changing points of view, building multiple subplots, and creating memorable characters. Gradually, we see how they all connect. But at the beating center of the novel is Kinsey Millhone, sharp-tongued, observant, a loner-”a heroine,” said The New York Times Book Review, “with foibles you can laugh at and faults you can forgive.”

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The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry

Available December 1, 2009 (Order on Amazon)

From the publisher:

When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and emperor, he had stolen immeasurable riches from palaces, national treasuries, and even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican. In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where the loot lay hidden. But he told them nothing, and in his will he made no mention of the treasure. Or did he?

Former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone isn’t looking for trouble when it comes knocking at his Copenhagen bookshop. Actually, it breaks and enters in the form of an American Secret Service agent with a pair of assassins on his heels. Malone has his doubts about the anxious young man, but narrowly surviving a ferocious firefight convinces him to follow his unexpected new ally.

Their first stop is the secluded estate of Malone’s good friend, Henrik Thorvaldsen. The wily Danish tycoon has uncovered the insidious plans of the Paris Club, a cabal of multimillionaires bent on manipulating the global economy. Only by matching wits with a terrorist-for-hire, foiling a catastrophic attack, and plunging into a desperate hunt for Napoleon’s legendary lost treasure can Malone hope to avert international financial anarchy.

But Thorvaldsen’s real objective is much more personal: to avenge the murder of his son by the larcenous aristocrat at the heart of the conspiracy. Thorvaldsen’s vendetta places Malone in an impossible quandary—one that forces him to choose between friend and country, past and present. Starting in Denmark, moving to England, and ending up in the storied streets and cathedrals of Paris, Malone plays a breathless game of duplicity and death, all to claim a prize of untold value. But at what cost?

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Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell

Available December 1, 2009 (Order on Amazon)

From the publisher:

Julie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she’d ever do–until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir, CLEAVING.

Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery. She finds her way to Fleischer’s, a butcher shop where she buries herself in the details of food. She learns how to break down a side of beef and French a rack of ribs–tough, physical work that only sometimes distracts her from thoughts of afternoon trysts.

The camaraderie at Fleischer’s leads Julie to search out fellow butchers around the world–from South America to Europe to Africa. At the end of her odyssey, she has learned a new art and perhaps even mastered her unruly heart.

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La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander Mccall Smith

Available December 8, 2009 (Order on Amazon)

From the publisher:

From the best-selling author of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series comes a delightful and moving story that celebrates the healing powers of friendship and music.

It is 1939. Lavender—La to her friends—decides to flee London, not only to avoid German bombs but also to escape the memories of her shattered marriage. The peace and solitude of the small town she settles in are therapeutic … at least at first. As the war drags on, La is in need of some diversion and wants to boost the town’s morale, so she organizes an amateur orchestra, drawing musicians from the village and the local RAF base. Among the strays she corrals is Feliks, a shy, proper Polish refugee who becomes her prized recruit—and the object of feelings she thought she’d put away forever.

Does La’s orchestra save the world? The people who come to hear it think so. But what will become of it after the war is over? And what will become of La herself? And of La’s heart?

With his all-embracing empathy and his gentle sense of humor, Alexander McCall Smith makes of La’s life—and love—a tale to enjoy and cherish.

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Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton

Available December 8, 2009 (Order on Amazon)

From the publisher:

Between dark faerie magic and the deepest desires lies the world of Meredith Gentry, princess, private eye, and powerful player in a game of supernatural sexual intrigue. The tension in this extraordinary saga continues to mount as Merry, pregnant with twins, refuses the throne of faerie and retreats with her bodyguards to Los Angeles in an attempt to protect the new life growing within her. Both the deadly destructive factions of the faerie courts — as well as those who would worship her — will be equally dangerous to her attempts to create a peaceful haven for her unborn children.
Filled with riveting twists, this new novel adds yet another unforgettable chapter to a story that is both epic and breathtaking.

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Witch & Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Available December 14, 2009 (Order on Amazon)

From the publisher:

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they’d never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents–and maybe the world?

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Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Available December 14, 2009 (Order on Amazon)

From the publisher:

More than four million readers fell in love with Nan, the smart, spirited, and sympathetic heroine of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Nanny Diaries.

Now she’s back. After living abroad for twelve years, she and her husband, Ryan, aka H.H., have returned to New York to make a life for themselves. In the midst of getting her new business off the ground and fixing up their fixer-upper, Ryan announces his sudden desire to start a family. His timing simply couldn’t be worse.

To compound the mounting construction and marital chaos, her former charge, Grayer X, now sixteen years old, makes a drunken, late-night visit, wanting to know why she abandoned him all those years ago. But how can she explain to Grayer what she still hasn’t come to terms with herself? In an attempt to assuage her guilt, yet against every instinct, Nan tries to help Grayer and his younger brother, Stilton, through their parents’ brutal divorce, drawing her back into the ever-bizarre life of Mrs. X and her Upper East Side enclave of power and privilege.

After putting miles and years between herself and this world, Nan finds she’s once again on the front line of the battle with the couture-clad elite for their children’s wellbeing.

With its whip-smart dialogue and keen observations of modern life, Nanny Returns gives a firsthand tour of what happens when a community that chose money over love finds itself with neither.

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Altar of Eden by James Rollins

Available December 29, 2009 (Order on Amazon)

From the publisher:

The thriller king praised for his “edge-of-your-seat excitement” (San Francisco Chronicle), James Rollins storms the New York Times bestseller list with every novel he writes. With his latest breathtaking blockbuster, Altar of Eden, Rollins takes a breather from his Sigma Force adventures (Map of Bones, Black Order, The Judas Strain, et al) while delivering all the action, surprise, and intensity for which he’s well known—and loved. Combining science, history, and breakneck suspense—and a secret tied to the Book of Genesis—Altar of Eden is sure to satisfy every James Rollins fan while winning over a slew of new converts.

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With all the buzz surrounding the Julie & Julia movie, you probably already know the basic premise: Julie Powell, stuck in a dead-end job and approaching thirty, decides to spend a year cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Powell, who describes her secretarial job at a government agency as soul-sucking, thought cooking Julia Child’s recipes would be a great way to learn to cook and, at the same time, reclaim her life. She began blogging about her experiences in the kitchen and eventually landed a book deal (if you are curious about her blog it is still available here).

If this sounds like the undertaking of a pretentious New York foodie, think again. Julie Powell is not some Martha Stewart wannabe – she’s a foul-mouthed former Texan who lives in a decrepit Queens apartment and has a bit of an obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The book is full of horrifying descriptions of her apartment and lack of basic hygiene, from backed up pipes to maggots – be prepared to be completely grossed out. Her cooking experiences rarely go smoothly and the labor-intensive recipes mean that she and her husband hardly ever eat dinner before 10 pm. If you’ve seen the movie (or even the paperback cover which has Amy Adams wearing lace and pearls) you may have a slightly different image of Powell. As she says in this interview, the movie portrayed her as a “softer” version of herself and cleaned up her language.

Even more horrifying than her apartment are some of the dishes she has to prepare. Liver, kidneys, brains, marrowbones, these are just some of the ingredients called for in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Child’s chapter on aspics seems particularly unappetizing and contains such recipes as “Foies de Volailles en Aspic” which is basically “chicken livers cold with jelly on top of them.” The jelly, by the way, is made by boiling calves feet, the thought of which just makes me shudder. As you can probably imagine, preparing all this French food required lots and lots of butter. Powell estimates that she used 60 lbs. of butter that year (how do the French stay so thin?).

Despite the fact that this book occasionally made me nauseous, I really enjoyed reading about Powell’s life and experiences in the kitchen. I think she has a great sense of humor and her struggle to get her life on track is relatable. Julie and Julia reminded me of Bridget Jones’ Diary because it’s also about a twenty-something who doesn’t have it all together, and who somehow manages to be self-absorbed and endearing at the same time. If you are a serious Julia Child fan and are looking for recipes or detailed information on preparing her dishes, this probably isn’t the book for you. But if you are looking for a hilarious and snarky story about a young woman changing her life, give Julie and Julia a try.

Buy Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell on Amazon by clicking here.

With the release of the movie Julie & Julia only weeks away, author Julie Powell is busy promoting her best-selling book of the same name. She spoke to a crowd of about 50 fans who gathered at the Borders Books & Music in Birmingham, Michigan on Tuesday, July 21, and signed books afterwards. Julie & Julia is a memoir about the year Julie Powell cooked all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s famous book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Funny and open, she took questions from the audience about her book, the movie, and her personal life.

The day before the book signing, an article in Publisher’s Weekly kicked up some controversy because Judith Jones, Julia Child’s longtime editor, was quoted as saying Julia Child did not approve of Powell’s project. Jones claims Child said, “I don’t think she’s a serious cook.” When asked about Julia Child’s reaction to her blog, Powell said:

“Of course my first reaction was to be sort of devastated… It was incomprehensible to me I could have dedicated this year of my life and that it would be, what I had done would be read as glib or unserious. Yeah, I absolutely had that first [reaction]… I want to explain myself, if she only understood this is such a tribute… I’m so grateful to her for this year.”

She went on to say that, after thinking about it for a while, she realized that Julia Child touched so many lives, and the result is that everyone has their own inner Julia Child. She prefaced this by admitting that it is somewhat corny, but continued on to say:

“…and the thing is that everybody’s Julia is different. And so sometimes the Julias conflict and then you get in fights with people because people are very protective, people want their Julia… I’ve just decided that my Julia is ok with it.”

If you want to read more, Slashfood has an interview with Judith Jones where she expands upon her original comments. On the flip side, Elissa Altman wrote a piece for the Huffington Post where she argues that Jones needs to realize that Powell’s book is about Julie, not Julia, and in no way tarnishes Child’s work.

Powell also discussed her motivation for starting the project, which she says, at the time, came out of a desire to learn to cook and not being able to afford culinary school. In retrospect, she says that it probably had more to do with being 29 and hating her job as a secretary. As she puts it, her job was “sucking the life out of me day by day” and coming home from work and cooking Julia Child’s recipes was better than coming home “sitting in front of the television, getting drunk, and falling asleep.” It was her husband who suggested she blog about her experiences, and about six months into the blog she received a call about writing a book. She also recounted a funny story about how, after she quit her job, one of her male bosses famously declared that Powell would never make anything of herself. Now her former co-workers are thrilled by her success and throw that in his face as much as possible.

Nora Ephron wrote the screenplay for the Julie & Julia movie and met with Powell to discuss the book, something that she found exciting and intimidating. She’s a fan of Ephron’s work but found her to be very intense in person. Powell described one of her favorite scenes in the movie, a big fight with her husband, only she never told Ephron about the fight. She said Ephron must have figured it out on her own, though it felt like she had somehow gotten into Powell’s brain. She mentioned several scenes from the movie and, overall, she seemed very pleased with it. The movie Julie & Julia comes out on August 7th and Powell’s latest book, Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession, will be released in the fall.

Buy Julie & Julia by Julie Powell on Amazon by clicking here.