Cleaving? So soon?

I read Julie & Julia as part of my reading challenge, and then saw the movie. I am among the crowd that thinks Julie Powell is a tad over-rated. I had to force myself to finish the book, which had its moments to be sure, but in general, I found her kind of whiny and self-absorbed. I liked the movie more, primarily because Nora Ephron's screenplay was delightful and focused more attention on the Julia Child aspect of the story, which was incredibly engaging.

(As an aside, I would add Julia's book about her time in France to my reading list, but I'm already drowning in a sea of books. So many books I want to read! Not enough time!)

I looked to see if Julie Powell had written anything further and apparently, she has another book coming out, in December. It has one review on Amazon and it isn't a rave. Further searching on other books sites brought up some really bad reviews.

Now, I'm curious, and I learn that although the movie is out in the US, the book release has been delayed until December. The book is available in the UK, though. Why not here? Is it that bad? Why is a book by an American author that was made into a Hollywood movie only available in the UK? I'm an avid conspiracy theorist. Humor me.

Amazon UK won't ship it to me, but my money is good with an eBay UK seller. Cleaving is on its way.

So I explain all this to my husband and tell him I'm waiting eagerly for this book. 

He asks, "You ordered a book because you think it will stink? And you needed this bad book ... urgently?" 

Wait, that doesn't seem right, when you put it like that. 

"Well, I just wanted to see for myself."

"Right," he says. "Because your real hobby is ... rubbernecking. You can't let a good train wreck pass by without gawking. In fact ... you have to order an advance copy of it, so you can have the first, best view of the trainwreck."

Now I'm in a tough spot. If Cleaving is good, I will be wrong, and I thus triumph over my husband. (See? I will tell him. I just wanted to know, it's not a trainwreck, I'm not a rubbernecker!) If Cleaving is awful, I will be right, but my husband will taint the victory by lording his own over me. 

I await Cleaving with great trepidation. I'll keep you posted.