Monday, December 27, 2010

I Feel Bad About My Neck
by Nora Ephron

And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman.
Published in 2006. 137 pages.


This collection of personal essays is a quick read.

My favorite essay was "I Hate My Purse." I totally relate to Ephron's opening statement—

I hate my purse. I absolutely hate it. If you're one of those women who think there's something great about purses, don't even bother reading this because there will be nothing here for you. This is for women who hate their purses, who are bad at purses, who understand that their purses are reflections of negligent housekeeping, hopeless disorganization, a chronic inability to throw anything away, and an ongoing failure to handle the obligations of a demanding and difficult accessory (the obligation, for example, that it should in some way match what you're wearing).

The list of profundities in "What I Wish I'd Known" included one that made me literally laugh out loud—
When your children are teenagers, it's important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.

Ephron addresses more serious issues too, albeit with humor. From the essay "Me and Bill: The End of Love"—
The way I saw it, if Bill had behaved, Al would have been elected, and thousands and thousands of people would be alive today who are instead dead.

And from "Considering the Alternative"—
But if the events of the last few years have taught me anything, it's that I'm going to feel like an idiot if I die tomorrow and I skimped on bath oil today. So I use quite a lot of bath oil. More than you could ever imagine.

2010.65

4 comments:

  1. What a hoot!! This book sounds like the perfect way to start a new year - with humor! I loved the comment about having a dog because they would be happy to see you. How true! AND I am like you and adored the paragraph about the purse! A local bookstore book club is reading this for January. I may just have to read it and bop on in.

    Thanks for a funny review.
    Happy New Year!

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  2. OK, it wouldn't have even occurred to me to look at the back cover to see what it was about, but this really sounds like a fun (and thoughtful) read!

    Laura @ I'm Booking It
    http://blog.imbookingit.com/

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  3. I read this one a few years ago. It was fun!! Nora is a riot.

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  4. I can relate! I got a new purse for Christmas--hope it helps.

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