Booooor-ing
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Been there, heard that. Save your money. If you want to laugh read some of Mark Twain-Letters to Planet Earth or some Truman Capote.
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Humorous book from Nora
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I remember reading Heartburn many years ago, and I thought I remembered that I liked it. Nora Ephron's neck may be losing it, but her writing is as fresh and vibrant as ever. Very funny, very honest. Immensely likeable. She talks about maintenance being a second career because a lot of women are pre-empting age. For example, hair dying, botox etc. She talks about her husbands theory of women either being birds, muffins or horses and that is the shape of your face. If you are a muffin, you can have a zillion face lifts and be fine, but other shaped faces - not so much.
She talks more seriously about reaching 60 and start loosing friends. You have to come to grips with reality and realise that we aren't invincible and won't die - it's getting closer to being on the cards. She also mentions things she wishes she'd known You can't be friends with people who call after 11pm, Write everything down, Back up your files etc.
She's very funny (a very dry sense of humour) and it shows through this book. It's a good read that is sometimes serious but overall will be thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining. If you are a fan of her movies, you will definitely love I Feel Bad About My Neck ...
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Not my bag
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This book reminded me of why I don't buy womens' magazines.
I read it as a book club choice, otherwise I would never have chosen it.
I'll be interested to hear what the others thought tomorrow when we meet.
The author discusses many of the things that worry women of a certain age, from signs of aging to children fleeing the nest. All these things are discussed often enough amongst groups of women, I don't need to read about them too.
(Edited to say that the reaction of my book group was fairly muted. We discussed her opinions on things; the very minor appearance of her three husbands and her one true love - her apartment, in particular. We'd all had to buy the book in hard back and when asked if we thought the book value for money, the answer was a resounding 'no'.)
And in parting I'll just say that if I had 2,600 dollars to spend on a 'Kelly bag', I'd go and buy books!!
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An Imaginative Writer Actively Combats Aging at 65 . . . with Self-Deprecating Humor
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I think Nora Ephron could write about the telephone book and make it entertaining (one brief section in this book about parenting proves the point). Here's an example. Most writers don't want to think about aging. If they do, they want to prescribe "solutions." Nora Ephron has a different idea: Simply describe aging as something we foolishly try to stave off (pretty unsuccessfully) by sharing her own experiences.
That concept is best captured by her essay "On Maintenance" that describes in detail the time, money, and effort she puts into trying to look as good as she can. I'm reminded of a conversation I had with my cousin (who in her more naive days was a beauty queen) who always looks terrific. When I complimented my cousin on her appearance once, she replied, "You have no idea how much more effort it takes every year." Now, I do!
The essay "I Feel Bad About My Neck" is very funny. I don't think I ever look at women's necks . . . but now I know that some women do. Apparently it's all downhill after 43. The essay ends with the irony that Ms. Ephron cannot do anything about her neck without a facelift, and she's not a good candidate for a facelift.
I also liked her essays about how we fall in love with concepts, places, and people . . . for no particularly good reason. But that temporary embrace is soon replaced by another one that will probably be even more satisfying. Although not described that way, you get a sense that she views her prior two marriages much in the same way. This concept is beautifully explored in "Serial Monogamy: A Memoir" (about her affection for various cookbook authors), "Moving On" (about her 10 year delight in a large apartment in New York), "The Lost Strudel" (her desire to recreate happy experiences through food that's no longer easy to find), and "Me and Bill: The End of Love" (about her feelings about Bill Clinton as a leader).
Some of her essays border on being rants. I found those the least appealing. These include "I Hate My Purse" and "Blind as a Bat."
Vignettes are powerfully shared. I loved her humorous take on probably being the only White House intern JFK didn't make a pass at and her expert explanation about why typing was irrelevant as an intern in the JFK White House in "Me and JFK: Now It Can Be Told." She also does vignettes brilliantly in "The Story of My Life in 3,500 Words or Less."
She ends with thoughts about dying, and humor fails her. But "Considering the Alternative" is the section where you see the real woman most clearly.
Writers will love her mother's advice: "Everything is copy." The older I get, the more I realize that's true.
Those who like to fall asleep with a smile will find it makes sense to read one essay a night before turning off the light.
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Light read
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I must admit I expected better. The title certainly builds up the anticipation, and some chapters were truly very funny. But I didn't 'laugh out loud' which really funny books make me do. The topics are real enough, but maybe too personalised to fit the title. I was hoping for more on the 'feeling bad about your body' part. It is in essence a book about growing 'wiser' and I get the feeling it was written with both the need to make it funny, but the anguish that the years are getting on. The last chapter, I guess, sums up what I felt from the beginning of the book... that lurking feeling under all the words... The book has a serious undertone that undermines the 'fun' of the title. But I guess you'll have to read it to see if you agree with me!
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