Nora Ephron: Thoughts and Reflections

Reviewed by Kristin

Looking for a little humor, I recently listened to a series of vignettes by Nora Ephron, specifically those contained in the audiobooks I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, and I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections.  Being of a certain age, (and by that I mean over the age of forty-three, the age at which Ephron’s dermatologist says “the neck starts to go,”) I found myself recognizing and laughing at certain things.  Some of the topics seemed a little vain, but some seemed like things even the most down to earth woman would understand.

I Hate My Purse:  Yes, many of us do have love/hate relationships with our purses.  (Not a singular purse.  I have many purses.)  No matter my organization on any given morning, by the end of the day I will have a purse filled with receipts, notes to myself, coupons, spare change, a library book or two…this list could go on for a while.

Blind as a Bat:  I had a horrifying realization recently:  I can sometimes read the fine print better with my glasses off.  Yes, I have become one of the people who must put on her glasses, take off her glasses, put on her glasses, then repeat as needed.  A visit to the eye doctor may be in my very near future.

Moving On:  Ephron is a New Yorker.  I have been to New York briefly.  Twice.  I can’t imagine living in that mass of humanity with lights flashing and horns blaring (despite the “Do not honk” signs posted prominently throughout Manhattan.)  I’m sure it would be a grand adventure, but I don’t think it’s for me.  Ephron fell in love with an apartment on the Upper West Side, and lived there for more than twenty years, until the rent stabilization act was modified and the astronomical rents caused her to fall out of love.

Addicted to L-U-V:  This isn’t just about dating/marriage/love; this is about Scrabble and all related word games.  Like Ephron, I know that LUV, SUQ, QI, ZA, and KA are very important two and three letter words.  Fortunately I have not succumbed to the level of addiction, but I really, really, really enjoyed playing QATS for 117 points against my mother in Words With Friends last night.

I Remember Nothing:  The good thing about working at the library is that I don’t have to remember everything, but I do need to know how to find information.  But that instant recall of people’s names, I’m afraid that I have lost it just like Ephron has.  So come say hi to any of us at the reference desk of the Bristol Public Library.  We may not remember your name, but we’ll be glad to look it up.