I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

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I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

by Nora Ephron

3.37 · rating details · 7,217 ratings · 1,576 reviews

With her disarming, intimate, completely accessible voice, and dry sense of humor, Nora Ephron shares with us her ups and downs in I Feel Bad About My Neck, a candid, hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself.

The woman who brought us When Harry Met Sally . . . , Sleepless in Seatt...more

Hardcover, 160 pages

Published August 1st 2006 by Knopf (first published 2006)

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Jun 06, 2011

Reese rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: via-goodreads

Sitting in a movie theater back in the eighties, not my eighties -- the 1980s, I am smiling, laughing, just having a good ol' time when suddenly TERMS OF ENDEARMENT goes from funny to ominous to dark as turds that can signal upper g.i. bleeding. I'm thinking, "Shit, no, don't take this story there." I'm not walking out of a movie with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson in it; that fact means watching a character who's about my age die of cancer. She's got three young kids; I have one ...more

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Aug 29, 2007

Beli_grrl rated it

Recommends it for: wealthy older women

I listened to the audio book on CD, which is read by the author. That was not the way to go with this one. She has odd inflections and an unnatural reading cadence. For example, she might read like this:

We lived (pause)
in a white house (pause)
and I didn't (pause)
like it.

Partly because of her reading style and partly because of the content, I had trouble getting into it. It's supposed to be funny but isn't especially. She describes all the "maintenan...moreI listened to the audio book on CD, which is read by the author. That was not the way to go with this one. She has odd inflections and an unnatural reading cadence. For example, she might read like this:

We lived (pause)
in a white house (pause)
and I didn't (pause)
like it.

Partly because of her reading style and partly because of the content, I had trouble getting into it. It's supposed to be funny but isn't especially. She describes all the "maintenance" older women do to keep up their appearances at great length and talks about these things as if they are mandatory, when in fact, they are not. She is not a person that a poor, blue-collar woman like me who shops at Target can well relate to. At least not at first. For instance, she talks about the agony of sitting at the beauty parlor all day to get her hair colored and how she spends more money on it each year than her first car cost. And I compose an imaginary email to her in my head where I turn her on to the beauty aisle at Long's Drug Store where you can buy a box of color that takes less than half an hour to use for less than $10.

Later in the book, however, she rather wins me over. She describes the raptures of getting engrossed in a great novel in a way that I (or you, I bet) could totally relate to. The real world is tedious and seems unreal when you're dying to get back to your book. When she's not talking about shopping, she and I do seem to inhabit the same planet and I can see that she has some wisdom to impart.

And I admire her honesty. She mentions all the upbeat chicken-soup-for-the-soul type of books that are out there for older women and says they're full of crap. Being old isn't that great. In this day and age where everyone pretends that whatever age they're at is the new 25, it's refreshing.

This might appeal to a woman who is looking for some light nonfiction to read. Do NOT get the audio version, though. I really think it would have been a totally different experience to read it and I probably would have taken to it much more quickly. (less)

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Mar 24, 2009

Michelle rated it

· review of another edition

http://fromichelle.blogspot.com/2008/08/...

I've finished another book...

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

I like Nora. She's real. And she's smart. Nice combination. Add in the fact that she shares her wisdom freely, and also in a funny way, and it makes her even better.

I could have written her exact words on reading...

"Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better ...more

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Aug 19, 2011

Larry rated it

Read a few essays in this because it was on a table in a waiting room - why I don't know - and I had time to kill. I would like that time back. Shorter Nora Ephron: "It's not enough that I'm fantastically wealthy from writing romantic comedies and living a fairy dusted Hollywood life -- I want to look good in a swimsuit forever! Why do I have to be sixty! Someday I'll be seventy and then I will have even more wrinkles! I want to be rich and pretty, because I deserve it and men only like pre...more

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

Nora Ephron, best known for her screenplays When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and Silkwood and best sellers Heartburn and Crazy Salad, has written a sort of Ephron retrospective. Though humorously self-deprecating and poignant, critics agree that the essays, some published previously,are uneven. Readers may love "I Hate My Purse"__unless they find it outdated. Other essays came off as vain, stale, or elitist in their carefree attitude toward luxury items. Only "Consideri

...more

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Jul 29, 2008

Brittany rated it

Shelves: nonfiction

I took a break last night from reading about conservation, zoos, and How to Save the Wild to read this delightful collection of essays by Nora Ephron (whom you may recognize as the woman who co-wrote When Harry Met Sally). She writes about the agony of aging, especially the terrible things that happen to your neck, but also shares the fruits of aging, in her pearls of wisdom and wonderful, witty stories from her life. She writes about falling into (and then slowly out of) love with her apartmen...more

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Nov 30, 2007

Lain rated it

Nora Ephron is, hands-down, one of the funniest women in America. Her novels, movies, and essay collections have brought me to tears by way of laughter more than once. That's why I was a bit disappointed by this collection of essays, loosely tied around the topic of aging.

The essays on aging were amusing, but not particularly funny or fresh. It was like eating a day-old doughnut -- still tasty, but probably not worth all the calories. The weird thing -- her non-age-related essays we...more

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Jun 27, 2008

Sandy T rated it

Shelves: autobiography-memoirs, 2008

So I bought this book thinking it was going to be full of humor about what happens to women when they reach that "certain age". I was expecting to relate to and be amused by her musings about getting older. And that did happen... certain chapters really made me smile, and I could relate to more than I would like to admit! But for about half the chapters, the only people who would relate to it would be rich, famous, New York socialites. That obviously doesn't describe me, so even though...more

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Aug 27, 2011

Sue rated it

Shelves: humor

For most of you who are my Goodreads friends, you will be too young to really appreciate the humor in this book -- after all, you still have firm, unwrinkled necks which you have probably never even given a single thought. BUT take my word for it, someday you will. And then, you should run right out and find a copy of this book. (Perhaps you can find one cheap in the garage sales that members of my generation will be having as we downsize into assisted living apartments!) Anyway, when it com...more

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Apr 07, 2009

Carolyn rated it

If you are over 35 you will find something in this bood to relate to and laugh about.

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Oct 19, 2007

Phillip Smith rated it

Recommends it for: Amanda W.

It won't change your life, but it is quite a treat for a sunny afternoon. I read most of it lying in the sunshine on my bed shortly after lunch on a Saturday.

Ephron, like Sedaris & Degeneres, has a gift for expressing mundane thoughts in the most delightful phrases. The one that's in my head right now is when she describes loving cabbage strudel in the 1960s: "I don't want to get too sentimental, but it's practically the only thing I remember about my first marriage." You'l...more

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Aug 03, 2011

Chamie rated it

· review of another edition

I was disappointed..this is no " Heartburn "

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Jan 19, 2009

Darce rated it

Despite the clever and sometimes funny observations about aging, I couldn't shake the feeling that this book of essays was...trivial. Except for the final chapter (Considering the Alternative), Ephron spends a lot of time writing about superficial aspects of growing older (the skin on her neck, her disorganized purse, her worsening eyesight) that make her seem shallow and self-absorbed. In the essay focused on all the hours she devotes to maintaining her appearance (On Maintenance), she describe...more

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Nov 20, 2011

Tatjana rated it

Shelves: feminism, philosphy, selfhelpiness

Ok.. Nora Ephron is a New Yorker.
The audiobook is read by her. I loved (pause) her voice. People really talk like that in the City. They talk like that north of the city. They talk like that north of Albany and I like it. It's a personal taste and has nothing to do with the quality of production. There, I've said it. Let's move on.
To be honest, when I read the book, I was not certain I was going to like it. I also know this happens to me almost every time I pick up something new. I ga...moreOk.. Nora Ephron is a New Yorker.
The audiobook is read by her. I loved (pause) her voice. People really talk like that in the City. They talk like that north of the city. They talk like that north of Albany and I like it. It's a personal taste and has nothing to do with the quality of production. There, I've said it. Let's move on.
To be honest, when I read the book, I was not certain I was going to like it. I also know this happens to me almost every time I pick up something new. I gave into it, thank goodness. I was absolutely hooked by the end of the section about purses. It's the kind of book that you need to be comfortable with laughing over. You have to be comfortable with laughing at your own discomfort at laughing when Ms. Ephron hits the proverbial nail on the head.
This book was actually somewhat life altering for me. That may be because I am an older woman, though my neck is not something I feel bad about. My friends have commented, with their New York accents, how they feel bad about their necks. They wear scarves and turtle necks and moan about the shots they get.
On another note, I am an unmitigated disaster when it comes to purses. I feel certain that mine either leads to parallel reality or is THE universal tic-tac/advil repository. So the stories, which start to swirl together in more closely related circles until the end which is waiting for you to get to it.
It's a NY story, so it might not wait very long... but it might just wait until you are ready to read it.
May I recommend enjoying this luscious sweet and savory morsel for when you arrive at 40? I believe, like cabbage strudel and the upper east side, you need to develop a certain understanding of yourself and your world before jumping into Ms. Ephron's world. I think the whole experience will be more meaningful. I was reminded, in reading other reviews, how when I was young I couldn't understand how anyone could drink a martini. Now I have a favorite bartender who makes my martini just right... it takes time to understand those flavors which can't possibly make any sense.
As always, enjoy.(less)

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Sep 16, 2011

Polly Vous Francais rated it

March 2007

If she had suddenly left Paris for an emergency and traveled anywhere, she would be in Charleston. But this is fiction. If she were in Charleston, she would think that Charleston is a lot like Paris. Paris on vacation. Paris on Zoloft. Chic women, beautiful historic houses, hidden gardens, tinkling fountains.

But this is fiction. This is just a dream. not even a nightmare: sometimes pretty and sometimes ugly, as fiction can be.

If she were in Charles...moreMarch 2007

If she had suddenly left Paris for an emergency and traveled anywhere, she would be in Charleston. But this is fiction. If she were in Charleston, she would think that Charleston is a lot like Paris. Paris on vacation. Paris on Zoloft. Chic women, beautiful historic houses, hidden gardens, tinkling fountains.

But this is fiction. This is just a dream. not even a nightmare: sometimes pretty and sometimes ugly, as fiction can be.

If she were in Charleston, she would go to the clean, bright bookstore and she would search for the self-help section. Not for herself, for she is Perfect (this is fiction, remember?). If she were searching for a book in the self-help section it would be for this reason. She used to be related to a supposed human being who hoarded many things but mostly what he specialized in hoarding was the entire panoply of DSM-IV mental disorders. So she would find the book that might start to explain this creature to the unfortunate souls who were to remain related to him for the rest of their lives, or his. It is a book called "I Hate You, Don't Leave Me" and she would be glad that even in a perfect city like Charleston there were at least two imperfect people because there were that many copies of this book in the very tiny self-help section. If she were in Charleston, that is. This is fiction, of course.

And if she were still in that pretty bookstore she would chuckle as she noticed that the humor section was right across from the self-help section, far away from the massive religion section and the even huger food section. There was no fiction section, because this is all fiction anyway. So she would chortle and think out loud, as they do in Charleston, "Humor IS self-help. In my book." And smile at her bad pun. And she would look to see if the Ephron sisters had published anything new lately and she would find to her delight one slim yellow book called "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron, and she would scoop it up and head to the cashier.

And if she were walking to the purchase desk she would notice towering canary yellow shelves displaying dozens of this very book. She would feel pathetically smug knowing that she chose the book before seeing that it was a best-seller "Women's Book".

And if she were really in Charleston and really reading Nora Ephron's new book back in her room at the pink stuccoed hotel next door, she would laugh and realize that she too experienced almost everything that Nora Ephron writes about, including real-estate love and book rapture. Excepting, of course, the love of cooking. And that second husband. And then she would think that if she could be so bold that she wanted to give up her latest motto which was "When I Grow Up I Want to Be Mary Blume" and change it to "When I Grow Up I Want to Be Nora Ephron" but since she would have already passed her 52nd birthday she would have to start growing up pretty damn fast.

But, as I said, this is fiction(less)

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Sep 03, 2011

CC rated it

I have to say I'm a little baffled by Nora Ephron. She was in intern in the JFK White House and had a free pass to roam its halls. She was a reporter at Newsweek in the 1960's, before they even had female reporters. She's been married three times. One of her husbands was Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Bernstein of the Watergate scandal. And when he had an affair it wasn't just with any old woman, but with the wife of the British ambassador to the United States. She's been nominated for three academy...more

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Aug 07, 2011

Sarah Beth rated it

I stinking love Nora Ephron. She's brilliant and witty while at the same time being down to earth and just plain real. As an American woman, I can relate to her. I get what she's talking about when talks about the extensive time women spend on the "maintenance" of their bodies and feel her struggle to figure out where she falls when it comes to clothes, cooking, and decorating styles. I loved her passage on reading; "Each minute I spend away from the book pretending to be interest...more

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Jul 18, 2011

Jane Stewart rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: amusing-personal-essays, 5-star-other

Smart, witty, and fun.

These are Nora’s amusing observations about daily life, recollections, and reflections. It was perfect as an AUDIOBOOK to listen to as I cooked, cleaned, and drove. She talks about things women do to maintain their bodies. She talks about living in New York, favorite foods, her love of reading, some thoughts on JFK and Bill Clinton, and more. Several times I burst into a laugh. She’s smart and witty. It is rare that a writer gets me to laugh out loud. For...more

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Sep 12, 2010

Malbadeen rated it

Recommended to Malbadeen by: shallow people such as myself

Shelves: bourgeoisie-bullshit, memoir-ish

Here's the thing, I would've never listened to this book if it weren't for the fact that years ago I gifted it to someone in those last few moments of Christmas-oh-shit-I-forgot-to-buy-that-person-a-gift hysteria.

I was married at the time and was, by default, put in charge of figuring out what EVERYONE should be given. My mother-in-law and I had a so-so relationship. I mean she did accuse me of purposely putting pins in her bed when she stayed the night and got poked a few times wit...moreHere's the thing, I would've never listened to this book if it weren't for the fact that years ago I gifted it to someone in those last few moments of Christmas-oh-shit-I-forgot-to-buy-that-person-a-gift hysteria.

I was married at the time and was, by default, put in charge of figuring out what EVERYONE should be given. My mother-in-law and I had a so-so relationship. I mean she did accuse me of purposely putting pins in her bed when she stayed the night and got poked a few times with left over remnants of my latest creative pursuits, and we weren't exactly the lets-get-a-manicure-together type but she did tell me she loved me once (which caught me so off guard that all I could muster in my shocked state was an awkward, "thank you").

Sooooooo, I saw this book on audio, new she had a long drive home on Christmas, vaguely recognized the name Nora Ephron (honestly I think I kind of sort of confused her with Erma Bombeck), read that is was supposed to be funny and grabbed it. who doesn't like to laugh, right? Had I thought about it for 2.2 seconds it would have occurred to me that giving your 60 something mother in law a book about the horrors of aging (whether their offered up humorously or not) when you are only in your mid 30's is probably not in the best of taste.

And now, divorced, in my 40's and hating my own neck I couldn't resist when I saw it at the library. What exactly had my mother-in-law heard as she drove home that Christmas season?

Suffice it to say, I doubt she laughed out loud and mostly likely didn't exactly appreciate that the entire book ends with musings on death. oops.

As for me - I like a good musing on death and watching my body change is a never ending source of fascination. And as self absorbed as I can be, as much as I think the world is looking and noticing my every new wrinkle, I grew tired of Ephron's endless lamenting about all things physical and material in her life. She spent an entire chapter on the loss an apartment in NY but completely glossed over her 2 divorces. Not that she has to bear her sole about every aspect of her life (If she had the book would have been longer than 3 CD's and I wouldn't have listened to it anyway) but still....an occasional grappling with SOME sense of moral obligation to the world outside herself would have been a little reassuring.

The over all message at the end seemed to be spend money on yourself, indulge, you only live once. And don't get me wrong, It's not like I'm toiling away at soup kitchen's during the day and spending my vacations bettering conditions at refuge camps. No. no. I just like to *feel guilt* about NOT doing that. (In real life I'm day dreaming about a pair of boots that I'm pretty sure make me look 39 instead of 40 and according to the salesman at Nordstrom showed that I "have nothing to hide" - what? that had NOTHING to do with the commission! He was just an honest guy doing an honest days work).

*also Nora Ephron throws paper away and I'd like to know what the F that is about - who the hell THROWS PAPER AWAY?! Answer up NY!

**also a 25 year old guy was in my car last night and not only picked up and glanced at the cover of this but further went on to read the description of how she "speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age". And that shit was em.bar.ass.ing!!!(less)

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Jan 22, 2010

Karen rated it

· review of another edition

I have enjoyed most of the films that Nora Ephron has had anything to do with -Silkwood,When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, and now Julie and Julia- those are but a few, and so was looking forward to reading her book when I cam across it (can't remember where...)
She writes like she's your best personal, witty friend sharing insights/thoughts, the things that we all think, but don't usually allow ourselves to say. She addresses the topics that affect every woman (me...more

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Jan 13, 2010

Kiri rated it

I must admit that I read (or listened to) a very small part of this book. However, I quickly decided that I did not need to listen to the rest of it, did not NEED this book in my life. I heard the author on public radio, and she was amusing, frank and thoughtful about the difficulty of being an aging woman in this culture of youth and beauty. It's perhaps hard to read this book not long after reading "Going Gray", which really embraces the reality of at least one sign of aging and s...more

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Sep 01, 2009

Ciara rated it

Shelves: autobio-memoir, read-in-2009

after hearing good things about this book, i was very interested to read it. i like books that make me laugh, & i am always interested in reading about aging. this book is essentially a collection of humorous essays on the topic of becoming a woman of a certain vintage.

unfortunately...i didn't get it. maybe i will feel differently when i was 64, but i found it really difficult to relate to essay's like "maintenance," in which nora ephron details all the small ways older wom...more

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May 23, 2009

Barbara Rice rated it

I have a love-hate relationship with Nora Ephron. On the one hand, she's a Democrat, so I feel a certain allegience with her. I want to like her. Sometimes I actually get what she's saying.

Other times I think, can you hear yourself? Is that really what you think? Are you that vapid? She makes a point, a brilliant point, then suddenly punctures it with a denigrating remark - perhaps to keep us from taking her too seriously, perhaps to make us laugh - but it detsroys the momentum and l...more

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Mar 15, 2009

Jess rated it

I really love Ephron's writing style. The title caught my attention online, so I just had to get my hands on it. I've been having a lot of strange medical things going on lately, so I thought I'd read it to lighten my mood and make fun of myself. Ephron discusses the overwhelming focus we women put on maintaining our looks throughout the aging process, but emphasizes that in the end, there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop "the steady spiraling down of everything" from happening ...more

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Aug 24, 2011

Shelly rated it

Shelves: audiobook-version, memoirs, humor, reviewed

My all-time favorite movie in the world is When Harry Met Sally, so when I saw my library had a Nora Ephron audiobook, and that she was the actual narrator, I had to get it! There's something about listening to a memoir in the author's own voice, not only are you getting a piece of their life in the memoir itself, but delivery and inflection can make all the difference. You can misinterpret words, but when someone says them aloud, you can tell if they are joking, being sarcastic, if they are t...moreMy all-time favorite movie in the world is When Harry Met Sally, so when I saw my library had a Nora Ephron audiobook, and that she was the actual narrator, I had to get it! There's something about listening to a memoir in the author's own voice, not only are you getting a piece of their life in the memoir itself, but delivery and inflection can make all the difference. You can misinterpret words, but when someone says them aloud, you can tell if they are joking, being sarcastic, if they are truly sad about their friend's death, how much it drives them crazy about all the maintenance women go through, this all comes across in Ephron's own voice, something that could be lost in translation, or especially lost by someone else reading it. I happen to think it's important, and it's a deciding factor as to whether I listen to a memoir or read it, especially by someone whose other works I love. I don't want anyone else interfering in that relationship, it's very personal to me.

The first third of the book I would give 5 stars. I found myself nodding, smiling, even laughing out loud, commiserating about the aging and maintenance crap women have to go through. I loved it when she would talk about how she rationalized purchases, amortizing the expenses over the years you would use/own the product. I do this all the time, but have never really told anyone except my husband, and he nods his head right along with mine and this is how we operate. My most favorite part the first third of the book is the handbag/purse essay. I vacillate between justifying and amortizing the cost of an expensive purse verses the simpleness of a Target bag that I adore but doesn't match anything. So far I've yet to make up my mind. And although I am only 33, 34 next month, I feel the aging creeping up and I want to tell it to stop being so sneaky! I have no wrinkles yet, no aging neck, thankfully no gray hairs (though I did have a scare a few days ago, where I made my husband pluck it so I could examine it more closely - turns out it wasn't gray or white, it seemed to have absolutely no pigment which I can't decide if that's better or worse) but I have begun to feel the effects of gravity. I thought I could at least get out of my thirties before I would really start to despise age, but I guess not. Now wearing a push-up bra is not about being sexy, it's a necessity. And at 33, almost 34 - this terrifies me about what is to come! Hearing it all through Nora's experiences makes it not only bearable, but also reminds me everyone goes through it and it's not the end of the world! It also reminds me, it could and will get worse, never better, so I might as well enjoy what I have still before it goes!

The middle third of the book, I think I could have done without. Talks about politics (although nothing too serious) also grates on me, especially when I depend on the book/author for entertainment, and even though I enjoy her opinions about most everything else, I really don't want to hear anyone's politics. Also, the talks about no longer being able to live in a rent stabilized apartment in NYC when you are making very good money doesn't make me very sympathetic and so I really don't want to hear about it. During the time she was living in this apartment, I had just graduated high school, struggling to make it on my own. During the time I'm listening to this book, I am married, but even now we are struggling to make it, although in a completely different way. Now it's not how am I going to pay the rent, but more like we need new windows on the house because the locks are broken, the sink is leaking again, are we putting enough away for retirement, can we afford a used but new to us car? I really don't want to hear about how you are paying rent each month that equals my entirely monthly salary and you are upset it will be going up, yet I know you are making more than enough to support it. Just doesn't really help me like you at the moment.

The last third of the book was sort of all over the place. It had lots of sage advice, funny tidbits and meaningful stories but seemed to lack any flow. It was chaotic and I found myself thinking, 'wait, what? I thought we were talking about marriage, now cabbage strudel?' I got a little lost. I did enjoy hearing about Nora's friend and the whole life/death issue and I feel the same way. It's something that needs to be addressed, but how do you talk about something you're not ready to talk about? If you talk about death, will it happen sooner? If I don't talk about it, will it sneak up and say 'Shoulda been planning!' To live and worry later, or in my case worry while living about worrying later. I found the last part about her two friends' different approach to death very touching. One planned and lived to have a happy life regardless, with detailed instructions on what to do. Another lived life never thinking about it, and died fighting, resisting death to the end and unhappy about it, especially being only 66. Which is the right way? It's very thought-provoking and still, I don't know what to think about death, especially my own.

I think if you are of a certain age, or can appreciate all types of humor, you would find this funny. It's really short, about 3 1/2 hours for the audio, so if you like anything about Nora's work you should definitely take the time to read/listen. PS - if you've ever wondered about the opening scene of When Harry Met Sally and where it came from, listening to Nora talk about wanting to be a journalist and how she was afraid she'd die some sad New York death, you'll see just how personal it really was, and how funny!(less)

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Aug 12, 2011

Sarah rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

Over the past week or two, I’ve been going through one of those annoying bouts of I-don’t-feel-pretty. Hopefully most girls out there will know what I’m talking about. None of my clothes look good, my hair is annoying and won’t do what I want it to do, etc. Maybe I’m just a weirdo, but I go through these little phases maybe once a year or so. I don’t know why, but it usually doesn’t last too long, and by the time it ends I’m back to my bubbly, Damn-I-look-good self.

Anyways, I was in ...moreOver the past week or two, I’ve been going through one of those annoying bouts of I-don’t-feel-pretty. Hopefully most girls out there will know what I’m talking about. None of my clothes look good, my hair is annoying and won’t do what I want it to do, etc. Maybe I’m just a weirdo, but I go through these little phases maybe once a year or so. I don’t know why, but it usually doesn’t last too long, and by the time it ends I’m back to my bubbly, Damn-I-look-good self.

Anyways, I was in my spare room surrounded by all of my books and trying to decide what to read. And I remembered that Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck has been suggested to me a lot recently. And since I’m going through one of those annoying ruts, I figured it’d be a good time to read it.

In a way, it was. I read it pretty much in one afternoon, since it’s only 137 pages. And in a lot of parts, it was pretty funny. She talks about the insane amount of time that women spend on their hair. She talks about how crappy it is to get older, and how younger women should appreciate what they got while they still have it. She talks about parenting, and a couple of her work experiences, and renting an apartment in NYC.

Overall, it was amusing and enjoyable. But the book didn’t click a lot with me because let’s face it – I’m not in my 60’s, I have no kids, and I don’t live in NYC. I’ll probably enjoy this book a lot more when I’m 65 or so (though I probably still won’t have kids, and still won’t live in NYC).

One chapter I enjoyed a lot was “On Rapture”, in which she talks about the rapture and joy she feels when she reads an absolutely wonderful book. And how she completely resents every minute she has to spend in the real world, because she wants to get back to reading that amazing book. I totally get that! I love it when I find a book like that. Plus, there’s a chapter near the end that is just a couple pages of her little tidbits of wisdom – which are both funny, but some are serious too, and all of them invoke the importance of living life to the fullest.

Also, this book really did cheer me up a bit. I’m almost definitely better-looking now than I will be when I’m in my 60’s. I say almost definitely because I’m hoping to be one of those cool old-ish ladies with long, straight white hair and funky glasses. Keeping my fingers crossed!

And now, for my favorite quote of the whole book:
“The other day I actually lost a piece of cheese in my apartment.”

3.5 stars(less)

· see review

Aug 05, 2011

Kelli rated it

Shelves: give-it-to-me-straight

You do not have to be of a certain age to enjoy this book. I laughed, of course I would have laughed harder if her and I were in the same boat but I still laughed. I also cried. The last chapter I could not contain myself. Nora touched a nerve with me when she began talking about the dealth of her best friend. It was something that has never crossed my mind but it is bound to happen to one of us and I couldn't imagine my life without her, and I instantly empathized with Nora in that moment. I c...more

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Mar 24, 2010

Lisa Eggers rated it

At first I thought: This is just not something that I can ever in any way understand or comiserate with. Nora Ephron is filthy rich, twice (thrice?) divorced, extreamly successful in her career, living in Manhattan, and 64 years old. She begins with a long discourse on the pain-in-the-neck-ness of having to dye her hair to illiminate gray (I am at least 10% gray and not in the least bit upset or willing to do a thing about it), the ins and outs of purchasing expensive handbags (never, ever cros...more

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Oct 16, 2011

Gerri rated it

I laughed out loud at some essays in this book (e.g. definitely track down the essay "I Hate My Purse" if you have ever felt you can't maintain control over your pocketbook; it was originally published in Harper's Bazaar), with others I nodded in appreciation of the way she phrased universal truths. And she is a superb writer. But the book does not live up to its description as reflections on women getting older - a number of the essays have little or nothing to do with either being a ...more

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Feb 26, 2011

Stacy rated it

Shelves: humorous

Imagine going to a see a humorous one-woman show, starring the famous screenwriter who brought us "Sleepless in Seattle" and "When Harry Met Sally". That's what listening to this audiobook was like.

Ephron begins and ends with despair over the aging process - from the superficial (such as the sagging or otherwise distorted neck problem that afflicts all women over age 43) to the heartbreaking (the inevitable fact of death). In between, she shares her love for readi...more

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About Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, and blogger.

She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. She sometimes writes with her sister, Delia Ephron.

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“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficity disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss. ” — 70 people liked it

“When your children are teenagers, it's important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.” — 27 people liked it

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