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celtic_oracle's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
Nora Ephron was a smart, witty and talented writer, but many of her journalism pieces had a touch of meanness attached—a thinly veiled smirk of superiority.
That said, When Harry Met Sally is still great, and the commentary attached was a neat view into the film development process. And that wry wit, when focused on her in the personal essays, make for a fun read.
That said, When Harry Met Sally is still great, and the commentary attached was a neat view into the film development process. And that wry wit, when focused on her in the personal essays, make for a fun read.
diana_skelton's review against another edition
4.0
From "Lucky Guy," a play in two acts:
John Cotter [editor]: "You're born, you die. Everything in between is subject to interpretation. Everything in between is how you tell the story and who's telling the story and what they think is important and which order to put it in and where they're coming from."
From "Hooked on Hillary," 2008 essay:
"I'm a woman of a certain age, and this means that part of the pie that passes for my brain contains a large slice called Hillary. I've been thinking about her in a fairly pathological way ever since 1992 and dreaming about her as well. She is me, and then again she's not. I used to love her and I no longer do, but unlike what usually happens when love diea, I still think about her far too much. When she tells a big lie, like her recent Bosnia episiode, I can lose hours trying to figure out why. I mean, why? Was it one of those things that she'd said so often that she'd come to believe it? Was it a story that had work in the past so she thought she'd gotten away with it? Did she honestly think that no one would rat her out? Does she not understand that if you're famous, there's almost nothing you do that someone doesn't have a picture of? I have no idea what the answer is to any of this because I'm not a liar and she is. (By the way, I don't think she was always a liar, the way some kids are born liars and never get over it. I think she was once a truthful person and her lying skills were forged in the early years of her marriage, forged in the crucible of Bill's infidelities and in her role as point person in dealing with them. This is what happens when you marry a narcissist: he spills the milk, you clean it up, and your love grows. And then you end up a liar, just like him.)
John Cotter [editor]: "You're born, you die. Everything in between is subject to interpretation. Everything in between is how you tell the story and who's telling the story and what they think is important and which order to put it in and where they're coming from."
From "Hooked on Hillary," 2008 essay:
"I'm a woman of a certain age, and this means that part of the pie that passes for my brain contains a large slice called Hillary. I've been thinking about her in a fairly pathological way ever since 1992 and dreaming about her as well. She is me, and then again she's not. I used to love her and I no longer do, but unlike what usually happens when love diea, I still think about her far too much. When she tells a big lie, like her recent Bosnia episiode, I can lose hours trying to figure out why. I mean, why? Was it one of those things that she'd said so often that she'd come to believe it? Was it a story that had work in the past so she thought she'd gotten away with it? Did she honestly think that no one would rat her out? Does she not understand that if you're famous, there's almost nothing you do that someone doesn't have a picture of? I have no idea what the answer is to any of this because I'm not a liar and she is. (By the way, I don't think she was always a liar, the way some kids are born liars and never get over it. I think she was once a truthful person and her lying skills were forged in the early years of her marriage, forged in the crucible of Bill's infidelities and in her role as point person in dealing with them. This is what happens when you marry a narcissist: he spills the milk, you clean it up, and your love grows. And then you end up a liar, just like him.)
jordyn_lightyear's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
heidibaumgart's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
sassylk's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
i’m going to keep this book on my bookshelf for the rest of my life, and dip in and out to keep her advice with me forever. i love the way nora ephron lives her life, and some of her rules are going to stay with me forever (round table for dinner parties, never buy a red coat), as will some of her wisdom (particularly the speech to wellsley graduates, which made me cry and feels particularly relevant to my life stage right now). what a remarkable woman and writer. some sections of this were a little slow (the journalism section at the beginning is quite repetitive), but i’m glad i read it slowly, because, like nora, i have trouble with my memory, and her advice is stuff i want to remember for the rest of my life!
mdudalis's review
4.0
in the end of the day there where more essays that i liked than disliked.. besides that norah ephron was kind of an idol to me growing up due to my mother being obsessed with her movies ★