Observations on Life

Nora Ephron's little gem of a book, I Feel Bad About My Neck, is an easily read series of essays on life, growing older, and vanity. Tackling such variant issues as neck lines (where did they come from?), purses (who spends $3000 on a purse?), apartments (amazing what we can justify when we want it), and even JFK (her summer spent as an intern is gloriously retold, very tongue-in-cheek). The best chapter, in my opinion, was the one on books, wherein Ms. Ephron details her lifelong love affair with books: how she has read books that were life-altering, how books have swept her away to the point that she doesn't want to do anything other than read, and how books have allowed her to become people as diverse as Anne Frank and Ozma. I could definitely identify!

Unsure what to expect when I picked this one up, I was delighted to feel as though I was having a private conversation with Ms. Ephron as I perused her feelings on so many things. There are no major life lessons held within the pages, but overall it achieves its ambition by giving us insight into how others face the same things we do. A quick, fun read, this one would appeal to ladies over thirty the most, though enjoyment can be found by anyone.

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This book is a real lightweight.

I love Nora Ephron, and there were times when I laughed out loud at her observations, but for the most part I was disappointed in this facile book. This novel is pretty superficial and reading it felt like eating cotton candy. It made me hungry for a real book.

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Must Read for 50 plus Women

I'm 84 and I laughed out loud. My daughters are 57 and 50 and they reacted hysterically. Nora Ephron has a talent for making almost everything funny in an original way.

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