©David Shankbone
Books by Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron (1941-2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She wrote and directed a number of films including When Harry Met Sally, Silkwood, and Sleepless in Seattle. Ephron’s off-screen writing is not as widely known, but certainly should be. Ephron wrote one novel, Heartburn, as well as collections of memoir-style essays, such as I Feel Bad About My Neck. Being funny did not prevent her from approaching difficult topics; Heartburn has been mentioned in interviews here for ‘The Best Books on Coping With Failure’ and ‘The Best Books on Depression’. Nora Ephron passed away from cancer in 2012.
“What I love about it is what I love about Nora Ephron’s screenplays. It’s the casually-worn yet acute insight she has into the human condition – particularly the female condition – and the comedy with which she explores serious issues….it’s about a woman claiming her own narrative. Nora Ephron wrote Heartburn in 1983, but I think that that’s still enormously important in the current political climate. Particularly given that the man that Nora Ephron was married to in real life was a journalist, and therefore had control of all sorts of narratives.” Read more...
The best books on Coping With Failure
Elizabeth Day, Memoirist
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman
by Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron shines in this collection of essays. She writes about parenting, getting older, and, as the title itself suggests, being a woman, including a chapter solely focused on her handbag, ‘I Hate My Purse’. A must-read if you are a fan of Nora Ephron’s work.
I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections
by Nora Ephron
I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections is a collection of memoir-style essays, published after Ephron’s collection, I Feel Bad About My Neck. It is equally as funny and perceptive. Written during her battle with cancer, it is not quite as light-hearted as I Feel Bad About My Neck, with particularly poignant final essays: ‘What I Won’t Miss’ and ‘What I Will Miss’. What we definitely miss is Ephron’s wit and humour.
Interviews where books by Nora Ephron were recommended
Great Actors Read Great Novels
If you enjoy listening to books as audiobooks, it’s a great time to be alive. From Rosamund Pike narrating Pride and Prejudice, Jeremy Irons reading Lolita to Meryl Streep telling the story of Heartburn, many prominent actors have signed up for performing their favourite books in unabridged versions.
The best books on Coping With Failure, recommended by Elizabeth Day
Elizabeth Day, author of How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learnt from Things Going Wrong, explains how the road to success truly is paved with failure—and why we must learn to deal with it better.
The best books on Depression, recommended by Bryony Gordon
Writing about her life in memoirs and a newspaper column allowed the author Bryony Gordon to “join the dots” to see the true face of her own mental illness. Here, she chooses five books to help with depression, books in which she has found solace and a sense of community among those who suffer from depression.
