I Feel Bad About My Neck
And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman
Ratings35
Average rating3.5
In this collection of essays, 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. She discusses everything - from how much she hates her purse to how much time she spends attempting to stop the clock: the hair dye, the treadmill, the lotions and creams that promise to slow the aging process but never do. Oh, and she can't stand the way her neck looks. But her dermatologist tells her there's no quick fix for that. Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. She recounts her anything-but-glamorous days as a White House intern during the JFK years ("I am probably the only young woman who ever worked in the Kennedy White House that the President did not make a pass at") and shares how she fell in and out of love with Bill Clinton - from a distance, of course. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age.
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One sentence synopsis... Hilarious, candid observations on getting older and the maintenance of being a woman. .
Read it if you like... intimate details about other people's personal lives. This book felt like reading someone's private diary. .
Further reading... other biographies and essay collections by hilarious women, ex. Ali Wong, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, etc...
I understand that I am probably not the intended audience for I Feel Bad About My Neck. But I grew up watching Sleepless in Seattle on a regular basis and was excited to read something by the screenwriter. I was supremely disappointed.
This was the most pretentious nonfiction book I've ever read. Honestly. Am I really supposed to be sympathetic that a rich white woman feels like she just HAS TO get a manicure weekly? Or that she spends enough money on getting her hair colored every year to buy a CAR? What a terribly sad life she has. I don't think she could have done more name dropping if she tried and the humblebragging was out of this world.
I made myself suffer through the entire second half even though it made me want to puke. But if I'm being honest, I didn't finish the last 4 pages, it was already way past redemption.
I could go on for hours about the shameless privilege but I'll leave it at this: you will gain nothing from reading this book.
I loved this so much. It was funny and thoughtful. And as a big When Harry Met Sally and You've Got Mail, there were just enough hints of those to make me swoon.
