Scrounge through your mom’s things to find romantic comedy this holiday season!
You are so antisemitic. I bet you saw the title of this post and figured, ah, the Jewish Mother-in-Training’s back…she’s probably wishing me a Happy Hanukkah or Chanukah.
But, no, darling Readers. If there is one thing that I give to you this holiday season, other than my companionship on Christmas Eve, which is up for raffle to the loneliest Christian out there, that one thing is Nora Ephron or Nora Ephron’s writing to be exact. You can find her latest book at the nearest Borders, Barnes & Noble, Costco (obviously!), or in your mother’s library – the best place to go shopping in this economy.
Heard of her? Born in the 1980s? Born on Earth? Nora Ephron is the woman who gave us the orgasm scene from Harry met Sally and the reminder of that long-lost cultural icon – the AOL voice announcing that You’ve Got Mail.
For those cynics out there who are thinking that I’m misleading you, per the British study that Romantic Comedies can Ruin Your Life, broaden your horizons.
While “rom-coms” may be what drove Nora Ephron to fame, the only “roms” that Nora Ephron talks about in her new book are her rent-stabilized apartment and those books that make you shiver they’re so good (those that drove her to rapture: The Woman in White, The Golden Notebook, The Godfather, Smiley’s People, et cetera, et cetera). And, guess what? Rent heaven in NYC and the written page can only go on for so long.
It’s true that I, me, worldly JMIT – did not pick up Nora Ephron’s new books because it was by Nora Ephron. Truth is, I had no idea who she was. (Which probably says worse things about me than I live under a rock given the title is _I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman_). But if someone as hard to please as me could get warm and fuzzy while reading a book about cabbage strudel and cooking (cooking?!), it’s at least good enough to keep by your toilet. (You’ll finish it within a week unless Atkins or the Zone totally messed up your gastrointestinal system…then give it two weeks.)
The excerpt:
Every so often I read a book about age, and whoever’s writing it says it’s great to be old. It’s great to be wise and sage and mellow; it’s great to be at the point where you understand just what matters in life. I can’t stand people who say things like this. What can they be thinking? Don’t they have necks?
I know it sounds lame-o. But, it’s well worth the read. Plus, there’s this part about Nora and JFK that I bet you never knew. (I won’t spoil it here.) And, for gosh sakes, it’s free!
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