The Most of Nora Ephron

As you’d expect from Nora Ephron, this is a witty book. I bought a copy for myself and a second one to give away. It’s delightful!

I actually purchased the book for a friend who has enjoyed Nora’s works. I was figuring on more of her written works, but a good portion of the book told about her experiences in the work world. There were also excerpts from her writings. I read the most of it before passing it on and found it interesting.

Oddly, this was supposed to be a brand new book, but turned out to be a former library book (with clear plastic cover and little card holder inside).How do we miss her? I could count the ways, but they would number in the hundreds. Each of these essays, columns, the script for "When Harry Met Sally", and the full book "Heartburn" are gems. The only dud in my opinion was the theatrical book for "Lucky Guy". Amazingly, as you read some of these essays, a few seem dated (which, written in the 70s, are), but a lot of them sounded like they were written just a few years ago, even when they weren't. Just an amazing collection of the author's writing.

Doesn't much matter which of those 557 pages fall open. Wherever you land you should find a good read. Here's a sampling: There's Nora, the thrice married New Yorker daughter of Hollywood screenwriters. Nora of 1960's Newsweek, when the only jobs open to women were in the mailroom. Nora, the New York Post journalist, novelist, filmmaker and playwright. Nora sitting around with Rob Reiner dithering with improving the script of "When Harry Met Sally." Nora settling scores with her unfaithful second husband in "Heartburn," the book that became a Meryl Streep movie. Nora as writer/director of "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless in Seattle." Nora, the foodie, on having people to dinner and life in the land of the egg-white omelette. And the Nora who knew early on who Deep Throat was, but nobody believed her. Nora and her profiles of Helen Gurley Brown, Julie Nixon Eisenhower and other well known women. Nora on life in the Google years. Nora on the "O" word and remembering nothing. Nora's script of "Lucky Guy," her 2-act play that ran on Broadway, starring Tom Hanks, in 2013. Nora's "Story of My Life in 3,500 Words or Less" and two one-page lists of "What I Won't Miss" and "What I Will Miss." Nora Ephron died of leukemia at 71 in June, 2012.

I liked the anthology of the author's works-all with highlights and reminders of the author's talent.

I enjoy picking up this book and selecting a piece based on how much time I have and what I’m in the mood to read. I’ve spent more time with this book this year than any other and am still loving it. The variety in this compilation of Nora Ephron’s work is fantastic!

My expectations were really low about this book but I was curious. It’s compelling from page one. Can’t believe it but I think I’ll read this huge long book

wow! I didn't know that I would get the entire screenplay of "When Harry Met Sally." This book really includes "the most" of Nora Ephron. Thanks.

I read Heartburn and found it brilliant - funny, sad, original and whilst set in a specific time and place still resonated. I thought Ephron had a good 'voice' - someone you'd want to be friends with and also loved when Harry Met Sally so I got this book hoping for more of Heartburn.Unfortunately this book didn't do it for me. A lot of the book relies on the reader having a good understanding of America, and American politics through the 60s so the early 2000s. A lot of her writing is, I'm sorry to say, a bit outdated with regard to women's rights/priorities/interests. One cannot penalise Ephron for this as she was obviously writing in such a time, but considering the book was complied much later I don't know, I felt it just could have been updated or come with more modern comments from Ephron on how things have changed (or not). The worst though is a lot of the extracts are just boring. If you don't know the people she refers to (I guess you would if you were American and or from a certain time?), it's all a bit meaningless - I often skipped pieces because I had no idea who she was talking about and therefore found it uninteresting (hence her insights/wit probably being lost).I think the best section is the last 150 odd pages - called 'personal'. This is where we get those brilliant gems and wit on things like breasts, hair, handbags, emails, forgetting things. It's a shame there wasn't more of this 'universal' content (which doesn't rely on knowledge of American culture/history). Ok, maybe the book wouldn't have been a comprehensive overview of Ephron's life and work and this is the 'most' of Ephron, but I'd rather have the 'best' of Ephron.Unfortunately I can't really justify keeping a 600 page book for only 150 words which are worthwhile. If you're a huge Ephron fan this book is good value as it does have a lot of content. However I will stick to Heartburn, and perhaps check out 'I feel bad about my neck' and 'I remember nothing' which seem to overlap somewhat with this book, but have more of that personal, insightful, universal content I thought this book would give me.As an aside, I feel the book cover really could be designed better (this looks amateur and kitsch) and the paper quality is one of the worst I have come across - it is practically grey and feels coarse and horrid.Also whilst I hate to categorise literature into 'male' and 'female', this is definitely something for women - I feel men would be completely disinterested in this book.

I had just finished reading Heartburn, which I loved and wanted more of Ephron's writing. This is exactly that. It's a behemoth with a huge selection of her journalism, her scripts, her blog posts and some of her essays and bits of her books. In hindsight I should have bought another slim volume before launching into this. The largest section of the book deals with her political journalism, which I am sure if you are American or interested in American politics would be absolutely on the nose, but for me it was largely a chore to get through. I know some of the people she talks about and what was going on at the time at the broadest level, but so much was lost on me. Her food writing absolutely shines and I really enjoyed the section where she talks about script writing using When Harry Met Sally as an example. There are nuggets of joy here, but the whole thing was rather indigestible.

I'm a fan of Ephron's work and did not need convincing to read this! However, I like how it does not really have a unifying subject matter except that every story or article reveals a slice of her perspective on herself, life and the world. It's perfect for reading a chapter/article at a time while in the supermarket queue (especially now during lockdown), while sunbathing in the garden, in the bath or in bed!

A collection of Nora Ephron's writings is the perfect antidote to life's trials and tribulations. Sharp, witty and deserving of many return visits

I love this fabulous collection. The best of Nora is here - funny, fascinating and endlessly readable. This is a book you can return to again and again - there is something inspiring and wise in it for every stage of your life. Buy it and read it - you won’t regret it! Ever!