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A very humorous, overall-lighthearted book. Within these pages, Ephron bemoans the struggles of aging necks, messy purses, routine personal upkeep, parenting, and not being able to find a once-loved food, among other things, all with wit and humor.

I really enjoyed the book overall, but I am having a difficult time deciding on a rating. On one hand, there were many humorous and insightful pieces (although certainly from a perspective of privilege), which were fun to read in their exposure of women's everyday lives and many of the first-world problems they face. However, I did find some of her jokes and perspectives off-putting. Based on the title, I obviously wasn't expecting a body positive manifesto, but I was disappointed in the fat shaming scenario in "The Story of My Life in 3,500 Words of Less" in which Ephron recounts how she was 126 in college, "having become a butterball". The emphasis on dieting and losing weight as a form of revenge, a thin body being something to flaunt in front of others, was not to my taste. Similarly, her gross trivialization of a homeless woman's experiences in "On Maintenance" was also disappointing. I understood the point she was trying to make, but in my opinion, it had already been made and poking fun at a homeless woman's appearance was unnecessary.

Still, the book came out almost 15 years ago and there have clearly been changes in values since then. The majority of the book was well-written and funny with a few outdated opinions that are certainly harmful but were much more ingrained in the culture at the time.

Despite this, I especially enjoyed the essays, "I Hate My Purse", "Blind as a Bat", "The Lost Strudel or Le Strudel Perdu", and "On Rapture".

The collection ends with "Considering the Alternative", which was heartfelt and beautifully written, providing a more serious closing to an otherwise very lighthearted book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Some aspects of it have not aged very well, but on the whole, I enjoyed most of the essays. Well-written and humorous, its a interesting look at various aspects of human life, especially the gendered issues women face such as the pressure for graceful aging.

Though a well-written book, "A CUP OF TEA" reads much like a melodrama one finds in a Harlequin or Mills and Boon romance novel.

The drama begins on a nighttime street in Manhattan in January 1917. A ill-clothed young woman shudders against a street light, hoping for succour. But not the kind of succour a man discreetly offers her as he walks by. Then along comes Rosemary Fall, a wealthy young woman blessed with all the advantages affluence and social connections can give. Rosemary at first kindly offers the young lady a few dollars to help her make ends meet. And then, Rosemary invites the shivering, ill-clad woman to her home (with she shares with her widowed father) for a cup of tea.

What resulted from that cup of tea would set in train a series of events that would radically change the course of Rosemary's life and the lives of 2 of her closest friends. To say more would give away the gist of the story.

"A CUP OF TEA" is very, very readable. The chapters were usually about 5 pages long. But there were some glaring inconsistencies in the story that I couldn't ignore. One involves the work Rosemary carried out as a volunteer nurse in a VA Hospital. There was NO VA Hospital in 1910s America. The VA (Veterans Administration) wasn't established until July 1930! There was also mention of a ship sailing from America to Britain as "an American carrier", which was sunk by a German U-boat. As far as ocean-going vessels are concerned, a 'carrier' is a warship that carries warplanes in its hold for use in offensive operations against an enemy. During the First World War, the U.S. did NOT have aircraft carriers. That wouldn't take place until the 1920s!

Were I to assess "A CUP OF TEA" on the basis on its writing style, I'd rate it 3 stars. But because of the inconsistencies in it that I cited earlier - and the elongation of some of the time sequences that made the story in certain instances depart from reality, I can at best give "A CUP OF TEA" two stars. 

I Remember Nothing, by Nora Ephron, is a collection of twenty-three personal reflections that address the many aspects of aging with insight and wit.

The challenges of new technology, a failing memory and the passing of family members are poignant and relatable.

While the piece, Journalism – A Love Story, is a pocket history of the demise of the industry, it’s also a glory-days story, the kind we all love to tell about when we were in our prime and things were different–meaning better.

Other topics discussed include humorous personal peccadilloes and relationships; the temporary, the enduring, how some flourish with time, whiles others become unsustainable.

If you’re honest, and of a certain age, you’ll agree there’s not one good thing to be said about getting old, including admitting to it. In this short book, Nora Ephron faces it head-on and her courage and honesty are an inspiration to this aging reader/writer.

The current craze surrounding Marie Kondo and her personal organizing empire has opened the floodgates for others looking to piggyback on the momentum surrounding the fad.  In Careful What You Wish For, Hallie Epron’s protagonist, Emily Harlow, is a newly minted professional organizer who is continuously pitted against characters and events representing deliberate chaos.  Emily’s own husband is a lawyer, and (ironically) an avid “collector” of detritus gathered from yard and estate sales.  There is obvious tension between them caused in turn by disagreements about their infertility issues and the growing build-up of clutter inside their home.  Emily’s need for order becomes further thwarted when she takes on two new clients with complications and convoluted pasts. Both clients provide the novel with mysteries that become increasingly puzzling and intertwined.  In one case, Emily is suspicious that her client’s deceased husband may have a collection of stolen items, and the other embroils Emily in a “Strangers on a Train” type plot. As an amateur detective, Emily often shows a degree of questionable judgement and naivete that may cause the reader to experience exasperation at her obtuseness. Careful What You Wish For also contains many twists and red herrings, but savvy readers will not be duped due to the numerous hints provided and their sheer predictability. Ephron’s newest release is a perfect summer read: light, quickly paced and well-written, but probably not her best nor most memorable work thus far.                                                                                                                                                

Thanks to Edelweiss and William Morrow for an ARC of this book in return for an unbiased review.

My second Nora Ephron book, but my first experience of her 'fiction'.  I use the quotes because she writes an introduction in this edition, outlining that while the book is nominally a fictional piece, it's entirely based on the breakup of her second marriage, with minor adjustments and major alterations.

Ephron wrote comedy, it was her strength, but this is also the story loosely based on her own experiences with infidelity.  So while it's definitely written for laughs, the subject matter automatically makes it harder to actually laugh, although there are a lot of chuckles.  It is Nora Ephron, after all, and the woman was a genius at finding the humor in everything, but most especially in herself.

As for the story itself: the characters, the 'plot', the atmosphere; about those I can only say it's a book of its time.  It reads exactly like something written by Judy Blume, only for laughs.  There was just this profoundly screwed-up vibe about the 60's and 70's culture, when infidelity was both expected and intolerable, but mostly accepted because women didn't really believe they had a choice.

If you can accept this book as a book of its time and can enjoy cultural stereotyping when it's done with a generous and kind spirit, this is a book well worth reading.  It's the story of a woman who knows she let optimism triumph over common sense and is wise enough to own it, laugh at it, learn from it and move herself on, up and out.