Nora Ephron’s later works seem to exist so that I have something to read while killing time reselling my old books to the used bookstore. They take about 45 minutes to read, are pleasant but not taxing, and amusing without a ton of investment. They’re ephemeral as a result, and I am only 80% certain that I remember the essays correctly.
Like, I just read something about how useless egg white omelets are and that the correct way to make one is to add yolks not subtract them. It could have been in this book. It could have been a magazine. Who knows? It was amusing enough that I remembered it, but didn’t have any connection to the rest of the book, just like the entire book. It’s a collection of musings without a unifying theme, so it’s very hit or miss.
It’s the type of book that you only really get from famous people, where their name is enough to sell copies no matter what’s inside, so there are flashes of brilliance (Ephron didn’t get famous for nothing; When Harry Met Sally is a bona fide masterpiece) amongst a lot of filler. I wish Ephron had chosen any one or two of these essays and written a book about it – her remembrance of her parents in particular, and reflecting on her mother’s alcoholism and exaggeration as an adult cried out for a book length exploration. I wish she had gotten the chance to write it, but I would like to read some of her longer books as Ephron’s voice is always welcome, even when it wasn’t worthy of the material.