I Feel Bad About My Neck, and other Thoughts on Being a Woman

Ephron, Nora. I Feel Bad About My Neck, and other Thoughts on Being a Woman. 2006. 139p. ISBN 9780307264558.

Nora Ephron brought us famous movies like When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. A famous writer, Nora started her career as a journalist before transitioning into a writer and director. Over the years, Nora accumulated experiences that became fodder for her movies and books. In I Feel Bad About My Neck, Ephron explores what it means to age as a woman, in often poignant language, but always with a hilarious bent.

Looking back at her life, Ephron considers times that were significant and that an outside influence on her. She talks about her time as John F. Kennedy's intern. She discusses her disappointment at Bill Clinton's presidency. She explores the love she has for her apartment, until rent was raised to $12,000 a month. She talks about her children. Through it all, Ephron showcases the same humor that made her a famous writer and movie director.

Though younger readers will not relate to most of the topics Ephron explores in this book, they will not be able to say they weren't forewarned about some of the pitfalls of aging!

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life

Wong, Ali. Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life. 2019. 240p. ISBN 9780525508830.

Having broken through the glass ceiling of the comedy scene, Asian-American comedian Ali Wong writes a series of heartfelt letters to her young daughters. In these letters, she discusses her life, and describes her efforts to become a comedian in a world of white male comedians, a feat that required her to work harder than most to avoid being the token Asian girl on stage. Ali also talks about the trials and tribulations of a life spent on the road, the difficulties of raising two young daughters, the clash of values between her parents' Asian roots and her American life, and falling in love with her husband. 

Ali's advice applies equally well to her daughters and to the rest of the world when she recommends that you have to do the best you can, and reach as far as you can. Fans of Ali's raunchy comedy style and frank language will not be disappointed by this hilarious take on a life well lived. 

Mort Ziff Is Not Dead

Fagan, Cary. Mort Ziff Is Not Dead. 2017. 176p. ISBN 978-0-14-319847-5. Available at FIC FAG on the library shelves.

Norman Fishbein is the youngest kid in his family, and his two older brothers are always picking on him. As Norman himself says, it’s as if, when he was born, they received instructions that their only goal in life was to make Norman miserable. Tormenting Norman relentlessly, Marcus and Larry are always topping each other, leaving Norman behind.

When Norman and his brothers enter a contest to guess the number of candies in a jar at the mall, they don’t expect to win, but Norman is surprised months later when he receives a letter in the mail instructing him that he won $1,000. In the winter of 1965, $1,000 is a lot of money. Instead of saving it for himself, buying things he doesn’t need, he decides that the family needs a vacation Florida. Everyone readily agrees with him, and soon the Fishbein family arrives in Miami.

There they meet the Horvath family. Their three girls are the same age as the Fishbein children, and share the same hobbies. Instead of being friends, they become instant enemies. Except for Amy and Norman. Owing no loyalty to siblings who always pick on them, they decide to bow out of this little contest and enjoy their vacation instead. They soon discover that Mort Ziff, one of the most famous comedians from the 1950s, is still working at their hotel, telling bad jokes during dinner. But with Ziff’s position threatened by a Beatles cover band, Amy and Norman come up with a plan to ensure that Ziff will keep working as long as he wants to.

Anyone who has ever been picked on by older siblings will appreciate the quiet and graceful way in which younger siblings Norman and Amy deal with being eclipsed by their brothers and sisters and how they regain a sense of being in control of their own lives. Their success at making their siblings respect them will inspire the reader to reach out to his or her family members and thank them for being part of their family.

Twelfth Night

Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night. 2008. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive, as well as 822.33 SHA on the library shelves.

Two siblings, twins Viola and Sebastian, are separated when their ship sinks in the Mediterranean. Rescued by a good captain, Viola disguises herself as a man, takes the name Cesario, and joins the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino is madly in love with Olivia, who still mourns the death of her father and brother, has sworn she would not have any relationships with men for seven years, so Duke Orsino’s pleas of love fall on deaf ears. She is intrigued by Cesario, however, whom she finds weirdly attractive. At the same time, Viola herself becomes infatuated with Orsino, creating an unrequited love triangle.

Meanwhile, Sebastian was himself rescued by a thief named Antonio. Wanted by Duke Orsino, Antonio falls madly in love with Sebastian. When Sebastian meets Olivia, she mistakens him for Cesario, and they soon marry. When Sebastian is reunited with Viola, both Duke Orsino and Olivia are confused, as there are now two Cesarios. Identities are soon unraveled and Viola and Orsino are soon married.

Considered by many to be Shakespeare’s best comedy, Twelfth Night hilariously examines what happens when cases of mistaken identities collide with love stories.