Nora Ephron’s Legacy

While Nora Ephron, who died Tuesday at the age of 71, may be most remembered for witty writing in films such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally,” she also wrote hilarious essays on the vicissitudes of modern life for the finer sex. She is in good company with writers such as Judith Viorst (Unexpectedly Eighty and Other Adaptations) and has also spawned a younger generation of comic essayists. Here are some collections – Ephron’s and others – you might want to try.

I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections by Nora Ephron

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

I Was In Love With aShort Man Once: And Other Tales From a Crazy Southern Irish Gal  by Kimberly Dalferes

Summer Romance

Looking for some good beach reading?  The Romance Writers of America have announced the finalists in 12 categories for the annual RITA honors to be awarded on July 28 at the organization’s annual conference in Anaheim, Calif.  Check out some of the finalists below to see if they are worthy of an award.

At Hidden Falls by Barbara Freethy

Always a Temptress by Eileen Dreyer

Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon

Death Magic by Eileen Wilks

The Devil in Disguise by Stefanie Sloane

Summer Books for the Solitary Soul

If you prefer an afternoon with a book to the more social aspects of summer – barbecues, pool parties, etc., NPR’s Maureen Corrigan has gathered a few recommendations for a Book Party for One: A Loner's Summer Survival Guide (thanks to WHYY’s “Fresh Air.”) Summer, she writes, “is an especially trying time for those of us who'd rather stay indoors and read a book.”

The one nonfiction book listed below is “filled with such marvelous facts and anecdotes; they'll arm you with a supply of handy conversational tidbits should you have to socialize.” As for her fiction choices, she believes “they are so absorbing they'll give you the moral courage to draw the curtains, crank up the air conditioning and ignore all unwelcome invitations.”

Here are a few available at the library:

Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man by Mark Kulansky

Crusoe’s Daughter by Jane Gardam

The Red House by Mark Haddon