I Remember Nothing (Nora Ephron)

Nora can write.

Her style is simple.  She's opinionated, left wing, and pretty darned feminist.  But she's funny and subtly graceful, and that's why she can say the things she says without looking bitchy.  When you disagree with her, you smile about it.

In case you didn't know, she wrote the screenplay for When Harry Met Sally.  That's how good she is.

I Remember Nothing is a collection of short, anecdotal essays.  The way she says things makes them simultaneously light and profound.  That's her gift.

I say that she "says things" because that's what it sounds like.  It's not like she's writing at you.  It's like she's talking to you.  And you just wanna listen.

Her subject matter in and of itself isn't always (in fact, usually isn't) profound, particularly special, inherently comical, or especially interesting, but the way she communicates makes it fun.  I went through essay after essay without getting tired of anything.

Nora Ephron

I guess Nora's biggest "drawback" is that she appeals mainly to women.  (Note that only people with a uterus commented in my pictured Facebook string below.)  I suppose that's not bad if women are your intended audience, but the pragmatist in me wonders, "Does she mean to reduce her potential readership by fifty percent?"  I question whether she goes into a project thinking, "I'm going to write a book especially for women."  (On the other hand, the dust jacket is pastel green and peach.  If she wanted to appeal to men, she should have made it grey or brown with semi-porn artwork.)

In any case, I've never heard a man say, "Nora Ephron is great!"  But men should read her stuff.  If you're a man, it'll give you priceless insight into women.  And you need it.  Trust me.

Tell ya what.  If you're a guy and you read I Remember Nothing as a result of reading this blog, then I'll read something you want me to read, okay?  Read the book, tell me about it - what you liked, what you didn't like, why you think her stuff appeals more to women than men.  Then tell me about a book you'd like me to read and why, and if it's a widely-known work of good literature (and "good literature" is determined by my discretion), I'll take on the task.

Check it out on Amazon!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

I decided to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy after I saw it on one of those lists of "Books Everyone Should Read" and noticed that several of my Facebook friends had read it.  I'd never heard of it.  

I went into the story pretty blindly (as is my preference), having only read the Amazon editorial and a few readers' reviews.  I knew it was science fiction and British comedy, and that's it.

Sci-fi is among my least favorite genres.  I probably only like poppy self help and academic theory less.  But I don't like not knowing literature that my friends know.   

By the time I was about two-thirds through, I didn't get it.  I mean, it was okay.  The narration and dialog are sharp & witty, and the space adventures are kinda fun.  The chronically depressed robot is a riot.  Still, mainly, it seemed silly and pointless.

Finally I asked one of my colleagues, Jeff C., who enjoys literature in general and sci-fi particularly, "Is there some deeper meaning I'm just not seeing?"  He said he'd started the book but never finished it.  He just wasn't overly captivated by it.  "But the movie was great," he said.  (I, not surprisingly, didn't know there even was a movie.)  Suddenly, three more people jumped in, all of whom had seen the movie, two of whom loved it, and one who said it stank, but the book was great.  So...maybe I should watch the movie??

Anyway, Jeff said it's a satire on life.  It says, basically, "Don't take everything so gol-blasted seriously."

Douglas Adams

It's fairly incredible what that bit of insight did for my interest and enjoyment.  I had way more fun with the story thereafter, and I found the last several chapters downright enchanting and hysterical.  I may have to reread it in a few years.  I'll probably like it better.

Check it out on Amazon!

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand)

After I emailed a work friend with a book recommendation and my reasoning behind it, he suggested that I should start a blog of book reviews. I thought this was not an inherently horrible idea.

I hope to keep my reviews short & informal, and you can follow up with your comments, questions, and complaints if you feel like like it, and then if I feel like it, I'll respond to you. If, after a while, no one seems to care, then I'll abort the mission. I'm not a fan of perpetual rejection.

Also, please let me know if you have any suggestions for improving the blog. (Hopefully your suggestion won't be "Please stop.") I'm clue-free on blog protocol because (a) I seldom read blogs, (b) I've never blogged to any audience of more than one before, and (c) I'm too lazy to research the elements of successful blogs.

One more thing: If you notice any typos or errors, please tell me. I'd like to fix them.

For the pilot episode, here's my email commentary, verbatim, for the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand). I'd sent my friend the Amazon link, to which he responded, "Boy this sure did get great reader reviews too!" ... to which I responded:

In my experience/opinion, the reader reviews on Amazon can be very hit or miss. I've bought some books with great reader reviews & found them to be a snore. I've learned, as a general rule, to consider the source (i.e., whether the review writer has anything intelligent to say and if they even know how to structure a decent sentence themselves, the type of audience the book is likely to generate, etc.) and take the opinions with a grain of salt.

The short version of my review on Unbroken is this:

• Effective (but not overly artistic) writing
• Fantastic, sometimes barely believable, story
• Inspires appreciation for the Rules of War
• Illustrates the best and worst of human psychology, especially as it applies to war-time mentalities

I read a whole lot of books and don't recommend many of them. This one, I recommend.

Check it out on Amazon!