I came across this book as I was investigating and testing our library’s downloadable audio books, and man am I glad I did! It might have taken me awhile to read it, what with putting it down to finish laundry or working out or something, but I was able to do all those things while listening to it on my mp3 player, and I had it done it just about 4 hours. I’ve never finished a book so fast in my life!

Nora Ephron (also known for writing and directing You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle, and writing When Harry Met Sally, among other things) has written a very funny book about women and the insufferable quirks tied to our gender. Why do we need purses to match every outfit? We can’t find the things we put in them anyway, and probably didn’t need them to begin with. Ephron’s solution is to buy a bag that is taxi-cab yellow and couldn’t possibly match anything, and therefore, in some weird way, matches everything. She also discusses the need to wash your hair every day. Not only is this unneccesary, Ephron says, but it takes too much time and money. And yet, picking up a copy of Vogue one day at the hair salon cost her $20,000.

Matching wit with wisdom, Ephron has produced a book that can be enjoyed by women of all ages. While some of the jokes may not be as funny to those of us under 30 (or even 50), it gives us something to look forward to. Her humor is just my style – sarcastic, cynical, and yet somehow optimistic. She tells you that aging is nothing to cheer about, but at the same time, it’s got its up sides. She’s got advice in her section titled “What I Wish I’d Known,” and her stories of her experience as a White House intern are hilarious.

3 out of 5 stars, mainly because I just don’t think I’m old enough to fully appreciate all the content in this book. I do, however, appreciate Ephron’s wit and wisdom, and I found myself knowing that when the aging process really begins to weigh me down, I won’t be alone. ( )

Read by the author, it was a funny and delicious look into the life of a celebrity writer. I've enjoyed all the movies of hers I've seen, but really didn't know anything about her. A couple of days ago, I came in from being out (and listening to it in the car) and she and her sister were on Martha Stewart. I thought that funny coincidence. ( )

I read this book while nursing a bad back. This was a problem, because the book made me laugh out loud, which made my back hurt. Ouch! But anyway, this is a wonderful little collection of essays on the process of aging. She is both funny and fearless, approaching aging with the angst that is usually missing in this genre. I appreciate her honesty. And I now have a new phrase to throw around: compensatory dressing. If you are over 50, you know what this means! ( )

hysterical! ( )