Roach, Mary "My Planet"

Roach, Mary "My Planet. Finding Humor in the Oddest Places" - 2013

I have read articles by Mary Roach for a long time and certainly have been one of her biggest fans. I looked for a book by her ages ago and didn't find it. So now I was happy to hear from a friend that she did indeed publish several in the meantime. I had to get one immediately.

Whether she tells every phone operator what she thinks about their message "your phone call is important to me", talks about every woman's horror about getting their husbands to ask for directions or any other nightmares we might have with our beloved, she really does find humour in the oddest places.

On three pages, she tells us all about problems we face every day, maybe more when we are married but a lot also goes for single people. In any case, I'm glad I didn't read this on the bus. Her stories are a treasure and I will certainly look out for more.

From the back cover:

"A Hilarious Collection of Essays from one of America's Most Gifted Humorists!

Mary Roach, the bestselling author of Stiff, Spook, Bonk, and Packing for Mars, is considered one of the funniest science writers of all time. Roach removed the medical gauze to reveal a different side of her comedy in the Reader's Digest column "My Planet" - which was runner-up in the humor category of the National Press Club awards. Now available as a complete collection for the first time, the quirky, brilliant author takes a magnifying glass to everyday life, exposing moments of hilarity in the mundane and revealing amusing musings about marriage to, as she puts it, "the man I call Ed." 

Learn to laugh at your spouse's obsessions, appreciate automated customer service, and find pockets of pleasure in mazelike bargain stores. You'll never look at a grocery list the same way again."

Ephron, Nora "The Most of Nora Ephron"

Ephron, Nora "The Most of Nora Ephron" - 2014 

There is so much in Nora Ephron's writings that every woman can relate to. She is funny, she is hilarious, she is truthful. She says what she thinks, she says what a lot of women think and I love her for that. Maybe that is one of the reasons why "When Harry Met Sally" belongs to my favourite movies, it tells a story with real people in there.

I would love to quote from every single chapter in this great collection of her writings, some of which I had already read in "I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman" and "I Remember Nothing. And Other Reflections" but that doesn't matter, reading them together and in this sequence makes a lot of sense and makes us understand the wonderful woman that was Nora Ephron even better.

Also, we travel in time with her, to her first years in journalism, to a time that changed a lot for women, and still not enough. I loved the insight into journalism as well as her point of view. I think every woman should read this, especially those that come after us. Such wisdom, such insight into the real world. Brilliant.

Nora, you left us far too early. RIP.

Some of my favourite quotes:

"Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learnt something, become a better person."

This is my favourite part in "When Harry Met Sally". No, not "I'll have what she's having" (although that's not bad, either) but the way Sally orders her apple pie.
Waitress: "Hi, what can I get you?"
Harry: "I'll have the Number Three."
Sally: "I'd like the chef salad, please, with the oil and vinegar on the side. And the apple pie à la mode."
Waitress: "Chef and apple à la mode."
Sally: "But I'd like the pie heated, and I don't want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side. And I'd like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it. If not, then no ice cream, just whipped cream, but only if it's real. If it's out of a can, then nothing."
Waitress: "Not even the pie?"
Sally: "No, just the pie, but then not heated."
Waitress: "Ah."

And this sounds yummy:
Lee Lum's recipe for lemon chicken involved dipping strips of chicken-breast in water-chestnut flour, frying it, plunging it into a sauce that included crushed pineapple, and dousing the entire concoction with a one-ounce bottle of lemon extract.

Books and authors mentioned in her article "Rapture". (You can read the whole article here.)
Alcott, Louisa May "Little Women"
Austen, Jane  
Baum, L. Frank - Oz Series
Carré, John "Smiley's People"
Chabon, Michael "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay"
Chandler, Raymond
Collins, Wilkie "The Woman in White"
Frank, Anne "The Diary of a Young Girl"
Hodgson Burnett, Frances "A Little Princess"
Hulme, Kathryn "The Nun's Story"
Keene, Carolyn "Nancy Drew"
Lessing, Doris "The Golden Notebook"
McCloskey, Robert "Homer Price"
Montgomery, LM "Anne of Green Gables"
Puzo, Mario "The Godfather"
Thompson, Kay "Eloise"
Travers, P.L. "Mary Poppins"
Trollope, Anthony 
Wharton, Edith 

Ephron, Nora "I Remember Nothing"

Ephron, Nora "I Remember Nothing. And other reflections"  - 2010

Nora Ephron, may she rest in peace, always found the right words. She already mentioned to the world "I Feel Bad About My Neck", now she admits "I Remember Nothing". Reflections about growing older, losing your health, losing friends, your whole world is changing.

When you are in that position, all that is left some days is your sense of humour. And Nora Ephron helps you with it. She talks about growing up, her parents and her three sisters, about her marriages, relationships, her career as a journalist. All very interesting and completely hilarious.

You can tell from the book that Nora Ephron knew she wouldn't live much longer but she still took it with her usual sense of humour. I love her writings, "When Harry Met Sally" is certainly one of my favourite movies ever and I am going to watch more of her movies and read more of her books. Thank you, Nora Ephron. You have given me a lot.

At the end of the book, Nora Ephron adds two lists: "Things I will not Miss" and "Things I Will Miss". I love that she put "Pride & Prejudice" in the latter.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2026.

From the back cover:

"If there is any solace in growing older, it is that you will find yourself guffawing in hysterical recognition at the situations Nora Ephron describes, from the impossibility of trying to remember people's names at parties, to struggling with the new technology. You will find yourself rolling off the sofa snorting with laughter as she recalls with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn't (yet) forgotten, including what it feels like to produce a flop - and you will swallow down a lump in your throat at the poignancy of her insights into the pain of losing friends, and the guilt of separation and divorce.

One thing is for sure, there is nobody else who can put her finger so very precisely, so beguilingly, with so much wisdom and with so much wit, on what we all struggle with as we journey into our later years."

Clarkson, Jeremy "The World According to Clarkson, Vol. 2"

Clarkson, Jeremy "The World According to Clarkson, Vol. 2. And Another Thing" - 2006

I really enjoyed Jeremy Clarkson's first collection of articles "The World According to Clarkson" and therefore just had to read the next one. I enjoyed this a lot, too. Well, most of it. In some of his articles he is just getting too political and he is too right wing for my taste. I think I will enjoy him more in his role as the car driving and reporting Top Gear Host in the future. But if your political tendencies are not as left wing as mine, you might enjoy this book, as well.

From the back cover:

"Everyone knows that Jeremy Clarkson finds the world a perplexing place - after all, he wrote a bestselling book about it. Yet despite the appearance of 'The World According To Clarkson', things don't seem to have improved much. However, Jeremy is not someone to give up easily and he's decided to have another go. In 'And Another Thing', our exasperated hero discovers that: he inadvertently dropped a bomb on North Carolina; we're all going to explode at the age of 62; Russians look bad in Speedos - but not as bad as we do; no one should have to worry about being Bill Oddie's long lost sister; and, he should probably be nicer about David Beckham. Thigh-slappingly funny and - as ever - in your face, Jeremy Clarkson bursts the pointless little bubbles of the idiots while celebrating the special, the unique and the sheer bloody brilliant..."

Ephron, Nora "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

Nora Ephron. I have loved and admired her during all her creative years. "When Harry Met Sally" is one of my favourite films ever, I love her sense of humour but I had never read any book by her. So, when she sadly passed away earlier this year, I thought it was time to fill this incredible gap. "I Feel About My Neck", the title itself is very promising already.

There are so many great thoughts in this book. I was particularly struck when Nora Ephron asked whether anybody still reads "The Golden Notebook". Well, we read it in our international book club in January 2009 and most of our younger members did not really like the book very much. We had the feeling that the younger readers couldn’t really follow the reasons this book was written for.

Her book is also full of quotes. If you want a little taster, check out these links:

BrainyQuote
Nora Ephron's 27 Best Quotes On Love, Life, And Death

One of my favourites (from this book):
"Reading is one of the main things I do. Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter."

But it's so much better to read the whole book. Great thoughts, great humour, a lovely memory of a wonderful woman.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally, Heartburn, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail) turns her sharp wit on to her own life. 

* Never marry a man you wouldn't want to be divorced from 
*If the shoe doesn't fit in the shoe store, it's never going to fit 
*When your children are teenagers, it's important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you 
*Anything you think is wrong with your body at the age of thirty-five you will be nostalgic for by the age of forty-five
*The empty nest is underrated 
*If only one third of your clothes are mistakes, you're ahead of the game."

Clarkson, Jeremy "The World According to Clarkson"

Clarkson, Jeremy "The World According to Clarkson" - 2004

Jeremy Clarkson is hilarious. Not just in "Top Gear", but overall. He can talk about anything and make it sound funny. If you enjoy his shows, you will enjoy his books. And that's all that needs to be said about this collection of rantings à la Jeremy. Just one hint: He doesn't talk cars here.

In the meantime I also read his second collection "The World According to Clarkson, Vol. 2. And Another Thing". I didn't enjoy that one as much.

From the back cover:

"The world is an exciting and confusing place for Jeremy Clarkson - a man who can find the overgrown schoolboy in us all. In 'The World According to Clarkson"', one of the country's funniest comic writers has free reign to expose absurdity, celebrate eccentricity and entertain richly in the process. And the net is cast wide: from the chronic unsuitablity of men to look after children for long periods or as operators of 'white goods', Nimbyism, cricket and PlayStations, to astronomy, David Beckham, 70's rock, the demise of Concorde, the burden of an Eton education and the shocking failure of Tom Clancy to make it on to the Booker shortlist, 'The World According to Clarkson' is a hilarious snapshot of the life in the 21st century that will have readers wincing with embarrassed recognition and crying with laughter. It's not about the cars."