Daughter. Sister. Mother. Wife. Writer. Feminist. Filmmaker. Icon. These are only a few of the words that describe Nora Ephron, the beloved individual known for her wit, honesty, and countless movie moments. Whether she was writing about true love, politicians, or Cosmopolitan, Nora just always seemed to get it, a friendly voice that reached out whenever we needed her most. Though she passed away in 2012, she left a hefty collection of work and inspired countless others. Here are some of our favorites in her canon, as well as other Nora-inspired titles to try.
Reading Nora: 12 Essential Books for Every Nora Ephron Fan
One Day
Two lifelong friends, Dex and Emma, go back and forth between friendly and romantic love and see each other through the highs and lows of life. It asks the age-old question—first asked by Nora in “When Harry Met Sally”—Can men and women just be friends?
One Day
“You can live your whole life not realizing that what you’re looking for is right in front of you.”
It’s 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day—July 15—of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.
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Attachments
Lincoln O’Neill is his company’s “internet security officer,” tasked with reading other people’s emails to make sure they are workplace-appropriate. When he comes across a series of personal messages between friends/coworkers Beth and Jennifer, he can’t help being entertained by their exchanges. That is, until he realizes that he’s falling for Beth. "You've Got Mail" fans, this is for you.
Attachments
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The Divorce Papers
Twenty-nine-year-old Sophie is toiling away as a criminal law associate when she’s charged with handling the intake interview for Mia Durkheim, who, after eighteen years of marriage, has been served divorce papers. Told entirely through emails, internal memos, and legal documents, THE DIVORCE PAPERS is a hilarious and heartbreaking novel.
The Divorce Papers
Twenty-nine-year-old Sophie is toiling away as a criminal law associate when she’s charged with handling the intake interview for Mia Durkheim, who, after eighteen years of marriage, has been served divorce papers. Told entirely through emails, internal memos, and legal documents, THE DIVORCE PAPERS is a hilarious and heartbreaking novel.
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The Portable Dorothy Parker
The daughter of screenwriters, Nora grew up in Hollywood surrounded by impressive and intelligent party guests, whom she would greet in her pajamas. One of them was a legend in her own right and one of Nora’s literary forebears: Dorothy Parker. Brash, self-aware, and unafraid, Parker was known for her sense of humor and style of writing, where everything was fair game.
The Portable Dorothy Parker
The daughter of screenwriters, Nora grew up in Hollywood surrounded by impressive and intelligent party guests, whom she would greet in her pajamas. One of them was a legend in her own right and one of Nora’s literary forebears: Dorothy Parker. Brash, self-aware, and unafraid, Parker was known for her sense of humor and style of writing, where everything was fair game.
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I Was Told There'd Be Cake
If you love Nora’s humor and honesty, Sloane Crosley’s debut collection is for you. From dealing with her first boss to accidentally defacing an exhibit in a New York landmark to unapologetically calling the cops on rowdy neighbors, these essays reveal a complex, hilarious, and original woman on the edge of something great.
I Was Told There'd Be Cake
Sloane Crosley is different from Abbi and Ilana in a lot of ways. She can uphold a professional career, for one. She calls Manhattan home, whereas the Broad City stars reside in grungier Gowanus. But even when she’s being a bridesmaid or volunteering at the American Museum of Natural History, Crosley’s experiences always have an amusing twist and usually end in disaster. She’s also really funny.
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What Nora Knew
In this novel, Molly Hallberg is almost forty, a divorced writer living in New York who wants her own column when she’s assigned to write a piece “in the style of Nora Ephron” about romance in the Big Apple. As she works her way through Nora’s work, she learns that her city cynicism might just be what’s holding her back.
What Nora Knew
In this novel, Molly Hallberg is almost forty, a divorced writer living in New York who wants her own column when she’s assigned to write a piece “in the style of Nora Ephron” about romance in the Big Apple. As she works her way through Nora’s work, she learns that her city cynicism might just be what’s holding her back.
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Not That Kind of Girl
Lena Dunham’s first book of essays about life, love, and personal neuroses is dedicated to Nora, her mentor and friend, and the woman she says inspired her writing and film career. If anyone has come close to becoming the New Nora, it’s Dunham. Another must-read is her remembrance of Nora in The New Yorker.
Not That Kind of Girl
Lena Dunham’s first book of essays about life, love, and personal neuroses is dedicated to Nora, her mentor and friend, and the woman she says inspired her writing and film career. If anyone has come close to becoming the New Nora, it’s Dunham. Another must-read is her remembrance of Nora in The New Yorker.
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Sister Mother Husband Dog
Nora Ephron’s sister Delia is a bestselling writer herself, and her 2013 collection of autobiographical essays touch on similar themes of movies, family, life, love, and loss. The most heartwarming (and wrenching) is “Losing Nora,” where she captures the rivalry, respect, and intimate moments that made up her relationship with her sister from childhood to Nora’s death.
Sister Mother Husband Dog
Nora Ephron’s sister Delia is a bestselling writer herself, and her 2013 collection of autobiographical essays touch on similar themes of movies, family, life, love, and loss. The most heartwarming (and wrenching) is “Losing Nora,” where she captures the rivalry, respect, and intimate moments that made up her relationship with her sister from childhood to Nora’s death.
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Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Another of Nora’s literary descendants. Whether she’s pondering romance, dissecting the Hollywood scene, or laying out plans for her funeral, Mindy Kaling has the funny bone that became Nora’s trademark, and this rom-com-like coming-of-age is just as enjoyable as any of her onscreen classics.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
This humorous memoir is a look at moments throughout Mindy Kaling’s life—from her career as an actress to her interesting dating life to having immigrant parents, she tells stories that many can relate to. She’s hilarious and this book reads like a page out of your friend’s diary.
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The Most of Nora Ephron
It’s been said that the best way to know a person’s mind is to know their words; in no case is this more true than with Nora Ephron. While the books on this list help us to understand her legacy, this collection of her essays, fiction, screenplays, and works of journalism is the only way to know Nora as she wanted us to know her. In our book, it’s required reading.
The Most of Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron is funny, honest, fearless, and an icon for American women. This volume celebrates all of her major works: her novel Heartburn; the screenplay for When Harry Met Sally; and her magazine journalism from the 1970s, with razor-sharp profiles of figures such as Helen Gurley Brown, Dorothy Schiff, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower. And did we mention that she's funny?
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Heartburn
When it was first released in 1983, this novel surprised many, not only because it was an autobiographical account of the dissolution of Nora’s marriage to Carl Bernstein, but because it was so funny. Seven months into her second pregnancy, Rachel Samstat discovers that her husband Mark has been having an affair. Cue the drama, the tears, and a screen adaptation starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.
Heartburn
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I Feel Bad About My Neck
In the last few years of her life, Nora reclaimed her literary crown with this collection, which openly discussed what it meant to be a woman who was getting older and experiencing change. Through ups, downs, and unexpected truths, she kept us laughing.
I Feel Bad About My Neck
In the last few years of her life, Nora reclaimed her literary crown with this collection, which openly discussed what it meant to be a woman who was getting older and experiencing change. Through ups, downs, and unexpected truths, she kept us laughing.
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Reading Nora: 9 Essential Books For Every Ephron Fan was originally published on POPSUGAR.
See more lists on POPSUGAR
Reading Nora: 9 Essential Books For Every Ephron Fan was originally published on POPSUGAR.
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