I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections

by Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron returns with her first book since the astounding success of "I Feel Bad About My Neck", taking a hilarious look at the past, the present, and the future, bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life, and recalling with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn’t (yet) forgotten.

Filled with insights and observations that instantly ring true —and could have come only from Nora Ephron— "Remember Nothing" is pure joy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Essays, Audiobook, Biography, Biography Memoir

137 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Nora Ephron was an American journalist, film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, and blogger.

She was best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. She sometimes wrote with her sister, Delia Ephron.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nora Ephron died a few days ago, and one of the first things I did after reading her obituary was to get this book from the library. It's a delightful read, filled with great quotes and essays about things like getting her start in journalism, what it's like having a movie flop, having a meatloaf dish named after her, getting addicted to online Scrabble games and how forgetful she has become.

The book is slight -- only 135 pages -- and some of the stories are only a few pages long, but I was utterly charmed by it. I think I annoyed my husband by insisting on reading so many passages aloud to him, but after I was finished he always admitted how good the quote was.

Toward the end of the book she has an essay about getting older, and when she wrote it I think she had already been diagnosed with the disease that would eventually end her life. One passage was particularly poignant:

"The realization that I may have only a few good years remaining has hit me with real force, and I have done a lot of thinking as a result. I would like to have come up with something profound, but I haven't. I try to figure out what I really want to do every day, I try to say to myself, If this is one of the last days of my life, am I doing exactly what I want to be doing? I aim low. My idea of a perfect day is a frozen custard at Shake Shack and a walk in the park. (Followed by a Lactaid.) My idea of a perfect night is a good play and dinner at Orso. (But no garlic, or I won't be able to sleep.) The other day I found a bakery that bakes my favorite childhood cake, and it was everything I remembered; it made my week. The other night we were coming up the FDR Drive and Manhattan was doing its fabulous magical, twinkling thing, and all I could think was how lucky I've been to spend my adult life in New York City."

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron is what a reader has come to expect of this writer. This is the second time I have enjoyed this book and it is especially enjoyable as an audiobook, read by the author. Ephron passed away a few years after the writing of these essays and knowing this makes the subject matter even more poignant. As usual, her points of view are tinged with a healthy helping of tongue-in-cheek scepticism. It is a review of her interesting life: the good (successful movies), the bad (divorces, dysfunctional parents) and the in-between (which is what makes life worthwhile). Nora Ephron talks about life in such a way that the readers may think that she is expressing their views as well as her own. Highly recommended.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fluffy and delightful.

"You always think that a bolt of lightning is going to strike and your parents will magically change into the people you wish they were, or back into the people they used to be. But they're never going to. And even though you know they're never going to, you still hope they will." (p.51)

"And every time one of my friends says to me, "Everything happens for a reason," I would like to smack her." (p.129)

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book last year. I put in down on a table piled high with books, and then Nora Ephron died. I didn't pick it up until a few weeks ago.I unearthed it, and read it slowly, knowing that it would (barring posthumous publishings) be the last new and original book by her I would read. When I was first married and living in New York, I read her sister's book "How to Eat Like a Child." I related. I continued to read books by Delia and Nora Ephron. I had friends who knew the same people she did. Had I kept living there, we might have met. Would we ever have been friends? No, but now I feel I have lost an old friend, or at least someone with whom I have been through the wars. In I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections, she wrote about her life with wry good and great humor, and incidentally, the life my sister and and I are living. In it there are hints of mortality, of the end which approached, I think, much more quickly than was anticipated. She wrote about the added deficits of aging. She made lists, which could be mine: Cary Grant is Jewish,Cary Grant is not Jewish. Her final list, and the last chapter of the book, which while not HER final list, was titled "What I Will Miss." Many of those entries could belong to any one of us. And if I may, I would like to suggest one more item be added to the list of things that will be missed: Nora Ephron.

[Sophia Judice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Nora Ephron so much, she is literally my idol. Her final collection of essays, I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections is both witty and poignant and filled with charming anecdotes about old friends, New York, the Red Scare, failure, technology, getting older, and the dreaded egg-white omelette. Such a quick and delightful read. What a fascinating woman. RIP<3

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3+] A light and warm hearted collection of reflections. I enjoyed listening to and chuckling along with Nora. But the title is apt for my experience - this is not a memorable book.

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh.
This book is a collection of blandly interesting anecdotes about Ephron's life. The kind of blandly interesting anecdotes you tell friends over dinner (and they do not feel obliged to repeat), not the kind that turn into juicy, zesty, jaw-dropping books. I can only imagine the meeting with her editor.

Editor: We want you to write a book about your life.

Ephron: I'm in the middle of something.

Editor: Okay, make it short. Just write anything down. People know who you are. They've seen When Harry Met Sally. We put it out right before Christmas, they'll buy it, no problem.

Ephron: But I don't remember anything I haven't already written about.

Edior: Even better! We'll call it, "I Remember Nothing"!

The good news is that this book is only 130 pages, so if you're in a contest with someone to see who can post more books as "Read" on goodreads, it's a good choice. Otherwise, it's not.

[Santiago González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Algo para recordar

Este libro es AB SO LU TA MEN TE EN CAN TA DOR. No esperaba menos de la guionista de algunas de las mejores comedias románticas de las últimas décadas, entre ellas, mi favorita: Cuando Harry conoció a Sally.

Los textos reunidos en este libro, escritos poco antes de su muerte, funcionan como una especie de memorias, digamos, informales. No sé cómo lo hace pero es divertida y conmovedora al mismo tiempo, por ejemplo en las dos últimas listas. Por razones profesionales, amé el capítulo dedicado a sus comienzos en el periodismo, y me gustaron muy especialmente el de la herencia no recibida, el divorcio y la cena navideña.

Nora Ephron, ya lo sabíamos, fue una genia total. Este es un libro que tranquilamente pueden regalarle a cualquiera en navidades y cumpleaños.

==

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Gracias, te espero

[❀Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t have a lot to say about I Remember Nothing after gushing over I Feel Bad About My Neck. There were some mildly amusing parts but listening to the two audiobooks back-to-back I noticed her voice lacked the playful tone that added to that one, which made this one seem more solemn. Although it didn’t have the same vibe to me I still enjoyed it very much because it was more of a glimpse into her personal life and there is so much to be learned from her wisdom and insightfulness. The “What I Won’t Miss” and “What I Will Miss” Lists at the end made for a very poignant ending and gave a sense that she was really thinking of her own mortality as she wrote her last book. I just wish it would have been longer.

[Nicolás Tauriani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es una joya de la escritura. Qué mordaz que es para escribir Nora. Va al hueso. Toma trivialidades de la vida para convertirlas en algo trascendental. Ese es su mejor legado. Y además escribió esa joya que es “When Harry met Sally” (la anécdota sobre su proceso de escritura es lo mejor del libro).

[Gypsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

عالی. اصلاً فکر نمی‌کردم این‌قدر ازش خوشم بیاد. صرفاً از روی کنجکاوی خوندمش و چقدر برام ملموس بود. بااینکه کاملاً از یک فرهنگ دیگه، یک دنیای دیگه، یک آدم‌ها و تجارت دیگه‌ای بود. یک جهان دیگه، امریکا یه جهان دیگه‌ست.

کلی تیکۀ خوب داره که همه رو اسکرین‌شات گرفتم دیگه اینجا نمی‌ذارم. :دی صراحت و سادگی نویسنده رو خیلی دوست داشتم. اون تیکه‌ای که اون بازیگره می‌آد خونه‌شون و یه چیزی می‌گه و با همۀ شهرت و احترام و اعتبار و دوستیش با مامان افرون، مامان افرون بش می‌گه برو بیرون! خیلی معرکه بود! :)) از همون بچگی زندگی این آدم پر از اتفاقات باحال بود. حتی وقتی از طلاق‌هاش و مشکلاتش حرف می‌زد آدم مجذوب می‌شد.

[La pecera de Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi reseña:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnxWsM6D1...

[Jonathan K (Max Outlier) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nora has the ability to engage a reader through sincere, often humorous and evocative narratives which is evident in her screen writing as well. I've always felt that an author that has the ability to 'speak' to the reader as if they're a longtime friend, or relative makes for a great experience.

Filled with short anecdotes and stories from her life, Nora takes us on a journey unlike most. Born to alcoholic screenwriter parents, her relationships with her 3 sisters, aging, former husbands, editors, directors and friends yield a fun experience and more. She leads off with "I Remember Nothing" a short story about how easily we forget the obvious. From there she speaks to the reader about being a journalist, going to the movies, 20 things people tend to be surprised about, teflon, chicken soup and more.

One of her trademarks is the inclusion of recipes since she's passionate about food and cooking. I noticed this in the best selling book, "Heartburn" which in actuality is the story about her marriage to Carl Bernstein, short that it was. Toward the end she includes a couple of two page anecdotes about what she will and won't miss when she's gone.

As some may know, we lost Nora to Leukemia some years ago and its obvious she saw the end coming. For those who appreciate authors of grace, skill and character, reading any of her books is a delight. And its for this reason, I plan to read everything she's written. Clearly one of the most engaging, loving and authentic people in the publishing industry. I miss you Nora!

[Britta Böhler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading this, it made me so sad that this was Ephron's last work, and that she died only two years after the publication.

[Debbie "DJ" · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough one to rate. Nora Ephron is absolutely hilarious. I loved the first few stories on not remembering anything, which sadly I related to a lot. But, the rest was too dated for me. She sure is funny, but I just didn’t know a lot about pop culture from her time.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now realize this is a memoir and it's called, "I remember nothing." I thought it would be ironic, that she HAD remembered alot, but no. If you like poor little rich girls whining, this is for you...sorry, I can't muster much sympathy for a girl who waltzes into a job at Newsweek, meets famous people and doesn't remember anyting about them and complains about only getting $40K as a surprise inheritance. To add insult to injury, then there's a chapter about her "flops", remember these are movies she has written and/or directed, and she's complaining about them? A chapter on emails would have been timely a dozen years ago. One thing I found surprising is in a list she has of things she will miss, she does NOT include watching movies, and reading is only included as "reading in bed." Take note of the page count, yup, only 135 pages. (copied review) Nora Ephron returns with her first book since the astounding success of I Feel Bad About My Neck, taking a cool, hard, hilarious look at the past, the present, and the future, bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life, and recalling with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn’t (yet) forgotten. Ephron writes about falling hard for a way of life (“Journalism: A Love Story”) and about breaking up even harder with the men in her life (“The D Word”); lists “Twenty-five Things People Have a Shocking Capacity to Be Surprised by Over and Over Again” (“There is no explaining the stock market but people try”; “You can never know the truth of anyone’s marriage, including your own”; “Cary Grant was Jewish”; “Men cheat”); reveals the alarming evolution, a decade after she wrote and directed You’ve Got Mail, of her relationship with her in-box (“The Six Stages of E-Mail”); and asks the age-old question, which came first, the chicken soup or the cold? All the while, she gives candid, edgy voice to everything women who have reached a certain age have been thinking . . . but rarely acknowledging.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Nora Ephron in any form is witty, sharp and insightful.
I really enjoyed this collection of thoughts and views on life in general and hers specifically.
They are seen as snapshots that are mostly relatable to any woman of a certain age but it is also clear that she did lead an extraordinary and somewhat privileged life as well.
This woman left such an indelible mark on the world with her wonderful writing and movies (think "When Harrry met Sally", "Sleepless in Seattle" and more) it is sad to think that this was the last book before her untimely death .
I am so glad that my library had this one to borrow!!!!
Quick and enjoyable read.

[Melanie Storie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three of Nora Ephron's movies are on my list of top favorite movies of all time. I remember watching "Sleepless in Seattle" in high school and just falling in love with it. After that, any time I broke up with a guy, I would watch "Sleepless in Seattle" to remind myself that there was probably a Tom Hanks out there somewhere for me and there was but his name is Matt. When I heard Nora Ephron died, I made my husband and sons sit down and watch "You've Got Mail" with me and we all laughed and loved it. So, when I sit down to read "I Remember Nothing," I sit down pretty biased.
I loved this book. It was interesting and funny and sad all at once with these neat little observations on everything from chicken soup to email to believing the stories of an alcoholic mother. Ephron has been rubbing elbows with some pretty famous people since she was a child in Hollywood - she drops plenty of names which would make one think she's full of herself, but she comes across as self-effacing, someone you might like to have lunch and just chat with.
I have read some negative comments about the book on this site, mainly that she makes references to famous people or being a democrat or something of that nature. A few comments suggest that she's petty or spoiled. I think those folks have missed the whole point of the book. In the end, these little moments of getting lost in traffic or a recipe for bread pudding or Scrabble Blitz addiction speak so much more about our own humanity than the big ones do - and they represent all these small things that make up a big life.
The book ends with two lists. The first: "What I Won't Miss" and "What I Will Miss" - I couldn't finish reading them with dry eyes.

[Jacki (Julia Flyte) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fabulous Nora Ephron wrote this at 69, two years before her premature death from complications from leukemia. It's a short book, a collection of anecdotes about her life, thoughts on things that annoy her and how it feels to be getting old. Although she doesn't mention her health, she alludes to it when she lists things that she will and won't miss after she passes on, and thanks her doctors at the end.

Nora is - was - a wonderful writer and she can tell stories that don't amount to much in such a way that you enjoy every moment of the telling. I especially enjoyed her thoughts about how your memory goes as you get older - how you start off thinking it's somewhat amusing that you can't locate the name of a movie you saw or a book that you read, but how you eventually start to feel disconnected from the life that you have lived because you can't remember huge chunks of it, even though some insignificant details stick insistently in your brain.

I liked this book. It's both funny and melancholy. It makes you think about small things that you don't usually think about and it makes me sad to think that this will be the last book she wrote.

[Luna Miguel · Rating 2 out of 5]

El problema es mío, no me siento cómoda ante tantísima jovialidad.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

In I REMEMBER NOTHING, Nora Ephron remembers a lot. At first, I didn't much care for the book, well at least the first 25%, began skimming and almost DNF, but by 40%, I felt like I was getting to know Nora, her sense of humor and liked her....a lot.

She began as a newspaper reporter in the 30's and attained her dream of becoming a journalist in New York City plus so much more! She wrote the screenplay for one of my favorite movies, When Harry met Sally, and it was the big one that changed her life. I liked Sleepless in Seattle too which she wrote and directed.

When she mentioned her book and the movie Heartburn, it rang a bell, but the only thing I remembered was a young Jack Nicholson getting a much deserved pie in the face. So after the book informed me she based the novel on her second husband's philandering ways, I had to rewatch it....and it was good too. Now I intend to read the book.

Through most of her life, Nora interviewed and rubbed elbows with numerous celebrities, Meryl Streep becoming a good friend. When she became ill, she pretty much kept it a secret, but succumbed to pneumonia/leukemia in 2012 at the age of 71. This information not in book although hints at a possible illness near the end when she lists "things she will miss and won't miss."

Glad I read it!

[britt_brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

“And I survived. My religion is Get Over It.”

I have a weakness for nonfiction essays, especially ones that make me feel like we’re all human, it’s cool, we all have shit. I enjoyed these snippets of Ephron’s personal and professional life and her random observations on the modern world. Written in 2010, it’s a little dated, but still relatable. Her audio narration is flawless; her humor perfectly deadpan.

[Andrea Gumes · Rating 5 out of 5]

La Nora Ephron és boníssima, té les qualitats que admiro en una dona: segura de si mateixa, llesta i amb el punt de cinisme just.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“On some level, my life has been wasted on me. After all, if I can’t remember it, who can? The past is slipping away and the present is a constant affront.”

I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections, Ephron’s last essay collection published before her death in 2012, touches on the tragedy of aging and is probably not something that I could fully appreciate only being in my 30s (but I still loved it). She discusses becoming forgetful, about physical changes, but she touches on stories from her life that she has managed to remember in vibrant detail. She also includes several recipes, in particular, one for ricotta pancakes in an essay about Teflon (which is far more riveting than it sounds at first glance.) She bemoans the discovery of the hazards of Teflon since her ricotta pancakes never come out quite the same in any other pan and in the recipe, instructs you to heat up a Teflon pan until carcinogenic gas is released into the air. I will always adore her wit though and her random stories that may seem inconsequential but are just anecdotes into the life of a pretty extraordinary sounding woman. Reading her discussion on the personal tragedy that led to her only fiction novel, Heartburn, was emotional.

“I mention all this so you will understand that this is part of the process: once you find out he’s cheated on you, you have to keep finding it out, over and over and over again, until you’ve degraded yourself so completely that there’s nothing left to do but walk out.”

You can tell when she writes that it’s old news, but it’s still something that managed to transform her into who she is today, leaving that unseen yet indelible impression.

“People always say that once it goes away, you forget the pain. It’s a cliché of childbirth: you forget the pain. I don’t happen to agree. I remember the pain. What you really forget is love.”

It will be a sad day when I no longer have any new Nora to read. The Most of Nora Ephron will be my last so I’m saving that one for a rainy day.

[Bree Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read I started on my morning walk and managed to finish within a few hours. I’ve checked out, returned and checked out again-Nora Ephron titles multiple times and this is the first time I’ve actually read one of them. What I like about this one is the honest reflections on Remembering; how other events take place which result in you not remembering an event you intended to go to; how you remember a story a parent shared with you but knowing your parent as time progresses you question if that story is true. Nora narrated the audiobook herself and voice was both fun and soothing.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not particularly funny, but still pretty interesting. I enjoy little autobiographical snapshots in essay form. There's probably more namedropping here than in any book I've ever read, but the Ephron girls grew up around so many famous people that they might not recognize namedropping when they do it.

[ML · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nora Ephron is clever and observant - and sometimes surprisingly wise - as in her essay about the impossible demands placed on children of divorce. As for laughing, I enjoyed most "The O Word" (O for Old).
My only LOL moment, however, came from the catalog designation: this book has been categorized as wit and humor about "Middle-aged women". "Middle-Aged"? The book is all about being OLD.

[Anni · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is misleading because Nora Ephron regales us with lots of entertaining reminiscences and delightful anecdotes in her razor-sharp witty style. There are so many quotable passages I could have highlighted most of the book by the end. So sad there won't be any more.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far she seems to be describing ME! Quick read for those of us getting older and not liking it one bit!!!

[Abril Camino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusta mucho Nora Ephron y estaba deseando hincarle el diente a esta obra publicada en España de forma póstuma. Es una recopilación corta de pequeños artículos y reflexiones interesantes y divertidas.