Funny books

Reading lists

Funny books guaranteed to make you laugh out loud

Heartbroken-Book-List_Hero-Desktop_Penguin

Books to read if you’re going through a break-up

And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman

I Feel Bad About My Neck

with a new introduction from Dolly Alderton

NORA EPHRON was the author of the best sellers I Feel Bad About My Neck, I Remember Nothing, and Heartburn. She received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay for When Harry Met Sally . . . , Silkwood, and Sleepless in Seattle, which she also directed. Her other credits include the plays Imaginary Friends; Love, Loss, and What I Wore; and Lucky Guy; and the films You've Got Mail and Julie & Julia; both of which she wrote and directed.. Her books I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing were both huge international bestsellers. She died in 2012.

Soak up the wisdom of the inimitable Nora Ephron with this stunning 20th-anniversary special edition, featuring a foreword by Dolly Alderton. The perfect gift for yourself or a friend. 
 
'Ephron has an uncanny ability to sound like your best friend, whoever you are' NEW YORK TIMES. 
 
'The book that most influenced me' LILY ALLEN 
 
Acclaimed Hollywood filmwriter and director Nora Ephron examines the indignities of ageing in a collection of wickedly witty autobiographical pieces such as 'I Hate My Handbag', 'Blind as a Bat' and 'What I Wish I'd Known'. I Feel Bad About My Neck offers the consolation that no matter how much your neck sags, your boobs droop, your skin wrinkles and your children don't appreciate you, someone has been there before you. 
 
Nora Ephron captures the essence of what it means to be an older woman in an irresistible, laugh-out-loud funny, frank and unexpectedly moving book that every woman should have on their shelves.

The ultimate anthology

The Most of Nora Ephron

The ultimate anthology of essays, articles and extracts from her greatest work, with a foreword by Candice Carty-Williams

NORA EPHRON was the author of the best sellers I Feel Bad About My Neck, I Remember Nothing, and Heartburn. She received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay for When Harry Met Sally . . . , Silkwood, and Sleepless in Seattle, which she also directed. Her other credits include the plays Imaginary Friends; Love, Loss, and What I Wore; and Lucky Guy; and the films You've Got Mail and Julie &amp; Julia; both of which she wrote and directed.. Her books I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing were both huge international bestsellers. She died in 2012.

A NEW, REVISED EDITION OF THE ULTIMATE NORA EPHRON COLLECTION, PACKED WITH WIT, WISDOM AND COMFORT, WITH AN INTRODUCTION FROM CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS 
 
'The perfect introduction to the iconic writer' STYLIST 
 
INCLUDING: 
 
* Nora's much-loved essays on everything from friendship to feminism to journalism 
 
* Extracts from her bestselling novel Heartburn 
 
* Scenes from her hilarious screenplay for When Harry Met Sally 
 
* Unparalleled advice about friends, lovers, divorces, desserts and black turtleneck sweaters 
 
 
'It's got a little bit of everything, from witty essays on feminism, beauty, and ageing to profiles of empowering female figures' ELLE 
 
 
*PRAISE FOR NORA EPHRON* 
 
'So bold and so vulnerable at the same time. I don't know how she did it' PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE 
 
'Nora's exacting, precise, didactic, tried-and-tested, sophisticated-woman-wearing-all-black wisdom is a comfort and a relief' DOLLY ALDERTON 
 
'Nora Ephron is the funniest, cleverest, wisest friend you could have' NIGELLA LAWSON 
 
'I am only the one of millions of women who will miss Nora's voice' LENA DUNHAM

Wallflower at the Orgy

‘Nora Ephron can write about anything better than anybody else can write about anything’ 
New York Times 
 
A bitingly funny, provocative and revealing look at our foibles, passions and pastimes – from the much-missed, bestselling author of I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing. 
 
From her Academy Award-nominated screenplays (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Julie &amp; Julia) to her bestselling fiction and essays, Nora Ephron was one of the most gifted, prolific and versatile writers of our time. 
 
In this classic collection of magazine articles, Ephron does what she does best: embrace culture with love, cynicism and unmatched wit. 
 
From tracking down the beginnings of the self-help movement, to dressing down the fashion world’s most powerful publication, to capturing a glimpse of a legendary movie in the making, these timeless pieces tap into our enduring obsessions with celebrity, food, romance, clothes, entertainment and sex. Whether casting her ingenious eye on public figures or herself, Ephron deftly weaves her journalistic skill with the intimate style of an essayist and the incomparable talent of a great storyteller.

Crazy Salad & Scribble Scribble (An Omnibus)

‘A woman for all seasons, tender and tough in just the right proportions’ 
The New York Times 
 
Two classic collections of uproarious essays from the late Nora Ephron, bestselling author of I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing. Here she tackles everything from feminism to the media, from politics to beauty products, with her inimitable charm and distinctive wit. 
 
From her Academy Award-nominated screenplays (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Julie &amp; Julia) to her bestselling fiction and essays, Nora Ephron illuminated her era with wicked honesty and insight. 
 
This collection brings together some of Ephron’s most famous writing on a generation of women (and men) who helped shape the way we live now, and on significant modern-day events. In these sharp, hilariously entertaining and vividly observed essays, from the famous ‘A Few Words About Breasts’ to important pieces on her time working for newspapers and magazines, this is Ephron at her very best.

Memories and wisdom from the iconic writer and director

I Remember Nothing and other reflections

Another wryly laugh-out-loud look at the vicissitudes of growing older, by Nora Ephron, author of I Feel Bad About My Neck, and acclaimed creator of films like When Harry Met Sally and Julie &amp; Julia.

You don't have to be old to appreciate this collection of memories, aphorisms and stern good advice from America's favourite naughty aunt... snigger-out-loud... Reading this book is a little like being sat down by an older, wiser friend... good advice indeed

Read Nora Ephron because she's funny, read her because she's wise, read her because she never writes a boring sentence, read her because she's sharp as a knife but her heart's in the right place... Enjoy!

As always, she has an eye for the killer detail... a mixture of memoir, rants and observations... This book is as grown-up as a dirty martini

If we have to grow old (and as they say, consider the alternative) there's no better guide

Tantalizingly fresh and forthright... She's self-effacing and brilliant. I use lines of hers all the time... She's like Benjamin Franklin or Shakespeare: her words are now part of the fabric of the English language

As a writer,novelist and award-winning screenwriter and director of films such as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless In Seattle, she has had the ability to surf the zeitgeist and make whatever is on her mind... seem fascinating and cool... her book is essential reading for anyone who hopes to grow old elegantly and perhaps a little disgracefully

So clear-eyed, so free of vitriol and sarcasm and artifice that we believe everything she says... If a theme runs beneath the wit and cleverness of I Remember Nothing, it is about the difficulty of coming to terms with one's mortality

Ephron's voice helped launch a whole new way of writing, and I still love to hear it

Witty and carefree... She remains the neighbor we all wish we had. Someone to share a cup of coffee with. Or better yet, a glass of wine. Maybe two... Listen... If we're all headed to the old folks home, we couldn't have a better guide than Nora Ephron

Rich with self-deprecating humor at its finest... so much so that you can almost hear her laughing as she pounds away at the keyboard... a full pleasure to read

She can write an entertaining riff about practically anything or everybody

Fabulous... tremendously talented... She'll dazzle you with strings of perfect prose

Cheerfully wry collection... It's witty and, contrary to the title, Ephron remembers much

Full of anecdotal gifts you will never forget... Ephron reflects on the early days of her career-memories of her time working as a mail girl at Newsweek and writing for Esquire-while taking every opportunity to get real about her life at the time she was penning this memoir.

Nora Ephron was an Academy Award-winning screenwriter and film director of When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail and Bewitched. She was also a bestselling novelist (Heartburn, made into a film starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep), journalist and essayist (Crazy Salad).

'Memories, aphorisms and stern good advice from America's favourite naughty aunt' Independent on Sunday 
'This book is as grown-up as a dirty martini' Sunday Times 
'Sharp as a knife' Daily Express 
 
___ 
 
In her final book, Nora Ephron reflects on life, growing older, and everything she will and won't miss. Filled with Nora's trademark wit, wisdom and warmth. 
 
* No one actually likes to admit they're old. The most they will cop to is that they're older. Or oldish. 
 
* Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one. 
 
* I have been forgetting things for years-at least since I was in my thirties. I know this because I wrote something about it at the time. I have proof. Of course, I can't remember exactly where I wrote about it, or when, but I could probably hunt it up if I had to. 
 
___ 
 
Praise for Nora Ephron 
 
'So bold and so vulnerable at the same time. I don't know how she did it' Phoebe Waller-Bridge 
'Oh how I loved Nora Ephron' Nigella Lawson 
'Funny, knowing and smart' India Knight 
'Nora's exacting, precise, didactic, tried-and-tested, sophisticated-woman-wearing-all-black wisdom is a comfort and a relief' Dolly Alderton

Nora Ephron

the quotable Nora Ephron

We all want a best friend like Nora Ephron: frank but forgiving, wry but caring, someone who knows not only what to say but how to say it. 
 
Don’t know what to wear? “Black matches with everything, especially black.” 
Trouble in love? “You can never know the truth of anyone’s marriage, including your own.” 
Searching for a new belief system? “My religion is Get Over It.” 
 
Here is the best of Nora for every season of life, across her storied career, from her early days in the news media to her cult classic novel, to her unexpected turn as a legendary Hollywood writer. Nora saw it all, and with a wicked sense of humour and shrewd intellect, she made it all deliciously funny. Filled with unforgettable lines, this is a celebration of Nora’s singular wit and generosity—start at the beginning or flip to any page for instant delight.

Nora Ephron

Books by Nora Ephron

Articles featuring Nora Ephron

Funny books guaranteed to make you laugh out loud

Books to read if you’re going through a break-up

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter