Two Book Reviews

After watching Nora Ephron on this season's finale of Real Time with Bill Maher I felt justified in my initial reaction to her latest book, I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections. Whether it was fear or boredom, she just didn't come across well on that medium. Maybe she just didn't remember what she had wanted to say?

I did enjoy a few of the stories from her life, particularly as one of few female journalists in New York. I was also born early enough to appreciate her stories of Lillian Hellman and Katherine Graham. Otherwise, I did not get the sense Ephron knew too much outside her own life.

I found this book a bit grumpy, rather than the funny insights I expected from Ephron. I have problems with memory these days, too; I recommend everyone forget this title and not waste our slowly deteriorating memory capacity.

**1/2 of *****

I tend to misplace things; however, I guarded my David Sedaris ticket like it was a winning lottery ticket. He was reading from his new book, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modern Bestiary, in the intimate setting of Alabama Booksmith. Sadly, I was too sick to attend. I was so disappointed!

I was not disappointed in this book, however. Sedaris, of course, has been a favorite storyteller for a long time. Potential readers should know up front that this is not a children's book, although I certainly could see the title story as a teaching tool on interracial dating.

I initially thought Aesop's Fables but apparently that was not his intent.

I was going to call them fables, but fables always have morals, and not all of these do,” Sedaris said in an interview on NPR’s Morning Edition. “So I wound up calling it a bestiary, which is just a book in which animals do things that people do.

Sedaris takes on human relationships and situations with the same wit we have come to enjoy. Maybe there isn't a moral to every story, but we do indeed get the point.

To listen to the NPR interview and read an excerpt, go here.

I will cherish my autographed copy of this book...although I need a magnifying glass to see the autograph!

****1/2 out of *****