Next Chapter, Reader’s Den

"I Feel Bad About My Neck": Discussion Questions

I do hope you've had a chance to read or listen to Nora Ephron's elucidating and entertaining collection of essays. If not, it's not too late—these questions will be here waiting for you whenever you would like to post your responses, or any thoughts about the book you'd like to share.

Which essay did you find the most accurate? the funniest? the most surprising? the most typically New York? And, why?

In the first essay Ms. Ephron states that she can't stand authors who write about how great it is to be old. Why does she feel that way? Do you think that her approach or theirs makes aging easier?

In "I Hate My Purse" she opines that your purse is, like it or not, you. Or as Louis XIV might have put it, "Le sac c'est moi." Why is her ultimate choice of a plastic MetroCard bag amusing?

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Do men feel the same about aging? How are men's attempts to hold back the clock the same, or different?

Which aspects of her life does Ephron emphasize in, "The Story of My Life in 3,500 Words or Less"? How do we see her change in this mini-autobiography?

Lastly—just because I'm curious—did you hunt down a cabbage strudel from Andre's Hungarian Bakery after reading "The Lost Strudel or Le Strudel Perdu"?