What I've Been Reading- Non-Fiction

"So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?"- Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

Until recently, non-fiction didn't really have a place on my bookshelf.  Between work and grad school, I wanted to get lost in stories, not information.  However, I really think I've come a long way in the past few months.  I'm not reading anything highly academic, but I'm enjoying what I like to think of  as "reality" reading . . . which, as we know, holds way more truth than reality tv.

Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia by James Fox

 Etiquette, dinner parties, family wealth, and traveling across the pond to make a good marriage.  This biography of a very famous turn of the century family would make a great miniseries.  Hint, hint Julian Fellowes.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

People have told me for years to read David Sedaris and I'm so glad I finally started! I stayed up way past my bedtime to read these stories because I couldn't stop giggling.  I'm looking forward to reading Holidays on Ice this season, especially the infamous "Santaland Diaries."

Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture by Andy Cohen

This might surprise you but I'm not a Real Housewives fanatic.  I watch Beverly Hills and New Jersey here and there but honestly all of the yelling and the drinking sort of stresses me out.  That being said, I find any book that promises pop culture tidbits to be very appealing.  What surprised me about Most Talkative was how much I now love and respect Mr. Cohen.  He has seriously seen it all but is never too cool to freak out over meeting his favorite celebs! (The Susan Lucci stories are hilarious.) Reading this book made me want to meet Andy Cohen and give him a gigantic hug.  And then freak out a little bit.

Crazy Salad: Some Things About Women by Nora Ephron

When Nora Ephron passed away this summer, I realized that I was only familiar with her films, which I'm making efforts to correct.  Crazy Salad is a collection of articles and essays that were first published in the 70's.  I loved the sentiments about women and I especially loved the crash course in the women's' movement of that time.  Any history class I took seemed to run out of time right before we got to Vietnam but after reading Crazy Salad I was like bring me a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress and get me Gloria Steinem on the phone!  One quote that I especially loved, about women judging one 
another (listen up Real Housewives!):

"What the (women's) movement is about is options. But it just doesn't work out that way. Because the hardest thing for us to accept is the right to those options.  I hear myself saying those words: What this movement is about is options. I say it to friends . . . and what I am really thinking is, If you really got it together, the option you would choose is mine."

In regards to Shopgirl, I'm not sure if parts of these books reminded me of what I've seen or the other way around.  Either way, I'm grateful for the experience. 

Any non-fiction recommendations? 

Bridesmaid Revisited- Sixteen Candles

When you think Sixteen Candles, you don't immediately think bridesmaid.  You think Jake Ryan, red car, birthday wish.  We'll get there, I promise.

But first, let's talk about poor Samantha Baker.  Being a bridesmaid in her bratty sister's wedding is the least of her worries.  She doesn't have any curves, she's not one of the cool kids, a geek wants to borrow her underwear, her grandma felt her boobs, her secret crush might know she likes him, and worst of all, her entire family forgot her sixteenth birthday. 

So you really can't blame her for not playing the most doting bridesmaid.  Although all of the scenes with Sam and Ginny are some of the funniest wedding moments in any movie.  Like when Sam is trying to talk to Ginny as she primps for hours on end.

"I really love Rudy. He is totally enamored of me. I mean, I've had men who've loved me before, but not for six months in a row."

Or when Ginny takes a handful of muscle relaxers and stumbles through the ceremony only to be shoved in the car by her mobster husband.  And as she rides away and the guests begin to leave, there he is.  Jake Ryan and his red porsche. 

In the past 10 years or so, Disney Princesses have gotten a bad rap for giving girls unrealistic expectations of love.  I take a lot of offense to this because 1) I LOVE Disney and 2) I don't have unrealistic expectations of relationships.  What's that?  I write a blog dedicated to acting like real life is a movie?  Hmm.

But if we really wanted to place blame, I think we know where to look.  Jake Ryan.  And his car.  And his hands in his pockets.  And his cute smile.  If Sam can go from a  flat chested fifteen year old "disease" to a sixteen year old babe kissing the hottest guy in school . . . there's hope for all of us, right?

I've been reading a collection of Nora Ephron's essays on women from the 70's and she brings up an interesting point about  society's changing view and expectation of women.  She argues that no matter what changes in the future we will always have fairy tales telling us that someday our prince will come.  "After liberation we will still have to reckon with Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella."  And Jake Ryan.

When I first watched Sixteen Candles, I was sixteen years old, and it was sixteen years after its initial release.  I absolutely adored it- and I would recommend to any girl who loves a happy ending.  Even if we still wear an A cup, and no one has ever showed up in their red porsche to save us from a dismal wedding reception, I still believe we will all get our birthday wish- whether we're sixteen or sixty.

Sunday Morning Required Reading

When I finished grad school a lot of people asked me what I was going to do with my free time.  Besides working out more (check!) blogging more (working on it) and just loving life without homework (every.single.day) I really didn't have any concrete plans.  However I hoped that even without some sort of scholarly obligation I would still want to learn and analyze and discuss.


Lately I've been wanting everyone to read something I enjoyed or watch a movie I loved and talk about it with me.  I guess sometimes I miss the opportunity for class discussion.  Or maybe just the chance to hear myself talk.  So please indulge me for a minute and review this syllabus.


Recently everyone has been talking about working moms.  It's kind of amazing that the media is so focused on moms who work but we never, ever hear about "working dads." 


Anyways, this whole conversation got stirred up about a month ago with this piece in The Atlantic.


Why Women Still Can't Have it All


Nora Ephron passed away right after it was published and I love to think that she would have referenced her commencement address when answering the question "Can women really have it all?"


Wellesley Commencement Address 1996


I'm sure you've heard the name Marissa Mayer, the new Yahoo CEO, after this week but this NPR story is a great wrap up of the chatter surrounding her new position and pregnancy.


All Eyes Are On Yahoo's New Female CEO


And finally, please watch I Don't Know How She Does It starring SJP.  This movie made me laugh but it really made me think.  Which, except for determining outfit inspiration, I can't say about every romantic comedy.

Class dismissed!

I'll Have What She's Having

It's a sad day for fans of film, chick flicks, witty musings and the pairing of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks- Nora Ephron passed away at the age of 71 after a battle with leukemia.  She was incredibly talented and inspired so many great filmmakers and writers- including this (not so great) blog.


It was this article about romantic comedies that inspired me to write about movies in the first place.  This scene that still makes me tear up no matter how many times I watch it. And this movie, my very favorite of all time, that encouraged me to see my best guy friend in a different light and, as Harry and Sally say "and then we fell in love."


This winter, I counted down my favorite Nora movies each Tuesday.


Tuesdays With Nora


When Harry Met Sally


Sleepless in Seattle


Julie and Julia


You've Got Mail


Dear Nora, thanks for the laughs and the inspiration and the love stories.  You will be missed.


"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim."- Nora Ephron  1941- 2012

Tuesdays with Nora- You've Got Mail

Here we are in our last installment of "Tuesdays with Nora." I realize that it is actually two weeks late, but I didn't think anyone was waiting on the edge of their seat and, just like Joe Fox (F.O.X.) and Kathleen Kelly in You've Got Mail, we can take our time.

I saw this movie when it was released when I was in 8th grade. I remember liking it, but not really connecting to it until later on in my high school years. I thought this was because I was older and wiser, but let's face it- a relationship built on flirty online exchanges? When I was in high school I basically lived and died by the conversations I had on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger for you oldies or babies.) Although I actually knew these people in real life and didn't exchange witty, proud, stubborn remarks in a Mr. Darcy/Elizabeth Bennett situation.

These days, I love everything about You've Got Mail. Sadly this is the last movie Meg Ryan really looked cute in before she got her new face and I think this is the first (maybe only time) we got to see Tom Hanks as a really confident, but still very charming, rom-com leading man. In Splash or Sleepless in Seattle, Tom is precious but adorably nervous or bumbling. As Joe Fox he perfectly plays the second of half the movie so Kathleen is in love with him AND NY152.

Let's talk about Kathleen Kelly for a moment. I love that in this movie she not only falls in love, but loses her job, learns to speak her mind and stays classy and adorable the entire time. I want to have lunch with Sally Albright and work with Annie Reed but most of all I want to receive emails from Kathleen. She writes, "sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave?" Oh for heaven's sake, I've felt like that a million times. As with every great Nora movie I want to shout at the screen " Yes! I know what exactly you mean!"

This movie has one of my favorite endings of any romantic comedy, ever. When Joe walks up the path in Riverside Park and Somewhere Over the Rainbow is playing and Kathleen sees him but doesn't quite understand . . . until she does, and then she starts to cry. "Don't cry Shopgirl" says Joe. But I cry! Every damn time. In fact sometimes I'm all ready to go out and I realize You've Got Mail is on. And I have to wait to the end of the movie. And I have to completely redo my mascara. I can't help it. I love happy endings.

This is the only movie we've talked about that Nora co-wrote with her sister, Delia. And like any great collaboration I think its brings together some of the best parts of our previous Tuesdays. You've Got Mail is about a woman who learns to lead a different life but stay true to herself. Its about two people who hate each other but finally become friends and then, at the very end, fall in love. "So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?" types Shopgirl to NY152. Well, so much of what I see reminds me of something I saw in a Nora Ephron movie. And I think that's wonderful on a Tuesday. . . or any day at all.

Tuesdays with Nora- Sleepless in Seattle

Here are 14 reasons why you should watch Sleepless in Seattle on February 14. Or any Tuesday. Or everyday.

1. Nora directed and wrote the screenplay. Her voice also makes a cameo as the voice of "Disappointed In Denver" on Marcia Fieldstone's radio show.

2. Annie Reed's gorgeous hair. My first memory of this movie - I was 9 when it was released- is my mom trying to style my hair into thick braids and twisty ponytails. Apparently, I've aspired to look like a movie character for quite some time.

3. Bill Pullman as Annie's dorky, sweet, allergy stricken fiance, Walter. You know immediately that they're not meant for each other.
I love that scene where she says

"Becky, I'm madly in love with Walter. He did the craziest thing the other night.What was that? Oh, it was so funny. We were hysterical. What was that? "

I once had a friend who talked about her boyfriend that way. I knew they were doomed.

4. Barbara Garrick as Victoria. She's so darn pushy and that damn laugh. How about when Annie sees Sam give his sister a big hug and thinks he's happy with Victoria?! Oh, I'm in such despair everytime I see it.

5. Tell me what was so special about your wife?

Well, how long is your program? Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together... and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home... only to no home I'd ever known... I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic.

6. The million little things that mean Sam and Annie are meant to be this time around. She responds in unison with Sam as they listen to Dr. Marcia. He sees her in the airport and wants to follow her. She peels an apple in one, long curly strip just like his late wife. You just know they're meant for each other.

7. Rosie O'Donnell as Annie's bff and coworker, Becky. What can I say, I love best friends who you work with.

8. Rob Reiner as Sam's bff (do guys say bff? shall I say buddy?) and coworker. Mostly, for this: exchange:

What is "tiramisu"?
You'll find out.
Well, what is it?
You'll see!
Some woman is gonna want me to do it to her and I'm not gonna know what it is!

9. The soundtrack is perfection! Especially Joe Cocker's version of Bye Bye Blackbird- the song Jonah's mom used to sing to him as a lullaby.

10. This movie is a love letter to romantic movies and the epitome of a CFC philosophy. Without the example set by Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, we wouldn't be hoping, wishing, praying for Annie and Sam to find each other on top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day.

11. This scene might possibly be the best scene in the entire movie. This is what happens to me when I describe about any Nora Epfron movie, most Rachel McAdams movies, the Royal Wedding, and the occasional Justin Timberlake performance.

12. Meg Ryan as Annie Reed. Pretty, classy, a drinker of tea, and a woman who asks to be introduced to Jonah's teddy bear upon meeting him. She deserves to find the one and we know who it is!

13. It's Sam Baldwin of course! Still mourning his late wife, amusingly cynical about love but adorably nervous about dating again. A a great dad who needs to find love again but might miss out on his perfect match.

14. The last scene. You've waited the entire movie to see Sam and Annie meet and now they're leaving! Wait, what?!? How can this happen?

But then. . . "Shall we?" asks Sam. He reaches for Annie's hand. She takes it. Magic.

Tuesdays with Nora- When Harry Met Sally

Well here we are for the first installment of Tuesdays with Nora. Now if I was actually counting down my fave Nora movies, this would probably be at the top of my list, as it is my very favorite movie of all time. Ms. Ephron wrote this movie herself, and also produced it. Because there's a few other movies that deserve some love in February, we're starting with When Harry Met Sally- which I wrote about for the first time in October.

Noticeably absent in my love letter to a romantic comedy I adore? Style! Do you know why I ignored it? Because Sally's clothes are HORRIBLE. The 80's was a great decade to be born in, if I do say so myself, but the fashion- atrocious! So big and overpowering and not at all flattering. The fact that Meg Ryan manages to look cute in this

and this

and this

just shows us that she is perhaps the most adorable actress of all time. Sally wears a lot of Annie Hall, menswear inspired looks and while I've never been a big fan of masculine dressing (not surprised?) I figured I'd try out a few looks in honor of Sally Albright.

Boyfriend cardigan

Blazer and cuffed trouser

Blazers, button-downs, and lace-up oxfords

One of the most unique (and most memorable) parts of When Harry Met Sally are all of the "how we met" vignettes featuring older couples reflecting on their relationship. I'm going to tell you something that's probably going to break your heart, but those are actors. They're not real people. Ugh, its hard to type. However, there is a silver lining! When Nora Ephron would get writer's block, she would interview people who worked for the production company. She liked some of their stories about meeting their spouse so much that she worked them into the screenplay and re-shot the scenes with actors.

Today was not my favorite day. I spent most of the afternoon in stress vortex over grad school and when I sat down to write this I thought about saying "Sally wore blazers and so did I. The end." But I just watched these sweet stories and now I feel wonderful. I love "how we met" stories because every couple has one. They might not be particularly funny or dramatic or romantic, but falling in love means at some point there was a look or a conversation or a moment that changed the rest of your life. If you don't know the story of how your parents or your grandparents or your neighbors met- ask them. Nora did and look what happened! She applied the rules of real life- to a romantic comedy.

Tuesdays with Nora

Hey, you know what was fun? Counting down the 5 Romantic Comedies of Christmas. January flew by but I'd like to do something similar in February. In honor of Valentine's Day, I've decided we're going to recognize the queen of romantic comedies- Nora Ephron.

Nora is a film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger. (Via Wikipedia, but should be common knowledge here on CFC.) She's also friends with Reeg! Most importantly, Nora has brought us some of the most memorable, charming, and romantic romantic comedies over the past few decades.

Each Tuesday in February, I'll be recognizing a Nora Ephron movie. You'll learn a few fun facts about Nora's role in the production and read about the moments that make me laugh, cry, and totally swoon. ( I love you Tom Hanks.)

Get ready to brave the February chill with some heart warming chick flicks! (And maybe a few chic style notes too)

PS If you want to review CFC's Christmas countdown . . .

1. It's A Wonderful Life

2. Love Actually

3. Meet Me In St. Louis

4. The Holiday

5. Miracle on 34th St.