Why We'll Miss Ephron

newsday.com/books C21 bookshelf bestsellers Fanfare Publishers Weekly’s list of national bestsellers powered by Nielsen BookScan for Whywe’ll missEphron the week ending Oct. 20. hardcover BY MARION WINIK Special to Newsday FICTION nher poignant 2010 essay “What IWill Miss,” which appears on 1. DOCTOR SLEEP,byStephen King the last page of anew omnibus, (Scribner) I“The Most of Nora Ephron” 2. THE LONGEST RIDE,byNicholas (Alfred A. Knopf, $35), the author Sparks (Grand Central) listed 31 items —bacon, Paris and 3. GONE,byJames Patterson and “the concept of waffles,” among Michael Ledwidge (Little, Brown) them. There’s one thing she left out, 4. IDENTICAL,byScott Turow (Grand Iwould venture to guess: writing. Central) Though it was kept secret from 5. JUST ONE EVIL ACT,byElizabeth all but her immediate circle, Ephron George (Dutton) knew she was terminally ill with 6. STORM FRONT,byJohn Sandford leukemia for six years before her (Putnam) death in 2012. If anything, this in- 7. BRIDGET JONES:MAD ABOUT THE creased her productivity. According BOY,byHelen Fielding (Knopf) to her sister Delia (who also has a 8. STARRY NIGHT,byDebbie new book), the sisters worked on a Macomber (Ballantine) TV pilot in Nora’s hospital room, 9. THE WOLVES OF MIDWINTER,by and even took aphone meeting Anne Rice (Knopf) with producer Scott Rudin. One 10. POLICE,byJoNesbø (Knopf) project Nora started but didn’t get to complete was the selection of NONFICTION pieces for this career-spanning 1. KILLING JESUS,byBill O’Reilly and collection. ONSTAR Martin Dugard (Henry Holt) Her lifelong editor Robert LI 2. HUMANS OF NEW YORK,by Gottlieb finished it, commenting in CHAEL Brandon Stanton (St. Martin’s) his introduction, “No other editorial MI 3. DAVID AND GOLIATH,byMalcolm job I’ve ever performed has been so Gladwell (Little, Brown) much fun.” 4. IAMMALALA,byMalala Yousafzai It could hardly be otherwise. PHOTO BY Mostly, “The Most of Nora Ephron” “The Most of Nora Ephron” has essays, ascreenplay, anovel and more. (Little, Brown) is apleasure. Her best-loved maga- 5. MY STORY,byElizabeth Smart (St. zine pieces and essays are arranged ous 1983 fictionalization of the ruthless honesty, but she didn’t Martin’s) not chronologically but in thematic breakup of Ephron’s marriage to leave the house without her make- 6. SI-COLOGY 1,bySiRobertson groups: The Journalist, The Advo- Carl Bernstein. This is anovel for up. She was candid without being (Howard Books) cate, The Foodie, The Blogger and grown-ups, and when Ifirst read it i vulnerable, apoint that is beautiful- 7. THE REASON IJUMP,byNaoki so forth, sometimes skipping 30 didn’t have the life experience to ly made in the lead essay of Delia’s Higashida (Random House) years or more from one piece to the appreciate its subtleties, nor the new collection, “Sister Mother 8. BREAK OUT!,byJoel Osteen next. Sandwiched between these culinary sophistication for its reci- Husband Dog” (Blue Rider Press, (FaithWords) sections are the novel “Heartburn,” pes. Now Ialmost died over the $25.95). Far more emotionally open 9. POKÉMON X&POKÉMON Y,by the screenplay of “When observation that Washington, and less polished awriter than her Pokémon Co. (International Prima Harry Met Sally ...”and D.C., is acity so Gentile that sister, Delia struggles to assimilate Games) the script of “Lucky Guy.” “even the Jews there are the loss of someone with whom she 10. ORR,byBobby Orr (Putnam) Afew of the feminist and Two sort of Gentile,” and I’m shared half abrain, as Nora once political essays feel dated, new collections, eager to attempt the put it, who remained so much the and the blogs should have one by Nora, linguine alla cecca, “a hot big sister at all times that it was paperback been left out entirely. one by her pasta with acold tomato Nora who sent Delia flowers during newsday.com Scooter Libby, Condoleez- sister Delia and basil sauce” that is her last weeks in the hospital. “Our 1. THE HIT,byDavid Baldacci (Grand za Rice, Dick Cheney —do “so light and delicate it’s words and thoughts are muddied we really want to read about almost like eating asalad.” together in life and in the movies Central) these people anymore? But the Amazingly painless for anovel we collaborated on,” writes Delia, 2. PROOF OF HEAVEN,byEben profiles of Dorothy Parker and Lillian about adultery, the heart of “Heart- who leaned over to her husband Alexander (Simon &Schuster) NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013 Hellman, the Wellesley commence- burn” is the revelation that betrayal twice during the funeral service to 3. DEAR LIFE,byAlice Munro (Vintage) ment address, the hilarious “Lisbeth can be “immensely pleasurable,” note that the Ephronism being 4. THE CASUAL VACANCY,byJ.K. Salander: The Girl Who Fixed the “moving from acomplicated rela- quoted was hers. Rowling (Little, Brown) Umlaut” —these are solid gold. The tionship which involves minor “I have been wondering whether 5. FOUR BLOOD MOONS,byJohn essay she wrote to accompany the atrocities on both sides” to “a warm Nora’s refusal to reveal her illness, Hagee (Worthy) script for “When Harry Met Sally ...” bath of innocent victimization.” her decision to keep it asecret, is 6. THE RACKETEER,byJohn Grisham is afascinating account of the This is classic Ephron. When her something people will aspire to the (Bantam) collaborative, evolutionary process of alter-ego, food writer Rachel way they followed her advice about 7. BRAIN ON FIRE,bySusannah screenwriting. (It includes the Samstat, confesses at the end of the egg white omelets,” she writes, in a Cahalan (Simon &Schuster) revelation that what is probably her novel, “I’ve done what Iusually do, passage where she wrestles with 8. THE TIME KEEPER,byMitch Albom most famous line —“I’ll have what hidden the anger, covered the pain, this decision. “To those people i (Hyperion) she’s having” —was contributed by pretended it wasn’t there for the want to say that she wasn’t always 9. UNLIKELY LOVES,byJennifer S. Billy Crystal.) sake of the story,” she is speaking right. Five years ago, she told me to Holland (Workman) Another highlight for me was for her creator and herself. sell my Apple stock.” That’s an 10. BEAUTIFUL RUINS,byJess Walter rereading “Heartburn,” the scandal- Nora Ephron was famous for her Ephronism for sure. (Harper Perennial).

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