Every so often, I get a hankerin’ to read something just for the joy of reading. When I was young, I read so much, I often got told to “put that book down and go outside and play!” Today, it’s a little easier for me what with all the great blogs being written – I don’t have to go to the library or Barnes & Noble to read something good. But still – there’s something quite comforting to me about curling up on the couch or in bed with a good book.

This summer, one of the more consistent activities we did (we being me, PDD, Fresh Air and Second Son) was regular trips to the library. The kids participated in the summer reading program (read so many books, make so many trips to the library, get prizes) and I teased myself by checking out a book or two to read just for the joy of reading. I say teased myself, because what has happened is I’ve had the same three books checked out dang near the whole summer. I kept having to renew them because the due date would roll around and I still hadn’t read them, so I renewed them. Well, they’re due on Monday and I can’t renew them again, so it’s time to read them.

One of them is I Feel Bad About My Neck And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman by Nora Ephron. For those of you who are not familiar with Nora, she wrote the “When Harry Met Sally”, “Silkwood” and “Sleepless in Seattle” screenplays among a bunch of other stuff you’re probably familiar with. I Feel Bad About My Neck is not your typical novel…it’s more like a great blog, bound in the comfort-giving form of a book. I started it last night about 9pm, read til about midnight, then picked it back up at 8 this morning when I woke up, and finished it about 10:30am. Yes, I read fast, but more to the point – this is a good book. It’s a wonderful peek inside living in NYC, something that fascinates me and an even better peek inside the mind of a woman who makes her living with words, something that fascinates me even more.

So, next time you’re looking for a great read, try I Feel Bad About My Neck. It’s fun, you’ll probably learn a thing or two, and you’ll definitely find yourself nodding your head in agreement more than once. Maybe you’ll put it down having finished it and wonder, like I did, if she has a blog. Let me save you the search – she blogs once-a-month-ish at Huffington Post.