Monday, December 17, 2007

Laughing to Beat the Band

Today I lost it in class. I started giggling uncontrollably. Luckily, I wasn't teaching. But I have no doubt that it was still somewhat distracting to my Intro to Lit students, who were busy taking their final exam, an in-class essay on poetry. I did apologize, and I also promised never to bring a funny book to a final exam again.

I've never quite had such a fit of laughter in class before, but the cause of my outburst is understandable. My friend N had loaned me her copy of Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad about My Neck, and I was reading the chapter on how difficult it is to maintain ourselves at a certain age. You should pick up a copy and read it for yourself. What Ephron says about hair--in particular, her mustache--was the last straw. She does indeed know how to write funny.

It's a very quick read. I finished it during the two-hour final exam period, and I thoroughly enjoyed it (obviously). She does make you laugh, but she also makes some pretty trenchant observations along the way. I can't believe I've waited this long to read the book. N loaned it to me months ago (after I made some comment about how I was worried about Sally Field's neck on Brothers & Sisters--watch it and tell me I'm wrong). Only one student asked me which book I was reading, but I doubt he's going to pick it up for himself. Too bad.

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