Month: November 2012

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: the last testament

abby mumford

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, karla nellenbach, and myself. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email/phone. we post a review on our individual blogs the 3rd thursday of the month OR, well, we used to all post reviews. now, i think, it’s just patty and me. but anyways, go for it. click on their names above and if they have a review up, it’ll take you to there. enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is: 

THE LAST TESTAMENT: A MEMOIR BY GOD with david javerbaum

what it’s about from amazon: 

Over the course of his long and distinguished career, God has literally seen it all. And not just seen. In fact, the multi-talented deity has played a pivotal role in many major events, including the Creation of the universe, the entirety of world history, the life of every human being who has ever lived, and the successful transitioning of American Idol into the post-Simon Cowell era.

Now, as the earth he has godded so magnificently draws to a Mayan-induced close, God breaks his 1,400-year literary silence with his final masterpiece, The Last Testament.

As dictated to his mortal amanuensis, 11-time Emmy Award-winning comedy writer David Javerbaum, God looks back with unprecedented candor on his time in the public sector. He takes us behind the scenes of Genesis, setting the record (un)straight on the real first couple, Adam and Steve, and challenging long-held notions about the viability of containing a phylogenetically complete double bestiary within a 450,000-cubic-cubit watercraft.

For the first time, he breaks his silence on Jesus Christ, shedding light on a father-son relationship as heartwarming as Will and Jaden Smith’s. And he reveals his true feelings about his third great faith, Islam, WHICH ARE NOTHING BUT POSITIVE AND RESPECTFUL.

But The Last Testament doesn’t just look back. It also offers God’s perspectives on the perennial quagmires of love, marriage, and smiting. And he takes an 27.99 unfiltered look at contemporary society, addressing such hot-button topics as:

    • Why he loves America
    • What he listens for in a good prayer
    • Which sports teams he really roots for
    • Which celebrities are totally gay

Sometimes preachy, sometimes holier-than-thou, but always lively, The Last Testament is a tale of courage, adversity, and triumph. It’s the ultimate celebrity autobiography, sure to appeal to not only hardcore God fans and “worshipers”, but to anyone.

my opinion:

this book is not for those with delicate sensitivities. this book is tongue in cheek. this book is not serious. this book is a riot, plain and simple.

take what you know about the daily show with john stewart and apply it to this book because david javerbaum is the former head writer / executive producer. that show and this book? they’re similar, they’re hilarious, they’re awesome. we’re in good hands with david javerbaum and God.

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feelings

ears vs. eyes

abby mumford

in the midst of all the writing i’ve been doing this month, i’ve also done a fair amount of reading, correction: listening.

i was first introduced to audiobooks by my parents during long drives to visit this relative or that one. i was re-introduced to them when i started making my own long drives to/from boston. it’s an odd thing, these audiobooks, because i tend to look for different things in an audiobook than i normally do for one i’m going to read.

it’s my ears vs. my eyes.

usually, my ears like fast paced action packed novels because they deliver tension and intrigue and it’s helpful in keeping this driver alert. my eyes on the other hand also like that type of book, but they can handle slower paced things, more lyrical, more sensual, more fantastical.

and then there’s maggie stiefvater and THE SCORPIO RACES (which has quickly become one of my favorite all time books ever). it’s a pure delight in both forms.

and so when her newest book THE RAVEN BOYS came out this fall, i was eager to dive into it. it’s the start of a planned four book series and as such the depth of the book is intense and the pace is rather slow, as is worthy of a book setting up a new world and all the characters involved.

i had a hard time getting into it.

until adriana said she was listening to and loving the audiobook. i decided to give it a try and for whatever reason, it clicked. “reading” the book in this audible medium changed my perspective. the pace isn’t slow, it’s creepy and winding and lingering and just right. the depth of the book felt like uncharted scuba diving territory instead of drowning.

the narrator’s voice makes the characters come alive, feel closer, and fill your head.

i’m in heaven.

it’s also given me time to get my “reading” in at different points (aka walking around town) than normal because this month isn’t normal and i don’t have much free time but i also can’t do without reading for an entire month. this way, i’m having my cake and eating it too.

and so with maggie’s words filling my ears and rolling around in my head, it’s made my own words and stories smarter, better, more exotic. thank you, maggie for your wonderful imagination. thank you, adriana for suggesting the audiobook. thank you, will patton, the amazing narrator of THE RAVEN BOYS.

have you ever read a book and not liked it, but then gone to another medium (movie or audiobook) and liked it? or vice versa? if you like a book, do you like it in all forms or are your tastes more specific? how are you today? (i’m just trying to poke you all into commenting. say anything! say nothing other than hi. or good luck or whatever floats your boat. we’re all aiming for high word counts this month. ha.)

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convos with strangers

conversations with strangers #46

abby mumford

i’m talking to strangers?! what?! why?! here, read this.

i gave my address and name to the first poll worker (pw#1). he directed me to the second, as that guy (pw #2) had the list containing all residents of my street who were registered to vote. once i was cleared, he directed me to the curtained cubicles where i’d go to fill in my ballot. i filled in the bubbles carefully, so each one counted. then i headed to the next set of tables.

pw #3: oh, we’ve got a surprise for you.

me: okay…?

pw #3: just a minute. first, what’s your address, honey?

me: *gives address*

pw #3: oh, she’ll take care of you. *points to adjacent poll worker*

pw #4: what’s your name?

me: *spells it for her*

pw #4: *searches for name*

pw #3: that’s a beautiful necklace.

me: oh, thank you!

another voter finished and walked over to the table where pw #3 marked her off the list.

me: *wonders what’s taking so long* *notices pw #4 is looking under the wrong street address* *points out mistake*

meanwhile, pw #3 cleared the other voter and she went to the machine (right next to me) to turn in her ballot. as her ballot was sucked into the machine, pw #5 declared: you’re the 1000th voter!

me: *thinks to self: aww, man. that was supposed to be MY surprise.*

pw#3 finally found my name and i stepped over to the machine to submit my ballot.

me: does it matter what way?

pw #5: nope. just stick it in.

me: *giggles to self*

pw #5: you’re the 1001st voter. you were too slow to be 1000.

me: oh, but, *refrains from pointing out pw#4’s slow movements* yes, well, 1001 is still cool. do i get a sticker?

pw #5: we ran out of those three voters ago. sorry.

no, 1000st voter award. no “i voted” sticker, but i still left the place grinning. for me, there was (and always is) something so grand about the physical act of voting. i felt equal, powerful, important.

i took my 1001 and left grateful to have the opportunity to exercise my constitutional right to “boat” (as my niece baby mac calls it).

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feelings

to my parents…

abby mumford

…and all those (still) affected by hurricane sandy.

Bent Tree in Storm Clouds & Light by TylerKnott

The storms will come and the winds will rise and the gusts will threaten to pull you from your roots.  Let the winds come.  Let them rage and know that you will not break in the breeze, you will bend.  Bend.  Always bend because you are made of more strength than you know, because you are better than the breaking.

(Source: treehousephotography.org)

p.s. i donated to the american red cross, did you?

feelings

hide and seek

abby mumford

sometimes something SO BIG comes along the desire to hide overwhelms your sense of logic.

in this case, the something so big is NaNoWriMo (NAtional NOvel WRiting MOnth) in which a novel is defined as 50K and is started on november 1 and finished on/by november 30.

yup. i signed up to write a novel in a month.

i’m considering a costume so maybe it won’t recognize me.

bubba mac yoda is.
baby mac as minnie mouse sans traditional ears.
the WA mums channeling dr. seuss

i swear this wasn’t just an excuse to show off my beyond adorable nieces and nephews. though, really, aren’t they the cutest?!? i’m not biased at all. this is the truth.

but back to my point. i’m really scared of this task, of this herculean effort, of this novel, of all these expectations (mine + others’). i’ve already started this one once and wrote 20K before i realized i needed to restart it and that brings me to what i’m doing this november.

this is manuscript #3 for me, which means i should have learned something from manuscripts 1 and 2 and those things learned should be incorporated now, but, umm, i can’t find my notes, a pop quiz today?,  THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK, TEACHER.

wow. that’s already a lot more than i tell most people about my writing because i’m (a) too much of a perfectionist where i don’t want people to see the process, just the results, (b) superstitious, (c) private, (d) awkward, (e) uncomfortable talking about myself, (f) private, (g) see aforementioned items x100. i guess i’m hoping if i put this in writing, i’ll be held accountable.

i want to be accountable.

but i’m scared.

i think it’s time to take a cue from my dear (and ridiculously talented) friend adriana.

mrs. cloud at HER harvard book store reading

perhaps i should throw on something bright so (in her case) the people at the reading focus on that instead of her (so she said); or so (in my case) i focus on the outer (getting the words out) instead of the inner (editor)?

maybe i’m grasping at straws here. maybe that analogy sounded better in my head. maybe i’m procrastinating from working on that manuscript (if you look at the date, yes, i’m two days into NaNo) because the blog is safe and the MS is uncharted territory.

okay, okay. i’m leaving. but first, tell me how YOU go about facing your fears.

let’s all be in this together!

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