The Widow and the Tree

My review for Sonny Brewer’s The Widow and the Tree (book #48), can be viewed here.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

Again, to go with the idea of reading author’s inessential works first, I picked up one of Bill Bryson’s more recent books a few weeks back. I believe it’s Bryson’s only non-travel memoir, as it follows his early childhood in the 50s and early 60s in Des Moines, Iowa.

The author paints a picture of simpler times, balancing humor and education, along with both the good and the bad. He dips in and out of personal experiences and nationwide occurrences with total proficiency. In a way, this book makes the boomer generation seem like a slightly less irritating bunch.

To be honest, since it’s been a while since I listened to this audiobook, I’m drawing a blank with a ton of the key stuff I enjoyed. There’s a story of him and a friend peeing on Lincoln Logs that nearly killed me. Some notes would’ve came in handy, I guess.

My old roommate often tried getting me to read A Walk in the Woods, and I would certainly like to … as soon as the person who has checked it out on audio returns it to the library.

This was #47, for anyone keeping tabs. It’s been the year of reading and listening like crazy, so maybe 2010 will be deemed the year to do not much else but write. Throwing around ideas at the moment. As always, feel free to drop any suggestions in the comments section.

Beards and Novels

It’s true, they are two of my favorite things.

November couldn’t be a crazier time. I would like to go ahead and apologize for how unstable I will be. You can thank Whiskerino, NaNoWriMo, and the other things on my plate.

HERE is where you can keep track of my four-month-long beard-in-progress. And HERE is where you can see the word count of my novel. The novel will be called TRY AGAIN, and is a new draft of the thing I wrote last year, originally titled BRILLIANT!

Here’s a brief synopsis:

TRY AGAIN is the story of clashing egos and clanging guitars. It is the story of one mediocre band’s first and final U.S. Tour.

The last thing the world needs is another travel narrative. Scratch that. The last thing it needs is another teenager-comprised rock and roll band. But The Richardnixons aren’t aware of these two things, and certainly aren’t aware of what disastrous place a combination of them will lead. Besides, if you tried warning them they’d spit at your face and watch you run off crying.

When it comes to the road, and to the saving graces of rock and roll, the last thing The Richardnixons need are unbelievers. The first thing they need is to get there before soundcheck.

The Band:

Charley Discovery – Vocals, Guitar, ego, supreme style
Babybear – Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, vicious teeth
Georgie Ullman – Drums, physical fatness, white socks, self-esteem complications (baker’s dozen)
James Donovan – Bass, dead brother’s ghost on his shoulders
Braxton Evanson Stephenson – Roadie, Nerd of the Highest Order, video game console

and Victoria — Girl

Please buckle your seatbelt.