Book Talkin' and Tumblogs

Written by Nicki Sooter Wilcoxson

Recently, quite by accident, I saw author Pamela Redmond Satran in an interview on the Today Show.  The interview concerned her newest book which is interestingly entitled How Not to Act Old.  Because the words aging and old are words that often appear on this blog, I was drawn to purchase the book fully expecting that the book would probably make me feel somewhat like someone was pouring salt on open wounds or like someone was actually pulling out my finger nails.  In other words I really expected to feel even older than I did before I read the book.  Nevertheless I jumped right into the book which is described as "an irreverent guide which is essential for anyone who doesn't want to embarrass their kids--or themselves." 

Because the book is a small paperback, it is an easy read even though it contains 185 ways to not act old.  Right away I knew I was in trouble when #1 declared "Stop Using email"!  It seems that email is an "old" form of communication replaced by text messaging, Twittering, and Face Book.  No one leaves voice mail anymore or even listens to it.  This seems to explain why our young no longer answer our phone calls or return our "messages" or emails..  Well darn!  I still love email and even at the risk of knowing it is "old" I'm just not ready to give it up. (But I do send text messages too)

All of the 184 "ways" that followed were interesting, at times very shocking, and often really funny. They run the gamut of addressing people in their 40's, 50's, and 60's and cover such issues as words we should or should not use (awesome, dude!), topics we should avoid in conversation such as our grown children, our health, menopause,  and parenting advice.  Old folks will learn how to vacation and how not to vacation and how not to work old as well as many other jaw-dropping behaviors we should or should not avoid.  

After my first read through, I felt, well, just a little ticked off and really really annoyed. (Maybe I was just in a bad mood before I started reading!) I felt as if I was way on overload with TMI (too much information).   Over the next few days, I contemplated what I had read, reminded myself that I was taking it all WAY too seriously and that it was intended to be humorous.  All in all it is a fun read if you can keep your perspective and remind yourself that "we are who we are" and "it is what it is"!    

For those of you who don't want to spend your time and money on the book, I do highly recommend that you take a fun trip to the blog which is also entitled "How Not to Act Old" and is published by Pamela Satran as well.  Many of the "ways" are posts and it is fun to check them out.  All of the posts are not in the book and many of them are not on the blog but rather just in the book, but you can certainly get a new perspective on not acting old by putting the blog on your list of favorites to check out on a regular basis. 

Additionally, "How Not to Act Old" has a home on You Tube where you can receive lessons on short videos that demonstrate some of the reasons why you need to read the book.  These actually made me laugh.   

One wonderful bit of information that I learned on the blog is that "blogging is just too 2008" and the new thing is to  tumblog.  This is a totally new thing and word for me and because I love new things, I had to investigate.  This quote from the HNTAO blog post   #152: Don’t Blog, Tumblog defines tumblog:

 "What is a tumblog? Rather than a conventional string of written posts, a tumblog is a collection of quotes, photos, videos, and thoughtlets."

Sounds great to me and I was hooked as soon as I saw this wonderful example of a tumblog.  Check it out below.

 Book Lovers Never Go to Bed Alone