The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

As the story goes...A reluctant centenarian decides it's not too late to start over . . .

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).

It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.

This book made me laugh out loud. At times it seemed like a story that I started and then paused and you picked up the next sequence only to pause again. Just when you think Allan is caught, some hilarious twist shows up and a new path is presented. Death by elephant was perhaps my all time favorite and then I read about how Allan and his friend who made up things in their war on double espionage.  A real treat for some light hearted reading. Give yourself a summer break.

Good Read: Boston Girl

Written by Anita Diamant of The Red Tent fame, Boston Girl is the story of a young Jewish woman from an immigrant family growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century.

Addie Baum is the Boston Girl and is telling the story of her life to her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, who has asked her “How did you get to be the woman you are today.” She begins in 1915, the year she found her voice and made friends who would help shape the course of her life. From the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair and the work she finds, Addie recalls her adventures with compassion and humor.

While reading this book, I couldn't help imagine that my own daughter was interviewing her grandmothers who belonged to this generation of women finding their place in the changing world of the twentieth century.

I highly recommend this good read.

Promise Me

I just finished reading a book titled Promise Me. It is the story of  Susan G. Komen and the foundation which takes her name. Susan's sister, Nancy G. Brinker is the author and for me it is powerful read. It's been awhile since I have had the opportunity to observe big business first hand. This book gave me a glimpse. I was astounded by what the love for a sister, whose life was cut short, could accomplish.

My favorite thought from the book describes the moment when First Lady Betty Ford  informed the press that she had breast cancer, not cancer or women's cancer but breast cancer. It was a conundrum for the press. Prior to this moment, the words were unprintable and unspeakable. Did she expect Walter Cronkite to discuss breasts on the evening news? Yes, she did.

 The author states: That moment was like a glimmer of light shining through a keyhole. And all it takes is  a keyhole to reveal that what looked like a wall is in fact a doorway.

Grab it and read it. You will be impressed.

Living on the Light Side -- a different meaning

I just finished reading the book The 100 Thing Challenge by Dave Bruno. I would have linked the book title to Amazon but then the author's challenge to himself was to live for one year with fewer than 100 things. How could I really encourage anyone to buy the book. I got my copy from the library.

Dave Bruno's  purpose in living with so few things was to unhook himself from the intravenous drip of American consumerism. It's a good read though a very difficult task for most. I found myself trying to imagine how I could do this. I can't imagine it. I am pretty sure that I could not reduce my stuff to100 things even within a single category in many cases--clothing, fabric, books ...

One of his thoughts: "when is the moment we stop looking for something of value and start desiring something that we think will make us more valuable ourselves?"  It did give me pause, a chance to consider why I buy things and perhaps make a commitment not to go to the mall. LOL

Would you be able to take this challenge?

On another note, my son, Nick, celebrated his 24th birthday on February 17 and I was remiss to write about it here. He sent me this photo snapped by a newspaper in Asheville, NC, where he lives. He was running a 5K or a 10K. I'm not sure which. He could do the 100 Thing Challenge though he would probably have to buy some things to get to 100. He has not bought into American consumerism. 

You go, Nick, and happy birthday.

A Good Read

I just finished a really good book, People of the Book
by Geraldine Brooks. It is a work of fiction inspired
by a true story about the Sarajevo Haggadah, which is
a book of prayer used at a Jewish Seder meal. This
haggadah dates back to 14th century Spain.





The author creates stories in an attempt to trace the
origins of this beautiful old codex over the centuries.
I came to love each of the characters in each of the
stories who added something to the value of this book.
One added beautiful art, one added Jewish script, one
added book bindery skills and several added risk of life.
Their were many Muslims who protected this Jewish tome.

One of the author's most thought provoking statements is:
Ozren says: I have spent many nights, lying awake in this
room thinking that the haggadah came to Sarajevo for a
reason. It was here to test us, to see if there were people
who could see that what united us was more than what
divided us. That to be a human being matters more than
to be a Jew or Muslim, Catholic or Orthodox"

It is a truly captivating and beautiful novel. I highly
recommend you find it at your library.