Book Review & Giveaway! What I Know by Roger Emerson Fishman

Hardcover: 96 pages
Publisher: Clarkson Potter (October 13, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307454223
ISBN-13: 978-0307454225

Rating: 4/5
Source:  Contributor Joe Rohrlich


Book Blurb:
Only people at the bookends of life can truly tell it like it is. In "What I Know", a remarkable group of 10-year-olds and 100-year-olds share their insights on life with Roger Fishman to reveal unguarded truths and surprising wisdom.

You’ll be inspired by the lighthearted yet profound thoughts from 10-year-olds:
“Think of yourself as a dot on a line. The things behind you are already over, so always move forward down the line.”
“Integrity is doing good deeds when no one is looking.”
“It’s not about whether somebody will ‘be there’ for you. It’s all about whether you will ‘be there’ for somebody else.”

And you’ll find time-tested knowledge in the words of centenarians:
“In marriage, you have two sides to the bed: one where you fight and the other where you make up.”
“You’ve got to love, respect, and develop a genuine belief in yourself before you can be there to do that for anybody else.”
“In life, the one thing you can control is your word.”

Offering a variety of perspectives from these two unique groups, "What I Know" is, ultimately, a trove of universal truths from a diverse cross section of 10-year-olds and 100-year-olds with a wealth of experience.

My Review:
The full title of this book is What I Know: Uncommon Wisdom and Universal Truths from 10-year-olds and 100-year-olds. This is one of my favorite types of books as I love collections like this, be they from the famous or otherwise. This has the twist of offering life advice from either 10 years olds with a fresh perspective, or 100 year olds with a lifetime's worth of wisdom. And while the advice is credited to the proper source, we don't know if it's coming from the young or the old. There is a listing at the end, but not knowing where the advice was coming from was part of the fun!

The book is grouped into chapters, with a small bit of background and then interview with a centenarian at each chapter's beginning.  The subjects range from believing in yourself to friendship to perseverance. A little something for everyone.

Wanted to share some of my favorite advice with you:
You need to stay superattentive to all the things around you. Otherwise, you're probably going to get killed by an out-of-control car or motorcycle.

If you are thinking about having a baby, you better start preparing now by collecting lots and lots of sleep!

Honesty is the glistening star in the quiet night sky.

It's about learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. Let me tell you: you are very weird; we all are. When you can find someone who's weirdness fits with your own, you better join up in mutual weirdness.

All good advice, but I admit that I tend to lean towards the skewed. Really liked the last piece of advice, as we're all weird and just have to find people at the same level of weirdness. *L*

Gave this book a rating of 4/5 as I enjoyed reading it. I was going to just skim through the book for a quick taste, but wound up reading it straight through!

Giveaway!

As promised, one lucky reader will win an autographed copy of What I Know! This is an adorable book, and I'm sure that whoever wins will absolutely love it!

The one thing that everyone HAS to do in order to enter this contest is leave a comment. Say hello, tell me your favorite color, suggest a book, share your favorite recipe...doesn't matter what the subject so long as you comment. :-)

Winners must have a U.S. mailing address. Sorry, but I promise that my next contest will be a little more lenient.

For extra entries: tweet, blog, or otherwise promote this giveaway and be sure to leave me a link. One extra entry for each link. No verifiable link, no entry.

Have some advice & wisdom of your own to share? That's an extra entry as well!

The contest ends at 11:59 pm EST on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

Please make sure to include those links! If you would like an email if you win, please leave an address. Otherwise, be sure to check back to see if you've won!

Thanks, and good luck!