The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared – Jonas Jonasson

Who needs to describe the plot when the massively long title does it for you. But for those of you who hadn’t already figured it out, the story is about a 100 year old man who yes climbed out a window but its a bit more complicated that. Alan (the 100 year old man) is in an old folks home, not really by choice, he was sent there for blowing up his home, but that is a long story. He has a nasty nurse who keeps taking his hidden booze off him, so when he finds out that the old folks home intend to throw a surprise 100th party for him he has had enough and wants out. Being limited in his options and mobility, he decides to climb out the window and run away albeit very slowly since he is 100.

First stop after a sloth like crawl out the window is the nearby bus station, a short walk away for most but for him it was tiring, he approaches the sales person and asks how far he can get for 500 crowns, well its set in Sweden so all the currency is theirs too. Google converter tells me its about 20 bucks. Which seems a far more reasonable amount for a senior to have on them.The money wont get him too far, guess bus travel is expensive over there. So while he waits a few minutes for the bus arrive he sits down. Then a stranger approaches him and asks if he could hold his suitcase while he goes to the bathroom, before Alan can respond the man is off running for the toilet, just as Alan’s bus arrives.

Here is where the story takes an interesting turn, Alan looks at the bus, then looks at the suitcase and pretty much thinks ahh screw it, and takes the suitcase. At the end of the bus journey Alan with the help of a new friend opens the suitcase and discovers it is filled with millions of crowns, not actual crowns of course but the currency used in Sweden, what follows is an hilarious adventure and accidental heroism that would put the Pink Panther or Mr Bean to shame.

A hilarious adventure of Alan avoiding the police looking for him (our of concern) and of the gangsters looking for their money, Along the way Alan gathers new friends including an Elephant. We find out all about Alan’s past including meeting Presidents, Dictators, Secret police. We learn of his albeit almost unbelievable good luck and Alan finds out once again what it means to feel truly alive.

A fantastic read full of laughs

 

 

 

Paddle Your Own Canoe – Nick Offerman

Funny man Nick Offerman from Parks and Rec wrote a bio on himself, which is strange because i didn’t realise he had been a celeb for that long. Either way he is funny as hell so i grabbed it.

Damn this is one hilarious read, starting from childhood(naturally) to struggling actor and on to Parks n Rec. Nick leads us on a no holds bar, none of this PC crap journey through his life. With plenty of laughs, life advice, romance ideas and carpentry tips, along the way.

Its refreshing to see the other side of comedians especially those that dont require a script to be funny.

Fantastically funny read.

What If? – Randall Munroe

Man this is one hilarious book, it is a collection of answers to absurd and weird hypothetical questions he has been sent via his website for his comic strip. Having a degree in physics and previously working for NASA before leaving  to work on his XKCD comic strip full time leaves Randall in a unique position to answer these questions

There is an assortment of hilarious hypothetical questions such as

• what would happen if the entire human population met at one place and then jumped all at the same time
• From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked when it hits the ground
• Is it possible to build a jet pack using downward firing machine gun
• If a ten metre wide drain opened at the bottom of the ocean how long would it take to drain all the oceans

There are many more hilarious questions many of which he adds his signature stick figure drawing too. He takes the time to detail his research into these questions and walks the reader through the process to find the answer.

Good for a laugh and an informative read, best of both worlds!

 

 

 

Look Who’s Back – Timur Vermes

Oh man what a read this was. Some people get so touchy on this subject but damn it was a funny read. Hitler wakes up in a field in Germany in 2011, still in his uniform with no recollection of his last moments in the bunker in 1945.

What then follows is Hitler’s discovery of the modern Germany and surprise surprise he doesn’t like it and starts on his usual rhetoric. However this time instead of flat out blaming the Jews he targets more modern enemies. Soon people start to take notice but here’s the kicker instead of taking him seriously they think he is a satirical comedian and praise him as such. Soon he has his own TV show and YouTube channel.

Sometimes the topic of Hitler can be taboo as some people quite naturally are very sensitive to this topic but i find that its the Germans who crack the best Hitler jokes and this book is right up there. So many funny fish out of water moments, like Hitler discovering the joys of Wikipedia and the internet to him struggling  to decide a ring tone  for his phone.

What adds realism to this story is the author has done his research quite thoroughly the names, places and events Hitler talks about are real and factual. There is even a section in the back of the book that lists all the Nazis Hitler refers to in this book and describes them and when/if the were trialed at Nuremberg.

To be honest there are people who will be offended by this book in fact the author inserts one of these people into the story. But sometimes peoples hate blinds them so much from the truth. The truth is The author isn’t glamorizing Hitler. He isn’t saying he was good or asking us to forget the past.  He is simply putting an historical person in modern day times and letting the madness ensue

Great unique read. in fact i just couldn’t put it down. Dont read this if you don’t have a sense of humour