In Strangers, a Blind Centenarian Finds a Literary Lifeline

Stephanie Sandleben, a yoga instructor with tattoos on each shoulder, just finished Chapter 19 of Tina Brown's biography of Diana, Princess of Wales. Sara Nolan, a 28-year-old graduate student, is 30 pages into a Rumer Godden novel. Mark Kalinowsky, 48 and a real estate broker, has long since stopped reading; he just comes to chat.

These three disparate characters are part of a ragtag crew that cycles through the worn one-bedroom Murray Hill walk-up where Elizabeth Goodyear, who recently celebrated her 101st birthday, is confined after two knee operations. A lifelong lover of books, Ms. Goodyear lost her sight about four years ago, but in its place has acquired a roster of readers who stop by regularly, bringing with them dogs, gifts from their international travels and offerings of dark chocolate, the elixir she has savored daily since she was 3.

Hear some of her amusing stories with a short slide show.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/07/31/nyregion/20080731_read-goodyear/index.html

I enjoyed this story -read the rest here - it's not long.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/nyregion/01read.html?ref=nyregion