Imagoala

Robinson Crusoe  by Daniel Defoe Blurb: The  sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is washed up on a desert island. In his journal he chronicles his daily battle to stay alive, as he conquers isolation, fashions shelter and clothes, first encounters another human being and fights off cannibals and mutineers. Review: ( Quick disclaimer: I usually don't like writing reviews for books I read for university but I have a lot to say about this so I decided to also put this very rambly collection of thoughts into a blog-post. It's also full of spoilers. You might not want to read this.) Urgh . Ok, look, I've read enough classics to be somewhat ok with their 17th century morals. I might not approve but I can at least ignore how ugly they sound. Somewhat. Usually. At first, I thought it was kind of funny, Robinson goes: "Daaaaad, I want to go on an adventure! At sea!", his dad tells him he shouldn't do that so naturally Robinson runs...

Another month has passed (+ the next one is almost over, too, I don't think I'm not going to write any more monthly throwbacks but just a semester/season-throwback, maybe. I'll think about it some more) , my semester has just started (5 weeks ago – feels more like 5 months already) , I'm in constant stress, I should be sleeping right now (actually, when I started writing this blogpost I should have been sleeping, meanwhile a couple of weeks have passed – I really have a lot to do – and now it's Saturday morning and I can be as wide awake as I please) , I haven't really managed to read (m)any books last month, this will be fun. *Cue just a minimal amount of screeching.* (intensify that screeching just a little bit because my first exam is next week) The good news is: I managed to read a book within these first two weeks of the semester  (again, it has been 5 weeks and I've managed to read 2.5 books so far but that's probably going to increase qu...

Choke  by Chuck Palahniuk Blurb: Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. He then allows himself to be “saved” by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for Victor’s life, go on to send checks to support him. When he’s not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, visits his addled mom, and spends his days working at a colonial theme park. His creator, Chuck Palahniuk, is the visionary we need and the satirist we deserve. Review: The question is always: So what do you feel like chocking on tonight? The first half of this book was great! I felt like I was flying through it (although I wasn’t because I currently pretty much exclusively read before/between lectures/seminars) because it was fast paced and filled with such an i...

Talk Talk by T. C. Boyle Blurb: It was not until their first date that Bridger Martin learned that Dana Halter's deafness was profound and permanent. By then he was falling in love. Now she is in a courtroom, accused of assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft, and passing bad checks, among other things. As Dana and Bridger eventually learn, William "Peck" Wilson has stolen Dana's identity and has been living a blameless life of criminal excess at her expense. And as they set out to find him, they begin to test to its very limits the life they have begun to build together. Review: " I  am," he said. "I am a nice guy." And he meant it. I picked Talk Talk up on the basis of previous knowledge of Boyle's short stories and The Tortilla Curtain, all of which I have enjoyed (to different extents but they've definitely left a good impression) and was, therefore, excited to start a new book of his. But, sadly, this book ...