Book List

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of the first great books my Dad read to me and my sister. I loved it so much I had to read it again. Scout and Atticus are characters I will remember forever.

2. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. It is one of the craziest, messed up, and addicting books I have ever read. This book made me look at my life and the world around me in an entirely new perspective which was an amazing experience the book gave to me. 

3. The Five People you met in heaven by Mitch Albom. Best read-by-the-beach book. It was a small simple read that impacted me much more than I had expected. A pre-teen could easily read the book and a elderly person could read the book; either way both will be sincerely touched.

4. Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The characters, the emotions, but most importantly the drama of the novel is unforgettable to me. 

5. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. I lost interest in this book but my dad forced me to continue reading. I thank him for that because it became one of my favorite books. Practically reading a character's entire life was a unique experience because after finishing the book the characters could not feel more real.

6. Wish you Well by David Baldacci. One of the first books that made me cry... and then cry some more. My family had to remind me it was just a book and there was no need to cry so much.  

7. The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. One of my favorite books and one of my sister's favorite books. We quote from the book constantly, especially the one quote, "I feel infinite." Within the context, the words were incredibly powerful and will remain in my mind forever. 

8. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The first book I hated when I started to read it but feel in love with it when I finished it. 

9. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. My favorite historical novel. The personality and struggles of the character Ada were very relatable to me. Her struggle, her fight for love,  and her newly found strength within herself were incredibly admirable. 

10. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Another book my Dad read to me and my sister. I fell in love with the story so I decided to read it again. I was so interesting by being able to enter another world yet feel so close to the characters. 

Summer Reading--Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

Books read since June: Wish You Well by David Baldacci, The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

After reading Choke, I am faced with the question as to why a novel covering such graphically disturbing and unsettling topics, situations, and people can leave me feeling refreshed and exhilarated. The novel follows the life of Victor Mancini, a sex addict who fakes choking in public as a source of income. Victor uses this money to support his dying mother who is not only clinically insane, but also routinely stole him away from foster homes as a child. The scenes are scrambled as one moment Victor is making love to a fellow sex addict and the next he is with his friend Denny stealing boulders. Throughout all the sex, confusion, and chaos Victor is simply trying to find himself and find his place in the world. Despite his years of world experience and countless jabs of pain, the young man is merely looking for his true identity.

As Victor, embarks on his journey to identification he is constantly trying understand whether he is naturally a bad or good person. Victor chokes in restaurants not only for money, but also for that one person to feel like a hero. That one person will never forget that moment; the moment they saved another human being’s life. So is Victor scamming the Good Samaritan or doing deeds to benefit his fellow community members? He cannot decide which he is doing, but either way he continues to choke.

I think that Victor find himself when he finds his beliefs. The young man comes to the conclusion that anything concrete he creates is everything but concrete. It will ruin, diminish, and decompose. It is his ideas, his thoughts, his opinions, his statements; they can live forever. The abstract is concrete within the world and this notion is able to give Victor ease of mind. Also, the power of possibility has the ability to unlock the cage of an unknown identity for Victor. Through the observance of his friend Denny, Victor sees that it is not what you make, but the opportunity to have endless possibilities as to what you make. Denny take rocks, usually boulders, and decides to make a standing structure. He does not build with a plan, nor does he build with intent. Denny simply builds to build. Because the longer Denny continues to build, the longer he continues to create, and the more he creates then the more is possible. The possibilities as to what are unknown, as they should be. Denny builds a concrete object, but in the search for the abstract concept of possibility. The potential of building whatever Denny wants to is nothing but endless.

The concept of abstract ideas being truly complete and the notion of possibilities are often overlooked, if not unseen by the common human eye. These ideas and notions that lead Victor to who he is, brings me to unknown territory as well. With a new perspective is refreshing and leads my mind to different ideas and notions as to how I see the world and my place in it. Therefore, despite alarming scenarios and uncomfortable subjects, Choke is nothing but a breath of fresh air.