Ruminations on College Life

Aaron Karo

Simon ‘ Schuster

2002

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Ruminations on College Life

Aaron Karo

Simon ‘ Schuster

2002

There are times that I look at my college life dumbfounded and wonder why I’m allowed to live like this for four years. For example, what other lifestyle allows people to sleep late and stay up late during the week, and go out and drink on any day of the week that ends in ‘day’ — all in the name of education?

Aaron Karo, a 2001 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, discovered these marvels early on during his college career and started sending rambling e-mails on the topic of these collegiate anomalies to his friends. The number of people on his list eventually grew so large that Karo started his own Web site to host his humorous ruminations.

His book, “Ruminations on College Life,” is a collection of these ruminations. And if you ever wondered if you’re the only one who thinks Yaffa Blocks are a college phenomenon, or if you’re the only one whose parents designate a curfew when you return home for break, you’ll find a friend in Karo.

The Penn graduate has done a remarkable job of selecting the most notable of college oddities and bringing them to life. One of the reasons the book is so funny is because he pokes fun at moments of college life that almost everyone can relate to. Talking about raising his GPA, Karo asks, “Why is it so hard to raise your GPA? I think they make it so it’s mathematically impossible to raise it after freshman year. Ever sit down and try to figure out what you need to get in order to raise your GPA to a certain number? It always comes out like you need a 4.6 every semester until you graduate.”

Karo’s humor continues with similar small snippets of banter throughout the book, which is divided into chapters with headings such as “Nightlife” and “Life in the Dorm.” The clips of writing are fun to read and the book is a quick read, but the set-up of each anecdote and witticism gets tiring. Plus, Karo spends a large portion of his time writing about all the humor surrounding drinking and getting drunk. While his observations are hilarious in their truthfulness, these jokes quickly make Karo seem like that guy on your floor who’s always just blabbing about how wasted he got this weekend and how funny it was. The sad part about drinking humor is that it’s usually only funny when you’re drunk.

The obsession with drinking notwithstanding, the book is worth a read because Karo’s observations are sharp. In the book’s preface, Karo addresses the reader, asking him or her to look around at the other books about college at the bookstore. He says, “Some will tell you what classes to take and others will tell you how to deal with an unruly roommate. But none will tell you what really goes down in the tiny dorm rooms and frat-house basements of colleges across the nation and around the world. This one will.”

Sadly, he’s right.