Can anyone reccomend any good books to read?
I know that in interviews you get asked about what books you have read recently, are there certain TYPES of books that you SHOULD read to impress? or does it really matter WHAT you read, as long as you do?
Regardless, I am out of book ideas, I tend to like human interest stories, like personal struggles and history stuff. If anyone has read something interesting lately, let me know! thanks!
misscompassion!
Read whatever intersests you! I would hate to waste my time to read a book, that an interviewer might find impressing and i have no interests in. I love reading and I hope I had more time to do it now! And majority of books I read recently are on various topics.
If you want some recomendations, here:
- ‘His Brother Keeper’ by Jonathan Weiner (ture story, about a struggle with ALS - I was cyring my eyes out!)
- ‘Curious Incident of the dog at a Night-Time’ by Mark Huddon (about an autistic boy - excellent)
I’m reading now ‘Color of Water: A Black Man Tribute to His White Mother’ autobiographical, and very inspirational…
Just run into Barnes and Nobles. If you look at their bestsellers section you’ll find something you like! Just read the back cover and you’ll get an idea what the book is about. I’d rather read 10 books I love, than spend all that time reading a book that ‘might impress somebody’.
Hello there:
I read “The Color of Water” a few years ago. The book was absolutely excellent! I would definitely suggest reading it. The writer was extraordinary and the story he tells about his mother is wonderful.
A friend of mine wrote a book last year about her experience with having multiple miscarriages. The book is Christian-themed and is inspirational. She talks about how the miscarriages affected her emotionally, mentally and spiritually. If you’re interested, let me know. The name of the book is “All I Wanted Was a Baby”, the author’s name is Kim Davis.
In one of my interviews, we ended up discussing the Gates’ Foundation’s work in public health and my interviewer had suggested I take a look at “The World is Flat”. I found it to be an excellent read.
Another book about which I’ve heard good things (but haven’t read yet, am hoping to in the next couple of weeks) is “Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War,” by Nathaniel Philbrick. It’s described as “a new history of the Mayflower [which] suggests a much more nuanced view of both the Pilgrims who settled in North America, and the Indians they came to depend on – and then battle.” This may bring together what you list as your interests.
Happy reading!
thank you all so much! I have quite the list at the moment…they all look really interesting. Now all I need is time…
maybe books on tape/cd to listen during my 3 hour daily commutes! 
Hi! I agree with madkasia about reading whatever interests YOU and explore some new interests, too. I found it helpful for me to read books about the human condition that I could not personally relate to but wanted to try and understand. I can suggest a few titles from my collection: 
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
- Fermat’s Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World’s Greatest Mathematical Problem by Simon Singh
- Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City by Elijah Anderson
- Losing Matt Shepard: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti-Gay Murder
- The Tragedy of Miss Geneva Flowers by Joe Babcock(a.k.a. Miss Geneva Flowers)
Take care!
Definitely read books that interest you, not books that you think will impress an interviewer. Sometimes I think they ask what books you have recently read for pleasure just to see if you take time for pleasure reading, not to see if you are reading deep, nobel prize type stuff.
Stiff (mentioned above) is a great book. An interesting book about a culture clash between doctors and a family is “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman.
By the way - the books on tape idea for your commute is a MUST. When I was driving everyday, I LOVED books on CD. Depending on how tech saavy your local libray is, you might also look into books in mp3 format. A lot of libraries allow you to download audio books via the internet and either burn them to CD or transfer them to your mp3 player.
Great idea about the library Emergency!
I will have to check the idea of mp3 format. The biggest hurdle is finding something that my husband and I agree on, because we carpool.
I have a book to recommend. I read it for a european history class and thought it incredibly moving. Sad, though, it made me cry.
Under A Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968
Heda Kovaly, translated into english. It is a story of a chech jewish woman and her struggle with the two biggest monsters of the 20th century.
- Timbo Said:
FYI, that's only an unofficial biography