Book Interviews by Jos Diaz
Jos Diaz
Ms. Chan
Period 3
Interviews
Rebecca Steinberg; student, musician, redhead
What is your favorite book?
Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
How did you come across the book?
I found it in my apartment. I flipped through it and it looked interesting; I found the word “cunt” used repeatedly, and I thought to myself “this is an author I can get along with.”
What about this book makes it your favorite?
It’s really blunt and unapologetic. Even though it’s really kind of gross at parts and very masculine, it really captures awkwardness and discomfort more than other books I’ve read, like “Catcher in The Rye” or “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” It’s a lot harsher than Catcher in The Rye, and darker, but has the same feeling of isolation.
What type of person would enjoy this book?
I think any adolescent or even someone older who likes to read books about people whose lives aren’t perfect.
Helen Chen; student, fashionista, art-lover
What is your favorite book?
The Joy Luck Club
How did you come across the book?
I was walking by Barnes and Noble, and they had a big poster. I’d heard about it, so I went inside and bought a copy. I was in the eighth grade, but the themes have stuck with me for all this time. I guess it’s kind of sad that my favorite book is from the eighth grade, but it’s true.
What about this book makes it your favorite?
I feel like there are so many aspects of it I can relate to. For example, my grandmother is an avid mahjong player, I’ve been raised in a very traditional Chinese family and I have a very close relationship with my mother, and with my grandmother.
What type of person would enjoy this book?
Anybody who wants to read a book about a relationship between a child and a parent, and anybody who comes from a traditional Asian family.
Thomas Ansorge; student, policy wonk, history buff
What is your favorite book?
Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandresekan
How did you come across the book?
I read a review of this book in the Asia Times, then got it from the New York Public Library by placing it on hold and picking it up from the Morningside Heights branch.
What about this book makes it your favorite?
I love the book because it’s so comprehensive and informative. It effectively illustrates the cultural clashes between an occupying power and an occupied people, the difficulty of nation building, and managementt dilemmas faced by inexperienced and unqualified personnel thrust into an unexpected challenging situation. It also does a great job of informing its readers on domestic political process and relevant current world issues.
What type of person would enjoy this book?
Policy wonks and history buffs.
Mark Surya; student, composer
What is your favorite book?
Ulysses by James Joyce
How did you come across this book?
It’s Ulysses. Eventually anyone who reads anything will find it. I’d also already read Finnegan’s Wake and loved it, so I wanted to read Joyce’s complete works.
Why is it your favorite book?
Its basic philosophy is really similar to mine, and I was really impressed in how it could jacknife from humor to really deep emotion in the same sentence. It was the first book I ever read where the language was just as important as what was going on. A lot of this applies to Finnegan’s Wake as well, but that was just so open and unreadable, that, while I really enjoyed reading it, I can’t really consider it my favorite book as much.
What type of person would enjoy this book?
Pretentious people.
Simon Szybist; student, polack
What is your favorite book?
The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz
How did you come across the book?
It was recommended to me by a camp counselor who told me that it was one of the most enlightening books he’d ever read, so I traded him for it. I gave him The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson in exchange.
What about this book makes it your favorite?
First and foremost, it’s surrealist. His ability to paint these beautiful, colorful scenes on the paper… the stories never really end in a coherent way, and you’re never really sure what has happened at the end but It still amazes you. It’s a book of short stories. To put it shortly, I’ve never read anything else like it. It just really hit me as something totally original.
What type of person would enjoy this book?
The type of person who would like a Terry Gilliam film would love this book. Or, less referentially, someone who can appreciate absurdity for what it is.
Book recommendations by Stuyvesant students for Stuyvesant students and readers around the world. Also known as Stuy Bookshelf/Book Box. Submissions are open—click on register below!