Book Recommendations with Timothy Kim
Interview 1: With K.L., a Stuyvesant freshman of Korean descent with a cool swagger.
(This interview was modified for grammatical errors and syntax)
[22:23] Interviewer: What is the best book you read?
[22:23] Interviewee: Uhhh… Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul.
[22:23] Interviewer: Stop it seriously.
[22:23] Interviewee: Seriously.
[22:24] Interviewer: Is it Harry Potter?
[22:24] Interviewee: Not anymore.
[22:24] Interviewee: Seriously.
[22:24] Interviewer: Twilight?
[22:24] Interviewee: I never read it.
[22:24] Interviewer: What book do you like better than Harry Potter?
[22:24] Interviewee: SERIOUSLY. CHICKEN SOUP. Mad good stories.
[22:25] Interviewer: I read that it’s boring.
[22:25] Interviewee: It’s good.
[22:25] Interviewer: Fine than what is another book besides Chicken Soup that you like better than Harry Potter?
[22:25] Interviewee: Uhhh… My Side of the Mountain.
[22:25] Interviewer: Okay, why do you like it?
[22:26] Interviewee: Because it’s good?
[22:26] Interviewer: What sets it apart from other books.
[22:26] Interviewee: It’s made up, but it’s really realistic.
[22:27] Interviewer: A lot of things are realistic though.
[22:27] Interviewer: Did it impact you or something?
[22:27] Interviewee: Not really.
[22:27] Interviewer: What is it about?
[22:28] Interviewee: A kid runs away from home and survives in the mountains by himself and he makes a home in a tree, makes good food, his own clothes, and etc.
[22:28] Interviewer: That doesn’t seem like a realistic story.
[22:28] Interviewee: It seems really real. You have to read it.
[22:28] Interviewer: Why does he run away from home?
[22:29] Interviewee: Because he wants to get away from the city.
[22:29] Interviewer: Why does he want to get away from the city?
[22:29] Interviewee: He wants to get away from everything and not be dependent on machines.
[22:31] Interviewer: Can you connect with this character?
[22:31] Interviewee: Not really.
[22:32] Interviewer: You never wanted to run away?
[22:32] Interviewee: I did, but not to the mountains.
[22:32] Interviewer: Haha. What does the character learn by being in the mountains?
[22:33] Interviewee: He doesn’t learn anything except how to properly survive in the mountains.
[22:33] Interviewer: Does he meet other humans?
[22:34] Interviewee: Yeah.
[22:34] Interviewer: Do they share the same vision as him?
[22:34] Interviewee: Nope, but they appreciate his work and some of them actually stay with him for a short while.
[22:34] Interviewer: He must be a very lonely person. Does the author describe his thoughts well?
[22:35] Interviewee: Yeah.
[22:35] Interviewer: Is this book in first-person or third-person narrative?
[22:35] Interviewee: First.
[22:35] Interviewer: That must make the book more thrilling.
[22:36] Interviewee: Yeah because she portrays the thoughts well.
Interview 2: With R.Y., a Stuyvesant senior of Chinese descent. He was in my homeroom.
(This interview was modified for grammactical errors and syntax)
[20:01] Interviewer: What’s the best book you ever read?
[20:02] Interviewee: Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
[20:03] Interviewer: What do think sets The Da Vinci Code apart from other books?
[20:03] Interviewee: The amount of suspense put into it with perfect timing.
[20:04] Interviewer: Cool, what is the book about?
[20:05] Interviewee: Basically a person is found dead at a museum and they find out why he was killed in such a horrible way. They find out he was part of a secret group of people and basically they try to stop the people who killed the person at the museum to kill the whole secret group of people.
[20:06] Interviewer: The plot seems very interesting, does the author describe the events of the book well?
[20:06] Interviewee: Yeah, there’s a lot of detail and it’s cleverly put together. The plot is really cleverly thought out.
[20:07] Interviewer: So what genre would this book fit into? Mystery?
[20:08] Interviewee: Suspense, mystery, thriller.
[20:09] Interviewer: Is it a scary book?
[20:09] Interviewee: It’s not scary but it’s more of a mystery.
[20:10] Interviewer: Would you recommend this book to high school students?
[20:11] Interviewee: It’s good for joy reading but not anything you can really analyze.
[20:11] Interviewer: Do you think you got smarter by reading this book?
[20:12] Interviewee: A little. Reading always makes you smarter right?
Interview 3: With P.H., a Stuyvesant senior of Korean descent who will be attending Emory University.
(This interview was modified for grammatical errors and syntax)
[21:16] Interviewer: What is the best book you’ve ever read?
[21:22] Interviewee: Can’t really say I have a best book.
[21:25] Interviewer: What book would you recommend to incomign stuy students?
[21:26] Interviewee: Not sure…
[21:44] Interviewer: Any book.
[21:49] Interviewee: One Heartbeat Away by Mark Cahill
[21:58] Interviewer: What is good about this book.
[22:08] Interviewee: It speaks the truth.
[22:12] Interviewer: So is this book descriptive or is it more academic?
[22:12] Interviewee: Descriptive.
[22:12] Interviewer: Is it a novel? What kind of book is it?
[22:13] Interviewee: More of a walkthrough of principles.
[22:14] Interviewer: What is this book about?
[22:16] Interviewee: The true purpose of life.
[22:17] Interviewer: What is the true purpose of life?
[22:17] Interviewee: Well you’ll have to read the book won’t you?
[22:18] Interviewer: Cool. Thanks.
Interview 4: With K.K., a Stuyvesant Freshman who is also taking Calculus BC.
(this interview was adapted from fragmented notes)
INTERVIEWER: What book would you recommend to incoming freshmen?
INTERVIEWEE: The Catcher in the Rye. (by J.D. Salinger)
INTERVIEWER: What is good about this book?
INTERVIEWEE: It is scandalous.
INTERVIEWER: What do you mean by “scandalous”?
INTERVIEWEE: It is inappropriate.
INTERVIEWER: What do you mean by “inappropriate”?
INTERVIEWEE: It is not fit for school.
INTERVIEWER: Why is it not fit for school?
INTERVIEWEE: It has curse words.
INTERVIEWER: What sets this book apart from other books?
INTERVIEWEE: It is interesting compared to most other books.
INTERVIEWER: What makes this book interesting?
INTERVIEWEE: The way he writes the book engages the reader. It’s conversational.
INTERVIEWER: What do you mean by “conversational”?
INTERVIEWEE: It’s not someone telling you a story. It seems like he’s talking to you. It’s not like a normal narrator.
INTERVIEWER: Is there anything interesting about the plot?
INTERVIEWEE: A lot of unexpected things happen.
Interview 5: With L., a Stuyvesant Senior of Chinese descent who is very smart. She takes Calculus BC and is also in the school chorus.
(This interview was adapted from fragmented, messy notes)
INTERVIEWER: What book would you recommend to incoming Stuyvesant students?
INTERVIEWEE: Romance of the Three Kingdoms. (by Luo Guanzhong)
INTERVIEWER: Why is it a good book?
INTERVIEWEE: It is Chinese, epic, and classic. It is one of the four classic novels of China. There is a video game based on this book as well. This book has complex characters and battle strategies. It is basically the Iliad of China.
INTERVIEWER: I feel like this book would not appeal to girls. What do you think?
INTERVIEWEE: This book is basically unisex. It is about manipulation and lying to people. Girls would like it. It’s more about battle strategies so it’s basically unisex. There is a tiny, minor romance in the book, but it’s mainly about battles.
INTERVIEWER: How is this book different from other war books?
INTERVIEWEE: The Iliad focused on two fronts and a few characters. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has over 2,000 characters and is not focused on one character. There is no central hero in the book. It is more about narration and how different characters interact.
INTERVIEWER: Why does this decentralized form of narration appeal to you?
INTERVIEWEE: It is different from the Western style. It is impartial.
INTERVIEWER: So is there no evil or good side in this book?
INTERVIEWEE: There is, but the boundaries are not clear.
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!