Interviews
Interview with David Weintraub, a senior:
Q: What is your favorite book?
David: My favorite book would have to be Firebringer, by David Clement-Davies.
Q: Which character in this story do you most closely relate to?
David: I’d say I relate to Rannoch, the main character, the most.
Q: What is your favorite aspect of this book? What about the book do you find appealing?
David: I like the fact that the tone of the book is very serious in nature, even though you wouldn’t be able to guess it by just reading a summary of the plot.
Q: Could you please elaborate on what you mean by that?
David: Well, the whole fact that the main characters of the story are actually deer might make it seem as if the story is, I don’t know, a children’s book? But it is definitely not, which becomes apparent as you read it.
Q: For what type of person would you recommend this book?
David: Well, I am a self-proclaimed “nerd,” so I suppose that anybody who is interested in magic, and things like that, would probably like this book a lot.
Q: Are there any similar, more commonly known books that you could compare this book to?
David: Well, there is a sequel to this book which is pretty similar. But as far as classics are concerned, Firebringer is a lot like a combination between Lord of the Rings and Lord of the Flies.
________________________________________
Interview with Junichi Koganemaru, a freshman:
Q: What is the most enjoyable book you have ever read?
Junichi: I’d have to say Harry Potter, I guess.
Q: What is the plot of the book, if you had to briefly sum it up in a sentence or two?
Junichi: I think almost everybody knows what the plot of Harry Potter is! It’s about a boy who discovers he is a wizard and then gets taken away to a magical wizard’s school called Hogwarts and, well, you know the rest.
Q: Okay, fair enough. Which character or characters do you most closely identify with?
Junichi: I relate most closely with Harry, I guess.
Q: And why would that be?
Junichi: Well, he is just this normal kid like you or me, and then one day he discovers that he has these crazy magical powers! It’d be pretty cool if that happened in real life, you know?
Q: When or how did you get introduced to this book?
Junichi: Oh, I have no idea. I heard about it a long, long time ago. The book is so famous that it’s hard to tell where you heard it from first. Probably from everywhere at once, I’d say.
Q: For what type of person would you recommend this book?
Junichi: I’d recommend this book for anyone really, but especially younger children.
________________________________________
Interview with Lena (I didn’t have a chance to ask her for her last name)
Q: What is your favorite book?
Lena: My favorite book is called An Unaccustomed Earth. It is written by Jhumpa Lahiri.
Q: Are there any important, underlying messages that really stood out to you?
Lena: I feel I can personally relate to the relationship that the immigrants in the story had with their second generation descendants.
Q: What is the setting in which the book takes place?
Lena: The setting of the story is the Northeast United States, in the 1980’s.
Q: Is there any specific group of people for whom you would recommend this book?
Lena: I would recommend this book to anybody who has parents who immigrated to this country.
Q: What were the main features of this book that you liked the most?
Lena: I really found this book to be moving and personal. Lahiri has really intricate writing and well-developed characters, and the story can be humorous at times.
________________________________________
Interview with Danny Alzugaray:
Q: What is the most interesting book you have ever read?
Danny: My favorite book is called “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman,” by Richard Feynman.
Q: When or how did you get introduced to this book?
Danny: I really don’t remember, but I think it was probably word of mouth.
Q: Could you briefly describe the premise of the story?
Danny: Well, basically, this book is an autobiography about Richard Feynman. It contains a collection of amusing stories about different parts of his life. These stories basically tell about the highlights of his life, like when he was working on making the atomic bomb or when he talked with Einstein.
Q: Which of these stories is the most interesting to you, and why?
Danny: There is one story in the book, which takes place at the time when Mr. Feynman was working on the Manhattan project. The area around the facility he and other scientists were working at had very high security, with security guards constantly monitoring the gates. In this story, Feynman describes how one day, he and a few other scientists decided to play a prank on the security guards, so they dug a hole under the fence surrounding the testing facility, and walked through. One of the scientists would walk through the gate, around to the hole, crawl through the hole, and come back around to the gate so that from the perspective of the security guard, it looked as if the scientist was exiting the facility without reentering every 5 minutes or so.
Q: What type of person would you recommend this book to?
Danny: I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a light yet engaging read.
Q: Was there are message in this book that particularly stood out to you?
Danny: To me, the main message of the book was that you should do what you want to with your life, and have fun. In other words, you can have fun and be productive at the same time.
Q: Do you have any criticisms of this book?
Danny: No, not at all.
________________________________________
Interview with Ruchi Jain:
Q: What is your favorite book?
Ruchi: My favorite book is The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde.
Q: Could you give a brief summary of the plot of the story?
Ruchi: Basically, the story begins with Dorian, who is a young, attractive, and wealthy young man. Basil, another character in the story, paints a portrait of Dorian, who he admires for his good looks. The story then follows Dorian as he is negatively influenced by Lord Henry. I won’t give away everything, but as Dorian begins to commit sins, the portrait of him begins to likewise worsen in its condition.
Q: Do you usually read books like this? If not, what compelled you to choose this book?
Ruchi: Normally I would be more inclined to read books like Harry Potter, but I was made to read this book for an English class at Stuyvesant.
Q: Was there a message in this book which particularly stood out to you?
Ruchi: I think the most important lesson I learned from this book is that it is important to go out and learn more about the world, and to become more knowledgeable about things around you.
Q: Who is the most likeable character in the story, and why?
Ruchi: I suppose that Lord Henry is the most likeable character, simply because he influences Dorian to learn more about the world, and is both charming and persuasive.
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!