Stuy Book Interviews
Questions:
1) How did you feel after reading this book?
2) What have you learned from reading this book?
3) Describe the book in 3 words?
4) If you wrote a book, how similar would yours be to this book?
5) Rate the book on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the highest:
Plot, Setting, Themes, Character Development.
6) How has the book impacted you?
7) Which character would you identify with?
Masudur Rahman: The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
1) I felt the need to be able to pass the razor’s edge myself, meaning I too wanted to become successful.
2) Doing what is necessary isn’t always the best choice, instead following one’s passion is what will lead to happiness.
3) Intriguing, Captivating, Lengthy.
4) Not very. I would write a book about teenage years like Faulkner.
5) 5, 5, 4, 4.
6) I am a better person now or more aware of my dreams at least.
7) I think Larry represents my personality well and he seems to follow his aspirations instead of doing what is necessarily the norm and I believe I would do the same.
Thomas Tan: All The Flowers Are Dying by Lawrence Block
1) I felt accomplished and content with the world around me.
2) You don’t always die after getting shot.
3) Crime, Mystery, Suspenseful.
4) Not very similar. It’s too hard to write such an in-depth book.
5) 5, 4, 4, 4.
6) It was interesting. I like suspenseful books.
7) I would identify with Matthew Scudder.
Eli Bierman: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
1) I felt like part of something much bigger than myself that I could never fully understand.
2) Nothing substantial.
3) Land will remain.
4) It would probably have the same emotions behind it, but would not be written nearly as well, since I am not a good writer.
5) 5, 5, 5, 5.
6) It has made me feel better about everything.
7) The Native American girl who Shadow picked up as a hitchhiker.
Carl Zhang: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
1) I was eager to read the next in the series.
2) I learned about different Greek myths and characters.
3) Mystical, Suspenseful, Powerful.
4) Not very similar.
5) 4, 5, 4, 4.
6) It has gotten me into Greek mythology again.
7) Groves the sidekick.
Andrew Sang: Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee
1) I felt that the world is just and that karma is real.
2) I learned that bottling up feelings and maintaining false emotions creates a lack of self awareness.
3) Concealed, Corruption, Realization.
4) If I wrote a book, it would have a lot less turmoil and probably be a lot less interesting to read.
5) 5, 4, 4, 5.
6) I felt like I know myself at a deeper level and that I can be more honest with the world.
7) I would identify with Henry because there was a time in my life when I didn’t know who I was and felt that the world had stopped spinning.
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!