<p>Hey guys, so in the “books you’ve read for pleasure” section, I’m not 100% sure how honest I should be and was hoping someone could help me out. Two of my favorite books I read in the past year were “Choke” and “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk; these books are both lurid and vulgar, with Choke containing obscene sexual content as it revolves around a sex addict. This said, I love these books as they both contain keen psychological insight and satire and have distinct voices and styles. I also LOVE the book “Beat the Reaper” by Josh Bazell, which is similarly crude but has a very compelling plot and style. I don’t really get a chance to explain WHY I like these books, so is it a good or a bad idea to include them?</p>
<p>Bumppppppppp</p>
<p>If you have a hard time trying to gain reasons why you like those particular books, you should consider writing about other books. Admission officers may or may not know about those books, but it’s okay to write about those books if you can elaborate why you like them. You’ll have to explain about the keen psychological insights in depth so that you can convey what aspect of those books intrigued you despite such luridness and vulgarness.</p>
<p>Doesn’t it say to “list” your favorites? So should we be providing reasons as well? I’m kinda confused as to what I should write…</p>
<p>It just asks to list the books/authors. I think what Joseph95 is going for is that since he doesn’t really have a chance to truly explain why he likes those, he is questioning whether or not to even put those books in that area.
Now, one of the essays deals with what you found meaningful in one of those books or cultural events. Therefore, you can go in-depth in there if you handle it right. Therefore, I say list them and choose one of those mentioned books specifically and write on that! But, I’m not sure how others would feel about it. Anyone else have an idea?</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of Palahnuik, but he’s a well-known and (fairly) well-respected author. If that’s legitimately where your literary tastes lie and that’s what you want to communicate to Columbia, then list them. This is college; sex and violence, in a literary context, are acceptable. I’m sure tons of applicants listed Toni Morrison’s “Beloved.”</p>