The "What is your favorite book?" Interview question?

[osumc2014]

What if I don't really like to read books as a hobby? 😳

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[mechtel]

I think it is a question just to see if you are a well rounded person. But, you could also use question as opportunity to demonstrate something unique about you or to bring up an aspect of yourself not previously addressed.

If you haven't read a book in years, just find a short book about something that interests you. Be relatively familiar with the book, but it is very unlikley you will be asked about a specific passage. Just have something to say about it and why it interests you...

 

[akinetopsia]

As long as you don't say "Goodnight Moon" I think you are safe. Actually you could probably say that if you say it's because your kid(s) or nieces/nephews like it.

 

[TopSecret]

Everybody has a favorite book. It could be an MCAT study guide or a coloring book.

 

[osumc2014]

As long as you don't say "Goodnight Moon" I think you are safe. Actually you could probably say that if you say it's because your kid(s) or nieces/nephews like it.

Darn it, I love that book!

 

[Compass]

http://compassmd.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-do-you-like-to-read.html

 

[mechtel]

Everybody has a favorite book. It could be an MCAT study guide or a coloring book.

Maybe I'm too strategic, but if I'm only asked 10 questions during an interview, I only have 10 opportunities to demonstrate my character and personality to the person who will present my application to the rest of the admissions committee. I don't think it's wise to use one of the 10 chances to mention that I was interested in preparing for the MCAT (should be obvious from my scores).

 

[Compass]

Maybe I'm too strategic, but if I'm only asked 10 questions during an interview, I only have 10 opportunities to demonstrate my character and personality to the person who will present my application to the rest of the admissions committee. I don't think it's wise to use one of the 10 chances to mention that I was interested in preparing for the MCAT (should be obvious from my scores).

Don't mind TopSecret, he's being sarcastic.

 

[armybound]

I was never asked this question, but if I were to be asked it in the future, I would be honest. If you don't read books, say so. There is no right answer.

 

[TopSecret]

I was never asked this question, but if I were to be asked it in the future, I would be honest. If you don't read books, say so. There is no right answer.

Nobody ever asks this question. It's kind of pointless.

I would rather ask hypothetical questions like these:

If you won a billion dollars, what would you do?
(If the interviewee says,"I would quit my job and buy an island and many mansions," I would reject the candidate because of lack of proper motivation.)

Who would you help first if there are two patients who need emergency treatment and one of them is your child and only one could live?

If you saw a colleague commit malpractice on one of your patients, what would you do?

 

[Mystikal]

I dare ask if "Harry Potter" is a legitimate answer? lol

 

[armybound]

I dare ask if "Harry Potter" is a legitimate answer? lol

You're unpredictable.

Of course it's acceptable.

 

[MedYEP]

I dare ask if "Harry Potter" is a legitimate answer? lol

I have said during an interview that the Harry Potter and Twilight series are my favorite books. 😀

 

[FloatOn]

What if I don't really like to read books as a hobby? 😳

There must be at least one book, sometime during the course of your life, that you were interested in. Even my sister, who uses SparkNotes like no other, read a book in school she actually enjoyed.

 

[LiveUninhibited]

Hm, well some books have political themes. What about Ayn Rand or Brave New World (Huxley)?

 

[TopSecret]

Hm, well some books have political themes. I would assume that Ayn Rand would be unacceptable, but Brave New World would?

Atlas Shrugged is a favorite for both liberals and conservatives.

 

[BleachBleach]

My suggestion: a book that is known, but was never in the NY Bestsellers list, and not medicine-related. The topic should be something YOU KNOW ABOUT because they WILL ask you to elaborate. And, for bonus points, choose a book that reflects your personality or some part of your life, since they will give you a chance to segway into an interesting part of yourself that may not have be covered in the interview up till that point.

 

[captainnerd]

Gray's Anatomy, First Edition?

 

[muhali3]

I have said during an interview that the Harry Potter and Twilight series are my favorite books. 😀

Twilight!? Grosssss...

jk, I have actually read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. They weren't too bad, I don't know if that makes me weird considering that I'm male, but w/e.

 

[TopSecret]

Twilight!? Grosssss...

jk, I have actually read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. They weren't too bad, I don't know if that makes me weird considering that I'm male, but w/e.

I thought only tween girls like those books.

 

[muhali3]

I thought only tween girls like those books.

Well, a girl, who is also my friend, was reading it, and all of her other friends were obsessed about it. So I was like...wtf is so cool about this book, it seems pretty gay. So I read it...and it wasn't completely bad but there is a lot of cheesy romance, if you can ignore that it's ok.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

Well, it doesn't have to non-academic. It can be anything. If your favorite book was about the neuroscience of sleep, than just say that. However, if you said your favorite book was an MCAT book, you'd might as well put a little bit of brown stuff on your nose before you walked into the interview room.

As far as what I would say, anything by Issac Asimov and Aldous Huxley. 😀

 

[Andy71600]

The Stand by Stephen King. I love this book

 

[Jolie South]

I thought only tween girls like those books.

you're wrong. I've read all of them.

 

[aggie08]

Nobody ever asks this question. It's kind of pointless.

Actually, I got asked this question. Twice, if I remember correctly - once at the school I'm currently attending.

 

[w8ting2exhale]

Harry Potter ftw!!

 

[buffywannabe]

What if I don't really like to read books as a hobby? 😳

I got asked this question at Ohio State (i think you are interviewing there). Actually they asked me what was the most recent book I had read. I drew a blank and said the di vinci code, i had read it within the last six months. the interviewer said, "well that isn't a very recent title". 🙁 ouch... Because everyone reads books as soon as they come out, especially when they are taking classes...

 

[amikhchi]

I'd have to go with Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, or Daniel Quinn's Ishmael... but i read those a while ago so i'd probably have to re-read them just in case this question comes up...

 

[Bacchus]

If you want a quick read, as in a half hour or so... go pick up A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anne Quindlen. I got it as a graduation gift and it definitely puts things into perspective. A lot to talk about.

 

[mvenus929]

Say Princess Bride, just because you can weave it into so many situations.

Like today, a coworker was explaining how one of the patients on the unit was 'basically dead' (she meant brain dead). Another coworker said something about the patient being 'mostly dead' and shoving a chocolate pill down his throat. Took the first coworker about a minute to realize what he said. Morbid? Yes. But still funny.

 

[swamprat]

i hate the fact that you hafta force yourself to be "well-rounded" by reading when you dont want to read or doing something you dont want to do. School and work is a lot as it is, but I am pretty sure playing video games and hanging out with your friends wont work toward your advantage. I was asked a "well-rounded" type question at one of my interviews and I completely blew it, i had nothing to say. Whether that affected the outcome of the overall interview is unknown, guess i'll find out in a month.

 

[Aromatic Amine]

i never promised you a rose garden.

it was a different type of book that i'd never thought i would read. had to read it for one of my psych classes. great book.

 

[insane]

I enjoyed Flyboys by james bradley and also Its not about the bike my journey back to life by lance armstrong.

 

[vickpick]

Ex-Kop, by Warron Hammond (sequel of Kop)

 

[osumc2014]

What about something like gifted hands by ben carson? Is that too "medically related"

 

[GH253]

Just say "The Audacity of Hope" and they're sure to let you in. Don't actually read the book if you value your mind, though.

 

[rockaction]

Catcher in the Rye, hands down.

 

[njbmd]

What if I don't really like to read books as a hobby? 😳

The question is not what books do you read as a hobby but what is your favorite book? If you have read more than one book in your life, pick your favorite. If not, then your answer is simple, the one book that you have read. Really, answer the question that is asked honestly and be ready to explain why said book is your favorite.

If you are asked about your hobbies, then answer about those but otherwise listen to the question and answer it. Duh!!! 😕

 

[edmadison]

Just play the game. Before my interviews way back when, I anticipated this question and picked a short legitimate work of contemporary literature: "Farenheit 451". Didn't get asked the question, but at least I was prepared.

Ed

 

[Pedie Packs]

A Fine Balance... heart-wrenchingly good

 

[JediZero]

Please tell me that you at least remotely enjoyed one of the books that the educational system forced you to read over the course of 12 years... I don't read much anymore, but darnit, I enjoyed a lot of those.

But if they ask me that question, I've got to go with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Lewis is amazing.

 

[LiveUninhibited]

i hate the fact that you hafta force yourself to be "well-rounded" by reading when you dont want to read or doing something you dont want to do. School and work is a lot as it is, but I am pretty sure playing video games and hanging out with your friends wont work toward your advantage. I was asked a "well-rounded" type question at one of my interviews and I completely blew it, i had nothing to say. Whether that affected the outcome of the overall interview is unknown, guess i'll find out in a month.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/feb/20/health.science

And why would you need to be a well-rounded reader to be a good surgeon? Video games > non-medical books for surgery, right? 🙂

Reading fiction in particular feels like a waste of time.