<p>I'm sure that many of you have seen Harvard's supplement prompt, "List all of the books you read in the last 12 months." I'm trying to get a ballpark about how many books you might be including and how you all are showing a common thread between the books you read -- because, personally, my book choices are all over the place.</p>
<p>I’m going to answer your question by saying that if you’re picking and choosing which books to list, you’re thinking about the question in the wrong way. Be honest, and it’s 110% okay to have eclectic taste - this is what makes people interesting.</p>
<p>Similar in a way to your topic, I wrote an essay about books that mentioned some recent readings, which included YA fiction, 19th century Russian classics, and shōnen manga (Japanese graphic novels/comic books aimed toward a teenage male audience) and French existential philosophy, lol. I connected them by saying that they all transported me to different worlds. It can be as simple as that.</p>
<p>Thank you! People on here can be so intimidating; it’s refreshing to receive such a poignant and honest answer.</p>
<p>I’m glad I could help; best of luck!</p>
<p>I was recommended NOT to do this. </p>
<p>You’re better off writing about a book or two and how they affected you. It shows your personality and literary capacity (I’m assuming this is what Harvard is looking for from this response – read Helen Vendler’s essay about looking for the next Whitman or Plath at Harvard; how else do you find literary people?)</p>
<p>I haven’t asked most of my friends, but those I’m close to all wrote an essay for Harvard’s supplement. Please use the opportunity! If you’re Harvard material, there has to be something to write about. </p>
<p>Why do you think Admissions asks for a list of books? Because they strongly believe “Leaders Read!” Reading is vitally important to success and kids don’t do enough of it – which seems to be the message driven home to students on a weekly basis, as Harvard’s reading assignments are often detailed and lengthy. (One final exam my daughter had in an English lit class consisted of 25 obscure quotes, one from each of the books on the syllabus; students were to match the quote to the book. Good luck there if you hadn’t read the class assignments with a fine eye for detail.)</p>
<p>Many students are admitted to Harvard who have submitted a list of books --some lists even contain a sentence or two about what they liked most about the book. </p>
<p>You can actually tell an awful lot about a person from what they’ve recently read. For example, look at the books William Fitzsimmons is recommending at Harvard’s Summer Institute on College Admissions: <a href=“http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~sica/reading.htm”>http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~sica/reading.htm</a> What does his list say about him? </p>
<p>I listed 13 books for my supplement (I applied and was accepted early for class of 2018). The list consisted of a mix of novels, public policy, history, and poetry.</p>
<p>Thank you to all who replied to this. Your insight was really helpful, and I definitely have a better perspective on this now.</p>
<p>hi…i’m thinking of choosing this question because I believe nothing other than books can reveal my personality…but should i just list out the books? Like that’s all? or should I write about how I connect to them, etc,…please reply soon…I’m super late 
:)</p>
<p>I have the same question as above: Can we literally just include a list of all the books we’ve read this year or do they expect us to write about each of the books? (Writing about each of the books would make a realllllly long essay.) Thanks for any advice in advance!</p>
<p>I think doing a list is basic</p>
<p>Basic like fundamental or basic like unsophisticated?</p>
<p>Unless it really shows insights into your personality I personally think a book list is a cop out. But that’s just me.</p>
<p>^^ As I suggested in post #5, go to the list of books that William Fitzsimmons is recommending at Harvard’s Summer Institute. His list – which is just a basic list of books, most of which have to do with College Admissions, but a few are classics – show insights into his personality. Although you may think a book list is a cop out, Harvard Admissions does not.</p>