Do people really like literature in Columbia's Applications Dept.?

<p>Sooo I read a lot of books. And when I went to Columbia to visit, the admissions officre said something like, "WE LOVE PEOPLE WHO READ A LOT. Actually, on applications, we often ask students to write about books they have read recently."
This would help me out...because I read a TON of books from all different subjects. But this seems like a crock of s**t qualification for getting into Columbia.</p>

<p>Has anybody ever had to write about good books that they have read recently on their application?</p>

<p>although i could be remembering incorrectly, or columbia could've changed the app since i applied, i think you're just supposed to list some recent/favorite books, not write about them. with the books you list, you don't want to sound childish (don't list ALL your favorite books as goosebumps books; although listing 1 or 2 "kids" books shouldn't hurt you), but you also don't want to sound like a pseudo-intellectual or like you're bs-ing (don't list off the lit hum syllabus for first semester in order lol). good luck with your application.</p>

<p>Yeah...it's a list to get to know you better. Just put down your favorite/most recent books.</p>

<p>Tbone</p>

<p>Yeah, I remember that there was a place to list the books we read for school and for pleasure. It didn't seem to be an integral part of the app though.</p>

<p>Just don't list like the GossipGirls books or whatever.</p>

<p>Hmm books I have read in about the last 2 months or so...(for school or otherwise)</p>

<p>-Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Macbeth by...well, you know.
Tales of the Out and the Gone by Amiri Baraka (aka Leroi Jones)
Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy
Mission Flats by William Landay
& about five books on the political situation in Angola in the past 40 years (I'm writing a research paper on the treatment of minors by various paramilitary factions during the civil war of 1974-2002)</p>

<p>Is that a good list? Is it too school-oriented or too kid-oriented?</p>