<p>Although the application asks for a list of three books (with their authors), it allows 750 characters to answer. </p>
<p>Should I elaborate on why I chose these books, or just list the three (which takes up about 200 characters)?</p>
<p>I listed 3 books, and then wrote 1-2-3 sentences for each in "Additional Info" section</p>
<p>Keep in mind, however, that I was deferred
Best of luck!</p>
<p>I didnt write anything about them and I got in. But i guess a sentence or two for each wouldnt hurt</p>
<p>Also, the more obscure the books you choose are, the better it would be for you to explain them.</p>
<p>I wrote a short sentence for each and still stayed under the limit. Don't worry about it; this question is not a big part of your application...</p>
<p>Yes, as Alleya said, you don't have to write a paragraph about "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", but if you put something like "Dva Kapitana" (Two Captains) by V. Kaverin....you know, just in case</p>
<p>Would you guys say the following books would need description?:</p>
<p>On bull s h i t (Harry Frankfurt) (sorry about the formatting, but it IS the legitimate title of the book, and the censor is blocking it out)
Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson)
Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)</p>
<p>yeah, cuz none of them are classics, and they all sound like bull s h i t...just kidding...</p>
<p>but yeah, since they're not well known books you should send a description.</p>
<p>Should I put why if I put children's classics down? IE. A Little Princess...obviously not your typical run of "intellectual classics"
or if I put business classics down?</p>
<p>Ha! the last two seem like very well known books to me. Kite Runner was a best seller and is soon to be a movie.</p>
<p>I don't know what the exact question you guys are referring to, but I'm gonna throw my two cents in here and say that if on the off chance your "well-known" books are not known by the reader, it might be useful for them to read your reasons for picking the books. Remember, one of the readers is a Caltech student whose favorite book could very well be Apostol.</p>
<p>I put down The Phantom Tollbooth as one of my books and got in so there's nothing wrong with a children's classic.</p>
<p>So does that mean I can just put three books with their authors and nothing else in the box?</p>
<p>Again, you CAN put ANYTHING in your box. The question is, SHOULD you do that?
If you think that listing three books along with their authors is the best you can do OR that it will give Adcoms a better sense of who you are, go ahead. If there is something you feel is more important, put that in your box. In other words, use your best judgement. Yeah =)</p>
<p>I don't think he meant THE Box, but rather the box on the application form for putting books in.</p>
<p>Sorry, but yes I was talking about the book list</p>
<p>Um, if you think your books are sort of well known, all you need is the title and author then. That's all I did, since I listed Call of the Wild, Foundation series, and Brave New World, which are usually considered classics in their genre.</p>
<p>If you chose a relatively new book, especially if it's a popular fiction novel, I would suggest writing why exactly you like it. For example, if you chose Da Vinci Code I would write a few lines saying "oh I liked it because of its ability to see new things in well-known places that other people might not have" etc...</p>
<p>
[quote]
On bull s h i t (Harry Frankfurt) (sorry about the formatting, but it IS the legitimate title of the book, and the censor is blocking it out)
[/quote]
That is a nice essay :) I remember it quite well. I don't think it's very well-known though - I would write a short note about it.</p>