Reading List

Alanna

My stepdaughter has an interview for Cambridge(Spanish) and I think at interviews like that they sometimes ask the candidate what they are reading currently. Does any one have some ideas about what might be a suitable type of book for her to read in the next couple of weeks? I know that she likes Dan Brown but I'm worried that may be a bit low brow(no offence to anyone who is a fan as I have read and enjoyed most of his books)
Cheers

LoLth

paulo coelho, sort of mid brow stuff... and certainly more realistic than saying you are halfway through the holy scriptures, you're just stuck on the exact translation of begat from sanskrit to english... I mainly know portuguese authors but if I remember correctly Penguin do a decent collection of translated works. Eca deQeuroz is another good author. I usually find them by looking up authors by nationality and them searching for them on amazon. make sure she actually reads the books though, nothing worse than being asked a question on a topic that *should* be obvious.

simu

Tell her to read some Jorge Luis Borges. He has written some mighty cool short stories!

I'd avoid mentioning "The da Vinci Code" unless she has very original thoughts on it - it's the type of thing most academics would enjoy scoffing at.

Tiriel

well how about Mary Shelley Frankenstein or Godwin's Caleb Williams.. they're good..

suppose it all depends on the genre of literature she likes.. I mean does she like American literature? maybe try reading William Faulkner's Light in August. It's an enjoyable novel and has lots of interesting topics embedded within it, that would be obvious to the reader and easy to discuss in an interview situation.

Definitely avoid Dan Brown material, I think it's just too popular with the general public at the moment.

impr0v

not relevant to the posters question and really just inciting a flame war.

Helpful suggestions please.

LoLth

sci0x

Hey Alanna, my friend Ruth is doing for an interview for Cambridge in 2 weeks time to do archeaology. Any other ideas of what they might ask her? She hasn't a clue what she is going to be asked.

Alanna

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I've checked with her and thankfully she is reading Lorca and Garcia Marquez and a few others so I think she will be ok. Sorry sci0x I have no idea what they will be asking her but I presume it will be different for different subjects

Cactus Col

Will Self