Book recommendations

usafcellist2026

usafcellist2026

Montana State '26
Joined
Mar 6, 2021
Messages
618
Hi! I've seen in a few posts about interviews that one of the questions ask about your favorite book. I used to be a huge reader, only problem is I haven't found any books that have interested me. I'm big into fantasy, sci-fi, manga, and historical fiction, (I'm all over the place). Once I find a good book though, there's no stopping me from finishing it in a night. I'd appreciate any and all suggestions!
 
Go to Amazon.com and type in the title of books you’ve loved. Then scroll down and look at the books they recommend, based on similar attributes and/or because these books were ordered/liked by other readers who enjoyed the first book. Read the reviews and follow the links until something grabs your attention. Simple, don’t you think?
 
So, the interviewers really aren't trying to figure out what books you like...
What they really want to know is if you read and critically think about what you read. If nothing lately was terribly interesting to you, just talk about the last book or two you read and go into a little analysis of what was good/bad about the writing, plot, or scholarship.
 
Son got this question in a nomination interview. He had to be honest and say with his academic schedule he hadn't had time for pleasure reading, they then asked for one that he could recall enjoying, even if it weren't real. The Prince, by Machiavelli.
Agree, it's being asked to see if you read for things other than school, and if so, can you verbalize why you might have enjoyed it. Possibly gives a little insight into you beyond your resume. I like the question.
 
usafacellist2026 said:
Hi! I've seen in a few posts about interviews that one of the questions ask about your favorite book. I used to be a huge reader, only problem is I haven't found any books that have interested me. I'm big into fantasy, sci-fi, manga, and historical fiction, (I'm all over the place). Once I find a good book though, there's no stopping me from finishing it in a night. I'd appreciate any and all suggestions!
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Everything written by Bruce Catton, John Toland & Rick Atkinson. Historical books you JUST CAN'T PUT DOWN.
 
I too enjoy historical fiction. However, I highly recommend the following 2 books which are historical but not fiction (WW II era) "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" by Laura Hillerbrand and "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown.
 
The obit on Doc Beckner from the above book. Looks like a fascinating read derived from a first person source.

Tributes.com

Tributes.com is the online source for current local and national obituary news. We believe that Every Life has a Story which should be told and preserved.
www.tributes.com www.tributes.com
 
Devil Doc said:
The obit on Doc Beckner from the above book. Looks like a fascinating read derived from a first person source.

Tributes.com

Tributes.com is the online source for current local and national obituary news. We believe that Every Life has a Story which should be told and preserved.
www.tributes.com www.tributes.com
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Doc Beckner ended up part of MTB Squadron 3, which was the subject of the John Ford/John Wayne movie “They Were Expendible,” which, after reading the book, I learned was very historically accurate. Surprising for a Hollywood movie.

Another thing I learned from reading the book is that EVERYONE loves a hospital corpsman because they do nothing but help people. If I were a young man, that is the rating I would pursue.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
Doc Beckner ended up part of MTB Squadron 3, which was the subject of the John Ford/John Wayne movie “They Were Expendible,” which, after reading the book, I learned was very historically accurate. Surprising for a Hollywood movie.

Another thing I learned from reading the book is that EVERYONE loves a hospital corpsman because they do nothing but help people. If I were a young man, that is the rating I would pursue.
Click to expand...
I can’t imagine doing any other job in my 26 years.
 
Devil Doc said:
I can’t imagine doing any other job in my 26 years.
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And the thousands you helped, listened to, patched up, rallied, comforted, squared away, taught, supported or inspired are grateful you did.

The single most shockingly rewarding thing that occasionally happens to me on social media or sometimes on a military base, is where someone gets in touch with me or runs into me, and relates some incident where I had a positive impact on them. It always comes out of the blue, it is always such a jolt of appreciation to have had the opportunity to be in a position to do that, and it gives me an enormous personal lift and renews my gratitude I had the 26 years to serve in uniform that I did. The Navy gave me a hundredfold more than what I gave it. Even during the “embrace the suck” times.

Corpsmen are uniquely positioned to make an impact on every member of the crew, and are tremendously important to the chain of command.
 
If you like sci-fi Foundation trilogy has been mentioned. I would add “Dune”. Another sci-fi book that has been tough to put to the screen. Both “Dune” and “Foundation” are coming out on the small screen and I will be interested to see how they deal with the subjects.
“Starship Troopers” is a much better novel than movie. The director never read the book and called it “fascist” which to me says he either doesn’t understand what fascism is or didn’t understand the book. Heinlein (a USNA grad) was most certainly not a fascist.
“With the Old Bread” will dispel any myths you might have about the glory of war.
I recently read “SS Panzer SS Voice”. My father and uncle fought the Germans, as did my grandfathers in WWI, so I am most definitely not “pro German”, but I do think it is helpful to read about the other side. Parts of the descriptions about the fighting on the Eastern Front by some of these German vets, particularly the description of the Battle of Kursk sound like a description of hell on earth. I don’t think even the devil could write such scenes. Again, dispels any ideas about the glory of war.
“This Kind of War”, especially the first half where it talks about how inadequately prepared the US was for a land conflict. Too many other things were “important”. Giving soldiers tough training to prepare them for war was way down the list and it resulted in Task Force Smith. It’s a good reminder for officers that their most important function is to prepare their Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to face the horrors of combat.
More thoughts later after my flight.
 
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Here's a book for the hard chargers who aspire to be an officer, a pilot, a trained chaos producer, and a doctor. He wasn't a pilot but was a Marine officer and went to medical school after his time in the Marines. Switched uniforms and became a Navy doctor and was awarded the Bronze Star for life saving actions in Second Fallujah.

 
If you want to impress an interviewer with your taste in literature, you might want to dip into War and Peace, a classic of historical fiction by Leo Tolstoy.

Luckily for you, you can finish a book in one night, so the 1200 plus pages and 600 or so characters should present no problem. These days, I can get through about one paragraph of a book before dropping off. The translation I read many years ago was by Constance Garnett, but it's been supplanted by more recent translation by Briggs and by Pevear.

Which reminds me of an old standup bit by Woody Allen. Something like this:

"I just took a speedreading course, and did very well in it. The final exam was to read War and Peace in 30 minutes.....It was about Russia."
 
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