Back to Behavioral questions
Tell me about the last book you read.
Answer
Pick a book you've actually read recently and can speak to substantively. Strong picks: (1) Finance/business — 'Barbarians at the Gate' (RJR Nabisco LBO), 'When Genius Failed' (LTCM), 'The Snowball' (Buffett), 'The Outsiders' (Thorndike), 'King of Capital' (Blackstone); (2) Non-finance with takeaways — biographies of leaders, books on decision-making, history. Be ready to summarize the central thesis, name one specific takeaway, and connect it to something current.
Why interviewers ask this
Tests intellectual curiosity. Avoid: (a) very recent bestsellers everyone's read, (b) anything you can't speak to in depth, (c) controversial political or social books that could open a tangent.
bookintellectual curiosity