See, Meatwad is actually making a good argument for why to read these books NOW....because later, you'll run away screaming when people suggest these books to you
I'm a bookworm, I've read a pile of "premed" books, and the only ones I liked:
War Hospital -this book rocked, on MSF in the former Yugoslavia during the war. The opposite of cute.
First Cut -about anatomy lab, it was cute in a, oh look how the little student doctors go through a spiritual journey by slicing and dicing, sort of way.
The Worst of (all?) Evils -a history of pain -This is a true academic book, not a page turner, but it was really cool to read about MDs inhaling random compounds trying to find one that would make them pass out and not kill them.
I read the pile of intern/med student/surgeon books, they were ok. I would like to point out that there is a distinct difference between the pre-80 hr and post-80 hr descriptions of "quality of life", so while we can talk about rule violations, there is some evidence of improvement in the hell that is intern year. Pay attn to the dates if you care.
Also read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, thought it was cute, if you're into multiethnic pts and/or peds. Learned what the word Hmong meant. I live in a diverse neighborhood, and can totally see some of my neighbors sacrificing livestock in order to convince the gods to keep their child alive (not right in my yard, but somewhere nearby....).
Oh, and just to offer a total fluff book, there's this series by Gabaldon ("A Breath of Snow and Ashes" is the one I read) about a British female surgeon who time travelled and eventually ended up in pre-Revolutionary America. It's just a hair short of being one of those novels with a lady with a corset on the front, but she does brew her own penicillin and try to convince the locals to eat greens and take care of their teeth. This is the sort of thing we probably ought to be reading, totally useless junk, rather than anything resembling real life.
Oh, and for meatwad and other non premed reading sorts, I have read a big fat pile of nonmedical novels, I especially recommend Cryptonomicon -really good reel you in sort of book, but lasted me longer than day or so I usually get out of a Michael Creichton type thing.
