Thought I'd Share Some Great Books I've Read

[medickdb]

I thought I'd share the names of some interesting, medically related books I've read over the past few years.

* Things I Overhead While Talking to Myself - Alan Alda

He has another great book, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, but it doesn't speak to medicine. Alan Alda played Hawkeye Pierce in the well-known TV series M*A*S*H.​

* The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

A poor African American woman from Virginia, Ms. Lacks had unique cancer cells that were taken without her permission and have been utilized in a vast array of medical breakthroughs since their discovery.​

* The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer - Siddhartha Mukherjee
* The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures - Anne Fadiman

Cultural differences collide over the treatment of a Hmong (region of Vietnam) child.​

* The Professional Guinea Pig: Big Pharma and the Risky World of Human Subjects - Roberto Abadie

Set mainly in Philadelphia, this book follows anarchists as they sell their bodies and their time in order to test the drugs millions may eventually swallow.​

* Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach
* The DOs: Osteopathic Medicine in America - Norman Gevitz

A book about osteopathic medicine: its inception, growth, and future. This is a good read before applying to osteopathic medical schools.​

* Checklist Manifesto - Atul Gwande
Better - Atul Gwande
Complications - Atul Gwande
The Anatomist - Bill Hayes
Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine, Murder, & the Scientific Revolution - Holly Tucker
Paramedic to the Prince - Patrick Notestine

A paramedic's tale in Saudi Arabia.​

Medicine and Culture - Lynn Payer

This book compares American medicine to the rest of "Westernized Medicine." The findings really surprised me.​

Quiet - Susan Cain

A great book about introversion.​

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness - Joshua Shenk
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* I found these books to be the most enjoyable of my list.

Feel free to contribute your own favorites. I will try to add more as I remember them.

Happy reading!

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[JPickos9989]

Subliminal by Leonard Mlodinow

The Tell Tale Brain by V.S. Ramachandran

Both are neuroscience books and very interesting. Tell Tale Brain is a little more complex with brain anatomy references but overall a great read.

Also, anything by Malcolm Gladwell is an excellent choice.

 

[SurgeDO]

without House of God, your list is invalid.

seriously, it should be required summer reading before medical school begins.

 

[A Nonie Meus]

Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis.

 

[Mehd School]

This is awesome.

Over Xmas break I read stiff and "hot lights, cold steel". I was completely shocked to find "stiff" to be an utter let down. Some chapters were awesome, but many more had me counting down the pages.

Hot lights, cold steel however was fantastic. I think I finished it in 18 hours. Incredibly funny, interesting, and wonderfully written.

Looking into the biography of cancer now.

 

[medickdb]

without House of God, your list is invalid.

seriously, it should be required summer reading before medical school begins.

One book does not negate an entire list, sorry. Thanks for your addition to the list.

 

[medickdb]

This is awesome.

Over Xmas break I read stiff and "hot lights, cold steel". I was completely shocked to find "stiff" to be an utter let down. Some chapters were awesome, but many more had me counting down the pages.

Hot lights, cold steel however was fantastic. I think I finished it in 18 hours. Incredibly funny, interesting, and wonderfully written.

Looking into the biography of cancer now.

True, some chapters in Stiff were a bit well... stiff. Overall, I enjoyed the book though.

 

[Mehd School]

without House of God, your list is invalid.

seriously, it should be required summer reading before medical school begins.

While I read it and enjoyed it quite a bit, I think it's more of a prerequisite to starting clerkships rather than starting med school.

 

[Mehd School]

True some chapters in Stiff were a bit well... stiff. Overall, I enjoyed the book though.

I was just so let down by the variance from chapter to chapter. One topic I couldn't put the book down....the next I was so bored I couldn't stand it. It's been recommended to me for years. I thankfully got my money back. Woof.

 

[wjs010]

I'm loving medically related books lately. . I'm currently reading " this won't hurt a bit " and it's great.

Loved loved loved hot lights cold steel and blue collar, blue scrubs. I honestly wish Michael collins would write another one.

In stitches was really good and funny too.

Complications bored me to tears

 

[SurgeDO]

I'm loving medically related books lately. . I'm currently reading " this won't hurt a bit " and it's great.

Loved loved loved hot lights cold steel and blue collar, blue scrubs. I honestly wish Michael collins would write another one.

In stitches was really good and funny too.

Complications bored me to tears

agreed. i was never a fan of any of his books.

 

[wjs010]

agreed. i was never a fan of any of his books.

I was told "better" is great but that was my brother who is a GS so he may be biased lol.

I will probably read cutter for stone( think that's what it's called) and I hope it's not boring.

Will keep searching for the good ones. I really like memoirs. That book from the Mexican-born neurosurg has good ratings so I may have to check out about Dr. Quinones. His story is pretty badass

I would read gifted hands by Dr. ben carson but I already watched the movie his other books are good though.

 

[SurgeDO]

I was told "better" is great but that was my brother who is a GS so he may be biased lol.

I will probably read cutter for stone( think that's what it's called) and I hope it's not boring.

Will keep searching for the good ones. I really like memoirs. That book from the Mexican-born neurosurg has good ratings so I may have to check out about Dr. Quinones. His story is pretty badass

I would read gifted hands by Dr. ben carson but I already watched the movie his other books are good though.

did you watch the Hopkins Med series? Dr. Quinones made some appearances. truly an inspirational physician who puts a lot of the bull **** involved in medicine to the side.

 

[wjs010]

did you watch the Hopkins Med series? Dr. Quinones made some appearances. truly an inspirational physician who puts a lot of the bull **** involved in medicine to the side.

Oh yea I did. I really like that show. And boston med. Too bad they don't make it anymore.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I, too, thought that Complications wasn't as good as I anticipated. I'm reading The Checklist Manifesto and, despite having some interesting parts, the book bored me to death talking about irrelevant things (constructions and building malls, wtf?).

I truly enjoyed Final Exam by Pauline Chen. Hot Lights Cold Steel is my next book to read.

 

[wjs010]

I, too, thought that Complications wasn't as good as I anticipated. I'm reading The Checklist Manifesto and, despite having some interesting parts, the book bored me to death talking about irrelevant things (constructions and building malls, wtf?).

I truly enjoyed Final Exam by Pauline Chen. Hot Lights Cold Steel is my next book to read.

You are gonna love it bro. I saw you have ortho interests, so this is the book for you

 

[HopefulReapp]

without House of God, your list is invalid.

seriously, it should be required summer reading before medical school begins.

I found myself more depressed with that book than anything else. I see many similarities in patients (moaners, pain seekers, lol in nad), but I feel that there have been many changes in medicine and residency since that time. I know many residents on a personal level and their intern year was absolutely nothing like the book describes.

I also hate the ending to the novel, it was not satisfying. Basically Shem says that he found a specialty and all of a sudden everything was perfect. I call it a cop out.

 

[XFireMedic]

You are gonna love it bro. I saw you have ortho interests, so this is the book for you

Before you read Hot Lights, Cold Steel, read Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, which is actually a prequel. It's not necessary to read them in order, but they are such good books that you may as well get as much out of them as you can.

 

[wjs010]

Before you read Hot Lights, Cold Steel, read Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, which is actually a prequel. It's not necessary to read them in order, but they are such good books that you may as well get as much out of them as you can.

i thought he wrote hot lights, cold steel first. I read them in the order in which i heard of them haha...i think either way youread them, it turns out awesome..

I want to read a book like house of god, but more applicable to modern times...since there are work restrictions now.

 

[XFireMedic]

i thought he wrote hot lights, cold steel first. I read them in the order in which i heard of them haha...i think either way youread them, it turns out awesome..

I want to read a book like house of god, but more applicable to modern times...since there are work restrictions now.

You're correct, he did write that one first, then he went back to write the prequel. I was really inspired by blue collar because I was also a career changer.so I always give that one props.. I'm a bit biased.

 

[wjs010]

You're correct, he did write that one first, then he went back to write the prequel. I was really inspired by blue collar because I was also a career changer.so I always give that one props.. I'm a bit biased.

yea it is really easy to be inspired by that blue collar, badass hard work that he did to get where he is. I can't help but cringe when I read hot lights , cold steel and he talks about how cold it was up there early in the morning when he was doing moonlighting...holy crap he must have been absolutely miserable lol

 

[CajunMedic]

"Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs" was a great book. I usually re-read it when I need motivation for the process. "Hot Lights, Cold Steel" was good too.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Monday Mornings" by Sanjay Gupta way before the series ever was created. (Wish they would do a second season, or a movie and tie up the loose ends)

I've been on a military medicine reading kick: "On Call In Hell" by CDR Richard Jadick was a pretty good read. "Paradise General" by Dr. Dave Hnida was interesting and "Trauma-My Life As An Emergency Surgeon" by Dr. James Cole combined his battlefield and inner city experiences.

If you have the time, "Five Days at Memorial" by Sheri Fink is a good one. It details the events that took place at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. It's not an easy, or a short read, but it seems to have captured a good idea of what happened and the legal aftermath.

 

[TXKnight]

Maybe I'll get shredded to pieces for saying this, but I thought the House of God was OK, but nothing great. I got a bit bored a few times.
Although a different genre, The Emperor of All Maladies is excellent.

 

[ChineseKid]

Hot light cold steel was pretty good
Read his other book - blue collar

 

[amberkre]

Just finished "The Making of a Surgeon" by William A. Nolen which was awesome!

 

[wjs010]

Sad to find out that William Nolan ( who wrote making of a surgeon) died.
I may read that book

Currently reading "when the air hits your brain" and am hooked. Writing style reminds me of Michael j collins who wrote those ortho books. It's great so far