What books are you guys reading?

[chanjurban]

Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karazmov"

Man, this is one badass author. Before I know it, I've read like 40 pages. That's how you know if an author is good.

One of my interviewers told me to read some Dostoyevsky. I think he recommended a book called "The Cancer Ward" (?) I decided to start with "Crime and Punishment". Too much of a downer for me. I finished it and glanced through "The Idiot" and that pretty much decided me on Dostoyevsky. I can only take so much depression. Give me a perky Jane Austen novel anyday.

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[funshine]

One of my interviewers told me to read some Dostoyevsky. I think he recommended a book called "The Cancer Ward" (?) I decided to start with "Crime and Punishment". Too much of a downer for me. I finished it and glanced through "The Idiot" and that pretty much decided me on Dostoyevsky. I can only take so much depression. Give me a perky Jane Austen novel anyday.

If you don't like Dosty, try reading some TOlstoy. Their styles are very different (and Tolstoy is far superior).

Russian lit is the world's best, IMO. They don't write to give you entertainment, they write to change your life.

I also recommend Nine Stories by JD Salinger.

 

[ThrowdOffGyrl]

The Art of War and Divine Discontent

 

[dkang]

"In The Time Of The Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez...based on the true story of the Mirabal sisters, so you got your history too

 

[G0S2]

Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.

I just finished Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, which I highly suggest.

Also, for interest, The Lovely Bones by Sebold will be a movie directed by Peter Jackson of The Lord of the Rings.

 

[frantic983]

Alas Shrugged!

 

[funshine]

Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.

I just finished Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, which I highly suggest.

Also, for interest, The Lovely Bones by Sebold will be a movie directed by Peter Jackson of The Lord of the Rings.

I heard Jhumpa Lahiri's stuff is good. I'm on amazon.com right now, buying books =).

SIgh, there are just too many good books out there. I'll never finish all of them. Does anyone here have aspirations to write but then looks at all the amazing talent out there and just feels discouraged?

 

[G0S2]

Alas Shrugged!

That's certainly an investment in time. It's good, I just feel the whole capitalist/objectivist themes are drilled over and over.

 

[funshine]

That's certainly an investment in time. It's good, I just feel the whole capitalist/objectivist themes are drilled over and over.

Yeah, but Francisco is just so sexy
I agree that once John Galt enters the pic, the book becomes awfully boring though. Actually, i don;t know what happens becaues I stopped reading at that point

 

[lulubean]

"The Kite Runner" is one of the most amazing novels I have read in a long time... It is a very moving, very haunting, and beautifully written coming of age story of a boy growing up in Afghanistan. It is written with the historical backdrop of the Russian invasion, rise and fall of the Taliban. Amazing book.

Also, to throw another medically related book in the mix, "Powerful Medicines" by Jerry Avorn, M.D. is a very important read for anyone wanting to enter the field of medicine. It is a very well-researched book on pharmaceuticals, approval of prescription drugs through the FDA, industry misinformation and its influence on prescribing practices, etc... It really makes you think about your own future prescribing practices.

 

[medstylee]

For a class in undergrad, I read the play Copenhagen[/] by Michael Frayn. It's a dialogue between Bohr and Heisenberg and his wife, discussing the atomic bomb and surrounding circumstances. I know, sounds like the last thing anyone wants to read for fun. It's really interesting though and a lot of the dialogue, especially from Bohr's wife, is pretty humorous. It's super short too, so you can probably read it in two sittings, easily. I think the play did pretty well on Broadway - some of you might have seen it.

 

[uclabruin2003]

naked by david sedaris

 

[Pembleton]

Other writers I would recommend: Lorrie Moore, Bernard Malamud, William Trevor, Jonathan Franzen, Shirley Hazzard (esp The Transit of Venus)

I'm a William Trevor fan. His stories are devastatingly good. I need to catch up on the newer books. I've heard good things about them.

 

[nimer1456]

Most recent reads:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho~ Very good fast read

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom~ Makes you think about your life and all the people you have affected over the years.

The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks~ This book made me cry. May be the hormones or may be the true romantic in me wishing I had someone like Wilson... either way, it is great!

 

[CanuckRazorback]

I just read the DaVinci Code and am almost done with the prelude, Angels & Demons. I'd recommend both, although they are similar.

Me too! I really enjoyed the DaVinci Code. I read it in 3 days and I'm not a big reader. If you can, get the illustrated version. It has reproductions of the work of arts cited. It would make a great gift! I bought Angels and Demons, but I don't think I'll be able to get to that one until the end of the semester. I hear digital fortress and the other earlier Dan Brown books are excellent too and differ in topics from his more recent ones.

 

[sKorpia]

I am currently reading a buncha comic books.

Which ones? I follow Fables, Y the Last Man, and I'm collecting Sandman.

Just finished Superfolks by Robert Mayer, the novel that ushered in the Third Age of the superhero and probably inspired Watchmen and Astro City.

Picked up The Rape of Nanking again.

 

[RangerD]

Any Robin Cook book. They are all great!

 

[Ylime]

I just read Through The Window by Diane Fanning. It's about the serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells. It's a really good read if anyone's interested in serial killer stories.

Emily

 

[Ross434]

American Soldier By Gen. Tommy Franks.. HIGHLY recommended.

and then, State of Fear by michael crichton

 

[chrisfeliciano]

Im almost done with The House of God author Samuel Shem...after that ill tackle Blue mountain a sequel to that book....its kinda medicine-ish thing but its most fun

 

[Haven711]

Most recent reads:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho~ Very good fast read

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom~ Makes you think about your life and all the people you have affected over the years.

The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks~ This book made me cry. May be the hormones or may be the true romantic in me wishing I had someone like Wilson... either way, it is great!

I love the Alchemist, and it takes about 10 minutes to read it. Another quickie is The Underdogs by Mariano Azuelas (translated from the Spanish "Los de Abajo")

 

[boardchic]

I just read Through The Window by Diane Fanning. It's about the serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells. It's a really good read if anyone's interested in serial killer stories.

Emily

I just started "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson, and I really like it so far. It's a nonfictional account of a serial killer at the world expo in fin de siecle Chicago.
You might also like this:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...2-1329870-2995364?v=glance&s=books&n=13608671
It's called "The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death" and I'm obsessed with it.

 

[ElKapitan]

This epotimizes dork, but I am reading Isaac Asmov's Foundation Triology. My uncle reccomended it because he said it was one of the best series he has ever read. Other than that I am reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Many people say he is an existentialist, but I find him to be a penurious bastard, anyone else agree. I think he is a perfect New Englander.

 

[Scarletbegonias]

I will definately check it out. From what I've read it seems that he had some problems balancing family life and his practice, a challenge that faces most physicians. It seems like he might have had some marriage problems after a while too.

 

[Ylime]

I just started "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson, and I really like it so far. It's a nonfictional account of a serial killer at the world expo in fin de siecle Chicago.
You might also like this:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...2-1329870-2995364?v=glance&s=books&n=13608671
It's called "The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death" and I'm obsessed with it.

Lol thanks, boardchic, I'll have to check it out. I need some good reading for the plane trip to my next interview, so I'll try to get it before then.

Emily

 

[BMW19]

The Merck manual... over and over and over and over and over......

JK. If you like Robin Cook you should read Michael Palmer, ER doc turned author. Very good. Try 'The Patient' great book

BMW-

Lol thanks, boardchic, I'll have to check it out. I need some good reading for the plane trip to my next interview, so I'll try to get it before then.

Emily

 

[davedavedave]

Im almost done with The House of God author Samuel Shem...after that ill tackle Blue mountain a sequel to that book....its kinda medicine-ish thing but its most fun

i just bought house of god yesterday

 

[Shaz]

If you don't like Dosty, try reading some TOlstoy. Their styles are very different (and Tolstoy is far superior).

Russian lit is the world's best, IMO. They don't write to give you entertainment, they write to change your life.

I also recommend Nine Stories by JD Salinger.

I agree with you completely. Russian literature is the most refined of its kind.

Reading books that just make you "feel happy" without having any substance underneath it to really change your life is like listening to a Ramones song: hell, it sounds good, but the lyrics don't mean ****.

I do agree that russian lit is really depressing, but that's only because it deals with real issues.

 

[kdawwg]

The Bible By God

 

[macaddict78]

Infection and Inequalities- Paul Farmer

 

[Sarikate]

I read "Infections and Inequalities" last year - loved it. I'm reading "Trans-sister Radio" by Chris Bohjalian and "Stolen Lives" by Malika Oufkir.

 

[PBR727]

Into Thin Air by John Krakauer or Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose

 

[opinionkitten]

new haruki murakami novel! woo! also war and peace

 

[funshine]

new haruki murakami novel! woo! also war and peace

ahh, murakami. Don't you think all his stories sound kinda the same?
I used to be a big fan. However, his obsession with the same old loser narrator struggling to deal w/ his existential angst crap gets old

 

[DocWannaBe85]

The Bible By God

I heard allegations of some ghost writers for this work...

Books I'm working on:

The Company of Strangers - Robert Wilson
Against All Enemies - Harold Coyle

Books I've read this winter break:

The Scope of Justice - Michael Z. Williamson
Deep Black - Stephen Coonts
The President's Daughter - Jack Higgins
God's Children - Harold Coyle
Quiller - Adam Hall
The Art of Deception - Kevin Mitnick

On my soon-to-read list:

War and Peace - Tolstoy (I read about 600pgs of it in HS and quit)
The Scorpio Illusion - Robert Ludlum
Night Fall - Nelson Demille

 

[virilep]

Books! My great love! I'm minoring in Comparative Literature, so I've been reading a lot of Western classics, like the Odyssey, the Aeneid, the Inferno...Faust this semester. As for pleasure reading, I just picked up a collection of Truman Capote stories and a novel by Jeff Shaara about the American Civil War. And when I want a laugh I turn to P.G. Wodehouse, a little-known (here, anyway) British author from the 1920s/1930s.

writer, I really like the avatar. thumbs up

 

[virilep]

have you guys ever Read Life of Pi. I just started it... not too shabby so far.

 

[chrisfeliciano]

i just bought house of god yesterday

kewl....youre going to love it! It was written by a harvard med prof. Pretty funny in the beginning.

 

[chrisfeliciano]

Into the Wild by Krauker was great too

 

[lulubean]

I read "Infections and Inequalities" last year - loved it. I'm reading "Trans-sister Radio" by Chris Bohjalian and "Stolen Lives" by Malika Oufkir.

gotta love paul farmer - i can only aspire to one day be half the physician he is!!! have you read "pathologies of power" or his biography "mountains beyond mountains"? highly recommended reading!!!