anyone have good book recommendations?

[whitesheep12]

The most important book I've ever read is How to Win Friends and Influence People. It's helped me be a lot more effective dealing with people.

+1 for this one. Most useful book ever.

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[Ayahuasca]

A personal favorite of mine is The Alchemist, I've read it multiple times and it never gets old. Pretty short read too.

 

[LizzyM]

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Second "Middlesex".

I also liked "The Marriage Plot" by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

[NotYou20]

I'm about halfway through the stand by Steven King and it's great. 1300 pages so If you're bored it can help for awhile.

Also I've read ten books during first year and it's not one of the main things I do outside of school so you'll probably have time you read if you want to

 

[aalamruad]

It has been a while since I read this but I am just stating the impression I got reading through and that it left with me. Here are some of the things that seemed not hashed out or fairly rudimentary in his thought process that were touched upon in the book.

Religion,
Nature of Consciousness
Children
Grief

I dont know if it was the amateur philosophizing that left a bitter taste in my mind. His discussion about those topics and how he dealt with his own mortality didn't scream deep thought to me. The writing style/cadence was also not pleasing to read.

I would argue that the chapter written by his wife at the end was much more touching and thoughtful, even written better IMHO.

Once again this is just my opinion.

Yeah, it's very possible that he didn't fully delve into each of those topics, but I don't think he tried to. It's a pretty short book with a pretty specific focus, and he was extremely rushed while writing it because he wanted to finish it before passing away, so perhaps he didn't examine every aspect of mortality as thoroughly as some would like but he simply may not have had the time or energy to do so. If you think that significantly detracts from the book's overall quality, I totally respect that, but my opinion is that it actually gives even more power to the parts that he did intensely focus on.

Well, lets look at an example.. There's a scene where he's describing anatomy lab and the professor (or lab proctor?) is reading basic info about the cadaver, and comes to the age which is 71 and this stops him in his place, he says "that's my age" puts down the probe and walks out of the room.. As if lab instructors are having existential crises every time a cadaver comes in who is their age or younger. I showed that and some other passages to my parent who in fact teaches an anatomy block and often is an instructor for lab as well at a med school and she thought it was ridiculous. I'm not saying the writer himself is naive, I'm saying it's written for the naive reader IMO.

There's another one where he's like 2 weeks into his internship year and the patient he's assigned to codes while he's sleeping, and he gets a phone call in bed and he immediately shouts a string of commands and of course ends it with shouting "stat!" *barf* There are many other examples of things written that came off as cringy to me.

I don't think "offensive" is the right term, it certainly didn't offend me, I just didn't enjoy the book. That doesn't mean other people can't enjoy it, that's why I said it was my personal opinion.

I think our disagreement here highlights a pretty interesting and common chasm I've seen around SDN and in medicine in general, shown super well in this thread: Are there still lifestyle specialties besides derm?

One group (which seems to be disproportionately made up of primary care docs who work with underserved populations and surgeons) sees medicine as a true calling, and looks down on the other group for not feeling the same way. The second group sees the first as naive/dramatic/"cringy." In the thread I linked above, @neusu made a comment about medicine being a calling, and other people - not only other attendings but even first year med students - attacked him for seeming naive. When people like Paul Kalanithi and neusu still feel that medicine is a calling during neurosurgical residency whereas others find that to be nonsense, and when Kalanithi (supported by Gawande) finds profound meaning in small things like his lab proctor making a comment about being the same age as the donor whereas you and your mom find that to be nonsense, I don't think it's fair to say that naivety is at play - on the part of the author or reader - when the more likely factor at play is just our differences in the kinds of things that emotionally impact us.

For the record, I don't mean to make any claim about whether or not you view medicine as a calling or whether you're emotionally moved by subtle things, but just that saying the book is "riddled with ridiculous naive BS" was a bit unfair when people with so much more experience than you completely support his ideas.

 

[tarheelpenner]

Absolutely recommend A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Bonus points if you finish before July 16th when the new season comes out.

Just finished this series yesterday actually, and immediately began googling when the next book would be out.

 

[Eurus_Holmes]

Surprised no one mentioned Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, arguably the best novelists of all time.

 

[libertyyne]

Surprised no one mentioned Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, arguably the best novelists of all time.

Don't forget Kafka , or camus. But I second Dostoevsky. I dreamt about the characters in the idiot for weeks after I finished reading it.

 

[BlessUp]

1984
A Fine Balance
Unbroken
Mountains Beyond Mountains
I'm about to start Fight Club, liked the movie and heard the book is good

 

[Eurus_Holmes]

Don't forget Kafka , or camus. But I second Dostoevsky. I dreamt about the characters in the idiot for weeks after I finished reading it.

The idiot was a ridiculous piece of writing. It's even more impressive when you know of the context of its writing and of Dostoevsky's aborted execution years prior. The description of the condemned prisoner walking to the guillotine was truly outstanding.

 

[libertyyne]

1984
A Fine Balance
Unbroken
Mountains Beyond Mountains
I'm about to start Fight Club, liked the movie and heard the book is good

The author of fight club, Chuck palahnuick is an excellent author. His Books are engaging and can be read relatively quickly. Fight club the book is not as good as the movie as Chuck himself has come out and said.

 

[LizzyM]

Don't forget Kafka , or camus. But I second Dostoevsky. I dreamt about the characters in the idiot for weeks after I finished reading it.

I'm reading The Plague (by Camus) right now. One of the main characters is a physician and it sounds like a medically related novel but it is an allegory for the German occupation of France.

I wouldn't attempt a Russian novel without a good listing of Russian names and nicknames; they can be very daunting.

 

[libertyyne]

I'm reading The Plague (by Camus) right now. One of the main characters is a physician and it sounds like a medically related novel but it is an allegory for the German occupation of France.

I wouldn't attempt a Russian novel without a good listing of Russian names and nicknames; they can be very daunting.

I really enjoyed the plague. The stranger is also an excellent read if you haven't already read it.

I would definitely agree on the names being daunting in the Russian novels.

 

[libertyyne]

Non fiction
Genghis Khan and the making of the modern world
Thinking fast and slow
The big short
Flash boys
Immortal Life of Henrietta lacs
Capital in the 21st century
The black swan


Fiction fun
World war z
The Martian
Survivor
Choke

Fiction classics
The idiot
The trial
The stranger
Brave New world
1984
Animal farm
Candide

 

[partypantss]

Yeah, it's very possible that he didn't fully delve into each of those topics, but I don't think he tried to. It's a pretty short book with a pretty specific focus, and he was extremely rushed while writing it because he wanted to finish it before passing away, so perhaps he didn't examine every aspect of mortality as thoroughly as some would like but he simply may not have had the time or energy to do so. If you think that significantly detracts from the book's overall quality, I totally respect that, but my opinion is that it actually gives even more power to the parts that he did intensely focus on.


I think our disagreement here highlights a pretty interesting and common chasm I've seen around SDN and in medicine in general, shown super well in this thread: Are there still lifestyle specialties besides derm?

One group (which seems to be disproportionately made up of primary care docs who work with underserved populations and surgeons) sees medicine as a true calling, and looks down on the other group for not feeling the same way. The second group sees the first as naive/dramatic/"cringy." In the thread I linked above, @neusu made a comment about medicine being a calling, and other people - not only other attendings but even first year med students - attacked him for seeming naive. When people like Paul Kalanithi and neusu still feel that medicine is a calling during neurosurgical residency whereas others find that to be nonsense, and when Kalanithi (supported by Gawande) finds profound meaning in small things like his lab proctor making a comment about being the same age as the donor whereas you and your mom find that to be nonsense, I don't think it's fair to say that naivety is at play - on the part of the author or reader - when the more likely factor at play is just our differences in the kinds of things that emotionally impact us.

For the record, I don't mean to make any claim about whether or not you view medicine as a calling or whether you're emotionally moved by subtle things, but just that saying the book is "riddled with ridiculous naive BS" was a bit unfair when people with so much more experience than you completely support his ideas.

I think you're right that my off-the-cuff armchair criticism of the book was a bit harsh. I completely agree with your point of view, I was going to say something similar. It's the same reason some people loved House Of God while others really couldn't even get through it, we simply have different outlooks. Although It may have come off like I was, I wasn't trying to in any way insult the people who do love When Breath Becomes Air, just trying to give the impression it left on me personally.

 

[ijustwannasaveppl]

I'm always looking for new reads!Some good medical-ish ones: The Doctors by Erich Segal is fascinating, if a little disheartening. It follows medical students from Harvard beginning medical school and through their residencies. I'm planning to pursue a career in military medicine and I really enjoyed We Band of Angels, about Allied medical personnel who tried to save patients in WW2 POW camps. Baghdad ER is also great.

 

[sat0ri]

Oliver Sacks, and for premeds especially The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat. Brilliant British neurologist from Oxford and very intelligent writer who talks about curious neurological cases that give greater insight into consciousness and humanity.

 

[meep15]

The last time I saw a related thread, I saved a summary post (below). Enjoy!


LizzyM recommended, nonfiction:
Forgive and Remember Managing Medical Failure*by Charles L. Bosk. It is an oldie but very good, a sociologist's field report of a year (or so) following surgical teams. Very readable.
The Lazarus Case Life and Death Issues in Neonatal Intensive Care*by John D. Lantos, MD.*
Letters to a Young Doctor*by Richard Selzer, MD (his other books of essays & short stories are good, too)
America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918*by Alfred W. Crosby
The Body Hunters: Testing New Drugs on the World's Poorest Patients*by Sonia Shah
Death Foretold by Nicholas A. Christakis
Knife Man by Wendy Moore
The Emperor of All Maladies*by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Seeing Patients: Unconscious Bias in Health Care*by Augustus A. White, III*
"The Cost of Hope" by Amanda Bennett
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert


The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek (short stories)
The Death of Vishnu: A Novel by Manil Suri
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (short stories)
Bel Canto: A Novel by Ann Patchett


LizzyM recommended, fiction:
Blindness by Jose Saramago
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
Tinkers by Paul Harding*

others recommend, medical related:
Mountains beyond mountains, Tracy Kidder
The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance, Laurie Garrett
When the Air hits your brain
A Not Entirely Benign Procedure by Perri Klass
Delivering Doctor Amelia*by Dan Shapiro
Healing the Wounds*by David Hilfiker(lizzym endorsement too)
spirit catches you and you fall down, Anne Fadiman
Second Opinions by Jerome Groopman
My Own Country: A Doctor's Story, Abraham Verghese
The Tennis Partner, Abraham Verghese
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts
The Last Lecture*by Randy Pausch
The Calling, by Blair Grubb MD
Out of Poverty -Paul Polak
The Healing of America -T.R. Reid*
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers*by Mary Roach*
"The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson
The Least of these My Brethren: A Doctor's Story of Hope and Miracles in an Inner-City AIDS Ward, Daniel Baxter
The Hot Zone - Richard Preston (nb. others too)
Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther

Another Day in the Frontal Lobe - Katrina Fink
"The Making of a Surgeon" by William Nolen


fiction:
House of God
A Case of Need: A Novel, Michael Crichton
Travels, Michael Crichton
Five Patients, Michael Crichton
Doctors, Erich Segal
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

non-medical:
Late Night Thoughts While Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony
Biophilia*by Edward O. Wilson
The Third Chimpanzee -Jared Diamond
The Glass Castle*by Jeannette Walls*
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses*by Piot, Peter
Surely, You're Joking Mr. Feynman
The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of the America's Great Migration*by Isabel Wilkerson

From <Some Worthwhile Summer Reading>

 

[libertyyne]

Thank you for the recommendation of " when air hits your brain." I am 10 chapters in and it is wonderful!

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

+1 for this one. Most useful book ever.

+1

 

[Uqbar]

The House of God lol it's a crazy book


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[RocuROMANium]

Trauma:My Life as an Emergency Surgeon is an excellent read. He goes into great detail about his surgeries, residency, and military career.

 

[Blessthefall]

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

So You've been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD

The White Coat Investor by James M Dahle, MD

 

[DocLydiatt4]

Surprised no one mentioned Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, arguably the best novelists of all time.

I second this, "the Death of Ivan Illych" by Tolstoy is extremely relevant for anyone going into medicine and its a quick read!

 

[DocLydiatt4]

I dont know if these have been mentioned already but "Slaughterhouse 5" (my favorite book of all time--so beautiful it will melt your face off), "a fire upon the deep" and "Foundation" are all fantastic SiFi books; all the Game of Thrones books are really fun to read, and my guilty pleasure is any of Lovecraft's short stories (they are SUPER DUPER racist against literally everyone not white, protestant, and from New England, but if you can put that aside the stories are really weird and terrifying)

 

[Gauss44]

Cupcake Brown's book, A Piece of Cake

"There are shelves of memoirs about overcoming the death of a parent, childhood abuse, rape, drug addiction, miscarriage, alcoholism, hustling, gangbanging, near-death injuries, drug dealing, prostitution, or homelessness.

Cupcake Brown survived all these things before she’d even turned twenty.

And that’s when things got interesting..." --Amazon

I will spoil that she went on to become high paid associate attorney in biglaw (est. $170k/year). She might have made partner by now. I say this because so many people think that it's not possible to turn a life around that drastically, but it happens! And she went to a pretty good law school.

 

[DBC03]

@LizzyM took most of the recommendations I was going to give! Goldfinch is long and interesting and will hold you over for a while.

If you haven't read Hidden Figures, yet, that's a great read and you can get through it fairly quickly.

I'm always up for Jane Austen or the Harry Potter Series when I can't think of anything else.

If you like a good detective novel, the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly is great. You can read them out of order. They now have an Amazon TV show, but read the books first.

My husband says James Glieck's books are great - Newton's biography or The information.

I enjoyed Thinking Fast and Slow, but some people find it difficult to get through.

I basically "read" whatever looks interesting and comes in audio form. The first thing I did when driving home from my spring final was listen to my first book on CD in over a year.

 

[DBC03]

Okay, I looked up my recent library list and Alan Bradley's books, while a bit on the ridiculous side, are great for light reading.

Les Miserables. This will take forever, but it is SOOOOOO worth it.

Atonement. Ian McEwan. If you haven't read this, yet, it's an absolute must read.

"Robert Galbraith" is a pen name for JK Rowling - and her mysteries are good (language warning)

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Tana French's mysteries are good as well (okay, okay, I like a good mystery)(language)

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye.

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

Gillian Flynn's books are somewhat disturbing, but very interesting. (language)

Steve Job's biography was very insightful

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

 

[esu aves]

House of Leaves

 

[RenegadeOkapi]

I don't know if this was written already, but

The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins
The Black Swan: Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I'm sure everyone on SDN will recommend these ad nauseam:

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
House of God by Some dude whose name I forget
The Citadel by AJ Cronin

 

[LizzyM]

I just finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and I believe it is the best book I've read in 10 years.

 

[Swan Ronson]

great call above on Man's Search for Meaning.

for whom the bell tolls -- Hemingway. i kind of took it for, essentially, how do you live when facing certain death or defeat. theres a sissyphean element there, for sure, an attitude i can't imagine is scarce in medicine.

anything by Cormac McCarthy. though, admittedly, his is an acquired taste. after reading a good bit of his stuff, one of his earliest and shortest -- outer dark -- is actually still one of my favorites. you can cruise through the actual reading, but having access to wifi would be encouraged. the vocabulary is, shall we say, esoteric. and its rife with some equally interesting allusions.

nonfiction, jared diamond is a good place to turn. guns, germs, and steel is an interesting one by him. thinking fast and slow was a good one too. if you want the diet version of that, the undoing project is good. explores the lives behind kahneman and tversky and does a reasonable job explaining a lot of their theories.

towards that end, michael lewis does some interesting stuff. i don't think he's the greatest stylist you'll ever read, but the guy has a knack for picking interesting things about which to write. liars pokers is outrageous. if youre not acquainted with the financial world at all, i would highly highly recommend this very honest look at the people who manage an obscene amount of the countrys wealth. and you can rip through it in like two days.

 

[freak7]

John Dies at the End by David Wong is a great read. Hilarious, horrific, and philosophical all in one. Don't ever watch the movie though. Holy crap was it bad and not representative of the book in the least bit.

 

[DBC03]

Great thread - Thanks for starting it as I have so many new books to read!

 

[stickgirl390]

Im starting book 5 of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King this week. Book 1 "The Gunslinger" is definitely a slow start, but holy cow do they pick up after that. I'm trying to finish all 7 before the movie comes out August 4th.

 

[bbbcccppp]

The Sex Lives of Cannibals[/I]

I preferred the Eating Habits of Sex Addicts




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[DBC03]

Oh, I completely forgot Moneyball. I don't watch baseball, and yet I found it was one of the most fascinating books I have read recently.

 

[Toutie]

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

OMG! One of the funniest books I have ever read. Highly recommend it. And just for the record, it is about neither sex lives nor cannibals. Only bad part of the book is you will NEVER be able to get the La Macarena song out of your head!

 

[Med student 18]

catch 22, the man who mistook his wife for a hat, 1984, animal farm, hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, filth, trainspotting, on the road, child 44, any book by kafka and kurt vonnegut.

 

[Go4Doc]

Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind* by Ramachandran

It's in the same vein as "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat". Newer versions even include a forward by Oliver Sacks

 

[DaWeasel]

Would you talk about this in your interview though?

Sure lol I enjoyed the book. If you haven't read it, it's not at all manipulative or gimmicky like the title might suggest