Before starting medical school...

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Anyone read Beat the Reaper? It's a pretty hilarious read for med students (and fans of mob movies).
 
Moonwalking with Einstein:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/03/03/joshua-foer-moonwalking-with-einstein/

It's a book about a journalist who took a year to become the national memorization champion. It's a funny/entertaining book, helps you learn a bit about memory, and when you're complaining about how bad your memory is and wish you had perfect recall, you can look at the 'glamorous' lives these memory champs live and be happy that you are in medicine, instead of spending your time training your memory to learn the sequences decks of cards or digits of pi.
 
Read some ray Bradbury in honor of his passing
 
tenndoc said:
Read some ray Bradbury in honor of his passing
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He wrote Dandelion Wine, the story of an aging criminal mastermind training the younger generation how to produce booze from plentiful garden weeds during Prohibition. It's a lot like the Sopranos set in the 20's. Or at least that's how I recall it.
 
alamo4 said:
He wrote Dandelion Wine, the story of an aging criminal mastermind training the younger generation how to produce booze from plentiful garden weeds during Prohibition. It's a lot like the Sopranos set in the 20's. Or at least that's how I recall it.
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Didn't read the thread. Just saw the title and popped in
 
sam500 said:
I started Warbreaker, but got sidetracked. I'll give it another go.

I totally agree with you about Rothfuss's second book. I am completely uninterested in the "love story" sub-plot of the book. It's more melodrama than it's worth and just dilutes the plot with so much angst.

Abercrombie's trilogy really impressed me. It's gritty fantasy, which I prefer. There are no black and white characters, only grey. He does an excellent job of character development over the three books. He changes his writing style to reflect which character he's writing about so it really feels like you're "in a different persons head" for each one. I really can't praise those 3 books enough.
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After reading your and Snuke's contributions, I am definitely adding Abercrombie to my reading list.

As far as Elantris goes, I thought the story and concepts were really intriguing, and I was willing to forgive a lot as it was his first book. Way of Kings is definitely a must-read, I can't wait for the last WoT book to come out so he can get back to Stormlight.
 
courtnes said:
After reading your and Snuke's contributions, I am definitely adding Abercrombie to my reading list.

As far as Elantris goes, I thought the story and concepts were really intriguing, and I was willing to forgive a lot as it was his first book. Way of Kings is definitely a must-read, I can't wait for the last WoT book to come out so he can get back to Stormlight.
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In that case, you should check out this website: http://bestfantasybooks.com/top25-fantasy-books.php

It has many good suggestions.

In particular, "Heroe's Die" is so fast paced it's on crack.

"The Lie's of Locke Lamora" is amazing.

The Black Company series is very dark, very gritty, very grim.

"Fevre Dream" is my favorite George R. Martin book. It's about steam boating in the 1870's... and vampires. I prefer it over Game of Thrones.

I probably read a fantasy book a week on average, so I have many suggestions. Audiobooks work well too if you just don't have the time. Speaking of which, the audiobook for "Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" makes it much less dry.
 
courtnes said:
After reading your and Snuke's contributions, I am definitely adding Abercrombie to my reading list.

As far as Elantris goes, I thought the story and concepts were really intriguing, and I was willing to forgive a lot as it was his first book. Way of Kings is definitely a must-read, I can't wait for the last WoT book to come out so he can get back to Stormlight.
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Yes. And I agree about Elantris - the ideas were intriguing enough that I forgave the new-author idiosyncracies and the "Brandon Avalanche."

I'm still hoping I can finish the rest of the WoT before school. 2 down, 11 to go. 🙂

After those, I'll pick up Abercrombie to read at some point in the future.
 
sam500 said:
In that case, you should check out this website: http://bestfantasybooks.com/top25-fantasy-books.php

It has many good suggestions.

In particular, "Heroe's Die" is so fast paced it's on crack.

"The Lie's of Locke Lamora" is amazing.

The Black Company series is very dark, very gritty, very grim.

"Fevre Dream" is my favorite George R. Martin book. It's about steam boating in the 1870's... and vampires. I prefer it over Game of Thrones.

I probably read a fantasy book a week on average, so I have many suggestions. Audiobooks work well too if you just don't have the time. Speaking of which, the audiobook for "Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" makes it much less dry.
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I have seen that website, Lies of Locke Lamora is on my list because of it. So is the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. And that one is already finished!

I'm not sure if I think I'd get into the Black Company series, and I've never heard of that GRRM book. I haven't read Dance with Dragons yet, I preordered the paperback which is coming the end of August.

To be honest, I tried to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell and put it down. I just couldn't get into it. Maybe the audiobook would be the way to go.

Snuke said:
Yes. And I agree about Elantris - the ideas were intriguing enough that I forgave the new-author idiosyncracies and the "Brandon Avalanche."

I'm still hoping I can finish the rest of the WoT before school. 2 down, 11 to go. 🙂

After those, I'll pick up Abercrombie to read at some point in the future.
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Haha! I made it about halfway through the 1st sometime during the school year, I think I'll just start there. I know the beginning of the first book far too well from multiple abandoned rereads.

TBH, Mistborn also was not my favorite. I loved the first book, but 2 and 3 just didn't do it for me. I hope Stormlight doesn't go the same direction, and I'm worried the Rothfuss books are doing that too. I hope he gets his crap together in the third book.
 
courtnes said:
Haha! I made it about halfway through the 1st sometime during the school year, I think I'll just start there. I know the beginning of the first book far too well from multiple abandoned rereads.

TBH, Mistborn also was not my favorite. I loved the first book, but 2 and 3 just didn't do it for me. I hope Stormlight doesn't go the same direction, and I'm worried the Rothfuss books are doing that too. I hope he gets his crap together in the third book.
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Jordan mastered the ability of writing 800 pages without advancing the plot. At all. Still, friends who struggled along have assured me that getting to Sanderson's additions is worth it. I think the last time I attempted the series, I stopped at 8ish, but that was years ago. As I go along, I very very vaguely remember the plotlines. Sorta.

Mistborn was amazing, sadly, the other two were not as good, though I still maintain that the ending was good considering the epic-ness of the series. He does manage to tie up most loose ends, and that trilogy had a lot of different plot-lines.

Oh, I'm definitely concerned about Rothfuss. Let's hope that the third book - which won't come out for forever - regains the crispness and quality of the first. The second had its moments, but dear God, it dragged in the middle.
 
I'm finishing up "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William L. Shirer. It's long (~1200 pages) but so good. I got the audio version from audible.com and it makes for a really entertaining, absolutely fascinating listen.

Completely unrelated, but also good, is the audio version of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea".

Just for some non-medical stuff.
 
Coffee Machine said:
I'm finishing up "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William L. Shirer. It's long (~1200 pages) but so good. I got the audio version from audible.com and it makes for a really entertaining, absolutely fascinating listen.

Completely unrelated, but also good, is the audio version of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea".

Just for some non-medical stuff.
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I've wanted to get this at one time or another. It's one book?? My god.
 
Coffee Machine said:
I'm finishing up "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William L. Shirer. It's long (~1200 pages) but so good. I got the audio version from audible.com and it makes for a really entertaining, absolutely fascinating listen.

Completely unrelated, but also good, is the audio version of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea".

Just for some non-medical stuff.
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Haha so funny! William Shirer went to my alma mater and there was a forum on his work this past year!

( It means more when someone famous goes to your school when enrollment ~1000.)
 
courtnes said:
I have seen that website, Lies of Locke Lamora is on my list because of it. So is the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. And that one is already finished!

I'm not sure if I think I'd get into the Black Company series, and I've never heard of that GRRM book. I haven't read Dance with Dragons yet, I preordered the paperback which is coming the end of August.

To be honest, I tried to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell and put it down. I just couldn't get into it. Maybe the audiobook would be the way to go.



Haha! I made it about halfway through the 1st sometime during the school year, I think I'll just start there. I know the beginning of the first book far too well from multiple abandoned rereads.

TBH, Mistborn also was not my favorite. I loved the first book, but 2 and 3 just didn't do it for me. I hope Stormlight doesn't go the same direction, and I'm worried the Rothfuss books are doing that too. I hope he gets his crap together in the third book.
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That's funny, Locke Lamora is on my list too... I'll get around to it eventually. I just finished re-reading all three Mistborn books, and I'm glad I did. On the first read, I would have completely agreed that the first book was awesome and 2 and 3 weren't in the same ballpark. The second time, you pick up on all the details and groundwork he laid for finale and it was a lot more interesting.

I wouldn't bother with J. Strange and Mr. Norrell, even in audio format. I had three false-starts and finally finished it, and I still don't think it was worth it.

My project this summer is to re-read all the GRRM books so that I can finally read Dance With Dragons.
 
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MaxillofacialMN said:
Anyone read "In Stiches"??
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Yes. I actually enjoyed it...it was pretty well written and quite humorous...I'm not necessarily interested in plastics, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Also....if you're totally bored and just looking for a page turner, Edgar Rice Burroughs' stuff is kinda fun. It's pretty much early 20th century pulp fiction, but hey....


And 1+ for Gawande's stuff. Also Michael Collins and Frank Vertosick, Jr.👍
 
I'm starting to get super nervous!!
 
MedicOwen said:
I think I'm about to read The Immortal Life Henrietta Lacks

A Bio professor from undergrad recommended it and I never got around to reading it.
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I just finished it and thought it was kind of meh. Just a warning, it's more about Henrietta's family's trouble with dealing with "The Cells" and how the author did her research for the book, and less about the science. You'll learn just as much about HeLa and Henrietta Lacks from Wikipedia as you do from the book.

That being said, it's the only book on MCW's summer reading list that's not along the lines of "How to Survive Medical School." So clearly some people think it's worthwhile. 🙂
 
PostHaste said:
I just finished it and thought it was kind of meh. Just a warning, it's more about Henrietta's family's trouble with dealing with "The Cells" and how the author did her research for the book, and less about the science. You'll learn just as much about HeLa and Henrietta Lacks from Wikipedia as you do from the book.

That being said, it's the only book on MCW's summer reading list that's not along the lines of "How to Survive Medical School." So clearly some people think it's worthwhile. 🙂
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Agree - I thought it was pretty mediocre. Read it once on a plane, probably won't read it ever again.

And just because it's on a med school's reading list doesn't mean that they thought it was worthwhile....just that it was something that they ought to make med students read. As an MS1, we were forced to read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," which is still one of my least favorite books ever. And this is from someone who will read the back of a toothpaste container if I'm really really bored.
 
smq123 said:
Agree - I thought it was pretty mediocre. Read it once on a plane, probably won't read it ever again.

And just because it's on a med school's reading list doesn't mean that they thought it was worthwhile....just that it was something that they ought to make med students read. As an MS1, we were forced to read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," which is still one of my least favorite books ever. And this is from someone who will read the back of a toothpaste container if I'm really really bored.
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Thanks for the warning. I keep thinking I should read this and keep putting it off (it's been on my Amazon wishlist for some number of years and I just never pulled the trigger).
 
cweave16 said:
The Emperor of All Maladies is fantastic. It's a tome, for sure, but still definitely worth your time this summer.
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Agreed on the tome status, but I learned so much about cancer and research and statistics from that book, all in a pretty engaging way.

robflanker said:
I hated it - I got like 150-200pgs in and had to quit. It was so slow
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I don't think I could have made it through if I hadn't been listening (audiobook), but I'm so glad I did. I thought the story was great. I kept googling different things from the book (like Missing Hospital and Thomas Stone) hoping that they were based on real life. 😳

MaxillofacialMN said:
Anyone read "In Stiches"??
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Yeah, and I enjoyed it. It's in the lighter fare genre, I think. See also:
- A not entirely benign procedure
- How doctors think
- This won't hurt a bit
- Stiff
 
PostHaste said:
I just finished it and thought it was kind of meh. Just a warning, it's more about Henrietta's family's trouble with dealing with "The Cells" and how the author did her research for the book, and less about the science. You'll learn just as much about HeLa and Henrietta Lacks from Wikipedia as you do from the book.

That being said, it's the only book on MCW's summer reading list that's not along the lines of "How to Survive Medical School." So clearly some people think it's worthwhile. 🙂
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I didn't think much of the book either. Mostly pressing the authors political/moral agenda.
meh.
 
PostHaste said:
I just finished it and thought it was kind of meh. Just a warning, it's more about Henrietta's family's trouble with dealing with "The Cells" and how the author did her research for the book, and less about the science. You'll learn just as much about HeLa and Henrietta Lacks from Wikipedia as you do from the book.

That being said, it's the only book on MCW's summer reading list that's not along the lines of "How to Survive Medical School." So clearly some people think it's worthwhile. 🙂
Click to expand...

"The Immortal Life" was best when she was talking about the origin of cell cultivation. The ethical issues were interesting, the social issues less so. I stopped reading not long after the history and immediate present; as soon as the family was the main focus, I got bored.

smq123 said:
Agree - I thought it was pretty mediocre. Read it once on a plane, probably won't read it ever again.

And just because it's on a med school's reading list doesn't mean that they thought it was worthwhile....just that it was something that they ought to make med students read. As an MS1, we were forced to read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," which is still one of my least favorite books ever. And this is from someone who will read the back of a toothpaste container if I'm really really bored.
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"Spirit" had its moments, yet it was sad overall. It was my only source of entertainment on a plane, so I powered through it in one or two sittings. I can definitely see why people think it's boring, as basically the same motifs repeat over and over. Still, because I had my own experience with the Hmong, I found the history particularly interesting.
 
Snuke said:
"The Immortal Life" was best when she was talking about the origin of cell cultivation. The ethical issues were interesting, the social issues less so. I stopped reading not long after the history and immediate present; as soon as the family was the main focus, I got bored.
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Exact same thing here. Too much woe-is-them human interest stuff at that point, so I just stopped reading. Meh.
 
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