I've borrowed two anatomy books from the library now:
Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy and
Gilroy Atlas of Anatomy. They're about the same length. I've just taken a glance at them so far, but the latter seems superior. It's much more readable. The diagrams feel less cluttered. But the
Netter's Anatomy Coloring Book looks like the best way to dive into topic (got the book today!). In it you have all the basic terminology, and naturally, as you go along you can photoscan all the colored images into Anki with Image Occlusion Enhanced, which is a fun and effective way of making everything you've read stick.
I've borrowed two English physiology books from the library as well:
Costanzo and
Guyton and Hall. I know Costanzo receives a lot of praise, but Guyton and Hall (twice the size) seems like a much more enjoyable read. I haven't looked at images and figures and such yet, only the language. In Guyton and Hall the sentences are colorful and clear, whereas in Costanzo they're more bland. You can judge for yourself. Here's how the books introduce the kidney chapters.
Costanzo. "The kidneys function in several capacities. As excretory organs, the kidneys ensure that those substances in excess or that are harmful are excreted in urine in appropriate amounts."
Guyton and Hall. "Most people are familiar with one important function of the kidneys—to rid the body of waste materials that are either ingested or produced by metabolism."
The latter writing style resembles how we speak; it's written in what Steven Pinker would call Classic Style. Anyways, I'll likely do the Netter's anatomy coloring book first, and then read a physiology book in my native language (and grind that book through Anki) and then read or listen to Guyton and Hall. The audiobook version is 134 hours. If I'd listen, it would in a way serve as a repetition of what I've read in my native language. So it won't be right away.
I think I'll do the whole Netter's Anatomy Coloring Book and let all my Anki cards from that book mature before slowly reading through Gilroy Atlas of Anatomy; and as I read I'd photoscan and occlude everything I haven't already learned in the coloring book (the coloring book is surprisingly rich with details, so it'll be interesting to see how many new flashcards I'll get reading the Gilroy Atlas).
