Good Books

[JMilo]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Never really much of a reader since the start of college, but one of my coworkers recommended to read in my free time to supplement preparing for the CARS section of the MCAT. What's a book that you've enjoyed recently?

 

[Osminog]

Folks on here have said that reading philosophy papers, biochemistry articles, etc., isn't worthwhile. The biggest returns score-wise seem come from doing Berkeley Review, EK, and AAMC prep material.

 

[Professional Student]

I think reading books is a great way to prepare for the CARS section, primarily because it allows you to increase your reading speed. Increasing your reading and comprehension speed can provide a significant benefit on the whole test, not just CARS. I recommend starting with all/any of Atul Gawande’s books, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Another Season by Coach Gene Stallings. Another Season is my personal favorite book.

 

[Shayla Flowere]

Would you say reading fiction is beneficial? I read a lot of fantasy/historical fiction.

 

[TheBiologist]

I've heard that "The Economist" mag is good, which is awesome because I love it!

 

[Ribonucleic Acid]

I highly recommend the Emperor of all Maladies. It's basically a biography of cancer research and innovation, and it's really well written. It would definitely help you with preparing for the CARS section.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[boogiecousins94]

read Michael Crichton books

 

[freedoctor17]

Would you say reading fiction is beneficial? I read a lot of fantasy/historical fiction.

I read a lot of fiction and my CARS was pretty decent. It won't help you with answering the questions much but if you've been reading a lot you can probably read faster and understand quicker than you would have if you haven't been.

There's also a negative though. If you're so used to reading a lot of interesting fiction these passages can seem even more boring if that's even possible!!! So make sure to still do a lot of practice and get used to the question style. I got really lucky on my exam and had like 3 or 4 super interesting passages that I actually would've liked to read more on if there was more which was super weird. In all the practice I had done before hand I only had a few like that and my actual exam had almost half the passages that way.

 

[Lawpy]

I've heard that "The Economist" mag is good, which is awesome because I love it!

I second The Economist. It is my favorite magazine. Many strongly disagree with it because of its neoliberal and democratic tendencies, but I personally find the articles to be insightful and enjoyable.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Wall Street journal.
For books, any reading is better than no reading. Check the bestseller lists for biographies --those are usually well written, and you find out something interesting about a person.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Gilakend]

I'm reading Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs right now by Michael Collins. I just started it but I like it so far, it's not too serious and entertaining.

I read Hot Lights, Cold Steel and really enjoyed it so I decided to pick this one up.

 

[Lawpy]

Wall Street journal.
For books, any reading is better than no reading. Check the bestseller lists for biographies --those are usually well written, and you find out something interesting about a person.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

The WSJ is generally good for the news (especially world affairs, business, finance), but their worst part is their editorial and opinion sections. I'd recommend getting the Financial Times instead.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

The WSJ is generally good for the news (especially world affairs, business, finance), but their worst part is their editorial and opinion sections. I'd recommend getting the Financial Times instead.

I'll check it out! I assumed that OP was looking to expand vocabulary and I always thought it was well written


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[aldol16]

Atul Gawande is a great writer and his books are amazing but you might get more out of them if you read them as a medical student or beyond. At that point, you'll have a better understanding of how medical systems work and you get a lot more out of his books. The NY Times is a pretty good read for your daily news, etc.