Good Leisure Reading Prior to Beginning Medical School

[Jdp00921]

Hey All,

Currently accepted for the 2018 Matriculating MD class! Needless to say, I'm extremely excited. Anyway, prior to matriculation, I'm working a job that has some relatively significant downtime and I enjoy reading when I can. I was looking to get some suggestions on books I can read to pass the time. I just finished "Intern" by Sandeep Jauhar; I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Just looking for any similar book suggestions!

Thanks!

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[Disciple of Sattar]

Check out "when breath becomes air"

 

[ladymiresa]

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (this author has a couple medicine related books that I think are highly regarded)
When the Air Hits Your Brain by Frank Vertosick

 

[Jdp00921]

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (this author has a couple medicine related books that I think are highly regarded)
When the Air Hits Your Brain by Frank Vertosick

I have indeed read When the Air Hits Your Brain! Another great read! I haven't read all Gawande's books though so maybe I'll check one of those out next!

 

[willow84]

I'm reading The Real Doctor Will See You Now by Matthew McCarthy. It's a good read so far! I also second When Breath Becomes Air (don't finish it in public though). I also signed up for the Book of the Month Club so I'm getting a random fiction book every month. I've been pleased with the selections so far!

 

[Gilakend]

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (this author has a couple medicine related books that I think are highly regarded)
When the Air Hits Your Brain by Frank Vertosick

I have being mortal on my nightstand. I finished the first 2 chapters so far, I need to start reading it more.

 

[Jdp00921]

After a quick review of When Breath Becomes Air on Amazon, it seems like I'm going to have to make that my next read!

 

[DowntownFunk]

After a quick review of When Breath Becomes Air on Amazon, it seems like I'm going to have to make that my next read!

When Breath Becomes Air is a fantastically beautiful book. Now that you’ve all mentioned it I need to reread it...

Will also recommend The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. It’s also an orientation reading at some schools if that’s a bonus

 

[Goro]

Hey All,

Currently accepted for the 2018 Matriculating MD class! Needless to say, I'm extremely excited. Anyway, prior to matriculation, I'm working a job that has some relatively significant downtime and I enjoy reading when I can. I was looking to get some suggestions on books I can read to pass the time. I just finished "Intern" by Sandeep Jauhar; I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Just looking for any similar book suggestions!

Thanks!

I recommend:
Eleven Blue Men, and Other Narratives of Medical Detection and anything else by Berton Roueché
The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity by Roy Porter
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
For non-medical reading:
The Sano Ichiro mysteries by Laura Joh Rowland
anything by Bernard Cornwell, or Len Deighton

 

[ulna]

I really enjoyed How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick in America by Dr. Otis Brawley.
I also second any books by Atul Gawande!

 

[LizzyM]

Here's an oldie but goodie thread that has a link in the first post to an even older thread with other gems:
Airport Reading

 

[cuc717]

Behave by Robert Sapolsky is a very interesting and wonderful read!

 

[fourandtwo]

I have read most of the above mentioned books and they are great! Not medically related, but I like to reread The Alchemist before beginning each major chapter in my life.

 

[Jdp00921]

Thank you for all the suggestions!!!!

 

[ekmf27050]

entirely non-medical: The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

at a notable 14 books/11,000 pages I promise it will take up some of that free time

 

[pugsessed]

If you want some entertaining short reads non-medical related (about 3 hours, so one a day) there are a ton of great murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie! Libraries always have many copies of her different novels (66 novels and 14 short stories). They are my favorite airplane readings!

 

[AnxietyNation]

Medically related, but not too much about being a doctor, but extremely fascinating:

"The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons" by Sam Kean.

 

[Welshman]

First Aid

 

[mfrey28]

Currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Definitely recommend it for anyone interested in WWII and/or stories of perseverance.

Also recently finished It by Stephen King. Long but good

 

[BBBallIsLife]

i like this thread, hopefully I remember this in just under a year once I (hopefully) get an acceptance

 

[PreMedTexan]

You can't go wrong with Siddhartha Mukherjee's "Emperor of All Maladies" or "The Gene."

"When Breathe Becomes Air" is one of my all time favorites - just be ready with some tissues at the end.

"Stiff" by Mary Roach is also a humorous, informative read.

Other nonmedical/science related books that I've recently read that are worth mentioning:
"A Gentleman in Moscow" - Amor Towles
Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books (if you're into that sort of thing)
"The Book Thief" - Markus Zusak
"The Goldfinch" - Donna Tartt

Im currently reading Game of Thrones. It is excellent, but quite a commitment if you want to read the whole (unfinished) series.

Happy reading!

 

[LizzyM]

"A Gentleman in Moscow" - Amor Towles
"The Book Thief" - Markus Zusak
"The Goldfinch" - Donna Tartt

Loved these, too! Also Towles earlier book, "Rules of Civility".

Also a shout out for "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead (note that this is fantasy, not straight fiction) and "Behold the Dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue.

 

[DBC03]

You can't go wrong with Siddhartha Mukherjee's "Emperor of All Maladies" or "The Gene."

"When Breathe Becomes Air" is one of my all time favorites - just be ready with some tissues at the end.

"Stiff" by Mary Roach is also a humorous, informative read.

Other nonmedical/science related books that I've recently read that are worth mentioning:
"A Gentleman in Moscow" - Amor Towles
Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books (if you're into that sort of thing)
"The Book Thief" - Markus Zusak
"The Goldfinch" - Donna Tartt

Im currently reading Game of Thrones. It is excellent, but quite a commitment if you want to read the whole (unfinished) series.

Happy reading!

I was in the middle of Stiff when I interviewed at one of my top choices - when asked about what I was currently reading, I kept thinking, “answer with something other than Stiff...” great book. Actually, I’ve read the same fiction - loved them all.


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[deleted804295]

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - Harriet Jacobs

The Souls of Black Folk - W.E.B. Dubois

The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander

 

[begoood95]

• How We Die
• The Emperor of All Maladies
• The Gene
• The Selfish Gene
• Climbing Mount Improbable
• When Breath Becomes Air
• Being Mortal
• Sapiens: A brief history of humankind
• The Hidden Wealth of Nations
• I Contain Multitudes
• Less Than Human
• Thinking, Fast and Slow
• The Conquest of New Spain
• The Upright Thinkers
• The House of God
• Waking Up
• Your Inner Fish
• The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Any of the above and you're in for a treat

 

[Robin-jay]

Reading is for hippies.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I’m convinced that every medical student should be required to read The House of God before they matriculate.

 

[Cornfed101]

All of atul gawande’s books are excellent

 

[premed1234567890]

The talisman by Stephen king

 

[CherryRedDracul]

House of God

I also recommend rereading it during clerkships or intern year because it will make a lot more sense.

 

[beachesandbackroads]

Other than the ones I've seen mentioned:

Do No Harm--Henry Marsh
Five Days at Memorial--Sheri Fink

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Knife Man is a very interesting biography on a late 1700s surgeon, would definitely recommend it.

 

[LizzyM]

Knife Man is a very interesting biography on a late 1700s surgeon, would definitely recommend it.

eye opening to read about how anatomy was studied and taught back in the day... grave robbing and selling tickets for the privilege of learning in chilly rooms on the top floor with plenty of skylights to illuminate the subject.

 

[3toedsloth]

Also a shout out for "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead (note that this is fantasy, not straight fiction) and "Behold the Dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue.

Yes and yes!!

 

[de Ribas]

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

 

[DBC03]

I really enjoyed Hidden Figures.

Moneyball is fascinating - no need to care about sports.

Twelve Years a Slave

Les Miserables (amazing - worth the effort)

Long Walk to Freedom (an interesting study in how we want to be understood by others and how that might differ from what others believe or what happened)

Into the Wild

Atonement (must read)

Gone Girl (disturbing, but you can’t put it down)

The curious incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Memoirs of a Geisha

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

The Help

In Cold Blood

Thinking, fast and slow

To Kill a Mockingbird

Pride and Prejudice


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[bobeanie95]

How Not To Die

 

[Jdp00921]

Just wanted to update this tread... by saying thank you! All the suggestions are great but to all who suggested When Breath Becomes Air, a tip-of-the-hat to you! Really fantastic book. I read it cover to cover in one day! I'm going to take some of the other above suggestions as well! Thanks again everyone!

 

[ThinkMaize]

Anything by Atul Gawande would be great. Save House of God for when you're finishing med school and starting residency. I've also heard good things about When Breath Becomes Air.

 

[BTC0821]

I recommend:
Eleven Blue Men, and Other Narratives of Medical Detection and anything else by Berton Roueché
The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity by Roy Porter
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
For non-medical reading:
The Sano Ichiro mysteries by Laura Joh Rowland
anything by Bernard Cornwell, or Len Deighton

I can certainly attest to the emperor of all maladies. Good book, bit of a lengthy read but highly informative

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[Goro]

I can certainly attest to the emperor of all maladies. Good book, bit of a lengthy read but highly informative

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I LIKE the avatar!

 

[Phile98]

I LIKE the avatar!

OMG. It's Goro's alter ego .

 

[SouthernGent]

Gene: An Intimate History, When Breath Becomes Air (Read it all in one day, it is much more powerfu that way), Emporer of All Maladies, Being Mortal, The Cosmos, House of God,

 

[Jdp00921]

Anything by Atul Gawande would be great. Save House of God for when you're finishing med school and starting residency. I've also heard good things about When Breath Becomes Air.

Yes, Gawande's books are pretty good. Funny story, I actually recently read "Complications" and realized that I have already read it several years ago! I kept thinking - "this sounds vaguely familiar," but continued on. Alas, it was my second time reading it lol.

 

[BTC0821]

• How We Die
• The Emperor of All Maladies
• The Gene
• The Selfish Gene
• Climbing Mount Improbable
• When Breath Becomes Air
• Being Mortal
• Sapiens: A brief history of humankind
• The Hidden Wealth of Nations
• I Contain Multitudes
• Less Than Human
• Thinking, Fast and Slow
• The Conquest of New Spain
• The Upright Thinkers
• The House of God
• Waking Up
• Your Inner Fish
• The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Any of the above and you're in for a treat

Thinking, Fast and Slow is a phenomenal book. I can't recommend this one enough if you're willing to learn how often you deceive yourself.

Also, mostly non-medical but you can't go wrong with anything by Malcolm Gladwell.

 

[thinkchangeflow]

I recommend Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle.

 

[Osminog]

Medical:
Anything by Oliver Sacks

Non-medical:
Anything by Steven Pinker (especially "The Blank Slate")
"The Red Queen," by Matt Ridley
"On Human Nature," by E.O. Wilson
"The Unpersuadables," by Will Storr
"Moral Tribes," by Joshua Greene
"The Righteous Mind," by Jonathan Haidt
"The Science of Evil," by Simon Baron-Cohen
"The Anatomy of Violence," by Adrian Raine

 

[begoood95]

Thinking, Fast and Slow is a phenomenal book. I can't recommend this one enough if you're willing to learn how often you deceive yourself.

Also, mostly non-medical but you can't go wrong with anything by Malcolm Gladwell.

Thinking, Fast and Slow is in my Top 5 must reads. So good, with real applications to many disciplines and areas of life—even the medical world. I loved it.

 

[PreMedTexan]

Thinking, Fast and Slow is in my Top 5 must reads. So good, with real applications to many disciplines and areas of life—even the medical world. I loved it.

+1
I had very high expectations for Thinking, Fast and Slow and it did not disappoint.

Congrats on the five acceptances, by the way! That is quite a feat

 

[RFroning]

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie