Incoming M1, skimmed through FA already. What next?

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Stiff is SUCH a great read!

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Surprised people here hating on House of God, I recently listened to the audiobook and personally I loved it. While I do think it's a bit over-hyped for sure, I definitely was entertained. If you like dark humor, interesting characters and some somber drama then you will likely enjoy it.

On the other hand, I started When Breath Becomes Air and stopped about an hour into the audiobook. I'm not sure how to put it into words what was wrong with it, it just seemed so over the top, sort of hoity toity making it sound like the writer was some sort of super hero.. If someone tells me it gets better I may go back to it. Maybe I should have seen it coming though with such a (IMO) gag-inducing title.

+1 also for the Emperor of All Maladies. I'm only a few chapters in but so far it's a good/ interesting read.


I feel like House of God is one of those books where how you feel about it is probably going to change depending on where you are in your career and what kind of exposure you have to hospital life and drama.

I never finished it, probably will eventually. I agree it was a bit overhyped and some of the stuff that went on was just nuts, but the more time I spent working in the hospital, the more true some of the other stuff was.
 
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Breath Becomes Air was...alright. It felt to me the whole time as if the author was writing the book to prove how amazing he could have been if it weren't for that dang cancer. Which is fine, but I didn't find it as meaningful as popular report would have lead me to believe.

I just didn't find House of God to have interesting characters or any real plot.
I agree that HOG certainly felt aimless at times and could have used a bit more direction, I remember thinking that myself! Character wise, I personally enjoyed the fatman and the dynamic the main character had with his fellow interns/ physicians, but obviously to each their own.

For Breath Becomes Air that's sort of getting at how I felt when I tried it. It was just so overly touchy-feely without any building up for me to care. It felt wayyy too melodramatic for me, I just couldn't get through the beginning of it.
 
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House of God is to medicine as Animal House is to college and Catch-22 is to the military. It is satire. It is about getting through a difficult year in one's life. It is less about plot and more about comedy bits and running jokes.

Here are some old threads with recommended titles. They are a few years old so you should be able to find these in the used market for CHEAP!

Airport Reading
Some Worthwhile Summer Reading
 
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I was told not to read House of God until I spent time on the wards. I loved the humor and frustration.
I love books like The Man That Mistook his Wife for a Hat, and odd neurological books.
 
House of God is to medicine as Animal House is to college and Catch-22 is to the military. It is satire. It is about getting through a difficult year in one's life. It is less about plot and more about comedy bits and running jokes.

Here are some old threads with recommended titles. They are a few years old so you should be able to find these in the used market for CHEAP!

Airport Reading
Some Worthwhile Summer Reading
Fair enough. I suppose it's just that I usually read to get away from cynicism and the things that bother me, not to wallow in them. I'd rather read about someone struggling with something more epic and less dreary than reality!
 
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House of God is to medicine as Animal House is to college and Catch-22 is to the military. It is satire. It is about getting through a difficult year in one's life. It is less about plot and more about comedy bits and running jokes.

Here are some old threads with recommended titles. They are a few years old so you should be able to find these in the used market for CHEAP!

Airport Reading
Some Worthwhile Summer Reading


Shameless plug is appreciated!

Your copies wouldn't by any chance be part of this said cheap market? Lol.
 
Emperor of All Maladies is phenomenal. Highly recommended. His second book, The Gene, is also very good, although I haven't finished it yet. I liked "When the Air Hits Your Brain." Also, "Walk on Water: The Miracle of Saving Children's Lives" is written by a journalist about a pediatric heart surgeon. Really good.

I think because Emporer was so good, his second book was kind of a let down for me. I still haven't finished it, even though the subject fascinates me. As for Walk on Water, I loved it but kind of take it with a grain of salt. The author didn't even bother to figure out that a PA and an RNFA are not the same thing.
 
The witcher series is excellent, the games ain't too shabby either
 
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Looking to get a jump start on first semester...........NOT




Early April Fool's!

Actually, I'm just looking for some non-academic, medically related book recommendations. I just recently finished:

When Breath Become Air
Being Mortal
Hot Lights, Cold Steel


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Got mad at first when I saw your post's title

Then I liked it once you said April Fool's 'cause you got 'eeemed me

Then I unliked it once you asked for medically related book recommendations because I don't like to read them

Then I posted this
 
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Got mad at first when I saw your post's title

Then I liked it once you said April Fool's 'cause you got 'eeemed me

Then I unliked it once you asked for medically related book recommendations because I don't like to read them

Then I posted this

This is my favorite post ever.
 
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I can't believe Oliver Sacks, a brilliant neurologist hailing from Oxford, hasn't been mentioned yet! =O

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat would be a great read by him, especially for a rising medical student, though I like Musicophilia and Uncle Tungsten, and I want to read Hallucinations. The Man Who Mistook His Wife is essentially a collection of case studies of very bizarre collection neurological and cognitive disorders, which includes a case study about the titular man who cannot differentiate his hat from his wife (or fire hydrants from small children). He is one of the most intelligent writers I have read, yet is still very captivating and accessible.

He has a few TEDtalks and a PBS NOVA special which are based on his books and his oration style certain gives you an impression of his prose.
 
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I'm going to advise against reading House of God. I got advice to read the book and was told how good it was, but I don't think it was that great. Felt like there were many parts I was reading just to read something that was highly recommended. Some of it was interesting, but I think it's a bit overdone...
This is blasphemy
 
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The Dueling Neurosurgeons and The Violinist's Thumb are pretty good
 
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