some good novels to read before going to med. school

[Chankovsky]

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Any input will be appreciated. Just something fun and interesting.

 

[Street Philosopher]

The Brothers Karamazov

 

[Icegloves]

War Hospital by Sheri Fink, M. D., Combat Surgery!

 

[TTSD]

I highly recommend Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. It's not "sci-fi." It uses science fiction as a vessel, it's real meat is in its philosophy which I found fascinating and opened my mind to new ways of thinking about such things as life, love and art.

Also a GREAT book is "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara. This dramatized history book was later adapted into the movie Gettysburg almost word for word. A truly moving book that ignited a passion and interest in the civil war. The civil war was truly a remarkable time, where men of great passion, education, faith and friendship embarked on a long journey to slaughter each other culminating at a small town in Pennsylvania.

People of the Lie by Dr. Scott Peck. It has a slight Christian slant to it, so if you know you'll be turned off by that like cat in heat by cold water then stay away. But it's a remarkable read about the narcissm's role in the root of evil as Dr. Peck relates a few of his clinical cases.

 

[jbing]

dude, you gotta read Moneyball by Michael Lewis. some people will probably just write it off as a "baseball book" but there's more to it than that. what it's really about is going against the grain of established thought. god knows medicine today can use this approach to thinking. and if you like baseball, that's just an added bonus, but you don't have to in order to enjoy this book. well written too.

 

[tjc]

A must read by anyone considering being a doctor. Very hilarious too. It was written by Samuel Shem.

 

[Amy B]

Ice Bound was an interesting book. It is the true story written by the women doc who was stuck in Antartica and developed breast cancer. Her struggle was amazing and the day to day life they face in the south pole was absolutely incredable.. Wow is all I can say.

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by Amy B
Ice Bound was an interesting book. It is the true story written by the women doc who was stuck in Antartica and developed breast cancer. Her struggle was amazing and the day to day life they face in the south pole was absolutely incredable.. Wow is all I can say.

Ah yes, followed the news on that one if its the same story I'm thinking about. Did you hear about that poor researcher who was pulled under and drowned by a seal over there? :-\

Com'on guys though, the OP just asked for fun books. Stop giving him "medical" related books you obsessive freaks :-D

 

[soonerpillow]

Originally posted by TTSD
Com'on guys though, the OP just asked for fun books. Stop giving him "medical" related books you obsessive freaks :-D

Yeah, I agree. I'm staying away from medical books and science classes my last semester.

My favorite "fun" books:

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King (4 books are out now, the last 3 will be out in the next year)

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan


Yeah, I know, they're all series, but that really lets you get to know the characters and setting better. They're all sort of Fantasy books, so if that's not your thing, don't read 'em.

 

[mattorama]

Originally posted by holden73
who are you trying to impress? i bet you haven't read a single page of that novel. 🙄

I second SP...I am reading it right now and it is really good.

 

[cheesypoofs]

the best book I have read in two or three years is "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry

It is based on the true politics in India back in the 70's.

I know sounds boring, but the way the author weave the four main characters into each other's lives is amazing since they come from such different background and circumstances; yet, their collective tragedy brings them together. Read this! I read it twice and the only other book I have read more then once was Catcher in the Rye when I was 14.

 

[pboothe]

Go to my website http://iws.ccccd.edu/pboothe

click on book reviews

Check out the the authors: Robin Cook, Michael Palmer, Sinclair Lewis, and of course Michael Crichton



😱

 

[twinklz]

I really enjoyed The DaVinci Code. Its a really quick read full of twists and turns.

Also, The Poisonwood Bible I found to be a very good if somewhat depressing book.

Oh, and I read Dune recently, and really liked it. Didn't delve into the series though because I figured they just couldn't compare.

Lord of the Rings is a good series, but its rather dense.

And, as always the Harry Potter books are delightful 🙂

 

[smuwillobrien]

I'm with Street Philosopher on the Brothers Karamazov. I haven't read it, but I read Crime and Punishment and loved Dostoevsky's works.

 

[Lux Aeterna]

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down -- med related, but your non-med friends will most likely enjoy it as well... really well written

 

[chocolateshake]

I am reading "City of Joy" by Dominique LaPierre, and I think it's awesome!

Here's the review that Amazon gives about the book:

"What irony that one of Calcutta's most devastating slums should be known as Anand Nagar, ``the City of Joy.'' By interweaving impressionistic glimpses from the lives of a French priest, a rickshaw driver, and an American doctor, Lapierre creates a searing vision of the struggle for survival, the flashing violence, and the social and cultural practices of the slum. His theme that from human misery can emerge joy might seem to some readers as a bogus acceptance of a terrible evil. Yet Lapierre's narrative slides skillfully in and out of both history and fiction to create an effective but horrible montage of disease, death, and destruction amid elements of charity, hope, and love. The City of Joy should elicit strong reactions from readers. "

😎

 

[pippergal]

After spending a year in classes, I must say that the most influential book I have yet read about medicine is
"it's always something" by Gilda Radnor

I would put this on the must read list with "wit" the movie being on the must see list. Both give a profound perspective on life as a cancer patient. amazing.

 

[xanthines]

Read "Wit" instead of watching it. It's quicker and more satisfying that way!

-X

 

[crazee8]

I highly recommend you to read Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon," its beautifully written and the plot is completely driven by the characters' flaws and aspirations and the struggle of race and racism and how the understanding of one's past heritage, enables one to learn about oneself. Really good book--it also won the Nobel Prize for literature.

I also recommend Nabokov's "Lolita." While, on the surface, the plot focuses on a perverse forty year old man who becomes infactuated and falls obsessively in love with a 11-12 year old "nymphet," robbing her of her childhood by sexually trapping her, you'll have to read closely to see the many deeper meanings in the text. Ultimately, I think that it is a great novel in that it challenges us intellectually, disturbs us emotionally, and ultimately leads us to fascination and revulsion while making us question society's values. I also think "Lolita" is one of the most-beautifully-constructed yet controversial novels of the Twentieth Century.

 

[ewing]

Originally posted by crazee8

I also recommend Nabokov's "Lolita," on the surface, its about a perverse forty year old man who becomes infactuated and falls obsessively in love with a 11-12 year old "nymphet," robbing her of her childhood by sexually trapping her. You'll have to read closely to see the many deeper meanings in the text. Ultimately, it is a great novel in that it challenges us intellectually, disturbs us emotionally, and ultimately leads us to fascination and revulsion while making us question our moral values. I think its also one of the most-beautifully-constructed novels of the Twentieth Century yet misunderstood. Some people with strong conservative views are outrightly repulsed by this novel....

I agree that Nabokov is the most brilliant writer and literary critic of our time. Lolita can be rough though. Try Pnin, a delightful short novel about a bumblimg Russian expatriate academic, or his short stories.

Also, I think White Teeth by Zadie Smith is a great read. Stay away from her socond novel, though. Amy Tan is a good novelist, too, and her novels and short stories are all uniformly good.

Also, read any great literature that you've just never gotten around to. For example, I'm sure most American college grads have read The Great Gatsby, and a book or two by Hemmingway, but it you haven't--now is the time.

To the OP, congrats on a well-earned case of senioritis and happy reading.

 

[cwassman]

The Fourth Procedure by Stanley Pottinger


I read this back in 95, good read, highly recommended.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0345402308

Cheers,
c

 

[anxiousone]

I agree with SP on Brothers Karamazov...I really enjoyed that book. Two other really good books I read recently were the Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie and The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. If you're into fantasy books, i.e. dragons and magic, I would recommend books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman--The Deathgate Cyle or any of the Dragonlance trilogies.

 

[jbing]

may i recommend "cat in the hat" by dr. seuss?

 

[Manual]

You should read "Less Than Zero" by Bret Easton Ellis. A very uplifting book.

Next go for "Tender is the Night" by Fitzgerald followed by "The Sun Also Rises" by Hemingway, you'll feel great.

 

[lyragrl]

Originally posted by jbing
this thread sounds more like a competition of trying to sound well read. im surprised you all didn't mention how much you just loooooooove classical music while you're at it. may i recommend "cat in the hat" by dr. seuss?

I don't know, buddy, I just like to read. Plus, people are recommending everything from Stephen King to Dosteyevsky (sp?). Generally, people aren't showing off when they say they like Stephen King and Harry Potter. (No offense to those people--I like both Stephen King and JK Rowling.)

Someone mentioned "Satanic Verses." "Midnight's Children" by Rushdie is my favorite of his. In general, the Booker Prize winners are interesting reads. Of those, I really liked: "Life of Pi" "The English Patient" and "The God of Small Things."

I also recently read "Atonement" which I loved. "Running with Scissors" was also very good, but be prepared to be v. shocked!

And, my personal fave on a bad day: "Bridget Jones' Diary" and "The Edge of Reason"

 

[Ebola]

Originally posted by Chankovsky
Any input will be appreciated. Just something fun and interesting.

Catcher In The Rye

 

[Dr. Lector]

Try BRS physio.

 

[jaboy]

Originally posted by jbing
dude, you gotta read Moneyball by Michael Lewis. some people will probably just write it off as a "baseball book" but there's more to it than that. what it's really about is going against the grain of established thought. god knows medicine today can use this approach to thinking. and if you like baseball, that's just an added bonus, but you don't have to in order to enjoy this book. well written too.

I agree with you. I hate baseball but I loved the book. I heard Mr. Lewis on Fresh Air a few months ago and he gave a great interview that convinced me to pick up the book (at the library, since I can't be wasting money buying books).

 

[vegangirl]

One of my all time favorites

"The Cider House Rules" by John Irving

and "Middlesex" by Jeffery Eugendies (he writes about my hometown---Grosse Pointe Mich)