Some Worthwhile Summer Reading

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Although my mom got it for me and I expected very little of it, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch is excellent. Or you can watch the video of it, but the book goes more in depth.

For lighter reading, all the Christians(or anybody with some knowledge of the Bible) out there with a good sense of humor will get a kick out Lamb by Richard Moore. A story about what happened between the birth narratives and the wedding at Cana.
 
Thanks for the feed back Red Leader (and also the other book suggestions) and justmoi. I was planning on reading it regardless as I have been wanting to for a while now after seeing a YouTube lecture in which he seemed to parallel some of my views about religion. I guess I will bring it up if I feel my interviewer can handle it! Thanks
 
my advice for premed reading: anything not related to medicine.

seriously, too many premeds think everything they do has to be related to medicine in some way.

it makes you boring at your interviews.
 
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Interesting alternative viewpoint on the bible and life written as a fiction book.
After Daccau (sp?) by Daniel Quinn
Story set in a world where Hitler won.
 
Bump ....

Adding a couple from another thread:



Death Foretold by Nicholas A. Christakis (about making and communicating prognosis)

Knife Man by Wendy Moore (about John Hunter, eighteenth century British surgeon-scientist-- you can check out the table on contents on Amazon and you may be hooked!])
 
Wow. This thread is a gold mine. Unfortunately I currently don't have anything to add; everything top of mind has already been mentioned. Tagging this topic in the hopes that I can add to the list in the future.

LizzyM said:
For the same subject, I strongly recommend America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 by Alfred W. Crosby.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip - sounds interesting. I actually really enjoyed The Great Influenza though 😀
 
Medical fiction: Black Flies makes House of God look like this. It is one of the best books I've read, and I do a lot of reading. (Yes, I enjoyed House of God too.) In a lighter vein, Beat the Reaper is a blast, if you want something fun; can't wait for the sequel to come out next February.
 
I also really enjoyed The Great Influenza and its level of detail. I didn't know anything about the history of medicine when I picked it up a few years ago. And William Oswald Avery was pretty cool.

For people interested in the history of science, there's an oldy (seriously, it's from the 1920s) but a goody called The Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif. It's incredibly readable and full of wonderful stories about Pasteur, Koch, Ehrlich, and some less-well-known scientists from the 18th century like Leeuwenhoek. It's really interesting and entertaining and (imho) has aged great, even if you just read it as a curiosity piece. Reportedly what inspired Sabin to go into medicine instead of dentistry.
 
Why all med based books?

I'm currently reading Brave New World and picked up Ulysess for vacation. There are plenty of thought provoking books that could serve one better during interviews and conservations in general.
 
Why are people always pushing pre-meds to read medical books? Over the years, I've read quite a few of them and I don't think they have really helped me out.

I hate seeing kids on the interview trail talking about all the medical books that hey have read, and how they now know what they are getting themselves into b/c they read a few hundred pages about someones dramatized experience during third year or residency. Read things that you want to read, which most likely won't be a 300 page book on how someone felt during the match process. Don't jump on the bandwagon and pick up "Hot Light, Cold Steel", "House of God", "Complications", etc b/c someone on SDN thinks it's going to help you get into medical school.
 
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, excellent biography of cancer.
 
fahimaz7 said:
Why are people always pushing pre-meds to read medical books? Over the years, I've read quite a few of them and I don't think they have really helped me out.

I hate seeing kids on the interview trail talking about all the medical books that hey have read, and how they now know what they are getting themselves into b/c they read a few hundred pages about someones dramatized experience during third year or residency. Read things that you want to read, which most likely won't be a 300 page book on how someone felt during the match process. Don't jump on the bandwagon and pick up "Hot Light, Cold Steel", "House of God", "Complications", etc b/c someone on SDN thinks it's going to help you get into medical school.
Click to expand...
Maybe because people who are interested in medicine are naturally attracted to the culture? I read the books I have because I enjoy them, the fact that I enjoy medical literature (among many types) is more reflective of my enjoyment of the craft of medicine itself than because I believe it will help me on the interview trail.

Anyway.
The Scalpel's Edge is quite a bit different from the other books mentioned here, but as someone interested in one day being a surgeon, I found it interesting. It's actually written by a cultural anthropologist who spent time shadowing and studying surgeons to better understand the mindset and culture of those who spend their lives cutting people open. It's really more of an extended academic thesis, but I still found it quite accessible overall and, as some of the reviews mention, the chapter on operating room rituals was especially fascinating.
 
NightGod said:
Maybe because people who are interested in medicine are naturally attracted to the culture? I read the books I have because I enjoy them, the fact that I enjoy medical literature (among many types) is more reflective of my enjoyment of the craft of medicine itself than because I believe it will help me on the interview trail.

Anyway.
The Scalpel's Edge is quite a bit different from the other books mentioned here, but as someone interested in one day being a surgeon, I found it interesting. It's actually written by a cultural anthropologist who spent time shadowing and studying surgeons to better understand the mindset and culture of those who spend their lives cutting people open. It's really more of an extended academic thesis, but I still found it quite accessible overall and, as some of the reviews mention, the chapter on operating room rituals was especially fascinating.
Click to expand...

There are quite a few books like the one that you mentioned there. I remember reading some book that was written by a PHD in a soft science (anthropology or sociology) that went back to medical school when he was about 40. Interesting book, but I think most people read these books to "look good" on the interview trail, and not b/c they love reading 15 books on what being a doctor is like.

Most of the doctors that I know would tell you that it's nothing other than a good job.
 
Last edited:
Books I have read/am reading this year:

Medicalish

Breakthrough! How the 10 Greatest Discoveries in Medicine Saved Millions and Changed the World -Jon Queijo
(Another top 10 book, but it's pretty entertaining actually...more often than not its the story of scientists who were lucky or too stubborn for their own good and ended up making an impact)

How Doctors Think -Jerome Groopman
(Amazing...House meets decision-analysis. I think everyone should read this book, as both a current patient and hopeful future doctor!)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks -Rebecca Skloot

Mountains Beyond Mountains -Tracy Kidder
(Yes, I'm a follower. But it is good!)

Out of Poverty -Paul Polak

The Healing of America -T.R. Reid

The Third Chimpanzee -Jared Diamond
(More science than medical, but still good!)


Not Medical

South of Broad -Pat Conroy

Water for Elephants -Sara Gruen

The Help -Kathryn Stockett

The Devil in the White City -Erik Larson

Three Cups of Tea -Greg Mortenson

A Song of Fire and Ice Series -George R. R. Martin

Ender's Game Series -Orson Scott Card
 
fahimaz7 said:
There are quite a few books like the one that you mentioned there. I remember reading some book that was written by a PHD in a soft science (anthropology or sociology) that went back to medical school when he was about 40. Interesting book, but I think most people read these books to "look good" on the interview trail, and not b/c they love reading 15 books on what being a doctor is like.

Most of the doctors that I know would tell you that it's nothing other than a good job.
Click to expand...

Or maybe we just read them because we're obsessive Type As who will do anything that makes us feel closer to being a doctor? 🙂
 
fahimaz7 said:
Why are people always pushing pre-meds to read medical books? Over the years, I've read quite a few of them and I don't think they have really helped me out.

I hate seeing kids on the interview trail talking about all the medical books that hey have read, and how they now know what they are getting themselves into b/c they read a few hundred pages about someones dramatized experience during third year or residency. Read things that you want to read, which most likely won't be a 300 page book on how someone felt during the match process. Don't jump on the bandwagon and pick up "Hot Light, Cold Steel", "House of God", "Complications", etc b/c someone on SDN thinks it's going to help you get into medical school.
Click to expand...

That's why I recommended:
The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek (short stories)

The Death of Vishnu: A Novel by Manil Suri

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (short stories)

Bel Canto: A Novel by Ann Patchett

I also liked:
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
What Is The What by David Eggers
 
LizzyM said:
Looking at my bookshelf this morning turned my thoughts to books that pre-meds might find interesting & thought provoking. These are oldies that you may find at your local library and they are also available online - often at a discount!
Click to expand...

Although my local library contains an excellent collection of romantic novels and other assorted fluff, it didn't have any of the books on the list. 😡

Sigh... Social priorities.
 
ElCapone said:
Although my local library contains an excellent collection of romantic novels and other assorted fluff, it didn't have any of the books on the list. 😡

Sigh... Social priorities.
Click to expand...

Interlibrary loan! There's got to be at least one copy of each of those books somewhere in the great state of Texas. BTW Selzer's papers are in Austin, IIRC.
 
LizzyM said:
Interlibrary loan! There's got to be at least one copy of each of those books somewhere in the great state of Texas. BTW Selzer's papers are in Austin, IIRC.
Click to expand...

That's a good idea! I'll definitely check a bunch of libraries around the area and see if I can find those books.

Thanks a lot for the list!
 
biophilia said:
Public library + school library + interlibrary loan + Kindle + Amazon = 🙂

Many public libraries also have lots of audiobooks and ebooks, too 🙂

Some novels (nonmedical):
-Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
-The Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker
-Atonement by Ian McEwan
-A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
-On Beauty by Zadie Smith
-Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
-A Box of Matches by Nicholson Baker
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
-Freedom by Jonathan Frazen
-Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
-Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
-The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
-Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron (a young adult novel)
-A Patent Lie by Paul Goldstein
-The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 😀
Click to expand...

Most favorite: Wolfe. I also liked A Man in Full (set in Atlanta & the Georgia countryside) although it wrapped up to quickly at the end after running on & on for so long.

Least favorite: Brown.
 
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a great read. Currently reading it. Good background of cancer and its history.
 
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.

I hold this book in high esteem. Great novel. Very philosophical and introspective about life, love, purpose, and meaning.
(edit: and for you pre-meds one of the main characters is a young surgeon... if that's needed to pique your interest...)
 
Last edited:
Series to consider, all non-medical unless you are interested in the physiology of supernatural creatures:
The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laura K. Hamilton (warning, it gets really weird about half-way through, but she brings is back)
 
Gawande's Better was great along with Complications. The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge was mind blowing, and it didn't read like a science journal.
 
NightGod said:
Maybe because people who are interested in medicine are naturally attracted to the culture? I read the books I have because I enjoy them, the fact that I enjoy medical literature (among many types) is more reflective of my enjoyment of the craft of medicine itself than because I believe it will help me on the interview trail.
Click to expand...

👍
 
Gawande's Checklist Manifesto was really neat too, seeing it pop in the news lately has been cool.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach was surprisingly hilarious and entertaining, I now know I will be donating my body to science when it's my time. Good summer read.

And completely non-medical Water for Elephants, haven't seen the movie yet but the book was great. Easy summer read, very touching story of a nursing home patient as well.
 
sapalee said:
Gawande's Better was great along with Complications. The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge was mind blowing, and it didn't read like a science journal.
Click to expand...

Just googled that one. Sounds really good. I'm gonna have to check it out.
 
I liked "Every Patient Tells a Story" by Lisa Sanders, M.D.
 
Hot Zone by Richard Preston

Non-fiction history/story about Ebola and related viruses, their origin, and the suffering these viruses cause in their hosts. I couldn't believe what I was reading half the time, that's how intriguing it was.
 
sapalee said:
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach was surprisingly hilarious and entertaining, I now know I will be donating my body to science when it's my time. Good summer read.
Click to expand...

This is actually the book that made me want to become a pathologist specifically. I remember reading the part where the researcher goes "Yeah, I always wanted to work with cadavers!" and realizing that I had always wanted to work with cadavers too, and that was ok.

Also, any and all of Mary Roach's other books are just as awesome. Specifically (and unspecifically without their subtitles), they are spook (which is about the soul), bonk (which is about sex 😉 ) and Packing for Mars, which is about the space shuttle program, and how they deal with all of the human needs of astronauts. It's a timely read, now that the program is grounded. It really gives an important sense of perspective of the last fifty years or so
 
Historical Fiction

The Saxon Series by Bernard Cornwell

Beauty.
 
Blood and Guts by Richard Hollingham is a terrific read about some very important moments in the advances of surgery and Johnathan Livingston Seagull is a book that absolutely EVERYONE should read.
 
fahimaz7 said:
There are quite a few books like the one that you mentioned there. I remember reading some book that was written by a PHD in a soft science (anthropology or sociology) that went back to medical school when he was about 40. Interesting book, but I think most people read these books to "look good" on the interview trail, and not b/c they love reading 15 books on what being a doctor is like.

Most of the doctors that I know would tell you that it's nothing other than a good job.
Click to expand...

That would be "Becoming a Doctor" by Melvin Konner. Interesting in parts, but a bit of a dreary read overall. In some parts the narrative detail just dragged to the point of becoming overkill..
 
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro--one of the most potent books I have ever read. It changed the way I look at life and death. Remains of the Day is also excellent (though NLMG is much more relevant to medicine). The movie really doesn't do the book justice.

I second all the Gawande stuff (duh) and Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lim.
 
The Plague by Camus. I liked it sooo much better than The Stranger (perhaps because I read The Plague first, loved it, and expected The Stranger to be even better) and it has a medical bent.

Longshanks said:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.

I hold this book in high esteem. Great novel. Very philosophical and introspective about life, love, purpose, and meaning.
(edit: and for you pre-meds one of the main characters is a young surgeon... if that's needed to pique your interest...)
Click to expand...

Seconded..actually discussed on a scholarship interview haha.
 
Thanks for the recommendations! I think I'm set for this summer now, haha.

Books that I've just finished reading:

Beloved by Toni Morrison : dark book but incredibly well written. Makes you think about civil rights, racial relations, all the fun stuff.

Drown by Junot Diaz: Collection of short stories from a man who moved to the US from the Dominican Repulbic. Modern, and fun to read.

White Noise by Don Dellilo: Fictional story about how technology and the media are changing our lives. Even though it was written in the 80s it's pretty dead on.

Some of my all time favorites that haven't been mentioned so far:

A farewell to Arms / For Whom the Bell Tolls (Hemmingway)
Anything by Jack London
Catcher in the Rye (Salinger)
Surely, You're Joking Mr. Feynman (Everybody should read this; great look into a great mind)
 
I am in the middle of The Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate, which I really enjoy. It's great if you have any interest in addiction medicine or working with homeless populations, but I think it has usefulness beyond that.

For fun reading, I find almost anything by Octavia Butler to be fantastic. She was a really unique voice in sci-fi (and I don't read much scifi). Parable of the Sower was my favorite.
 
The Physician by Noah Gordon is long but a great story
 
I suggest Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue by Paul Woodruff. A very relevant read for pre-meds.
 
'The Greatest Benefit to Mankind' by Roy Porter. It is a medical history, but I found it fascinating, especially the sections on the beginning of specialities like Psychiatry and Surgery.
 
Survival of the Sickest: The Surprising Connection Between Disease and Longevity by Dr. Sharon Moalem is an interesting read. Medicine from an evolutionary standpoint.

Also, for you music-minded people, This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession is a great read. Lovely book about the neuroscience of music.
 
"The Ghost Map" by steven johnson was recommended/gifted to me by older brother under the guise "If you're serious about being a doctor, you need to read this book" Not sure about that, but it's a good review of the cholera epidemic in London and Dr. Snow's thought processes
 
Some really good ones have been mentioned (I'll put a big second in for "Devil in the White City" by Erick Larson. It was spectacularly researched and the historical details fit together so well/the story is so incredible you really can't believe you are reading a non-fiction work)

I'll add two I read recently:

"Lonesome Dove" by Larry Mcmurtry
- tells the story of retired texas rangers taking a heard of cattle from the rio grande up to Montana before it was settled. The characters are what really make the book great though.

"A Visit From the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan
- About a music executive and his assistant told over the course of each of their lives from other people's perspectives while we are reading those other people's stories. One chapter is actually told in power point form.
 
TACMON said:
"The Ghost Map" by steven johnson was recommended/gifted to me by older brother under the guise "If you're serious about being a doctor, you need to read this book" Not sure about that, but it's a good review of the cholera epidemic in London and Dr. Snow's thought processes
Click to expand...

read that this fall. Was pretty good.
 
For anyone relocating to Boston for med school (but especially future BU students, as much of the action centers around Boston's South End neighborhood), I'd recommend Anthony Lukas' Common Ground.

It's a relatively even-handed look at the early 1970s crisis surrounding the court-ordered busing that attempted to integrate Boston's public schools that had fallen into de facto segregation in the early 1970s. Lukas' account paints a nuanced portrait of the crisis from the perspective of three very different families--the Divers, the Twymons, and the McGoffs--using genealogical histories and ten years worth of extensive interviews and exhaustive research. By the end, Lukas' narration goes beyond the three families and explores the role of the Boston Globe and Kevin White's City Hall. More than that, it really gives you a sense of how a city comes to be.

Things have changed a lot since then in Boston, but it was fascinating to read about this recent history that took place a mere 40 years ago.
 
Of particular interest to African-Americans and those interested in twentieth century American history:

Seeing Patients: Unconscious Bias in Health Care by Augustus A. White, III (more autobiography than anything else by an orthopedic surgeon from Harvard)

The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of the America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson One of the African-Americans featured in this book became a very successful surgeon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
  • Question Question
Gardening for underserved communities = worthwhile non-clinical?
Replies
5
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
L
Summer Prerequisite Question
Replies
5
Views
285
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
P
Taking summer online courses
Replies
3
Views
652
chilly_md
chilly_md
A
  • Question Question
Summer 2025 Plan
Replies
12
Views
2K
jovialmedstudent
J
fishs
Summer 2025 Plans
Replies
4
Views
2K
AsclepiusAdvisingLLC
AsclepiusAdvisingLLC
Top Bottom