What books do you guys recommend reading during the summer

[BABSstudent]

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I searched the forum and couldn't find any serious discussion on cool books to read. The closest one was last posted in 2005 and I am sure some cool books have come out since then.

So, what books do you guys recommend? They can be medical or nonmedical. I just finished my MCAT and my application has been verified for a long time. I have lots of free time and would love suggestions to read.

For example, I am currently reading My Own Medicine: A Doctor's Life as a Patient by Dr. Geoffrey Kurland. I definitely am enjoying it. After I finish, I am going to read To Kill a Mockingbird and then The Hot Zone.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I heard this book called Fifty Shades of Grey was pretty good.

 

[BABSstudent]

Thanks for the input. I don't think I really want to read that one. Reminds me of the SNL skit.

Congrats on your acceptances!

 

[MedBound1]

Medical:

Complications - Atul Gawande
Better - Atul Gawande
Mountains Beyond Mountains - Tracy Kidder
Monday Mornings - Sanjay Gupta
House of God - Samuel Shem

Non-Medical:

Busting Vegas - Ben Mezrich


I forget the title of the thread, but there was just one of these threads like 2 weeks ago.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Thanks for the input. I don't think I really want to read that one. Reminds me of the SNL skit.

Congrats on your acceptances!

LOL. I was totally kidding, but I do hope someone on SDN ends up reading that because I mentioned it. 😀 And thank you so much!

 

[kexy]

If you want medical stuff, I'd highly recommend The Emperor of All Maladies or The Coming Plague.

 

[ccrone]

It's summer. Read something worth reading. Personal favorites:

Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
The Collected Works of A.E. Housman
Spoon River Anthology, Edgar Lee Masters

Fun fact: Edgar Lee Masters was Clarence Darrow's law partner (Clarence Darrow=Scopes Monkey Trial)

ETA: I suppose I have to include something vaguely medical....how about The Plague, Albert Camus?

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

It's summer. Read something worth reading. Personal favorites:

Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
The Collected Works of A.E. Housman
Spoon River Anthology, Edgar Lee Masters

Fun fact: Edgar Lee Masters was Clarence Darrow's law partner (Clarence Darrow=Scopes Monkey Trial)

ETA: I suppose I have to include something vaguely medical....how about The Plague, Albert Camus?

Definitely The Plague! I also recommend The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera), Enduring Love (Ian McEwan), and Happy Accidents (Jane Lynch's memoir)

 

[circulus vitios]

The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinism

 

[jesse120]

The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinism

I watched the movie several years ago and was absolutely disgusted by it

edit: I mean, I guess that is the point of the book/movie, so I wouldn't say that it was necessarily a "bad" movie. I might read the book someday, mostly out of curiosity.

 

[jesse120]

Complications - Atul Gawande

My school just sent out a copy to each incoming student for optional summer reading. I read the book twice already, but still a nice gesture from the school. It's a great book 👍

 

[kdn508]

My Mother's Hip by Luisa Margolies

This was excellent!!!!

 

[NatrixCaelicola]

Cutting for stone - Abraham Veghese

 

[whatchagonnado]

Routine Miracles by Dr. Conrad Fischer

Great quick read about why this is the best time ever to be graduating from med school. He's trying to combat all of the current doctors who argue that medicine was better 25 years ago. Very inspiring and optimistic book.

 

[mechengmed]

The Game of Thrones (actually A Song of Fire and Ice but everyone calls it Game of Thrones because the TV series) series is pretty awesome if you are into medieval fantasy books.

I'm reading the novel about Steve Jobs now and its also really good.

 

[mimelim]

I have to admit, I learned more from high school required reading than anything by Atul Gawande. Good writer, interesting and important topics, but give me a suicidal Russian novelist over him any day 😉.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinism

I thought that said "120 Days of Sodomy" at first.

 

[Jaqen Hghar]

The Game of Thrones (actually A Song of Ice and Fire but everyone calls it Game of Thrones because the TV series) series is pretty awesome if you are into medieval fantasy books.

I'm reading the novel about Steve Jobs now and its also really good.

I think it should go without saying that I came in here to recommend this series.

Also, you have probably already read it, but I don't think it was already mentioned: Hot Lights, Cold Steel - Michael J. Collins, MD

 

[Intellex]

The Disappearing Spoon - Sam Kean

 

[Chronos]

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Sciencey, really well done.

This Won't Hurt a Bit: (And Other White Lies): My Education in Medicine and Motherhood by Michelle Au. This one is medical related and hilarious. As a guy I still loved the book.



Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. Another hilarious book that made me laugh constantly. Lots of cursing so if that's not for you stay away.


The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language. Well written, it's a pretty easy read and is pretty funny. Good intro book if you're interested/curious about languages/linguistics.



The Hot Zone is always a great pick

 

[Beekachu]

The Game of Thrones (actually A Song of Fire and Ice but everyone calls it Game of Thrones because the TV series) series is pretty awesome if you are into medieval fantasy books.

I'm reading the novel about Steve Jobs now and its also really good.

Definitely! But be warned.. they are big, thick books and addicting, which totally ruined my productivity at work and home while I was reading them. 😛

 

[MedPR]

Heirs of General Practice (or something like that) is pretty good even if you aren't interested in FM/IM.. A DO I shadowed gave it to me to read.

 

[Doctor Strange]

The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett

If you love mystery-murder-thrillers, you'll be hooked to this series!

 

[Praefectus]

The Game of Thrones (actually A Song of Fire and Ice but everyone calls it Game of Thrones because the TV series) series is pretty awesome if you are into medieval fantasy books.

👍👍👍👍👍 Definitely read them. It's a few thousand pages of plot twists and shady backroom deals, but it's a highly addicting series.

Emperor of All Maladies is a good read, and so is Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

 

[kpcrew]

👍👍👍👍👍 Definitely read them. It's a few thousand pages of plot twists and shady backroom deals, but it's a highly addicting series.

Emperor of All Maladies is a good read, and so is Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

except book 4
i nearly stopped reading after that

 

[twizzlers713]

Obviously game of thrones. And a book which has rules stating i am not to talk about it

 

[tn4596]

you can skip games of throne book 1 and 2 by just watching the series. it is so good.

 

[ur2l8]

The Hobbit, LOTR, Silmarillion! The other books mentioned are good too. I would like to read the A song of ice and fire series.

 

[Lactobacillus]

The Hobbit, LOTR, Silmarillion! The other books mentioned are good too. I would like to read the A song of ice and fire series.

First book is one of my favorites. Part of the way through the second with little time to read :-(

I also recommend the Shannara (sword, elfstone, wishsong) series, by Terry Brooks, if you're into those type of LOTR books.

 

[AtlasCarraway]

Also, you have probably already read it, but I don't think it was already mentioned: Hot Lights, Cold Steel - Michael J. Collins, MD

Bought this last night and read the first 4-5 chapters so far. Loving it!

I would recommend reading the Great Gatsby to get ready for the movie in December too.

 

[H Y F R]

You need advice on cool books to read? Are people here so desperate to start their own thread that they will ask the first question that comes to mind?

 

[MedBound1]

You need advice on cool books to read? Are people here so desperate to start their own thread that they will ask the first question that comes to mind?

Sadly, this thread has more of a 'purpose' than most that are started in the pre-allo forum.

 

[H Y F R]

Sadly, this thread has more of a 'purpose' than most that are started in the pre-allo forum.

I agree with you. I just find it weird.

 

[BABSstudent]

You need advice on cool books to read? Are people here so desperate to start their own thread that they will ask the first question that comes to mind?

I wanted recommendations from people. I had been searching amazon for books and there were just so many that I didn't know where to start. Luckily I have access to people that are similar to me thanks to SDN.

I am surprised nobody said anything about Harry Potter. I think I will add that to the list and reread them this summer.

 

[H Y F R]

BABS - recommendations? Go for a walk. Play some basketball. And if you want to read, pick up something that interests you. It makes no sense to ask strangers what you should spend your time reading.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I wanted recommendations from people. I had been searching amazon for books and there were just so many that I didn't know where to start. Luckily I have access to people that are similar to me thanks to SDN.

I am surprised nobody said anything about Harry Potter. I think I will add that to the list and reread them this summer.

I think the general assumption is the everyone has already read Harry Potter.

Sent from my X10i using SDN Mobile

 

[AtlasCarraway]

Lol @ even a thread about books turning into an argument. SDN is terrifying.

 

[Praefectus]

I think the general assumption is the everyone has already read Harry Potter.

Everyone that I know finished the series several years ago.

 

[NightGod]

I think the general assumption is the everyone has already read Harry Potter.

Sent from my X10i using SDN Mobile

That's why I didn't mention it, though it came to mind. Oddly enough, I didn't read them until last semester, when the first book was part of a class, I then went on to read all of them in about ten days. Great series, but you all know that already 😉

 

[tima]

Do you like pictures?

If so, The Cat in the Hat is a good book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_in_the_Hat

 

[kpcrew]

you can skip games of throne book 1 and 2 by just watching the series. it is so good.

i see this a lot but there are a lot of side characters and nuances that will be missed.

 

[Blaughable]

Cutting Remarks - Sidney M. Schwab
"Insights and Recollections of a Surgeon"

Finally got this book in the mail. Really well written and interesting. Definitely give it a read. At the very least hit up his blog:

http://surgeonsblog.blogspot.com/

There's some golden posts there. It might seem strange, but his blog is a big part of me wanting to pursue medicine in the first place.

 

[mohad]

👍👍👍👍👍 Definitely read them. It's a few thousand pages of plot twists and shady backroom deals, but it's a highly addicting series.

Emperor of All Maladies is a good read, and so is Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

I'm reading the art of war right now, and I'm contemplating about whether I should drop it or not. It's so dry and quite repetitive. It is interesting to a certain point. I'll probably reread the count of monte cristo or something because I don't really feel like continuing with the art of war.

 

[mehc012]

you can skip games of throne book 1 and 2 by just watching the series. it is so good.

I'm torn on this issue. I have only once enjoyed a movie/show even half as much as the book (LOTR, which I think is more enjoyable as a movie, is the only exception here). On one hand, that makes me think that you should always read the book first, because you get so much more out of it.

On the other hand, I have a hard time watching the GoT show, despite loving the book series and all of the actors, and the fact that they seemed to stick to the plot very well. I think it's because I can't stand how SLOW it seems when watching. By the time you finish a few episodes, you could be done with the book!

I wonder if I would enjoy movies more if I watched them before the book, so I don't know what I'm missing. That way, I might enjoy the movie AND the book, because I'm getting something new from each one. I wouldn't hate the HP movies for being so not-true-to-the-book, or get impatient during the GoT show, or cringe at the actor choice/set/costumes.

Then again, most movies seem to leave out all of the important details and just include the buzzwords and the bare bones of the plot. I'm not sure I'd want to read the books after some of these movies!

TL;DR: Movie first or book first? Why?

 

[NightGod]

I did the "movies first, books second" plan with the HP books and I'm pretty sure I enjoyed both of them a lot more because of it. The movies were awesome in and of themselves and the books served to flesh out the world and characters a lot more. I wish I could see into the future and know what is going to be made into an awesome movie/tv series (because, let's face it, there are some seriously bad ones made from amazing books-I'm looking at you Sword of Truth) so I could hold off on reading the books until after I saw the movies they were based on.

 

[LaughingMan]

Hey OP,

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - Very interesting book on international corruption.

1984 - You probably know this.

Enders Game - Awesome book and is a recommended reading for the US military. Sadly the author is an anti-homo bigot--so make your own judgement.

I read mainly Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Economic books so if you are interested in more--lmk.

Best of luck.

 

[ILuvScience]

The great gatsby, hunger games series


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile app

 

[levodopa]

I've been enjoying Gabriel Garcia Marquez this summer. I am also listening to "Mountains Beyond Mountains" on tape and it's great.

 

[mehc012]

Enders Game - Awesome book and is a recommended reading for the US military. Sadly the author is an anti-homo bigot--so make your own judgement.
.

That is my absolute favorite book/series, and has been since I was a kid. I heard Card was sort of a tool, so I just refrained from ever looking his personal comments/life up at all, and you can't tell from his writing. For me it was easy, because my personal philosophy is that a book should stand by itself, and I actually really dislike learning about the author anyway! Definitely read it!

 

[mehc012]

I did the "movies first, books second" plan with the HP books and I'm pretty sure I enjoyed both of them a lot more because of it. The movies were awesome in and of themselves and the books served to flesh out the world and characters a lot more. I wish I could see into the future and know what is going to be made into an awesome movie/tv series (because, let's face it, there are some seriously bad ones made from amazing books-I'm looking at you Sword of Truth) so I could hold off on reading the books until after I saw the movies they were based on.

Yeah, I had heard people who like the HP movies, and they almost always hadn't read the books. Personally, I thought they were terrible*, but I think that's because I was always comparing them to the novels! I actually enjoyed the Legend of the Seeker series, despite how cheesy it often was...as long as there was a little bit of the main plot in an episode, I found it worth watching (though I admit that the fact that Richard was played by Craig Horner probably didn't hurt!)

I'm really starting to think I might switch to a movie-before-books philosophy just because the books are always better, even if that sounds backward!

*of course, I still watch them...I just wouldn't own them!