what do you read for fun??

[Guest mephistopheles0003]

Hi all,

 

I'm a med student at U of T & I'm writing an article comparing the reading preferences of premed & med students.

 

If you could help me out by answering a few questions, I would be eternally appreciative

 

You can either post a reply on this board (I'm sure this would be an interesting topic for all) or you can send me an email at mephistopheles_03@yahoo.ca.

 

Questions:

1. What are your top 3 books & why?

2. Who or what influences your decision to pick 1 book over another (e.g. friend recommendation, Oprah)?

3. Do you think outside reading should be encouraged in undergrad & med school?

4. How do you think medical school changed your reading habits (e.g. frequency, type of book)?

5. If you were asked "What do you read?" during your medical school interview, did you feel pressured to discuss books that reflected your interest in medicine? What did you say?

 

Thank you so much for getting through this post & enjoy the summer!!

 

Mephisto

[Guest satsumargirl]

I shouldn't be on this site until the 31st...so I can take my mind off med school, but it's helping me procrastinate and waste time. My bf has been in China for the last month -sigh-

 

So...happy to answer your survey questions!

 

1. Top 3 books (this is a though question, as I am not a big book reader actually) But if the books I've read more recently these would be the 3 I liked:

 

a) Next of Kin by Roger Fouts who is a primatologist. He lucked out and got to essentially be the caregiver for Washoe and the book tells of his experiences living and communicating with a Chimpanzee. It is really interesting to learn about the dynamic and there are many funny stories...like people's reactions to him driving on the freeway to school with a chimp next to him! I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in this topic. I've loaned it to a PT at work and he's finding it interesting as well.

The Concubine's Children by Denise Chong who tells the story of her mother who was the daughter (born in Vancouver) of a Chinese man and his concubine. The man had left the his wife and kids in China looking for opportunity in Canada in the early 1900s. The story is well researched and pieced together for me some of the Canadian-Chinese history. He recounts the hardships they faced in Canada but also those faced by the family still in China. This was of personal interest to me as my grandfather was Chinese and came to Canada-Vancouver-around this time. He was not one to talk much about the challenges the Chinese faced in Canada, and I only knew bits and pieces. So I learned more about the Chinese exclusion act etc..

c) When Elephants Weep: The emotional lives of animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy

This is just a super neat book for anyone interested in animal behaviour. It covers all kind of animals....buffalo who ice-skate for fun, crows that used the golden tops of the Kremlin for a slide and damaged it, and all sorts of other birds and primates etc. Reading this book I discovered elephants are really cool. They communicate in a range that humans cannot hear and they only relatively recently discovered this. And I think there is so much more about animals that we don't know. There is a story of an elephant who tried to save a baby rhino that was stuck in mud despite the mother rhino charing at it. Elephants are seen to cry (when in pain or have suffered emotional loss such as separation from other family members, but mostly when they are lying down, and so wonder they wonder if when elephants are standing they may still shed tear but we just don't know it because of certain anatomy that would allow the tears to drain down their trunk, rather than overflow their eyes. Animal behaviour has always interested me, so I really liked this book.

 

2) There is no person that influences my book choices. I simply found these books browsing the book store. I often find books this way...unfortunately I don't always remember what the books were called so I find books I want to read and often can't find them again. My whole life though, I've never been one for fiction. Most things I read are based on something real.

 

3) I think extra-curriculars in general should be encouraged. Personally, I found I prefered not to read in my free time when I was a student. Mainly 'cause I was reading for my courses and so reading something else wouldn't be much of a break! I prefered to get out and do stuff in my free time.

 

4) I'm not in med school (yet), so I can't say how it changed my reading habits. I don't think it will change though if I get in. I don't read much anyway. If I do it's usually horse related magazines, or books on horse training etc... since my hobby is horseback riding. So that is very applied reading.

 

5) I wasn't asked that question. But if I had been asked I would have been sure to chose a book that was NOT related to medicine, so as to emphasize that I have a life outside of medicine/school/academics.

 

Sats

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Right now on my reading list:

 

a) Love in the time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Collapse of Globalism - John Ralston Saul

c) Walking the big Wild - Karsten Heuer

 

2. I'm reading Marquez because I read 100 years of solitude and loved it. Saul - because I like his stuff, it makes me think. Walking the big wild - my girlfriend recommended it to me.

 

3. Do you think outside reading should be encouraged in undergrad & med school? - Definitely!

 

4. How do you think medical school changed your reading habits (e.g. frequency, type of book)? Yes, I read less in med school. . . because of time!

 

5. If you were asked "What do you read?" during your medical school interview, did you feel pressured to discuss books that reflected your interest in medicine? What did you say? No - I think it's pretty well understood schools are looking for "well-rounded" applicants.

 

I've got a bunch of other rockies books my girlfriend wants me to read, but those come 1st.

[Guest mephistopheles0003]

Thanks guys!!

 

I was just wondering...have you guys been involved with medical school interviews yet?

 

If you have or plan to, how much emphasis did/would you place on a question like "What do you read for fun?" What do you think a reading list (or lack thereof) says about a person? What if all the books were medically-oriented?

 

Hope to hear more from you soon

 

Phisto

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I did interview. On both sides of the table!

 

I think it all depends on how the interviewee answered the questions. Nothing wrong with reading medical books, but yeah, I think applicants should have balance.

[Guest mephistopheles0003]

People read for different reasons (to learn, escape, lighten up) and I'm wondering what are some of yours?

 

Do you think those reasons change once you're in medical school?

 

For me, I would never have picked up "House of God" had it not been for medical school & the ubiquitiousness of those acronyms in the hospitals.

 

Medical school is another phase in my life & I think it has changed my reading material somewhat. Because of school & tired eyes compounded with a limited attention span, I find I tend to choose easy to read fiction ("Memoirs of a Geisha") vs my usual verse form (love the 15th century ). What about you guys??

 

Phisto

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I read 'House of God' on the recommendation of friends and 3-4 profs who told our class we had to read it!

 

Having just realized I lent my copy to a friend who's now in another province, I went on chapters.ca to get a new copy and noticed Shem has another book. . . Mount Misery?

 

Guess I now have 4 books I have to read!

[Guest mephistopheles0003]

I will be submitting an article to the studentBMJ based on your responses, whether they accept it or not is another thing

 

Please let me know if you do not want to be quoted in the article. You will not be identified in any way. I decided to use quotes because some of your thoughts were so insightful that I chose to keep them in the original.

 

Thanks!!

 

Phisto

[Guest scrubbed]

Hey UWOMED,

 

I can vouch for Mount Misery. It was a great book. Shem can really create some great characters. It had me near tears at some points.

[Guest stepstofollow]

Thanks for these threads Mistopheles.... I've just returned from the bookstore with some new reads...