barnessv Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Bonk by Mary Roach. HILARIOUS book about the science of sex. She puts all sorts of personal comments at the bottoms of pages which really make the book. She also wrote a book called Stiff about the science of death, but I haven't read that one yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 fiction - med school dropout turned sex addict I attempted to read this once - a then-boyfriend thought it was a great book for me. I got through maybe 20 cringe-worthy pages before I realized he obviously knew nothing about me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesleybean Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Bonk by Mary Roach. HILARIOUS book about the science of sex. She puts all sorts of personal comments at the bottoms of pages which really make the book. She also wrote a book called Stiff about the science of death, but I haven't read that one yet. I thought Stiff was equally as good, if not better, than Bonk. It looks at a more serious topic, but still manages to maintain the hilarious brand of sarcasm that Mary Roach uses. And of course, the brilliant personal comment footnotes. I would definitely recommend it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin85 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 "The Rape of Nanking" is also a pretty ground-breaking book by Iris Chang - in fact, I think this is her first bestseller on the topic. But I don't know if I'd recommend it unless you were specifically interested in WWII or history of Japan/China. It's definitely very disturbing. I had nightmares referring to some of the stories/images for quite a while, and some of them are still burnt into my brain. I feel that not enough is known about this event, so that's why I am recommending it. But the book also made me think about aspects of medicine, especially parts describing the lone surgeon in the safety zone. If premeds are interested in doing work with MSF in the future, they have to not only be prepared for the stress of their work, but also to the stress coming from the environment. The brave surgeon described in this book is pretty inspirational. I don't know if I would have been able to physically stand up against rapists with guns while trying to treat victims who were nearly decapitated... Oh, and I also had nightmares about the stories/images. BUT, for reading that is not as dark, I enjoyed A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking! I would recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alnew Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Love Chuck Palahniuk, his new book Pygmy comes out in about a month. Gavanshir, I agree about Gladwell, a lot of what he talks about I learn concurrently in some of my psych classes, but I appreciate his writing style. He makes sociology a helluva lot more interesting. I actually liked Complications by Gawande very much. Can anyone recommend any humor books? I have never read one! Or a memorable one anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamP Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Love Chuck Palahniuk, his new book Pygmy comes out in about a month. Gavanshir, I agree about Gladwell, a lot of what he talks about I learn concurrently in some of my psych classes, but I appreciate his writing style. He makes sociology a helluva lot more interesting. I actually liked Complications by Gawande very much. Can anyone recommend any humor books? I have never read one! Or a memorable one anyway... agreed, C.P. is cool, i've only read invisible monsters of his. I'll have to take a look at his new one, i generally don't read much fiction. Just grabbed two books from the lib. the tipping point by M.G., and letters to a young contrarian by Christopher hitchens. Anyways if you're looking for humor i found the entire hitchhikers guide to the galaxy series to be hilarious, only time I’ve ever laughed out loud while reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbiodude Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 "A modest proposal" by Jonathan Swift...a bit old but a really hilarious satirical piece. You can get a copy off the internet. Just google it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somerandomrad Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I like all of Malcolm Gladwell's books. He does use a lot of other peoples research but he cites them and presents them in interesting ways. One of my favs was from Outliers where he estimates that 40% of hockey players in the NHL have birthdays from January to March. Also why many asians are culturally predisposed to be better at math. I will leave you to read the book to discover why. If you are brave enough I would suggest Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion". Also "Wikinomics" is a good one. I'd like to note for all those interviewing for med school in the future that I found reading books of these nature help quite substantially. I think since last september I've read about 7 books (either by actual reading or by listening to audiobooks while on the bus) and during the MMI I drew upon knowledge obtained from these books at least in 3 different stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aravis Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Anyone have any suggestions for good novels to read? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp.mylittlepwny Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Cosmos - Carl Sagan. In before Muse hate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
createttea Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood Life of Pi by Yann Martel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 The Alchimist! Such a good and positive book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misskris Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Oryx and Crake by Margaret AtwoodLife of Pi by Yann Martel +1 Two awesome reads Also: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime The Handmaid's Tale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Pixie* Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes... about a guy with an IQ of 68 undergoing a surgery to increase his intelligence - a spectacular, quite humbling read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand... if you like philosophical novels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoswim Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Stieg Larsson's trilogy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EoE Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 A River Runs Through It by Norman McLean (movie is different) - esp if you have brothers Les Mis/Count of Monte Cristo - if you are looking for something long to lose yourself in this summer... I would like another one of these books if anyone has any suggestions for something long and involved! The classics are so good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Pixie* Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 A River Runs Through It by Norman McLean (movie is different) - esp if you have brothers Les Mis/Count of Monte Cristo - if you are looking for something long to lose yourself in this summer... I would like another one of these books if anyone has any suggestions for something long and involved! The classics are so good! +1 One of the best books I have ever read!!! Don't be intimidated by the number of pages - you will swallow it in NO time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erk Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'm reading Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale right now. Slow going, it's a bit depressing. Great book though. I really want to read Michael J Martineck's Cinco de Mayo. I heard about it on the radio and it sounds very cool. Room by Emma Donoghue is awesome. I read it over my wife's shoulder. The blurb makes it sound really depressing, but it's not a heavy read and it's strangely heartwarming despite dealing with super heavy concepts. If you want something lighter, you can't go wrong with anything by Terry Pratchett. Also, if you haven't read the Gunslinger by Stephen King (and perhaps the series that goes along with it, although the first book is easily the best), you should. It is not anything like his usual stuff, don't worry. I'm not a King fan. Finally, if you haven't read Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you haven't lived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Pixie* Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'm reading Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale right now. Slow going, it's a bit depressing. Great book though. My favourite one of Atwood's is "Alias Grace", I read A Handmaid's tale too - it's good. She is a great writer but gotten too feminist in her later works for my liking (mind you I haven't read Oryx and Crake and the The year of the flood). Room by Emma Donoghue is awesome. I read it over my wife's shoulder. The blurb makes it sound really depressing, but it's not a heavy read and it's strangely heartwarming despite dealing with super heavy concepts. Sounds interesting. I mean the book does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
createttea Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I think my Kindle is going to appreciate this thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoswim Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 The whole Dune series is my all-time favorite series. I've read each and every book (the original 6 by Frank Herbert, but also the other 8? by his son) at least twice. I think the social/religious/political intricacies built into Herbert's universe are just fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerena Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Okay, I am going to write a few of my favs. A lot of these are classics, but I fall in love with them every time I re-read them. I've included some links, so you can click on the book title if you want to find out more about it! "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis (my fav book of all time) I love kids books. This one is full of adventure and I've read it so many times I'm surprised the pages haven't torn out. "How Doctors Think" by Jerome Groopman Simply brilliant. "Lolita" by Nabokov "I am sufficiently proud of my knowing something to be modest about my not knowing all." Parts of this book are very disturbing (ever hear of the term, "Lolita complex"?), but it's written beautifully. "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey Screw the controversy. Just read. "Life of Pi" by Martel I fell in love with this novel last summer. You should too "Choke" by Chuck Pahlaniuk Not a fan of many of Pahlanuk's novels (tries to be so shocking that he comes off as incredibly predictable at times... I've read them ALL lol) but this novel had such an interesting concept. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee "I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks." Classic. "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Sallinger "It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes." A book I read when I feel like it's me against the world lol. "The Green Mile" by Stephen King I read this when I want to cry. Very sad. "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold Ashamed to say I bought this book because of the cover. But glad to say it caused me to read it "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown My favourite of the Robert Langdon series. Anything by J.K. Rowling "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett Such a cute story about acceptance and transformation. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Can't go wrong with Austen. "Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll "Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and wimble in the wabe" This book is nonsense. Thus, why I love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerena Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 +1 One of the best books I have ever read!!! Don't be intimidated by the number of pages - you will swallow it in NO time. +1 billion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoswim Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis (my fav book of all time) I love kids books. This one is full of adventure and I've read it so many times I'm surprised the pages haven't torn out. Anything by J.K. Rowling I love The Horse and His Boy!! Well really I love all 7 Narnia's, but this one is different. +1 on J.K. Rowling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boa Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hello AdamP! Here is my selection: - Any books from Carlene Thompson - Any books from Mary Higgins Clark - Tell me your dreams by Sydney Sheldon - The fire dwellers by Margaret Laurence - Running with scissors by Augusten Burroughs - currently reading : When The air hits your brain by Frank Vertosick so far so good! Bonne Lecture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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