Summer reading - Any suggestions?

pockunit, ADN, RN · May 12, 2011

They aren't novels, but are wonderful narratives nonetheless: Sherwin Nuland's books on pathophysiology, How We Die and How We Live are always high on my recommendation list. More of a medical mystery series is anything by Burton Roueche, though they may be out of print. Eleven Blue Men is a good start. He was a reporter for the New Yorker for ages and wrote great pieces about weird medical things in NYC.

turquoisefire · May 12, 2011

What kind of specialties are you interested in?

I have several books that I loved reading, but I'm not sure they'd be entertaining unless you're into the subject matter. Let me know and I'll throw some ideas at you. :)

classicdame, MSN, EdD · May 12, 2011

I like to read medical history. Try "the Rose of Sebastopol" and "Ghost Map" and "The Devil Under the Microscope".

If you look at Amazon.com you can search for "medical history" and get neat stuff. Then your library may have it FREE

jesskidding, LPN · May 12, 2011

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is great, plus the main character is a nurse. The entire series has a lot in regards to medicine and nursing.

The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly are great as well. The second of the series, The Winter Rose, focuses on a female doctor in London in the early 1900's.

Also, I just read a great biography on Florence Nightingale and I have started reading her Notes on Nursing.

There was a very interesting interview on NPR a few weeks ago about the history of blood transfusions. The author's name was Holly Tucker. The title was Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution. She writes about true events. It sounded very good and very interesting.

Stiff is also a good read. It's about corpses and the different "options" for them.

Cohiba · May 12, 2011

"Stiff" by Mary Roach is quite a hoot

The "Body Farm" series by Jefferson Bass (nom de plume) is also very interesting. My uncle has done several seminars with Dr. Bass (one of the authors) and he said the science in those books is actually well-done and not "enhanced" for readability

classicdame, MSN, EdD · May 12, 2011

I just remembered one that has been on the bestseller list recently.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by R. Skloot. It is riveting. Have you heard of HLcells used for research?

Another good one that I recommend to graduate students but anyone might find interesting: The Spirit Catches Me and I Fall Down. It is about the care of a child with a chronic disorder and how modern medicine conflicts with the parent's cultural belief's (immigrants). Really interesting.

jesskidding, LPN · May 13, 2011

I just remembered one that has been on the bestseller list recently.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by R. Skloot. It is riveting. Have you heard of HLcells used for research?
Another good one that I recommend to graduate students but anyone might find interesting: The Spirit Catches Me and I Fall Down. It is about the care of a child with a chronic disorder and how modern medicine conflicts with the parent's cultural belief's (immigrants). Really interesting.

Oh! Those looks great! I think I'll head over to amazon and pick those up! Thanks!

Mudminkk · May 13, 2011

@Pock: Maybe novel isn't the word I wanted to use. The ones you suggested are what I'm looking for! More narratives I guess? That are based on true stories. The suggestions you gave me, How We Live and How We Die are exactly what I'm looking for!

@Turqoise: I'm not sure what field I want to go into, so I'm just sampling everything! I've been interested in the ER and trauma in general - like Red Cross. I've also enjoyed some of my geriatrics experiences. I'm looking forward to Community Health and our Psych semester. And something I've always thought might be in my future - traveling abroad to help other communities outside the US.

@Classic: I guess I should get my history knowledge going! And no I haven't heard of HLcells...However, our class is mandated to read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, so I'm glad to hear it's a good book! I already have it on my bedside, it's my first one in my list this summer.

@Jessie and JV: Stiff just sounds hilarious. I'm putting it on my list! Haha

Thank you everyone for your feedback! I'm creating a list of all these books and it looks like a lot of them can be found for cheap on Amazon. I'll try my local used bookstore first though.

:heartbeat:yeah::heartbeat

windmill182 · May 13, 2011

"A Nurse's story" - Tilda Shalof

"The Making of a Nurse" - Tilda Shalof

These are written by an by an ICU nurse in Toronto. Based on her own life as becoming a nurse and working as one. Even some interesting stuff about her working a few years in Israel. Just good stories. Very inspiring. :)

Moogie · May 13, 2011

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. One of the best books I've ever read. You will love it!

Notes on Nightingale: the Influence and Legacy of a Nursing Icon by Rafferty and Nelson. This one's on my shelf and I plan to get to it this summer.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova. It's about a woman with Alzheimer's. This one is on my couch so I should get to it before I get to the unread books on the shelf. I also want to read Iris but am not going to buy another book until I have read those on the shelf and on the couch first. (Yeah, right.)

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 13, 2011

I just read the latest True Blood book and Morganville Vampires, I am anxiously awaiting the next Stephanie Plum book due June 20th.

Although, none of these are what you are looking for. LOL I am a total Book Nerd!