Book meme

[wraithfodder]

Okay, I snerched this from someone on my Flist, who posted books they had read or were reading, and I thought, why not. At least I'll be able to keep track of what I've read this way ;)

Books I’ve finished reading lately… and ah, yes, they’re all non-fiction.

 

The following two books are pretty self-explanatory and really fascinating:

 

Bitten –   True Medical Stories of Bites and Stings - by Pamela Nagami MD (and they cover insects and jellyfish and well, just about anything that stings or bites)

 

The Woman with a Worm in Her Head – Other True Stories of Infectious Disease - by Pamela Nagami MD (yeah, a woman really had parasites in her head)

 

The Up and Down Life: The Truth About Bipolar Disorder – the Good, the Bad, and the Funny – by Paul E. Jones (I found this book when I was at the library and they were showing a documentary film on Lyme Disease (to a packed house, since there’s so much Lyme in this area) and just spied it and thought, hmm, looks interesting, and it was.

 

 

In process:

 

Kitchen Table Wisdom – by Rachel Naomi Remen MD (almost done with this one, which is a doctor's accounting about humanity and the medical arts)

 

Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science –  by Atul Gawande (halfway through; a surgeon writes about what it's like to be a surgeon)

 

How It Feels to be Attacked by a Shark and Other Amazing Life-or-Death Situations! – by Michelle Hamer (I just read a chapter here and there - I have yet to read the chapter on the person who got run over by a tractor - twice).

 

The Backpackers Handbook – by Hugh McManners (got this for a buck at a rummage sale and went, ah, I don’t backpack into the wilds, but now I know how to make a quinze)

 

Panic in Level 4 – by Richard Preston (Great collection of non-fic writing which I got from the library. Halfway through, read the Ebola chapter, the apartment turned into a supercomputer in the quest for pi (pi, not pie), and about a disease which causes the victim to eat his fingers. Eeeeuuuuu).

And............

 

.....all the in-process book reading will come to a screeching halt this weekend as today in the mail – it arrived! Yes, the Stargate Atlantis novel “Mirror, Mirror” by Sabine Bauer is now in my hot hands. JJ Nice cover. The DVD people could take a hint from the book people….

 

And I'm pretty sure all these books can be found at Amazon or most bookstores ...

Should I tag someone with this? Never sure how that works but would be curious to see what other folks are reading :)

Comments

[gatedialer.livejournal.com]

Ah, books. I love them. I have suggestions if you want some more reading ;)

I am curious about the by Dr. Nagami, I will have to check that one out.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

The Nagami books (both) are excellent reads. I picked up my copies at Borders.

[gatedialer.livejournal.com]

Sweet, I will definitely pick them up. Have you ever read Twice Dead by Margaret Locke, And the Band Played On by Randly Shilts, or The Spirit Catches you and then you fall down by Anne Fadiman? They are so good. I had to read them for my medical anthropology class.


Locke's book is about organ transplants (it is also a cultural comparison of how societies/cultures look at donation of organs), Shilts book is about AIDS in the late 70s and 80s (there was an HBO movie made on this book as well) and Fadiman's book is about a Hmong child who has a severe form of epliepsy but her parents and people believed it to be something else all together. While the child's condition worsened (because her parents did not give her medications) a cultural rift because on what to do for the child. Since they were in the US western medicine would cure or keep the condition under control but culturally to the Hmong her condition was the spirit who catches you and then you fall down. It was a good book. I highly recommend it. I has been ages since I last read it so my synopsis may be a little vague and inaccurate. Just look at this site if you want more info: http://www.spiritcatchesyou.com/bookdescription.htm

have a good evening!!!!

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Hadn't heard of that book, but shall add it to my 'check it out' list. Thanks! :) Yeah, I do like medical narrative books, as you can see ;)

[a-pilgrim-soul.livejournal.com]

You do like your medical books don't you? Me I tend to read very few "factual" books. At the moment I'm part way through two (very different) novels The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and Where The Truth Lies by Rupert Holmes - I can't say I'm particularly enthralled with either of them. :( I really need to buy myself some more books but I'm financially challenged this month.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

But I do like fiction too, although yeah, I like medical horror novels or horror novels. The trouble with fiction is that the ones i want to read are never at the library, and I hesitate to spend full price for a hardback, although I did break down (using coupons) and got THE SWARM, an excellent science fiction novel which actually was full of science ;)

[iamrighthere.livejournal.com]

Of your list, I've read "The Woman with a Worm in Her Head," "Complications" and "Panic in Level 4," plus, from another commenter's list, "And the Band Played On," and "The Spirit Catches You..." Of those books, "And the Band Played On" is far and away the best (IMHO). I'm intrigued by "How It Feels to be Attacked by a Shark"! Lord, the things people write about!

But the BIG QUESTION: How is Bauer's book? It'd be nice to pick up a new SGA novel, if "Mirror, Mirror" is worth it. What do you think of the story so far?

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I did read the first couple pages, won't say more than it's intriguing... ;) I *hope* to read it all this weekend and report back :)

[highonstargate.livejournal.com]

Those look good! But unfortunately, the only English bookstore in the region, have a tendency to NOT deliver books. God, one time I order umm, I think it's Causalities of War(SGA) and It took over a month before I cancled it. Something about waiting for people before ordering it.(God! I am the ONLY one reading this at home) So now I don't trust the bookstore anymore, so online shopping for me at Chapters!
But still, I'm going to look into them!:D
Thanks

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

Ack!! The Mirror, Mirror book is out!! I want my copy! runs to search for!!!!