How Doctors Think

How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman

An interesting book, exploring the reasoning and thoughts behind doctor's thoughts, diganoses, and mistakes. The closing paragraphs of each chapter have useful summarizations and tips about preventing medical errors, choosing the correct doctor and/or specialist, etc. Groopman is honest and articulate about many taboo issues (for example, that mood can strongly affect a diagnosis). Definitely a must-read for anyone facing a serious or chronic illness, though it would serve even better if one had this information beforehand.

Kabul Beauty School

Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez

This book was interesting to read, especially since I read it just after finishing A Thousand Splendid Suns. The author describes her struggles and joys in creating a beauty school (one of the only places women are allowed to work and socialize) in Kabul. Rodriguez’s passion for her work and for the women she is helping is admirable, especially given the difficulties she encounters from the Afghan government and the dangerous conditions she works in. Her willingness to journey from the United States to Afghanistan is quite astonishing. In some ways, however, reading this book reminded me of an article I’d recently read describing the literary differences between memoirs and works of fiction. The author of the article felt that works presented as memoirs were held to a different literary standard, as “raw” and “gritty” writing was somehow more permissible from an untrained writer, while true works of fiction are expected to be more refined. This book definitely falls in the former category in terms of writing style and narrative flow.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

This book chronicles the life of Kingsolver’s family as they live solely from food grown on their farm and local food for a year. The delicious descriptions of heirloom fruits and vegetables made me hungry (and strengthened my resolve to visit the farmer’s market more often), and there were many tips and recipes throughout the book for seasonal eating. I didn’t appreciate the arguments against vegetarianism (for example, she contends that we don’t feel guilty for mowing our lawn and killing the grass…) or the callous way in which she describes her daughter’s decision to kill chickens instead of selling the eggs to make more money. The judgmental tone of the book bothered me enough that I probably wouldn’t read anything by this author again. I imagine that the type of people who are drawn to this book are already doing their best to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, and don’t require additional preaching.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

At first I wondered if all the clamor about this book was worth it. However, I enjoyed this book even more than the Kite Runner (partially, I think, because the main characters were women). The story is well written and flows smoothly. I was quickly drawn into the lives of the main characters, though the more tragic details of their lives were a heartrending read. This book is worth checking out from the library, especially given current world events.