At the library…

Good morning everyone!

CaRMS applications are finished. Exams are done! What do I do now? Refreshing my email a 1000x times waiting for interview emails is a waste of time. (Ahem, OK it is too early to expect interview invites to come in now anyway. This neurotic behaviour will emerge in a few weeks.) I thrive off stress/tension. When there is none I feel lost…Do you feel the same way?

Anyway, so here I am at the library with a hot cup of cappuccino….

…..and wondering what books to read. I remember when I was little (Grade 4 -8….I think maybe up even Grade 9) I absolutely loved reading. The library was my happy place. The Chronicles of Narnia, The Secret Garden, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps, Babysitters Club, Charlotte’s Web, Sweet Valley High….the list keeps going. Anything with mystery, magic and a bit of drama would take me to far off places where I was completely immersed in the novel.

Then high school came along and we were forced to read novels, analyze the characters and write book reports. I did not like to be told what to read and then write about it. It was work, it was not out of enjoyment. Three books I did enjoy reading in high school (that comes to my mind now) are The Joyluck Club, Lord of the Flies and I do not remember the third book’s name but it was about an elderly woman’s life and how lonely she was. Because of her loneliness she was mean and grumpy to people around her. The ending was pretty sad because she passes away thinking about her regrets. I wish I knew the name of this book.

Actually, I did read a few novels over the summer breaks that I loved: Little Women, A Suitable Boy and a few romance novels which, for the life of me I cannot remember the names of.

Barely any reading done during undergrad and medical school. I lost interest in reading all together. It was all about text books and cramming information into my head and spitting it out on exams.

Now though, I want to slowly get back into the habit of reading. My taste in the types of books I seek have changed. Recently I finished reading When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, MD. It was very emotional and touched me deeply as I was reading the book at the same time my grandmother passed away several months ago.

Also, Many Lives Many Masters and Only Love is Real by Brian Weiss, MD. I do believe in reincarnation and souls. I believe I am a spiritual person and enjoy reading books like this.

I am still trying to get through How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, MD.

So here I am at the library and in front of me I have three slightly different books:

Cheating Death by Sanjay Gupta, MD – about patients and their miraculous recoveries

Extreme Medicine by Kevin Fong, MD – “How exploration transformed medicine in the twentieth century.”

Wisdom for Your Life by Katrina Cavanough – a therapist and social worker who communicates and receives messages from the souls of who have died

Should I sign out all three? Will I be able to finish a book a week? Let’s see, I am excited though. 🙂

Here is another list of 50 books that I plan to refer to next: https://bookriot.com/2017/06/30/50-books-to-read-if-you-love-medicine/

Peace, Love & Happiness