Surviving Your Doctors

I grabbed Surviving Your Doctors by Richard S. Klein, M.D. at random from the "New Books" section at the library. It is subtitled: Why the Medical System is Dangerous to Your Health and How to Get through it Alive. I expected a boring discussion of common-sense things you should do when visiting the doctor-- make sure lab samples have your name, make sure you get the correct medicine, ask questions, etc. The book had a lot of this, but also tons of stories of malpractice incidents (the author is a practicing physician that also reviews malpractice claims) and quite detailed medical information about common conditions. It was sloppily edited and the writing was sometimes too hokey (i.e. lame jokes or puns), but, if you're interested in medicine, it's a somewhat interesting read.

In the Land of Invisible Women

In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta A. Ahmed, MD is a fascinating memoir of a western Muslim female doctor's experience of working and living for two years at the turn of the 21st century in Saudi Arabia. The writing was sometimes over-dramatic or too flowery, but no so much so that I wanted to stop reading. Each chapter tackled a different experience-- things like abbayah (the clothing used to cover women in public) shopping, a discussion with a Saudi divorcee, the author's experience performing Hajj, etc. I recommend the book.

Food Rules

Food Rules: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan is a collection of 64 rules about what and how we should eat (e.g. "Drink the spinach water" and "Pay more, eat less"). The book lacked depth and seemed simply like a bunch of random factoids taken from The Omnivore's Dilemma. I highly recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma, or even the abridged children's version of The Omnivore's Dilemma, but not this.