Melephant

I LOVED this book!

So much that I went out and got her next one as well- and I can’t wait to read it!

This author had such an amazing way of writing that made me feel like I was living her life along with her. I felt that I would go into the bathroom and see chickens keeping warm!

I rented this book from the library initially because I was in the marriage section looking for the book A Year of Yes, and I looked over and found this book. Don’t ask me why it was in the marriage section- it has little to do with being married.

But I picked it up because it was my idea first! I wanted to write a book about my year on the farm- how amazing it is to live with chickens, not only the fresh eggs but their personalities to!

I am soo glad that I found this book because it made me smile.

I will let you know when I finish her next book!

35/210

I audio booked this one while driving to work, and after the first CD, I realized that my husband would also like to read this book, so I saved the rest for our drive up to Boston one weekend for PAX East.

This book was very, um, informative, to say the least. Of course, right when my husband starts listening, they start talking about the mating habits of animals and artificially inseminating sows. Fun, huh? I bet you that he thought I was some kind of freak, listening to a book about the mating habits of farm animals. But then it got interesting again.

I enjoyed this book, and I also enjoyed the authors writing style. It was kind of just there. It wasn’t pretentious or know it all, just kinda like a conversation with a friend may be.

I am interested in reading Stiff, her other novel, soon.

34/210

This book was a quick read that I picked up while browsing the teen section of the library one day before work. I found this book to be cute, if not a little sappy at times. It was a fun, light, quick read to take my mind off of my life for a little while, and it certainly entertaining.

I would be interested in reading something else by this author if she writes any more.

33/210

This book was altogether hilarious and truthful. I enjoyed her stories like I enjoy a good glass of wine. She made me laugh out loud many times throughout reading this book.

Lisa writes a weekly column for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and this is a collection of the essays that she has written over the years.

I did not know that Lisa Scottoline was a mystery Author prior to reading this book, and I am not excited to read some of her other books. I will let you know when I read more!

32/210

I audio booked this one while also reading The Soul of Medicine, so I was pretty much engrossed in the field of medicine for the week.

This book was very informative- it made me question how medical professionals decide how to treat a patient and why we chose one treatment plan over another. Why do we treat someone one way and another patient with a very similar disease differently? Why do some doctors swear by one antibiotic over another very similar antibiotic for the same pneumonia?

As an emergency room nurse, I work with some of the best doctors and get to see many different patients on a daily basis. I notice from time to time that the way a patient presents often changes how we treat them. Some things are run of the mill, but if there is a patient that comes in requesting something, the doctor feels like he is more or less pushed into a corner to perform that test. Whereas if that same patient came in and just gave the doctor the symptoms of their disease, they might choose a different diagnostic study which may easily diagnose their problem.

This book also made me question how I treat different patients depending on how they present to me. Do I treat the psychiatric patient differently than I treat the CHF patient? Do I treat the chronic pain patient different that I treat the kidney stone patient? Do my prejudices get in the way of my care? This book raised some very interesting questions for me.

The author makes us aware that doctors are not all knowing, and sometimes they misdiagnose and miss things just like everyone else does in their own lives. It was a very eye opening book, and I really enjoyed it.

31/210

This book was not what I expected it to be. I expected a well thought out and well written book on how we, the everyday person, can help end world poverty. What I received was a book that made me feel guilty that I was not giving more money to organizations that help people over seas.

I was quite disappointed when I finished the books, partially that I started to read it, and partially because I finished it at all. I should have spent the time it took to read this book doing some form of charity work and actually helping people.

30/210

This book was more a collection of stories than a story. There were many different doctors that each contributed a story, sometimes even two stories, to this book.

Some stories were lighthearted, other made me want to cry. One even made me angry with the doctor.

The only thing that was missing from this book was a nurses perspective. I would have been interested to hear a story or two from a nurse. We see things very differently than doctors do, mostly because we are in the middle of what is going on with the patient, not just coordinating their care but giving the care that they so desperately need.

He is coming out with another book in April of 2010, and I will definitely be picking it up.

29/210

This is the second book that I read by this author, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Maybe not quite as much as his first, but definently more than some other books which will not be named.

While his first book read more like a story, this one reads more like a self-help book. Not that I would know how one of those reads.

While I take some of the things that he says to heart, some of the ideas in this book are just plain common sense. He talks a lot from personal experience about what to value in life, and always make time for your family- which is funny, because for the first, oh, say, 50 years of his life, he was not a part of his family’s every day lives because he was too busy working. So his life is more of a how not to guide

28/210

P.S. While I was looking for pictures of this book for my blog, I found this picture- how to save yourself from Attack Bear. LOL… I had to share.

I have heard many mixed reviews about this book by many different people. I really enjoyed it. It was the right amount of fact mixed with story. I felt that I was learning something about marriage and how they do it in other cultures.

I also took out another one of her older books from the library and haven’t gotten very far into it before having to take a break from it. I hope to pick that one up again soon. I will let you know how I like it when I am done.

27/210

Oh, Augusten, your life never ceases to amaze me.

I picked this one up from the library with hopes that it will entertain me. It did.

I still can’t believe that this stuff is true, but hey, he says that it is. So I believe him.

I can’t wait for the next chapter of his life to be written down on paper and passed off as truth in another book.

26/210