RehabRN book club: Summer 16 part 3

I've been busy reading, since Bubba is in the home stretch of the local reading club. We take at least 1-2 trips to the library each week.

I'm still working on We have the technology, which has vignettes by sense, and I really enjoy it.

However, on our latest trip (since they are closed Monday for the holiday) I found a book I've been waiting to read, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. I saw his interviews and knew some of the story, but the little book (I actually read it all this afternoon) was so much more than the videos of his interviews.

You read about what it's like for a doctor to get cancer and be a patient. You read about happy things, but things are also very sad. Many reviewers, big name authors themselves, recommend this as one of the most important books you'll read. I have to agree. Life is short, and only some of us will have the courage to live it, in the face of some terrible things, on our own terms with dignity.

More later on what's new on the reading list...

RehabRN book club: Summer 16 edition

The reading clubs (yes, even for adults) are back at RehabLand's library system and Bubba and I are reading away. Dahey always does (he could spend every waking minute reading if left to his own devices...) but never competes in the contest.

While my boys have methods to selecting the books they get, I don't really have one, outside of the fact that I like new books. Ones with catchy titles and authors I recognize also helps. Lately, I've taken to just picking up a book while I wait for Bubba, randomly opening the book, and reading a few pages while I wait.

If I like the book, I check it out.

The two books on my reading list right now are those kinds of books.

The first one I'm reading is Beyond the tiger mom: East-West parenting for the global age by Maya Thiagarajan. I liked it because Ms. Thiagarajan is a teacher. She's got street cred. She's not just avowing a philosophy to make us working mothers look like slackers. To top it off, she has some great ideas for interventions you can try at home with your kids.

My favorite quote in the book is not just applicable to education, it's also applicable to my job as a nurse:

"Don't worry so much about making everything "fun"...I personally believe "fun" is the wrong word to use. Learning should be challenging, meaningful, rigorous, engrossing, interesting, and satisfying." (p.132)

You could easily switch learning to work and it would still make sense.

The next book on my list right now is We have the technology: How biohackers, foodies, physicians, and scientists are transforming human perception, one sense at a time by Kara Platoni. I'm only a couple of pages into this book but it's looking promising.

More updates to come. Hope you enjoy whatever's on your reading list. Feel free to discuss.