Books and Journal:
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Read
The Lancet - This is a weekly medical journal. You can visit its site at www.thelancet.com. I am interested in medical topics, but apart from details on diseases, I even like reading about public health. Here I have discovered different aspects to medicine, including the commercial, the historical and the humorous, but most of all the analytical which is my favourite. I am particularly attracted to problem-solving.
March 2002
Further Along the Road Less Travelled - M. Scott Peck: Our Scott Peck is back to tell us about spiritual growth and the such, elaborating on (American) psychiatric practice and the avoidance of the subject of spirituality in therapy. M. Scott Peck's biggest mistake is that of talking too much about the US and its system. He could easily have generalised as this is not something common only the the US. Such books shouldn't really enter other countries for sale if other counries are ignored! The next book in the list is The Road Less Traveled and Beyond.
Birth Without Violence - Frederick Leboyer: I met this book in the public library and decided to read it. It is a simple book in the form of a poem which states that we are marked by the trauma we went through during our birth, which could be a much nicer experience. The feelings of the baby are described in a detail that make the reader believe how linked a certain helplessness in life is with our first experience into this world. I do not really believe the truth of all this, but the morale of the book make it very interesting to read.
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien - I must admit... that I cannot comment on this book at least as yet!
January 2002
Witch Hunt - Ian Rankin writing as Jack Harvey: Who would have ever imagined that a woman could be called a terrorist? A woman? When it is a woman, expect the worst. Rankin is able to describe his characters well, and manages to make the reader believe that the investigator is a real living person, and not merely a character. In his Rebus series, it is inspector John Rebus, and in this particular book it is the retired Dominic Elder. Rankin's skill cannot be questioned, but after reading The Falls this book was disappointing - I felt that the investigator in the book was more enthusiastic of catching the terrorist than I was enthusiastic of reading the book, which is not a good sign of a good book. The initial chapters are confusing and the story line takes long to get. Basically, I gave this book the benefit of the doubt because it is Rankin, but the pages did not turn as fast as they had to.
December 2001
People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil - M. Scott Peck: A book like this can only be appreciated if the person reading it has met the people described in it. I have. M. Scott Peck describes evil people and their attitudes, and the possibility of them being healed. I agree with what the author says, that it is one of the most difficult tasks for a person who works in this field because the process requires the person to admit that s/he is in the wrong, and surely few such people do that. The book continues with experiences of exorcism, and later with evil within a group, giving the military as an example. M. Scott Peck has understood that psychology and spirituality can walk peacefully hand in hand. He always gives the good lot a message of hope and courage.
November 2001
The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans: The style of this author is certainly different from Rankin, so I found it hard to read. This is a story of a family which was never really perfect, even if the father is an exemplary family man. Whilst the mother is absorbed in her work, the only daughter is involved in an accident which leaves her friend dead, and her horse in a very bad psychological state. The girl faces a change in her life as she suffers bad physical consequences. The mother somehow knows that to heal the horse is very important for her daughter's well-being, so they leave for Montana to meet Tom Booker, a horse whisperer (a horse healer) who does heal the horse. A question came to my mind when I finished reading this book - Can only good things come out of good and needed experiences? But what is really good and bad? I have rounded up this book by watching the film which does not enter in much detail, but it complements the mind with pictures if watched after reading the book.
September 2001
The Falls - Ian Rankin: A fiction book for a change! Rankin has made me turn back to fiction, as it was hard to find something which makes me start reading so much again. An investigation that goes on in a story is very good to make you want to keep turning the pages. A student goes missing and the investigators have two main leads, a doll found in a coffin which takes Rebus years back in a history of found coffins, and an Internet Role Playing Game which is left for his colleague Siobhan, green on the subject, to discover its relevance to the case. Another of Rankin's books is in my room on the waiting list.
May 2001
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery: A book full of illustrations by the author. It looks like a children's book, but it is a book about love. It says that adults do not understand, and in fact, my mother keeps saying that it is a waste of money! Sometimes I ask myself why I love a person and not another, and here I am told that it is because it is this person or object that I have "tamed" and so I grew fond of. Another meaning is that we have a responsibility for those who love us, but it even reminds me of the great sadness that separation brings about.
The Road Less Travelled - M. Scott Peck: I like this book. BUT in my opinion, this is a bestseller because everyone heard that it is a bestseller, but I must say it is great in a way. I don't think this book can be appreciated by everyone because it's contents are all the feelings and thoughts of the author who is a psychotherapist. I don't think one would buy a self help book (if it is that anyway) to know how a therapist feels, unless s/he is curious to know that! I am going to read other books by this author.
Nicholas and Alexandra: This book is about the last tsar and the tsaritsa, the parents of Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexis. Written by Robert K. Massie, this book is a good read, but I think he quotes too much!