summer reading

should probably be the mountain of medical textbooks i've been gifted with, and piles and piles of seniors' notes (thanks pra!) but seeing how i intend to specialise, once i start studying i'm never really going to stop. theoretically, anyway. so i'd like very much to linger here in this blissful pre-med place where i am very much aware of my ignorance and inadequacy, yet deliberately not doing anything about it.

and yay i can finally read proper. in the habit of reading a bit before a sleep every night, something i picked up on holiday a few years ago from my more sophisticated friends, believe it or not. there i was all ready to crash after a long but leisurely day, and i spied books on their bedside tables, and noted how they wound down with some reading before bed. my former pre-snooze routine was reading online because goodness knows i spend wayy more time on the www than healthy but i'm slowly but surely returning to the wonders of the printed page.

plus i've two dear friends* who have been conscientiously feeding me with books, even going so far as offering to meet up to discuss them after. these self-styled book gurus of mine are people i also respect very very much and it's about time i took them up on the offer. but oh hey, i'd need to actually get down to reading first. the added benefit of receiving books is that they've been quality controlled by the giver and so chances are they'll be worth the effort.

clockwise from top:

1. the undercover philosopher by michael philips

2. who are we? by gary younge

*both from a long time friend of my mother's. he's averse to travel but likes receiving postcards so i send him one from every city i visit. while he does not write back, he's very sweet to give me books every now and again, and a whole box of penguin classic covers postcards at christmas. if you can't tell from his choice of books, he's into philosophy with a hint of existentialism.

3. home cooking with master chef murata by yoshihiro murata

from a superwoman mom-of-six who takes time to cook and bake with each child individually, and is evidently concerned that i will waste away in the uk.

4. gifted hands by ben carson

from a lawyer i interned under when i was 19. he had always felt that i'd be a doctor one day and when he learnt i was off to medsch, he sent his congratulations along with this book.

5. playing darts with a rembrandt by joseph l. sax

*from a friend who runs a highly-successful photography studio to pay the bills, but is an artist passionate about intellectual property at heart. he also gave me seven days in the art world, that i read while on holiday in goa to great effect i.e. people thought i too was artsy. oh wow! what a con :)