nere's Reviews (86)

The Rules of Medicine: A Medical Professional's Guide for Success

3.75

emotional funny informative inspiring fast-paced

Friday, October 22, 2021

“Then, with a Cheshire cat smirk on his face, this type-A, cardio-thoracic surgeon says to me in his most quiet and demure voice, 'Above all else, remain calm in the midst of chaos. Now let’s regroup and do one thing at a time.'"

I got my hands on this after I had the immense privilege of shadowing Doctor Sloan virtually. I had joined the Zoom meeting on my way home from university, thinking it could be another hour to jot down for my resume. By the end of it, I sat in my car crying. Sometimes you get so caught up in the motions of doing things for medical school, getting the grades, the hours, etcetera. It’s a humbling experience to encounter something or someone who can shake you in your boots and remind you why you’re doing this in the first place.

I know already this will be a crucial touchstone for me throughout my medical career. I tore through this the night of the session, staying up till my eyelids couldn’t keep themselves open any longer. It’s not something I’ve done since middle school. It's revitalized in me the veracity present at 14 able to read 600-page novels like they were nothing.

To the first read of many.

Content Warnings

If We Were Villains

M.L. Rio

4.75

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 (Reread)

"There is no comfort like complicity.”

There are just some things you enjoy because you fit squarely into the exact target audience and this is it for me.

A good indicator of a high-rated book is wanting to reread it the second I put it down. And though this is my second read-through, I know it won’t be my last. I’ll keep coming back to this for comfort as I do with our dear friend Bill. (My copy is so highlighted and annotated I might have to get another copy to be able to but be that as it may.)

Also, I have yet to think of ANYTHING that sounds as romantic and carries as much connotation as the nickname “

Thane of Everything

.” Get back to me if you do.

Kafka in 90 Minutes

Paul Strathern

Sunday, August 1, 2021

"Any interpretation of Kafka involves self-revelation."

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

Mackenzi Lee

4.5

adventurous funny inspiring medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Monday, August 2, 2021 (Reread)

“I have spent my whole life fighting for what would be mine without question if I were a man, and to be better at it than my brothers, because women don’t have to be men’s equals to be considered contenders; they have to be better. That’s the lie of it all. You have to be better to prove yourself worthy of being equal.

Reading this is a bit therapeutic for me personally as a woman pursuing medicine. Granted it is not the 1700s and I will not be barred from studying medicine on the basis of my sex (hopefully). But I too often relate too much to Felicity in this. Wanting something so badly it'll eat you from the inside out if you don't get it, (

"my heart a hungry, wild creature savaging me from the inside out

") often feeling like the whole world is conspiring against you—in Felicity's case literally—so you don't achieve it.

It's likely many men will very likely read this book and attribute the severity of the misogyny down to the time period and dramatization. But Christ, SO much of this I feel. ("

into those hawk-black eyes of a man who has never been denied anything in his life

.") The entire

boardroom meeting

scene is a microcosm of everything a woman experiences on a daily basis.

I love Monty, I adore him, I do. And I love his story, but Felicity's honestly resonates with me in a way very few books do. And it's actually kind of nice to not be in Monty's head and see him from an outsider's perspective. He's still one of my favorite characters so every moment of him in this was delightful.

A big focal point of these books is character development. And boy do I love it! Feli, like her brother, does have some prejudice to work through. In her case, it’s unlearning internalized misogyny. And it’s so relatable because she goes through that stage a lot of women go through of: ‘I’m not like other girls!’ But Feli you ARE like other girls and that’s a beautiful thing to be!

It would’ve been really easy to not have this focus on growth be an aspect of the novel because Fel already seemed a lot more self-aware and, dare I say, woke than Monty in the first book. Despite this, I can earnestly applaud Lee for the arc. Despite Felicity being someone who actively challenges her own ideas of homophobia and racism she was raised on, she still has room to grow—as we all do. It’s an important lesson.

Anyways, as you can probably tell from the way I’ve gushed about this endlessly. I love this book to bits and recommend this, as well as the rest of the series, with my eyes closed. This series is a place of comfort and happiness to me and that clearly hasn't changed. So excited for the next one!