Many of the books listed below were recommended by other med students on the HuMed listserve. Some relate to medicine, but many do not. We've also tried not to duplicate the books listed in the HuMed Reading List. Despite the volume of reading we do in medical school, very little of it is reading for sheer joy and intellectual stimulation. So when you're on vacation, either physical or mental, pick up one of these books and enjoy!

Medically Related Books (Fiction and Non-Fiction)

• Beck, Martha. Expecting Adam
• Cassell, Joan. Woman in a Surgeon's Body
• Cousins, Norman. Head First: The Biology of Hope and the Healing Power of the Human Spirit
• Cronin, A.J. The Citadel
• Dawson, Patricia. Forged by the Knife: The Experience of Surgical Residency from the Perspective of a Woman of Color
• Dethlefsen, Thorwald; Dahlke, Rudiger. The Healing Power of Illness: The Meanings of Symptoms and How to Interpret Them
• Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
• Firlik, Katrina. Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside
• Hilfiker, David M. Not All Of Us Are Saints
• Humes, Edward. Baby ER: The Heroic Doctors and Nurses Who Perform Medicine's Tiniest Miracles
• Konner, Melvin. Becoming A Doctor: A Journey of Initiation in Medical School
• Ludmerer, Kenneth M. Time to Heal: American Medical Education in the 20th Century
• Maciocia, Giovanni; Ming, Su Xin. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text
• Real, Terrance. I Don't Want to Talk About It
• Shem, Samuel. The House of God
• Takakuwa, Kevin. What I learned in Medical School: Personal Stories of Young Doctors

Self-Help and Advice

• Bourne, Edmund J. The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook
• Carlson, Richard. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff…and It's All Small Stuff
• Chopra, Deepak. Creating Affluence: The A to Z Steps to a Richer Life
• Chopra, Deepak. Unconditional Life: Discovering the Power to Fulfill Your Dreams
• Dalai Lama; Cutler, Howard C. The Art of Happiness
• Jeffers, Susan. Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway!
• Moore, Thomas. Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life
• Northrup, Christine. Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing
• Rinpoche, Sogyal. The Tibetan Book on Living and Dying
• Seaward, Brian Luke. Managing Stress

Contemporary Fiction
There are thousands of great books that can provide a respite from medical school. Below is a brief list of suggestions. If you would like to suggest books which you found particularly enjoyable or helpful, please let us know and we will add them to the list.

• Allende, Isabel. The House of Spirits
• Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game
• Coelho, Pablo. The Alchemist
• Garland, Alex. The Beach
• Helprin, Mark. Winter's Tale
• Kingsolver, Barbara. Animal Dreams
• Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Love in the time of Cholera
• Remen, Rachel Naomi. All of her books are recommended.
• Rowling, J.K. The Harry Potter series
• Sparks, Nicholas. The Notebook