0 The Night Shift

One thing that makes our Sisters Book Challenge so difficult is reading books that are outside of my comfort zone.  Reading a book that I would not have chosen for myself takes a bit of mental gymnastics. I consider myself a lazy reader.  Though I read a lot, I read for pleasure so sometimes I avoid books that I feel might stretch me.  I rarely dislike a book once I dive in, but  I have to get past the idea that I'm not going to like something or that it will be too difficult or not in a genre I typically enjoy.

When Kati gave me this year's list, one book stood out to me because it was precisely something I would have chosen for myself!  It made this year's first pick a no-brainer.  The Night Shiftis Dr. Brian Goldman's recounting of one shift of his stint as a Canadian emergency room physician.  I'm a medical memoir junkie so I loved this book.  I loved reading how Dr. Goldman diagnosed patients, deciphered strange symptoms, and dealt with the cases that were emotionally trying.  (In the interest of disclosure, occasionally I detected a touch of arrogance in Dr. Goldman's tone which was off-putting and there was a moderate amount of bad language in patient quotes, though the copy I read had it blacked out.) 

I love this type of book so much that sometimes I think I missed my calling in the medical profession! 

Do you read medical books or watch medical TV shows?  I love the Call the Midwife television series, especially the first two seasons, and I've been known to rearrange my schedule in the summer so I don't miss Boston Med.