What I've been reading

This is Going to Hurt
by Adam Kay

"Welcome to 97-hour weeks. Welcome to life and death decisions. Welcome to a constant tsunami of bodily fluids. Welcome to earning less than the hospital parking meter. Wave goodbye to your friends and relationships. Welcome to the life of a junior doctor."

I haven't done this for a long time - bought a book I haven't read in order to give it to someone as a present, and then read the whole thing very carefully trying to make it look like it hasn't been read. It's not a difficult book to read but the black humour of the subject matter is not far off what I would expect, even though my experience comes from very limited access to non-emergency inpatient care and a few years in diabetes. Why anyone intelligent and ambitious would train to be a doctor nowadays is a mystery to me - yes, after thirty years of unimaginable stress you could probably command a good income in private practice, but... thirty years??

The Circular Staircase
by Mary Roberts Rinehart

narrated by B. J. Harrison

"Wealthy spinster Rachel Innes is persuaded by her niece and nephew Gertrude and Halsey to take a house in the country for the summer. Rachel is unaware that the house holds a secret, and soon unexplained happenings and murder follow."

This was pretty good, published in 1908, and is a murder mystery novel when these were not a recognised genre. There were perhaps too many twists and interconnected plotlines for me, but I enjoyed listening.

The Angry Chef
by Anthony Warner

"Assembling a crack team of psychiatrists, behavioural economists, food scientists and dietitians, the Angry Chef unravels the mystery of why sensible, intelligent people are so easily taken in by the latest food fads, making brief detours for an expletive-laden rant."

The book by the chef whom I met in Birmingham in November when he did a talk to the Skeptics in the Pub. He was a good talker, and it's a good book too, which is a relief. And nothing in there that I disagreed with professionally either. I look forward to his next book coming out in January, which I believe will be about fat and fatness.

The Stars My Destination
by Alfred Bester

narrated by Gerard Doyle

"Imagine a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and protect themselves with radioactive hit men - and where an inarticulate outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive."

I think this is a good book which I spoiled by listening with long gaps between short bursts. So I didn't entirely follow the plot. I should really listen again, but there are so many other books awaiting my attention!