pickI knew about some of the efforts to keep the public fit in WWII, but not the experimental basis behind them, and not all of the stuff discussed here. I found this very readable and interesting.
Warning: if you're phobic about insects (or at least biting ones), be careful. There's a whole chapter on them, and I definitely had some intrusive thoughts and a nightmare because of it.
My library haul for today. I was there for the tagged book, which came in as a hold, but I grabbed a few others. The “blind date with a book“ ones had been set up for Christmas, and I felt bad that so many had been left unborrowed, so I scooped up any that were fantasy/SF.
They were Raymond E. Feist's King of Ashes, Karen Lord's The Blue Beautiful World, and Zen Cho's Spirits Abroad, which I miiiight have already read, I'll have to check.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A must read for all women; for all humans. Why would you not strive to learn more about our species? I didn‘t expect to laugh out loud so much. Not in a funny haha way, but at the preposterousness of the things people believed, and continue to not understand, about women and their bodies. Stop telling us our “issues” are psychosomatic simply because you don‘t know, nor care to find out, the answer!! Such a good read.
The Mutter Museum in Philadelphia is absolutely fascinating. One of their featured exhibits is a wall of human skulls. The tagged book is a excellent story of not only Dr. Mutter, but warring physicians at the dawn of modern medicine, the formation of the American medical college, and so much more.
#wickedwhispers @eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickThis book was a lot more interesting than I expected. It is a brief, captivating and adventurous history of how hormones and our biochemistry have been discovered and why these powerful chemical substances are mysteriously responsible for what makes us humans and for every aspect in our lives: behaviour, sleep, metabolism, immunity, sex, moods, drive and motivation.
pickThe prologue of The Butchering Art puts to shame any horror cold opening I have ever read, listened to, or watched. The detailed description of a pre-anesthetic bladder stone removal just about had me wrecking my car!
When Fitzharris isn‘t reveling in the gory details of surgery she tends to be on the dry side. Still, what I love about a book like this isn‘t necessarily the info, but the way the info makes me reflect on my life and society.
pickI guarantee most women have been dissatisfied when visiting the doctor at least once. This book is an in-depth look at the history of medicine for females and is nothing short of eye-opening. As women, ailments are often written off as being hormone-related or “normal”, when it‘s not “normal” to feel uncomfortable, in pain, sick or worse. Women should read it. Men should read it. And the patriarchy should read it. Full stop.
pickComen, a breast cancer specialist, tells the history of women‘s treatment in medicine and how the study of our different needs was often overlooked and breakthroughs were often in short supply. She takes a body system approach working through integumentary, musculoskeletal, reproductive, and more. The audio is fantastic!
Three great non-fiction books?
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe (of xkcd)
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
“coffeehouses were hotbeds of gossip, rumor, political debate, & satirical discussion. They were also popular venues for chess & backgammon, which were regarded as morally dubious.“
No Man's Land by Wendy Moore
#tlt #ThreeListThursday
