Books

Happened to see the Quill Awards on NBC today. Always interesting to see what books are selected as good choices to read. Of course, the latest Harry Potter won Book of the Year. I still haven't gotten around to reading one of those or watching one of the movies. Not sure why - one of these days. Probably because I listen to so many audiobooks through Audible.com and they don't have a publisher agreement to carry the Harry Potter books (which is a shame, because the narrator is known for the remarkable job he does with all the different voices). I thought it was interesting that the Quill Awards were on during all the football games. Shows where our nation's priorities are - maybe why we are so far behind other countries?

The Johnstown Flood
In the meantime, finished reading The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough, one of my favorite authors (John Adams, 1776, etc). Amazing description of the flood that wiped out this Pennsylvania town in the late 1800's. They didn't pay attention to the problems of the dam on a lake high in the mountains and it turns out that poor engineering led to the devestation of this town. Sound familiar? Thought so. Except that help arrived for them a lot faster than it did in New Orleans. (Brownie would still be looking around deciding which pinpoint oxford shirt he should put on).

The Lincoln Lawyer Also finished reading the Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. A good defense lawyer yarn - the first book I've read by him. Keeps you entertained - exellent narrator. I don't usually read these kinds of books, but when I do, I must admit they're pretty good. Gets a 4.75/5 at Audible which is very high for Audible. Will have to check out Janet Evanovich's book, "Eleven on Top" which was best Mystery/Suspense/Thriller at the Quill Awards - another good beach read, I suspect.

Complications Now, it's time to get back to finishing another excellent book that I started and then put down - Complications by Atul Gawande, an outstanding book on medicine. Atul Gawande offers an unflinching view from the scalpel's edge, where science is ambiguous, information is limited, the stakes are high, yet decisions must be made. In dramatic and revealing stories of patients and doctors, he explores how deadly mistakes occur, why good surgeons go bad. He shows what happens when medicine comes up against the inexplicable: an architect with incapacitating back pain for which there is no physical cause; a young woman with nausea that won't go away; a television newscaster whose blushing is so severe that she cannot do her job. Gawande also ponders the human factor that makes saving lives possible. Garners a 4.5/5 on Audible, which is high praise.