gillian's bookshelf:

  "If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”  
  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson  
 

I often find my favorite books by asking those people who I admire and about whom I care to recommend some for me.  I also tend to recommend, perhaps too enthusiastically at times, books to other people.  Here is a list of those books that I have recently read, am currently reading, or are in the queue for reading in the very near future.  As a convenience, where possible, I have included links to the authors' web pages or to a third party site.  These links are by no means meant to be an endorsement to shop at any particular site. They are merely there for your information.
 

Overdo$ed America:  The Broken Promise of American Medicine by John Abramson, M.D.
This book was recommended to me by a physician with whom I serve on a research ethics board.  He emphasized repeatedly that every person on that board and in fact every person in America should read it.  To be honest, I took his initial comments to be the type of enthusiasm I sometimes exhibit for a good book, and put it in my list but did not rush off to buy it immediately.  Now, a few months later, I have finally begun to read it, and I wish I had bought it the day he recommended it.  Truly, this book is something that everyone should read before taking another pill.
   

Talking with Doctors by David Newman
A new addition to my list of books to read, this book was written by a man who survived an extremely serious case of brain cancer.  I saw him talk as part of my research with cancer survivors at IBM, and his story is a truly compelling one.  The book reportedly focuses on how to collaborate with your doctors and give and receive information as part of that partnership, all told from his particular set of experiences.
   

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
This book was recommended to me by so many different women that I eventually just snagged a copy of a friend's bookshelf, went home, and read it immediately.  It is historical fiction and definitely worth a read, particularly if you are interested in a bit of a feminist perspective on the Bible's stories about women.
   

Lamb:  The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

A little bit irreverent, a little bit philosophical, a little bit historical, this is a funny, fun, and thought provoking book all at the same time. Thanks to a very good friend who gives me all her book club hand me downs, I laughed my way through this book in just a weekend.  Plus, I would recommend pretty much anything Chris Moore writes.
   
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This was a great book, but I definitely recommend reading it in one sitting, as parts of it are quite dark, and you really need to read to the end.  I heard a rumor that Peter Jackson will be directing a movie based on this book soon.  So, hurry up and read it before then :)
   
  “What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us”  
  ~Thomas Carlyle