Academic Medicine Open Forum

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  • 1.  Question of the Week: What is the best book you’ve read lately?

    Posted 09-27-2021 09:39:00 AM

    We know the members of this community are very interested in reading lists and book recommendations (you can’t hide, we have the data). So today we ask you to share with the rest of us: what is the best book you’ve read lately, either for work or for pleasure?



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    Diane Cassidy
    Director, Reference Center & Archives
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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  • 2.  RE: Question of the Week: What is the best book you've read lately?

    Posted 09-27-2021 11:39:00 AM

    The most recent read was Caste, The Origins of our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson and, because I'm a public health nerd, the book Spillover by David Quammen. If you are interested in different way to look at / explore our nation's relationship with racism and it's lasting impacts, Caste is a great read, especially in a group. 

    Spillover looks at zoonotic disease investigation (hello COVID-19?!) and is a surreal read in the midst of a pandemic. 



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    Raj Chawla
    Faculty Technology Liaison
    Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Question of the Week: What is the best book you've read lately?

    Posted 09-28-2021 08:34:00 AM
    I am in the middle of reading The State Must Provide: Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal -- And How To Set Them Right by Adam Harris.  Described by NYT -- "shows how a history of racism and exclusion shaped higher education".  I have learned so much. 

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    Marie Caulfield
    Manager, Applicant, Student, and Resident Data
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Question of the Week: What is the best book you've read lately?

    Posted 09-28-2021 08:41:00 AM
    For pleasure reading, I've been working my way through The Expanse books, which the sci-fi show is based on.

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    Kaitlin Smith
    Educational Consultant
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Question of the Week: What is the best book you've read lately?

    Posted 09-28-2021 11:04:00 AM
    I am reading the Percy Jackson series to my kids, ages 9 and 12.  (The 9 year olds are more into it than the 12 year old.) Much like the Harry Potter books, while they are children's literature, they are interesting to adults.  Currently, we are on Book 4, The Battle of the Labyrinth.  The premise of the books is that the ancient Greek myths are real, and that the Greek gods have children with mortals, called "half-bloods," who are called to be heroes just like the heroes of mythology.  Very clever blending of the adventures of the half-blood kids within the Greek mythology creatures and background.

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    Carolyn Pointer
    Assistant Professor
    Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Question of the Week: What is the best book you've read lately?

    Posted 09-29-2021 09:39:00 AM
    The Power of Us, by Jay Van Bavel and Dominic Packer. Great read on the power of personal and group identity and how it impacts cooperation and productivity.

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    Thomas White
    Executive Director
    Penn Medicine
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Question of the Week: What is the best book you've read lately?

    Posted 10-03-2021 11:35:00 AM
    In the midst of reading "Climate Change and the Health of Nations:  Famines, Fevers, and the Fate of Populations," by McMichael, Woodward and Muir.  Working to increase my knowledge of the intersection between climate change and human health.  This book, recommended by a knowledgeable colleague, is a fascinating introduction to the field and the history of climate change and its effect on health and other aspects of civilization.

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    David Skorton
    President and CEO
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Question of the Week: What is the best book you've read lately?

    Posted 10-04-2021 08:48:00 PM
    The best recent book was Caste by Isabel Wilkerson.  It made me think about the structures with which we evaluate people in a new way, as well as provoking a reconsideration of how human beings use us/them paradigms.

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    Ross McKinney, MD
    Chief Scientific Officer
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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    Original Message