I have sometimes posted about The Book Group I have belonged to for over thirty years (how did that happen?) and I have read about similar groups around the English speaking world. I've always thought it interesting that there is rarely a modifier on the name, although I have heard of a few Mystery Book Groups and Men's Book Groups. I suppose dyed-in-the-wool readers don't need to limit their scope and read just about anything - as I do. I'm not real crazy about gory murder stories and have stopped readying Patricia Cornwell for that reason. I particularly enjoy well written biographies and autobiographies and memoirs - more so as the years go by. Another change as I age is that I seem to revisit books I have read in the past. In February I pulled "Krakatoa" off my shelf again and perhaps enjoyed it more the second time around. Simon Winchester is an amazing writer and an amazing human being http://simonwinchester.com/ , writing on a vast span of topics. I anticipate reading "Atlantic" about the Atlantic Ocean and know that it will be a "page turner"
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Our group meets one evening a month at the home of a member. Whoever hosts the group chooses the book for the following meeting. This exposes us to a wide selection of reading "tastes" - sometimes we all like the book and sometimes few of us do. But usually we enjoy the variety of selections over the twelve months of the year.
For the March meeting our Book Group read "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande, MD. Fascinating and a little scary, it is about making checklists such as those used by airline pilots for all sorts of important jobs (functions?) and procedures. Dr. Gwande is mainly interested in improving the survival rate of surgery and the scary part is in the details. But he also talks about checklists that are used in constructing enormous buildings, checklists for emergency crews, checklists for natural disasters and much more. His ideas and his examples are eye openers. I think there should be a "Checklist Movement" to get more checklists in hospitals and clinics around the world. It is a powerful idea whose time has come.
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Our group meets one evening a month at the home of a member. Whoever hosts the group chooses the book for the following meeting. This exposes us to a wide selection of reading "tastes" - sometimes we all like the book and sometimes few of us do. But usually we enjoy the variety of selections over the twelve months of the year.
For the March meeting our Book Group read "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande, MD. Fascinating and a little scary, it is about making checklists such as those used by airline pilots for all sorts of important jobs (functions?) and procedures. Dr. Gwande is mainly interested in improving the survival rate of surgery and the scary part is in the details. But he also talks about checklists that are used in constructing enormous buildings, checklists for emergency crews, checklists for natural disasters and much more. His ideas and his examples are eye openers. I think there should be a "Checklist Movement" to get more checklists in hospitals and clinics around the world. It is a powerful idea whose time has come.
2 comments:
I stopped reading Patricia Cornwell eons ago but I am a sucker for a good police procedural (mostly the British and Italian ones, where character is key and they are well written).
But I just finished Sweet 'n Low, by Rich Cohen - fascinating story of the disfunctional family(his) whose patriarch invented the stuff in the little pink packet. Funny and sad at the same time -- and true! I couldn't put it down.
I'm another former Patricia Cornewll reader! I've added Winchester and Gawande to my "find at the library" list - thanks!
I enjoyed Josephine Marchant's "Decoding the Heavens". It has history, archaeology, science, and quirky personalities.
Dottie
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