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emilysk

emilysk

I live in Seattle. I recently graduated from nursing school and am starting work as a new RN. I have a BA in English literature. I will read anything, up to and including the back of a cereal box.

The books on my shelf are books that I've read, not necessarily books that I own. My reading list is of books that I want to read but... more »
  • Seattle, WA, USA
  • member since November 22 2006

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 328 reviews
  • Witches of Eastwick
    • Rated 2 stars

    “This really didn't do that much for me. Honestly, I liked the movie a lot more, and that's saying something. Perhaps it would have done more for me if I'd read it when it was first written - but then again, a really good book should hold up over time.

    Just in case you haven't seen the movie or read the book - a mysterious stranger moves to the small coastal town of Eastwick and buys a decripit mansion that he fixes up in strange and bizarre ways. Each of the witches in town has some sort of fling with him and eventually finds him unsatisfying.

    Now I hear there's a TV series based on the book as well, but I haven't seen it. I expect it is a lot like Desparate Housewives but with witches. Oh well. ”

    emilysk wrote this review 8 hours ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The 19th Wife: A Novel
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Well done. The book switches between 2 points of view - a modern-day FLDS family who is struggling with an apparent murder, and the diary of a 19th-century Mormon wife who experiences the founding and travel of the early Mormon church. It's a fascinating look at both LDS history and the problems with the modern-day Fundamentalist LDS organization, known from the news as the polygamists. If you're interested in the subject, "Under the Banner of Heaven" is a great nonfiction look at the same subject. ”

    emilysk wrote this review 8 hours ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor
    • Rated 4 stars

    “A powerful message about the reality of being a doctor who provides abortions in the United States. Dr. Wicklund writes about her own abortion as a young woman, her difficult journy through college and medical school as the mother of a young child, and her mission to provide the option of abortion to women in several different states. She flies from state to state to work at the widely scattered clinics that provide abortion as a choice, which can be hundreds of miles away from their client base, as in rural Montana. She has private security, a bulletproof vest, and a handgun she carries at all times.

    I appreciate Dr. Wicklund's honesty and willingness to portray the various reasons why her patients sought abortions, as well as the constant pressure from anti-abortion protesters and activists. Her experience goes back more than 20 years, and yet things haven't changed that much, as seen by the recent murder of Dr. Tiller in Wichita. ”

    emilysk wrote this review 8 hours ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Heart and Soul
    • Rated 3 stars

    “I liked this book but didn't love it. It's about a doctor named Clare who is going through a divorce from her ex That Bastard Alan, and has allowed both of her adult daughters to live with her. She is challenged by her new job as the director of a heart clinic that is a 1-year trial project by the hospital where she works. As the director, she has to make all the decisions from staffing to decorating to treatment plans for patients.

    The book follows the lives of a large host of characters - Clara, her daughters, the nurses at the clinic, a handsome young doctor, the Polish immigrant Ania who Clara hires as an assistant, some of the patients, the administrator Frank who makes Clara's life difficult... It's well-written but not amazing. ”

    emilysk wrote this review 9 hours ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Wishful Drinking
    • Rated 3 stars

    “I didn't realize this book was an adaptation of Carrie Fisher's stage show. That explains why it read so light & fluffy - I'm sure quite a bit of the stage performance is in her expressions and gestures and so on. It was funny but not that funny. ”

    emilysk wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray
    • Rated 3 stars

    “One of the overlooked classics that I never actally read. I think I would have liked it more if I'd watched a movie or listened to an audiobook - the banter between the characters is terribly witty and suffered from not being heard out loud. The story itself is creative - Dorian Gray is a handsome young man who sits for a portrait. When the painting is finished, he admires it and wishes aloud that he might stay young and beautiful forever, and that the person painting will grow old instead. And it does.

    The central theme that Wilde addresses repeatedly is the idea that a person's sins or misdeeds are reflected in their appearance. As Dorian becomes more and more outrageous in his behavior, the portrait becomes more and more ugly and unpleasant to look upon. I find myself wondering if this was a normal expectation in Wilde's time and place - that the unattractive are ugly due to poor moral character? I also pondered the fact that no one would make that assertion aloud today - but pretty people definitely have an easier time in life than ugly people, so perhaps the concept is still alive in our collective social unconscious. ”

    emilysk wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
    • Rated 4 stars

    “A classic, of course. I've been reading lots of books inspired by the Conan Doyle books, and so I felt I should revisit the originals. The writing is kind of overblown, but I think that's mostly due to the time in which it was written. The stories themselves are entertaining and suspenseful. My favorite was "The Red-Headed League" - it reminded me of those old news stories in the 80s where a local police department would open a Hickory Farms storefront around the holidays and send advertisements out to criminals with open warrants, and then arrest them as they came through the door.

    "The Five Orange Pips" was historically interesting, too - I had never read anything about the KKK from a Victorian-era British point of view. ”

    emilysk wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Perdido Street Station
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Very well-written, also very disturbing and harsh.

    Perdido Street Station is a transportation hub located in an alien city. Some of the inhabitants are human, while others are various alien species, including the Khepri, who have the bodies of human women but the head of a beetle.

    The city is being terrorized by an attack of bad dreams and people who are found unconscious and unresponsive, although physically unharmed. A ragtag team of scientists, artists, and criminals is thrown together to fight the source of this mysterious and creepy epidemic... and a lot of horrible things happen to them.

    The alien world where the story takes place is developed in great detail, and is quite original in many respects. Mieville is a very talented writer. However, I felt kind of creeped out and depressed after I finished the book, and I don't really want to go back into that world.”

    emilysk wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Diagnosis: Investigating Modern Medical Mysteries
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Very interesting book written by the MD who is the medical advisor for the show "House". The book is written for the layperson, and describes the ways in which doctors collect information about their patients, process the information, and ultimately reach a diagnosis. My favorite part to read was the case studies that described mysterious illnesses that were eventually diagnosed and treated. But probably the most important part of the book for me professionally was the emphasis on the physical exam. Many of the case studies described how the diagnosis was missed or overlooked due to incomplete or inadequate examination of the patient. I'm a nurse, so I'm not in the position of diagnosing my patients - but I am expected to collect information that the doctors act upon. Reading this book reaffirmed my intention to examine my patients closely so the medical team doesn't miss clues that could help treat the patient.”

    emilysk wrote this review Thursday, September 17 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Beat the Reaper: A Novel
    • Rated 3 stars

    “I couldn't decide whether I loved or hated this book. The narrator is a resident at a hospital, who happens to have a hidden criminal past. The parts I loved: the description of the chaos within the hospital among the interns and residents and the bizarre things that happen while treating patients; the frustration with the dumb things people do that land them in the hospital. The parts I hated: the criminal past is gory and gross, and the climax of the story is so far over the top that it horrified me. Still, I could hardly put the book down.”

    emilysk wrote this review Thursday, September 17 2009. ( reply | permalink )
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