Spotlight: "Doctors" and "If You Could See Me Now"

Midway through April and already I've crossed off two books on my reading list. Here's where it stands now:

The 2009 Reading List
1. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
2. The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik
3. Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin --I boycotted this one.
4. A Place Called Here by Cecelia Ahern
5. If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern
6. Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
7. Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Getting Things Done by David Allen
8. The Amber Room by Steve Berry
9. Doctors by Erich Segal
10. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
11. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
12. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
13. Prizes by Erich Segal
14. Live a Little by Kim Green
15. Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
16. Raising the Peaceable Kingdom by Jeffrey Maoussaieff Mason
17. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin

In between my Holy Week Cleanup Project, I read this novel by Erich Segal. As I mentioned before, I had read this when I was very young, maybe more than ten years ago. Reading it again, I now have newfound respect for anyone who is entering medical school. I knew it was difficult, but reading about the journey of two childhood friends from the first day of medical school all the way to becoming doctors of their own chosen fields was really enlightening.

What I liked about this is that the novel begins by introducing us to Barney and Laura, the protagonists. It establishes the bond that they have in childhood, a bond that remains all through medical school and beyond. But midway through the novel, when they actually begin going to med school, we are introduced to their classmates and their respective back stories. This makes the story even richer as these people weave in and out of Barney and Laura's lives, making all the stories intertwine. More than just the story of Barney and Laura, then, Doctors is really about their batch in Harvard Medical School, at a time when women and black doctors were not generally accepted in their field, when a cure of polio had yet to be discovered, and new medical advancements slowly unravel as time passes and the novel goes along. It was a very informative and engaging read.

As a Christmas gift, my boss gave me a copy of If You Could See Me Now, her all-time favorite Cecelia Ahern novel. Having read the summary at the back cover, I wasn't very intrigued by the premise. But after taking this book with me to the dentist yesterday, I just couldn't put it down.

Without getting into details (it's a bit difficult to summarize this book), it really taught me about friendship. How sometimes, people just really come into your life to fulfill a purpose --like to make you learn something about yourself-- and once they have achieved that, they have to move on and make a mark in other people's lives. I used to think of this as abandonment, as people never staying too long in life, but now I realize that it just means it's time to meet new friends who will teach you something new about yourself.

If you would be so lucky to find people who will stay forever, that means you should be open to growing together, always learning new things about each other, and learning new things about yourself whenever you are with that person. If not, well, the world is so full of people you can learn a thing or two from, as long as you keep yourself open to the opportunities that life has to offer.

While I read A Place Called Here first and it had an intriguing premise, I thought If You Could See Me Now really captivated me. It was so engaging and reachable-- the fantasy element was so woven in to real life, unlike in A Place Called Here where it was a tad too out there. It looks like If You Could See Me Now is my favorite Ahern book too.

So now I've hit 9 out of 17! Halfway down the list now! I would really, really want to start reading The Other Boleyn Girl, but it's so thick I think it'll take me forever to finish. Who knows though, maybe all I need is to just get started. Do I reserve the right to put it down if it proves to be a boring read? Let's see!

Have a great Sunday!