Books, Books, Books

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted about books I've read and my list in GoodReads is pretty long so  I'm just going to list the ones I really enjoyed and link them to Amazon in case you want to check them out.

Billy Bowater  E.C. Hane (as in underwear)  Billy works for a good old boy Senator in North Carolina who has no problem using religion to achieve his goals, no matter what the cost.   Billy has a late-in-life epiphany.  Set in Chapel Hill and written by a politician turned novelist.  Pithy.

Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell - This is a young adult novel but then so was The Truth in our Stars and it's not just for kids.

Where the Heart Is, Billie Letts - good read for fans of Fannie Flagg.

What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty - What happens when a woman passes out in the gym, hits her head and when she comes to in hospital thinking it's ten years earlier and that's she pregnant?  In reality the adoring loving husband she remembers and she are in the middle of a bitter divorce. Moriarity is quickly becoming my favorite author.  She also wrote The Husband's Secret, under consideration by my book club for next years list.

Dear Committee Members, Julie Schumacher - for anyone who has ever sat on a committee.  Laugh out loud funny.

Nonfiction:

God's Hotel: a doctor, a hospital, and a pilgrimage to the heart of medicine, Victoria Sweet - set in a San Francisco hospital that treated the indigent - absolutely unforgettable.

My Salinger Year, Joanna Rakoff - a rookie editor in her first year working for an agency and it's most unusual client.

Yesterday was my follow-up appointment with my neurosurgeon, Dr Demers.  He had reviewed both my MRI and x-rays and was very pleased.  His recommendation was that "we do a whole lot of nothing."  Huh?  What he meant is that no further surgery is required though we both know that I have "an area of concern" unrelated to the break.  He had no recommendations other than pain pills and muscle relaxants to manage the discomfort and stiff neck.  He's a surgeon, not a palliative care physician - I get that.  I requested a cortisone shot and he enthusiastically said, "We can do that! Only it won't be me, it'll be one of my colleagues."

So Friday morning I'm scheduled for one, which is about a two-hour affair.  I've only had a cortisone injection once before and that was about eight years ago for "frozen shoulder."  An MRI showed a tear and surgery was under consideration, however the shot took care of the problem completely. That's what I'm hoping from this one.  It's kind of scary this close to our NYC trip, but who's afraid of the big bad wolf?  Not me!