The point of these quick takes post to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
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Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examinerby Judy Melinek, MD, & TJ Mitchell, Tanya Eby (Narrator) |
(the official blurb)
I really don’t know what to say about this account of a forensic pathologist’s training in NYC. Read it, listen to it, whatever. It’s fascinating. It’s a good reminder/way to learn that not all of forensic pathology is what you see on police procedurals (and even then…wow, fictionalized).
Her retelling of the reasons she left her surgical residency—and the fact that she’s not the exception to the rule (beyond having the good sense to leave when so many don’t), is one more reminder that we desperately need to overhaul medical training in this country.
But that’s not what the book is about—it’s about the day-to-day grind, the countless ways pathologists find evidence about what kills us, the hard job of getting answers for the bereaved, and yeah—there’s the criminal justice side to it. I’m a little squeamish when it comes to real-life medical “stuff”, I’ll watch a Tarantino marathon and not blink and the bucks of blood (well, maybe the dance scene in Reservoir Dogs some days), but I can’t last 15 minutes in a medical documentary without my toes literally curling. There were moments listening to this that made me wonder—but there weren’t many, and they passed quickly. If you’re like me, stick with it.
I was all set to say this is a good book and well worth your time, and then we got to the penultimate chapter. Melinek wisely organized her story by topic, not chronology. Largely due to this chapter (I’d guess), because you want it at the end so it doesn’t dwarf the rest. She started her residency a few weeks before September 11, 2001. I’m not even going to try to describe it. The whole book could’ve been written about this and the immediate aftermath.
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Out of Rangeby C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator) |
(the official blurb)
Of all the books in this post, this is the one that bugs me the most—but I’m being honest, I’m not going to find the time to give this the post I want to. Like his fellow Wyomingite (I had to look that term up), Walt Longmire, Joe Pickett has to leave his home occasionally. There’s just no way Box can keep killing people in that sparsely populated area.
So Joe goes to Jackson Hole to temporarily fill the office of a warden who killed himself—and, maybe, just figure out what drove the man to suicide*. Seeing Joe out of water, yet right at home in the work is great—I’m betting Box will do things like this in the future (again, see Longmire), and it’ll be worth it.
* Spoiler: he does.
Joe leaves Marybeth and the kids at home, with the usual financial woes, stresses of a pre-teen far too wise for her years (but with all the attitude of a preteen), and new loneliness. This marriage is headed for trouble—thankfully, both of them realize it (I’m not sure I can handle them splitting, and I’m not a die-hard Pickett fan yet).
Great mystery. Better sub-stories (I can’t start talking about the Nate Romanowski story without spoiling it). I’m really, really glad I started this series.
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The Fangs of Freelanceby Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator) |
(the official blurb)
Fred’s move to become a freelance accounting consultant for The Agency really just opens the door for more adventures (as well as for more challenging accounting jobs). It frequently looks like he bit off more than he can chew, but with a little help from his friends… Fred’s also dealing with the ramifications of starting his own clan in the last book—a move I thought was inspired and I’m enjoying watching that clan solidify.
This is probably the best of the series, really. Hayes makes some bold moves here. Heyborne’s narration remains strong and entertaining.
This is really a nice, reliable “cozy” Urban Fantasy series. I’m glad I stumbled upon it.
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Wonder Twins Vol. 1: Activate!by Mark Russell, Stephen Byrne (Artist) |
(the official blurb)
Okay, so…straight out of the second (pretty sure, it was the second) incarnation of Super Friends comes this Wonder Twins series. And it was . . . eh, okay, maybe?
Zan and Jayna are on Earth, sent here by their parents under the watchful eye of Superman. They’re open about their alienness, telling everyone at school about their home planet, its culture, and their abilities. And pretty much no one cares. After school, they hang out in the Hall of Justice as interns, they end up battling The League of Annoyance (villains too lame for consideration in the Legion of Doom). Oh, and eventually, Zan buys a circus monkey that turns out to be blue.
I really dug the art. I’m not sure what else to say about that—I’m interested in checking out more of Byrne’s work. Oh, wait…I have said nice things about him already. I should pay more attention to things like that.
The tone of this was wildly uneven—was it comedic? Was it earnest?. The League of Annoyance was too silly for this book—too silly even for the Teen Titans Go cartoon. I liked a lot of what went down in the Hall of Justice (especially the supercomputer).
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