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Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017
| Contributor Information
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Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
It's that time again. Whether you are relaxing on the beach or in a hammock in your own backyard, summer is a great time to open a book. But what to read? With so many books to choose, and so little time, it helps to have a recommendation. We asked our colleagues and readers to recommend recent books for nurses to read this summer. Maybe you'll find your next book among them.
Image courtesy of Ballantine Books
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult
"The story is about an experienced and excellent nurse of color, and the white supremacist parents of a baby who dies in the hospital nursery. It opened my mind about racism and prejudice and forced me rethink a lot of my beliefs about race, medical care, and what happens within corporate environments. I finished it during National Nurses Week this year and felt like I had taken a comprehensive nursing ethics class! I could barely put it down."
—Recommended by Barbara, a senior quality nurse in Nevada
Image courtesy of St Martin's Press
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah
"This book is historical fiction (my favorite genre), set in war-torn France during World War II. It gives gruesome new details about the Holocaust, and the underground network of people who risked their own lives and those of their families to save the targets of Hitler's autocracies. It reminded me that our country's borders were also closed at this time—a move that certainly did not help those in Europe attempting to flee death."
—Recommended by Sue, a senior adviser for nursing
Image courtesy of Random House
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing, by Mira Jacob
"This was the best audiobook I have listened to in the past year. It made me laugh, it made me weep, and it covered many very interesting subjects. This book does have a medical theme, with one of the main characters being a doctor."
—Recommended by Susie, an obstetric nurse in Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Image courtesy of Random House
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
My Name Is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout
"This fantastic book is well-written with fully developed characters, exploring the relationship between a mother and a daughter and presented as a memoir. A new book by this author, Anything Is Possible, picks up where Lucy Barton leaves off. Lucy's memoir is now for sale in the local bookstore, and it exposes the abuse that had been going on in the home of Lucy and her siblings many years earlier."
—Recommended by Jaimie, a speech writer and editor in State College, Pennsylvania
Image courtesy of Loveswept
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
Dancing in the Rain, by Kelly Jamieson
"Dancing in the Rain is a fantastic summer read. The story is centered around the death of Sara from malignant melanoma. Sara's illness teaches us about love and appreciating the beauty of life and the silver lining of a rain cloud. This book encouraged me to never forget how precious life is."
—Recommended by Nancy, a nurse clinical analyst in Bedford, Massachusetts
Image courtesy of Anchor Publishing
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
The Knockoff, by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza
"This book is complete fluff, but I loved every word, and it stands out as one of the most engaging books I've read in a long time. It's about the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine, Imogen, who returns from sick leave to find that her 20-something former assistant is after her job, and is trying to take the print magazine digital. Imogen must now learn all about social media, and her first attempts at tweeting are absolutely hysterical. It's super-funny and an easy read—perfect for summer!"
—Recommended by Troy, a nurse writer/journalist in Rockford, Illinois
Image courtesy of Harper Collins
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
Mississippi Blood, by Greg Iles
"For great summer reading, I would recommend a trilogy written by Greg Iles: Natchez Burning, The Bone Tree, and Mississippi Blood. It's a wonderful, can't-put-down series, full of suspense about the Deep South and racial tensions, human relationships, and hardship."
—Recommended by Jo-Anne, a nurse manager for patient support services in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Image courtesy of Doubleday
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital, by David Oshinsky
"I loved this book because it is rich in both American history and medical history. This author researches his subjects very well, yet keeps the book very readable. I just purchased his earlier book about the polio epidemic and plan to read it soon."
—Recommended by Carol, a retired medical-surgical nurse in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Image courtesy of National Geographic
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong, by Paul A. Offit, MD
"This brand-new book by Paul Offit, MD, a Medscape editorial advisor, is totally fascinating! Seven stories from history illustrate scientific inventions that ended up doing much more harm than good. Topics run the gamut from opiate painkillers to lobotomies. It is written for a lay audience, so the writing is accessible and the side stories are mesmerizing. A great summer book!"
—Recommended by Susan, a nurse editor and writer in Buffalo, New York
Image courtesy of Vintage
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
Hallucinations, by Oliver Sacks
"Through wonderful storytelling, Dr Sacks (a neurologist and an awesome writer) entertains and teaches us about neurologic disorders. As a nurse, I may be prejudiced toward an interest in neurology, but I believe that Sacks' skill in relaying details of his interactions with unusual cases would be very compelling even to a nonmedical person."
—Recommended by Dee, a retired multispecialty nurse and case manager in Connecticut
Image courtesy of Ballantine Books
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good, by Cory Booker
"This book gives me hope in our current political climate in the United States. Senator Cory Booker seeks to bring people together rather than divide them. He has lived this in his daily life, choosing to live, even as a US Senator, in tenement buildings in New Jersey. It's a fun read and an easy read, but one that will touch you and change your life."
—Recommended by Tom, a nurse practitioner in Richmond, Maine
Image courtesy of Beacon Press
Relax With a Great Book: Best Summer Books for Nurses
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS | June 22, 2017 | Contributor Information
What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear, by Danielle Ofri, MD
"Despite the word 'doctors' in the title, this book is important reading for nurses, too. It shows the power of listening to patients' stories, and the power of stories to improve care."
—Recommended by Beth, a senior communications officer
What if you could get patients to read books that are actually helpful, providing information that they could use to improve their health?Perspectives, April 2017
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Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS
Editor, Medscape Nurses
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