Book heard; book read

Listened to: A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffery Archer. Think fast: name one person whose life you could seamlessly assume without relatives or friends discovering the switch. That's part of the premise of this book. Amazingly, no one discovered that Danny, the protagonist, hadn't really died or that Sir Nick's life had been taken over by Danny until pretty late in the story.

The reviews on Audible were very good, and it was a decent story as long as you could suspend all belief. Danny, who entered prison basically illilterate, in a matter of months is reading Shakespeare. Yeah, right. A lawyer who fails to raise a critical piece of evidence or to do basic investigation, notwithstanding the assistance of his father, a supposed great jurist. Yeah right. I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo, which inspired this book, but I suspect the TCOMC was a bit more believable.

I suppose, however, the prison scenes were accurate--after all, Lord Archer did spend a few years living that life. Would I recommend it? I suppose so, for light reading.

Book read: Final Exam by Dr. Pauline Chen. Ironically, I found this book on Audible, but chose to read it. What a well-written book by a transplant surgeon and Northwestern Med alum (I'm sure the NU connection did not influence my views of this book.) Her book is more a review of her experiences coming to terms with death as she progressed from a first year med student, working on her cadaver, through her residency, and the year she spent doing organ procurements, ending with her as an a fully-trained attending physician. She recounts many anecdotes of people in their dying days, including an aunt, with whom she was close. The anecdotes are interspersed with observations about herself, the patients, their families, and the other doctors who are involved. While in some ways, it's a bit macabre, it provides a fascinating look at life in the hospital and the true "final exam."

The only minor criticism: like all doctors, her ego shows at times.