.adversaria.
24) White Coat: Becoming a Doctor at Harvard Medical School by Ellen Rothman
Rothman provides a stark, plantive and humble account of her journey through medical school. It helped steady my thoughts about entering medical school and more fully understand the challenges to come. I would consider the book a relatively swift read, for her writing style is straight forward and consise. Personally, I also consider her writing style a tad restrictive at times - for it felt repetitive, especially during her introductory descriptions of people. Beyond that, I felt it was an overall solid book and an inviting read.
25) Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
I know people have their reservations regarding this book, due to its flashback into Roland's past, but I certainly found it delightful! Talk about a western smashed with a post-apocalyptic world - and something strange and wonderful comes out. The further I travel down the pat to the Dark Tower, the more I liken my life to this journey. The parallels are becoming uncanny.... :D King's writing is always addictively amazing and I can only look forward to the next three volumes with dry-mouthed anticipation.
26) Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Well, I thought I was going to start The Wolves of Calla by King, but somehow this novel interjected and got finished in between. :D It was a trip to a very different world than the dusty plains of Mid-World. I have already gushed my praise over Sanderson's Elantris, the book in which he broke into the fantasy scene, and this book proves itself just as extraordinary as his first. Sanderson's gift to the fantasy world is his ability to craft new magic systems. Let me tell you, having read shelves full of fantasy books, I've seen my fill of vague magicks doing vague and cliche things. This author thrusts you into a novel system and there's no stopping the fascination from there. In this standalone novel, colors serve as the basis for the magic. A person possessing Breath, which I likened to a soul, can gain more Breaths and thus attain different levels of awareness. Certain numbers of Breath can heighten one's senses, achieve perfect pitch, see the harmonics of color, and more fantastic things. There are so many implications to this color system, such as a script based on colors - readable only by those who have a certain amount of Breath.
This is only a scratch at the surface for the complexity Sanderson has fabricated into this fantastic world.
Politics, plot, characters - this book has it all. Action, love, religion - there is enough of everything to satisfy your palate.
As always, I give Sanderson's novel my highest recommendation.
-Lila