Abstract
Reading for pure pleasure is a privilege readily available to millions. Paradoxically, many cannot partake fully of this privilege, because of an acquired vocational bias. Physicians, for instance, when reading for pleasure, still tend to choose books that are linked, however tenuously, with medicine. They will favor novels by Somerset Maugham, Walker Percy, or Michael Crichton or poems by William Carlos Williams, if only because these authors were or are physicians and their writings are apt to reflect their medical experiences and insights. Even works by lay authors dealing perceptively with a disease, such as Leo Tolstoy's<i>The Death of Ivan Illitch</i>, are among the favorites of the physicians' pleasure reading. And when reaching for a mystery story, physicians will prefer one with a medical twist. They may even derive perverse pleasure from Norman Cousins'<i>Anatomy of a Disease</i>. After all, there is much to be said for the pleasures
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
