Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Please share your Psychology reads here...

Whoops! I started reading As Nature Made Him a couple of days before March started and it was so good I finished it in February! This book is just so tragic and made me so mad that some in the medical profession can be so arrogant. The damage done to this man and his family is just horrendous. I thought it was well written and easy to understand. I would thoroughly recommend it and in fact have told so many people at work about it that several are lining up to read it next. Thanks Pick-a-Shelf for introducing me to an area that I normally wouldn't have delved into.

I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon and actually really enjoyed it, even though it's not my usual genre. I found Christopher's character charming and believable and Haddon addressed his autism in a very delicate and insightful manner. By the end of the story I was actually quite attached to Christopher and felt real pride that he not only solved the mystery but also got to London and through the Underground by himself (a place where I seem to get lost whenever I go), found his mum and passed his maths A level. Although I did find that I seem to share some of Christopher's defining characteristics, such as choosing one item over another because of the colour, having slightly unusual eating habitats, a need to stick to 'unnecessary' timetables and the need to plan ahead constantly...uhm curious.

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
3 Stars
I liked the movie much better than the book, which I seen years ago.

This book is basically a memoir about an 18 year old at a mental hospital. It has lots of psychologial information and gives descriptions about what it is like to be in a mental hospital, including the patients and staff. I had higher expectations for this book.

In the Woods by Tana French
4 Stars

My 카지노싸이트 Review:
When Dublin murder detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox are called to investigate the grisly killing of a young girl in the woods of Knocknaree, Ireland, Rob has no idea that the case will be life-altering for him. Twenty years earlier Rob and his two best friends were victims of a crime in the same woods - a crime that left his friends missing, and Rob clinging to a tree wearing nothing but blood-filled shoes and ripped clothing, unable to remember anything that happened. Now, in order to solve his case, Rob has to come to terms with his past; and as the past begins to unravel, his life begins to unravel in the process.

This book is a well-written, often creepy psychological thriller that very literally made my spine tingle and my heart beat faster. Several fast-paced and riveting police interrogations had me turning the pages as quickly as I could to discover the killer's identity and motive. And the eventual outcome wasn't one that I was expecting.

My favorite aspect of the story was that of Rob and Cassie's relationship -- part brother-sister, part old married couple, with enough underlying sexual tension to keep the reader wondering what might eventually happen between them.

Admittedly, I was a tinge disappointed in the ending, and for that I had to rate this one 4 stars instead of 5. I like that the author refused to tie everything up neatly; however, one of the story's major plot lines doesn't get any sort of resolution. I was frustrated at being strung along for nearly 450 pages to simply end at a question mark. However, overall, this is one of the better books I've read in awhile, and definitely one I'll be thinking about for a long time to come

Look Me in the Eye My Life with Asperger's
by John Elder Robison
5 stars

I loved this book. I thought Robison brought a really good perspective on how a person with Asperger's Syndrome thinks. I have read books by other authors with Asperger's and I think his book was easier to read and gave me a better perspective on the mind of someone with Asperger's than the other books I have read. My favorite chapters were "I get a bear cub" and "Montagoonians." I think they portrayed his logical thinking so well. In the end, I really got a good view of who he is and an appreciation for the struggles he endured.

If you do not have a pick for this month, I think that this is a great book to read. His writing is easy to read, making this memoir a good choice for someone that usually does not read books in this genre.

Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
5 stars

I know other people have picked this book so I'll try not to give too much away.

This was an amazing book, I simply could not put it down. It tells the increadible true story of the long and difficult process of treating a woman with 16 distinct complete personalities. Each personality considers itself a seperate person, all have different interests, talents, ages and two are even male. The story is very dark in places especially when the events leading to the fracture of Sybil's self are described, but overall there is a feeling of hope. This book shows the human mind's ability, firstly to adapt to protect itself and then ultimately to heal itself.

Sybil has inspired me to read more in this genre and I would recommend it to everyone.

Sam wrote: "I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon and actually really enjoyed it, even though it's not my usual genre. I found Christopher's character charming and believable..."
I read The Curious Incident... too; have had it in mind for a long time, the title is so neat. I thought it was excellent and really spoke through the mind of Christopher. So realistic, hard to believe it's fiction!
Review posted on my profile

If I get around to it before I have to take it back to the library, I also have Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer. Sounded interesting and the only other one on the list available. Which reminds me another book has come in...

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

He'll Be Ok Growing Gorgeous Boys Into Good Men by Celia Lashlie
Quick and easy read - author is direct (she used to be a prison guard) but I was annoyed by large number of pull out quotes and bullet point summaries. Overall her ideas ring true as they are based on the real words of teenage boys, but there were questions i wanted to ask - I did feel a bit picked on as a mother - such an easy target!

I finished reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and didn't really enjoy it that much. I know it's supposed to be a classic and all that, but I couldn't really relate to Esther and her 'madness' feels more like a teenager's overdramatic whine. It had its good points, though. It's easy to read and to follow, but it didn't make too big of an impression to me. Two stars!

I also read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. I loved it for the light quick read it was. I found Christopher to be completly endearing and I was definitly rooting for him in the course of his travels through London.

I just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon as well. What a unique book! I found it very interesting to be "inside" Christopher's head and see life and the world around as he sees it. If you haven't read this yet, Christopher is a 15-year-old boy with autism who is very good at math and science. He finds his neighbor's dog who has been killed and decides to write a book to help him solve the murder. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" is the book he writes. I gave it three stars.

I must say a "Thank you" to the one who picked this category! I always loved the title of The Curious Incident... but probably would not have had a chance to read it if not for Pick-a-Shelf, the psychology shelf!

That was me who picked this category Betty and I am glad that you are grateful. I was leary about picking it because it is not your typical category, but I figured we give it a shot!
There are quite a few interesting books to choose from in this category.

You are right about interesting books in that category. Actually, I do & have read some of these. I just finished in Feb a forthcoming book that will turn up in that category sooner or later.

I must agree with Betty about this month's shelf, I always like the title of The Curious Incident...as well as the book covers but doubt I would've ever given it ago, definitely a good choice Angela :-)

I gave The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 4 stars.

Was a surprisingly good read...I don't know why I've put off reading this for so long.

I just finished My Lobotomy and I am giving it 3 1/2 stars (although since there is no 1/2 stars on here it is just 3 stars). I enjoyed this book. It was heartbreaking in many ways and it made me almost mad, how one woman could have put a child through what he went through, and how others in his family just let it happened and took her side. The final chapter was really worth the read, it summarized a recent MRI that he had and described what the lobotomy did to his brain. What a brutal procedure. I am glad I read this book and he did a great job sharing his life and giving information on Dr. Freeman and the lobotomy procedure.

I just finished Life of Pi
I give it 2 Stars
It was on the list and I had it on my TBR shelf :0)
Now after having read it, I still would not put it on a Psychology bookshelf :o)

I found this book quite tedious!
I actually fell asleep quite a few times trying to read it :o(
I felt I had to finish it though, to see what all the fuss was
about.

So without giving away to much of the story I will say this. I found the book was over descriptive in to many parts. I mean really do we need whole chapters on how someone got their name? I don't need all the details on how to open a can of water, also I don't think all the graphic detail was needed on the killing of the animals. I can use my imagination just fine and don't need it spelt out for me.

I would have given the book one star right up to the second last chapter, except for the fact that I was given a bit of a surprise towards the end, which made more sense to me. So I'm being generous in giving it the second star.

I don't really recommend this book to anyone as I think there are better books out there to spend your time reading.

Veronika Decides to Die A Novel of Redemption by Paulo Coelho

A young woman attempts suicide and ends up in a psychiatric ward where she finds out her failed attempted ruined her heart and she will die in less than a week. This book takes us on her week journey toward death. We look into the workings of her mind as well as the workings in the minds of her fellow 'inmates'. This being a Coelho book, there is a spiritual moral that you have to find.

For me it was drudgery. Too many stories intertwine and I was often lost. The ending was clever, but not clever enough to warrant the tedious trip through this book.

2.5 out of 5

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl. 4 stars.

Powerful. A must-read for those interested in reading about the holocaust. I felt guilty reading while eating my lunch.

This is also a wonderful book for putting your own life experiences and suffering into perspective. I especially liked his theories about responsibility - that we are all responsible for our own choices and for finding meaning in our life.

I wouldn't have been nearly as interested in the second half, "Logotherapy in a Nutshell" and "The Case for a Tragic Optimism," but he made it very readable and interesting by sharing many practical examples and stories. (Although it was this half of the book that brought my rating down to four stars.)

This is the type of book that you could read many times throughout your life and always learn something new, based on whatever you are experiencing in life at the time.

Some favorite quotes: "Love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. . . The salvation of man is through love and in love."

"Man is ultimately self-determining. What he becomes - within the limits of endowment and environment - he has made out of himself. In the concentration camps, for example, . . . we watched and witnessed some of our comrades behave like swine while others behaved like saints. Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions."

"If one cannot change a situation that causes his suffering, he can still choose his attitude."

"The world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best."

There were many other quotes I liked as well, and if I end up reading this again someday I will add to my list.

Luann wrote: "Man's Search for Meaning by [a:Viktor E. Frankl|2782|Viktor E. Frankl|..."

I'm glad you shared this, Luann. I've added it to my TBR list.

A Child Called "It" One Child's Courage to Survive - 4 Stars

This story was truly heart wrenching! I think it is such a brave thing for Dave Pelzer to be able to come forward and leave his past behind him in order to share his story with the public in order to bring awareness and educate on abuse. I'm amazed that he was able to rise above what happened to him to go on and become a functioning member of society.

Granted we usually only hear of the severe Abuse cases that happen through the media, and David's case was that. What he had to endure as a child at the hands of his own Mother is truly horrific. I am absolutely lost on how a mother could single one of her children out to torture in such horrible ways. The games she would play with him made me sick to my stomach.

The most frustrating thing of all for me in this story is how long the abuse went on for. As someone who has worked in the Early Childhood Education field for over ten years now, to have read that people knew things where off, but did not take the time to look into it breaks my heart. It is the responsibility of any member of society whether they be teacher, neighbour, grocery store clerk to report any suspicions of abuse to the right authorities. "Seeing" and not "Acting" is just as bad as being the abuser yourself. The fact that David's family did not step in to stop the abuse shakes me to my core.

I will definitely have to look into the other two books of this trilogy to see if my questions get answered. I have so many regarding what drove his mother to behave this way? Mental health I'm sure but what triggered it? and why did she only single out one of her five children? I would also like to know from a legal standpoint what happened to his parents as well as, what happened to his brothers?

This was a very fast read!

I also read Look me in the Eye my life with Aspergers. I found this book really interesting and quite funny in parts. But it certainly makes you wonder how different his childhood would have been if people knew that he was just different and not weird and going to become a serial killer! It must have been such a relief to finally be able to put a name to why he was different and know that there are so many other people just like him having the same struggles. I hope I will have a lot more tolerance and understanding if I happen to meet someone a "bit weird". I am giving this book 4 stars and am happy to recommend it to others.

Look Me in the Eye My Life with Asperger's By John Elder Robinson was the book that I chose as well. Having a child that has an ASD, I can certainly relate to the general reactions that were displayed by those around John. Both to his general behaviour and his reactions to social situations. I have been guilty myself of judging those behaviours in relation to what would be considered 'normal'. I particulary related to the bluntness of his social statements and how people often percieve this as being rude, or when he explained how people were often offended by the titles that he gave them (he was totally unaware how people might find them offensive), to him they were just an obvious title, or that his facial expression didn't match the emotion of the situation that was required or expected.
Personally I've lost count of the times I've been left mouth agape trying to explain to a lovely elderly lady that my son didn't mean anything by it when he's commented 'OH NO! look how wrinkly your hands are'. Then will look at them really sweetly with a smile on his face and finish his conversation off with a 'that means your going to die soon' and then will leave me in his wake and skip off somewhere, totally oblivious to the disaster zone he's left me with.
Other than the fact I could relate to many of the tales that were relayed in his childhood account. I enjoyed reading his perspective of the same situations I am usually on the other side of. 5 stars from me.

I just finished [book:The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time|1618. I really enjoyed the book, although it made me rather sad. It must be such a struggle for a family to deal with these types of issues. Very interesting and well written. Still plugging away on the Tipping Point....non-fiction is not my thing.

The Tipping Point

This book was definetly not something I would normally read. My husband had just finished it and it popped up on the first page of the shelf, so I went with it. I think it would be a really interesting read for someone in the business world, especially if you are trying to market something. I am not in that field, but the message I took away is that small changes and actions can have a big impact and results. It is a hopeful way of looking at problems that might seem overwhelming.

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson. 3 stars.

Thought I'd squeeze in one more book from the psychology shelf for this month - and I'm glad I did. I enjoyed this! I've read such mixed reviews about it that I wasn't sure if I would like it. It's a quick read and a deceptively simple story. I love the way the story can be applied to many different aspects of life - friendships, family relationships, jobs, etc.

This is another book you could read at various times throughout your life and learn entirely different things. I learned that it is natural for change to continually occur and we should expect it to happen. Change can surprise you only if you don't expect it and aren't looking for it. We should be looking for change and be ready to adapt to it. Change can lead to something better if you overcome your fears and move towards it.

I read The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Woo Hoo! I just finished A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar. It felt like I have been reading that book for months. It is a biography about John Nash a brilliant Mathematician who is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. His life is tragic yet in the end is incredibly hopeful and touching. It is a fairly dry book, but well researched and offers a nice unbiased account of his life.

3 stars

Have you seen the movie, Tara? I enjoyed it.

I have, but it has been a while. One thing reading the book did do was make me want to watch the movie again. I remember really liking the movie. The book had more information on his mathematical work and was just more detailed overall, but I think there would be no way to fit all the information of the book into a movie. I think they picked the best of the book for the movie though.

Re: message 24
Jamie - It's all thanks to our Psychology shelf this month. I might have eventually read it, but probably not anytime soon. You'll have to let me know what you think once you read it.

For March, I read The Bell Jar. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. It was a quick read and it kept me interested throughout. Overall, I found it to be an intriguing glimpse into the life of one suffering from depression. I give it 4 stars.