Good reads

Few pleasures equal the joy of coming up for air after gulping down a good book overnight.

Atul Gawande is a surgeon-writer and remarkable human being. His writing on medicine and public health is absorbing and thought-provoking.

However, his books aren't to everyone's taste in this house. After reading the first chapter of Complications, T put it away. "I'll never understand your fascination for medical gore," he said, looking queasy. Crime writing is more his thing.