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The Canon of Medicine  can teach you just as much about history as it does medicine. Ibn Sina wrote this book during the Islamic Golden Age, which was around the 8th to 14th centuries. This book specifically was written during the early years of the 11th century. This book was so successful and accurate that it was used in universities around Europe until 6 centuries after Ibn Sina's death. However, this book can also be a primary source when it comes to analyzing the time period of the Golden Age of Islam as well as the change in medical knowledge over time. By looking at this book and comparing the information presented or the explanations given for certain phenomena with our modern-day understandings of these topics, we see that doctors and physicians during Avicenna's time were actually not wrong. Something interesting which piqued my interest was that while the methods used to treat certain problems were accurate, such as massages for muscle soreness, the book would n...

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan intertwines the stories of three musically gifted children who are exceptional harmonica players. Friedrich in Nazi Germany, Mike in the Great Depression, and Ivy during World War II share uniquely captivating stories. The characters experience hardships and discrimination and are forced to cope in their everyday lives. The musical prodigies, however, are unaware that they are fulfilling a prophecy set in motion by a mysterious young boy named Otto.  On the surface, Friedrich is a normal schoolboy in Nazi Germany. However, his family hides their jewish sympathy and even keeps medical secrets from Friedrich, which causes life to become increasingly difficult after Friedrich’s sister declares her allegiance towards Hitler. Friedrich, an apprentice in a harmonica factory, discovers a mysterious harmonica with an M engraved on it. To cope with his increasingly dangerous circumstances, Friedrich loses himself in music and is known to his peers as “monster ...

Quite recently, I read A Mathematician's Apology , an essay written in 1940 by the famous English mathematician, G.H. Hardy. The essay serves as sort of a "defense" for Hardy, with his concern being to explain to the regular layman why he spent his entire life doing mathematics and discuss the beauty and satisfaction that mathematics provides. Hardy wrote this essay when he was 62, which was when his mathematical prowess was slowly dying down. Hardy uses this essay to explain why his branch of mathematics, number theory, is the most beautiful branch of mathematics as back then, it barely had any practical use and mathematicians who would practice number theory mostly did so for the aesthetics of it. Hardy believed that branches of mathematics whose findings could be applied to real life and had any practice use were ugly and dull He says that applied mathematics would give material satisfaction but in the long run, doing pure mathematics that only possesses mathematical ...

It covers a lesser-known society and time period The book covers the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age and the achievements of scholars during that time period. Many people in the Western world have not heard of the Golden Age of Islam and are not aware of the intellectual achievements that happened during this time. The Golden Age is a crucial part of human history, as it helped preserve thousands of years of knowledge during Europe's Dark Ages, thus allowing future European scholars to continue their studies. These European scholars would also then have more data and research on their hands because of the progress that occurred while they were suffering during the Dark Ages.  Even though it is a history book, it is written in a novel style making it much more engaging A lot of time history books can feel like textbooks, making them rather boring with the excessive number of dates and specifics they shove down your throat. This makes the reader far more involved in the...

Why you should read Fake ID by Lamar Giles 1. Fake ID is a creative thriller.  Fake ID revolves around a character going by the alias of Nick Pearson. Unfortunately, Nick’s father constantly cooks up scams and frauds to make some quick cash. Over the past few years, Nick has been protected by the government’s witness protection program, but the FBI has made it known that this is Nick’s father’s last chance to become clean. Moving to Stepton, Virginia is the family’s last hope. After meeting Nick’s student guide at his new school, Eli, he becomes increasingly interested in Eli’s “Whispertown” story that gradually unravels the entire town of Stepton.  2. There are unsuspecting plot twists.  Although there are many twists in Fake ID, they would also spoil the book. Right from the beginning, the book does not disappoint. For example, in the second chapter, Eli mentions “Whispertown” for the first time. Later, when I thought I would be able to figure out what “Whisperto...

Quite recently, I began reading the novel Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. My interest in this book was spurred by my interest in Indian history, which plays a significant role in the plot of the story. Midnight's Children is set in modern India, and the time period of the book ranges from 1915 to the 1970s. The book is the life story of the main character and narrator of the novel, Saleem Sinai. The book starts with the story of Aadam Aziz, Saleem's grandfather, and his transformation into an atheist in 1915 in Kashmir, India. Aadam Aziz has 5 kids, one of them being Mumtaz - Saleem's mom. Mumtaz first marries the refugee Nadir Khan but after her father finds out that she's a virgin two years after marrying him, she divorces him and marries Ahmed Sinai, who changes Mumtaz's name to Amina Sinai. Time passes by and in 1945, the Sinais move to Bombay, which is on the West Coast of India. In late 1946, Amina Sinai becomes pregnant with Saleem, and a cou...

Fat Girl on a Plane targets the modern-day issue of fat-shaming. The main character, Cookie, ironically named after a dessert, has weight issues and a supermodel mother who often leaves her with her grandma. Because of her work at a fashion blog, she gets an opportunity to attend an event where she can apply for a scholarship and show off her fashion portfolio. However, when she arrives in New York to pitch her portfolio, she finds her slot has been replaced by the fashion blog’s boss’s daughter, who is skinny and extremely rich, and much more “acceptable” in the fashion industry compared to 330-pound Cookie. After experiencing many realistic instances of fat-shaming prejudice, Cookie Vonn vows to lose weight and become recognized.  Flash forward, where Cookie is skinny after more than a year in a NutriNation plan. She gets the offer of a lifetime when she is allowed to work with Gareth Miller, an icon in fashion design, and eventually becomes his girlfriend. Because Cookie...