Dr. Bookworm

Dr. Bookworm

gonzo book reviews

These are my riffs on books: old and new, fiction and non- fiction. Enjoy and let me know what you think! 

Cathy Luh

Everything Is Tuberculosis: Not Really an Exaggeration!

What do Ringo Starr, Eleanor Roosevelt, my dad, Erwin Schrodinger (of the cat fame), and all three of the Bronte sisters have in common? The answer is tuberculosis, also known as TB. For Schrodinger, Roosevelt and the Brontes, their TB was fatal.  In some ways, this is the least surprising connection because, according to the…

The Easy Way Out

I’ve written a lot about my early life in these blogposts. Readers know about my childhood in Shanghai, my mom’s daring escape to Hong Kong, my struggles to learn the English language and American culture. I’ve also written a ton about my current life as a happy retiree, living in the St. Louis suburbs with…

I Am Cis. You Are Trans. So What?

He was a slight young man with dirty-blond hair that hung to his shoulders. He wore the drab olive army coat that was favored by all young people, veterans and War protesters, male and female. I asked, “Why are you here today?”  It was the late 1970s. I was on a Psychiatry rotation at the…

Books I Love but Won’t Be Recommending

‘Tis the season to be bombarded with year-end lists: the best or biggest books, movies, music, news stories, climate disasters, recipes, video games, board games, TV shows, sports feats, podcasts. Here’s my list of books I love but won’t be recommending.  My goal is not to waste your time or mine describing books that I…

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.