Good books ro ready while recovering?

[vhmoriarty]

Well I am planning on my recovery after Nov. 13th. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of good books to read.

I am a HUGE Janet Evanovich fan and I tend to lean towards her books. I have read all 15 of her series of Stephanie Plum. I havent read any of the between the numbers books though.

I tend to like Fiction Comedy books.

Any suggestions?

Also, Im trying to locate some books i can find at my local library about open heart surgery and valve replacement...suggestions?

 

[Freddie]

Just from my personal experience, I was unable to focus on anything. Trying to read a magazine after surgery in the hospital was impossible for me.

FYI - it took me about 8 weeks to even try to focus on the computer.

 

[catwoman]

Magazines or short stories, no novels. You'll lose your train of thought and not be able to remember the entire plot.

I have the Mayo Clinic's and Cleveland Clinic's heart books. Found them at Half-Price Books in Dallas. Don't know if that chain has stores near you. It's a Dallas-based chain, but does have stores throughout the U.S. Great place!

My sister rented lots of movies for me to watch while I stayed at my parents for 2 weeks. Because her daughter was planning an October wedding, my sister's tastes ran toward My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Wedding Singer, etc. She also rented some fantasy movies and comedies, such as Stuart Little, Men in Black & its sequel, etc.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I found the following in the Reference Forum (be sure to select "any date" or "from the beginning" when scanning this forum.
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book recommendation to prepare for emotional aspects of heart surgery

----------------------------------------------------------------
I came across this book and thought I would share it here. One comment on Amazon was from a patient who felt that reading this book helped them better prepare for surgery and recovery.

Coping With Heart Surgery and Bypassing Depression: A Family's Guide to the Medical, Emotional, and Practical Issues
by Carol Cohan MA, June B. Pimm Ph.D.,

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
----------------

I too found this book helpful before my first OHS.
The original edition of this book was published under the title of "Heart Surgery Handbook". I believe the third contributing author's name was (Dr.) .... Jude.

One of our (former?) members, Adam Pick, wrote a book on "Valve Surgery- A Patient's Perspective" or some such title.

There are other possibly interesting resources listed in the Reference Forum (be sure to select 'all dates' or whatever the appropriate choice is when scanning the forum contents).

I agree with the others, you probably won't be able to focus / remember / concentrate well enough to be reading, especially Books, for a while after surgery, especially while in the Hospital. It takes some time for the effects of the anesthesia and other drugs to wear off fully.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Lily]

I enjoy reading too, though I'm not familiar with the authors you mentioned.

But, post-op, I was similar to how Freddie commented, and could not focus on anything for quite some time.

Although this may seem a ridiculous suggestion, I have recently again been enjoying the Anne of Green Gables series. It's pretty simple and sweet, with pleasant humor, and extremely easy to read.

 

[Blanche]

reading materials

reading materials

If you enjoy a particular genre, you might want to look into getting some books with short stories. That may or may not work for you. It is difficult to concentrate after surgery.

When Albert had his surgery, he enjoyed looking at magazines, reading the morning papers, and looking through art books. He also liked magazines with pictures of cars.

Blanche

 

[escargome]

Val,
I took 3 books to the hospital with me. I'm an avid reader. I read 0 books. I truly only wanted to sleep. A magazine or two might be helpful. It may take a little time for the anesthetics to leave your body. Remember, this is YOUR time to rest and get better.

 

[hensylee]

I have an ebook and in exploring all available on Amazon book dept. I find whatever I love. You can go on the site and under books you can find categories. that's how I select the type of books I read. there are a bunch of categories and even if you don't get your books from them, you can find titles and a description of the story and buy them elsewhere. Good luck

 

[vhmoriarty]

I was basically looking for books I could read after I return home for my six-eight weeks. I have plenty of magazines so I will probally lean towards that route. I got a book yesterday about heart surgery by a woman. Its pretty good.

 

[ChouDoufu]

chester anderson, the butterfly kid.

"the hippies had a new kick -- from outer space!"

 

[ponygirlmom]

I read a lot once I got home. Hint: No heavy books! Another hint: Reading out loud to someone else is a really good rehab exercise.

Depending on your meds, you'll find things a lot sadder than usual. It's good that you already like comedies.

I don't really know your taste in books, but I definitely recommend Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Read it before the movie comes out!

About heart surgery books: I don't recommend the Adam Pick book.

 

[Star54]

Before my surgery I downloaded many books to my Kindle to read while recovering, I read "0". Did not have the head for it.
I would instead watch Disney, Fantasy, (Enchanted),Comedy, and my Sci-Fi genre movies. I just did not care to read, nor watch anything sad.....don't know why.
I am finally reading again. One of the authors that I enjoy is Adriana Trigiani, I've read all of her books, they are funny with colorful characters.....
Reading about heart surgery was not on the list....I did read Adam Pick's book pre-surgery.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I read a lot, both before, during, and after my recovery. Janet Evanovich books are fairly short and don't have too complicated of plots, so I think they would be good. I also had puzzle books to get me through the long, boring days.

 

[Yvonne]

I read a lot once I got home. Hint: No heavy books! Another hint: Reading out loud to someone else is a really good rehab exercise.

Depending on your meds, you'll find things a lot sadder than usual. It's good that you already like comedies.

I don't really know your taste in books, but I definitely recommend Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Read it before the movie comes out!

About heart surgery books: I don't recommend the Adam Pick book.

I'm curious - why do you say that about the Adam Pick book? I've been trying to decide if it was worth buying. It's kind of expensive.

 

[Superbob]

I am with Freddie and others on this one -- have been an avid reader all my life, but wasn't really into reading during recovery. My son stocked a bunch of movies for me, and I enjoyed them from my recliner.

 

[Star54]

Adam Picks book, was more "his story". You can read more on here.

 

[ponygirlmom]

I'm curious - why do you say that about the Adam Pick book? I've been trying to decide if it was worth buying. It's kind of expensive.

As far as I know from being an active participant on these boards the past few years, and also from talking to lots of people face-to-face before and after my surgery, some of his experiences are really unusual. You will get a much better idea of what your recovery will be like, particularly the parts immediately after surgery, from reading VR.com.

 

[ponygirlmom]

About concentration

About concentration

A lot of people are saying that they couldn't concentrate on novels for quite a while after surgery, and if the majority of people found that to be true, it's likely that most people will experience it. However, I want to share my experience for all of us "unusual people" out there!

In the first weeks after surgery, I could concentrate on things that truly require concentration, but I had absolutely no patience for things that I can normally enjoy by skimming through.

For example, the first book I read post-surgery was The City of Falling Angels, a non-fiction book about Venice. It is not a "light read" by any means unless you already know all about modern Venice. (I didn't.) I also started learning CSS (a web-design language.) However, I could not enjoy a collection of columns by Dave Barry (I love him) or short, "light" magazine articles or brief newspaper articles or columns.

Yes, that's unusual. But people need to know ALL the possibilities!

 

[barbwil]

Here's the link to Adam's site if you want to check him out:

http://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/heart-valve-help-learning-information.php

 

[vhmoriarty]

I read a lot, both before, during, and after my recovery. Janet Evanovich books are fairly short and don't have too complicated of plots, so I think they would be good. I also had puzzle books to get me through the long, boring days.

Thats the sad but funny part. I have read books 1-15. I love her books. I have yet to read between the numbers books though of hers.