Library Shelfie Day

Posted by Carolyn Martin on January 23rd, 2018 Posted in: Health Literacy, Public Libraries
Tags: reading, social media

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The New York Public Library launched ‘Library Shelfie Day’, a social media event, a few years ago as a way to promote libraries and demonstrate a love of reading. The idea worked well with Instagram and was an international hit with over 1200 posts. Why did people like it so much? A number of factors contributed to this phenomenon. It definitely resonated with what people cared about, their passion for reading.

Wonderful books include both the courageous and inspiring stories of individuals as well as reveal the health barriers members of our society must face. The PNR staff loves to read and here are a few of our favorites that you may want to add to your reading list:

Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Modern Medical Breakthroughs by Morton A. Meyers. Not every modern medical breakthrough is based on evidence-based clinical trials. Serendipity sometimes plays a part. Meyers’ book is a wonderful introduction to many of those happy accidents, including the discovery of early chemotherapy drugs, Viagra, and Thorazine.

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales. I have always been curious about why some people survive and others don’t, be it a health crisis, a terrorist attack, or the zombie apocalypse. Since publishing this book in 2004, Gonzales has written extensively on the art and science of survival, but his original book will remain my favorite. I plan to survive. Will you?
Recommended by Ann Madhavan, Research & Data Coordinator

Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words: Travels with Mom in the Land of Dementia By Kate Whouley. Kate Whouley uses the band she plays flute in as a backdrop for her journey, accompanying her mother through the stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Playing a wind instrument was recommended by her childhood physician as a way to regulate her breathing and keep her asthma under control, and she uses her flute music to help her stay centered and travel through the unfamiliar territory of caring for her mother. This is a helpful book to remind health care providers of what family members are experiencing when a loved one has Alzheimer’s, and to recommend to their patients.
Recommended by Patricia Devine, Outreach & Communications Coordinator

All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann. Through the use of brief text and fun photos of cats, readers of this book will become aware of some characteristics associated with the syndrome such as food preferences and sensitivity to sounds. It provides a nice introduction to the world of Asperger’s syndrome to readers of all ages. Other books by the same author include “All Dogs Have ADHD” and “All Birds Have Anxiety”.
Recommended by Carolyn Martin, Consumer Health Coordinator

Moloka’i by Alan Brennert. This is the moving and beautifully told story of young Rachel Kalama, who, diagnosed with leprosy in the late 1800s in Hawaii, is sent to Moloka’i to live out her life.  Based on the real-life island, on which those with the disease were cared for by missionaries, this unforgettable story manages to be heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson. It seems so obvious now that cholera is spread by contaminated water, but before that discovery it was a mysterious and dreaded scourge. This riveting book tells the history of the both painstaking and ingenious process whereby London’s John Snow, crucially aided by Reverend Henry Whitehead with his knowledge of the epicenter neighborhood and its people, cracked the code (and produced an early incident map that has gained him legions of fans in epidemiology!).
Recommended by Ann Glusker, Research & Data Coordinator

We know you love to read too. So, what’s on your reading list? What books about health are you passionate about? Tweet or Instagram or your other favorite social media platforms and post using #nnlmpnrshelfie tag on Wednesday January 24.