Here's a little light (well, maybe not light) nonfiction that might appeal to local readers.

The Female Brain

By Louann Brizendine, M.D.

Morgan Road Books, 2006, $24.95

This book should be required reading for all women, and it wouldn't hurt for men to give it a glance as well.

Brizendine established the first clinic in the United States to study the brain structure, function and moods of women.

Using information from her research as well as stories from her clinical practice, she offers information specific to women.

According to Brizendine, there are neurological explanations for why women communicate more than men, teenage girls are so obsessed with looks, women recall events that men insist never took place, and much more.

It really gives readers insight into what makes women tick -- and why they react the way they do.

The author is a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco. She is the founder of the Women's and Teen Girls' Mood and Hormone Clinic. She is a graduate of Yale University School of Medicine.

The Soul of a Doctor:

Harvard Medical Students Face Life and Death

Edited by Susan Pories, M.D., Sachin H. Jain, and Gordon Harper, M.D.

Algonquin, 2006, $12.95

Forty-four young medical students in various stages of their education share their thoughts about their chosen careers in essay form.

They talk about learning how to communicate with patients and their families as well as dealing with their own stress.

Patients as well as doctors and those considering the field would benefit from taking a look at this volume.

Pories and her co-editors are all associated with Harvard University.

The Inner Islands

A Carolinian's Sound Country Chronicle

By Bland Simpson with photography by Ann Cary Simpson

UNC Press, 2006, $34.95

Author Bland Simpson, with photos by his wife, Ann Cary Simpson, offers readers a look at an area of North Carolina with which many aren't familiar -- the inner islands.

These islands can be found in the rivers and swamps in the Eastern part of the state between the Outer Banks and mainland.

Simpson shares the histories of these small islands, which often include tales of the Revolutionary and Civil War days as well as weather-related stories. Stories of the Colonial inhabitants as well as those of the current residents round out the book.

He also discusses the wildlife population and environmental issues. Ann Cary Simpson's wonderful photos, and the maps add to the delight of this book.

Simpson, author of "Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals: The Mystery of the Carroll A. Deering" and "Into the Sound Country: A Carolinian's Coastal Plain," a companion piece to this book, teaches creative writing at UNC Chapel Hill. He is a 2005 recipient of the North Carolina Award.

Faye Dasen may be reached at fdasen@thepilot.com or 693-2475.