[Pleasure of reading through the forehead mirror]

Doctors need not put aside their scientific curiosity when reading fiction. The search for medical matters in fiction does not put a constraint on the appreciation of literature; it may, in fact, add to the pleasure of reading. This article presents some examples of how novelists use medical matters. Unexpected medical information may be found, and authors' portrayal of doctors as heroes or villains may set off new trains of thought in the reading physician. The pleasures of reading and discovering may benefit doctors as well as patients.