Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Wit and Wisdom from Princess Leia, Kelly Kapoor, and Bill Cosby

If you're looking for a few good laughs, try these three new releases:

Is everyone hanging out without me? by Mindy Kaling - The writer and actress best known as Kelly Kapoor on "The Office" shares observations on topics ranging from favorite male archetypes and her hatred of dieting to her relationship with her mother and the haphazard creative process in the "Office" writers' room.
Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher - In a book infused with her trademark incisive wit, the author of Wishful Drinking takes readers on a rollicking, behind the scenes tour of the Star Wars phenomenon.
I didn't ask to be born (but I'm glad I was) by Bill Cosby - In his first humor book since Cosbyology the legendary entertainer and funnyman provides insights on life including how to handle a teenage daughter who refuses to clean her room and a discussion of his antique bible collection.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Wit and Wisdom from Princess Leia, Kelly Kapoor, and Bill Cosby

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