Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Beneath a Starlet Sky

Did you see author Amanda Goldberg talking about her new book Beneath a Starlet Sky on yesterday's Today Show? Check out this lighthearted chick lit selection from your Community Library. Lola Santis - CEO of a struggling fashion line, reformed actorholic, and daughter of Hollywood royalty - is now not only bicoastal, she's bi-lolar: This is the condition that causes her to swing like a pendulum between the opposing poles of fashion world in New York and the real world with her doctor-boyfriend in Los Angeles.

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

Beneath a Starlet Sky

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