Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: 2011's Top Ten Debut Novels

Enjoy sampling new literary talent? Debut novels are almost always high-quality, because publishers will only gamble on an unknown author if they really believe in his or her book. Plus, reading debuts allows you to discover a new author before anyone else does! In this article from Booklist, the top ten debut novels of 2011 are highlighted. Some, like The Family Fang, The Language of Flowers, and The Submission have been featured previously on this blog. Other first novels on the list available from your Community Library include The Arriviste, The Art of Fielding, The Borrower, Swamplandia!, The Taker, When God was a Rabbit, and The World Beneath. Are there any 2011 debuts you especially enjoyed? Leave a comment!

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

2011's Top Ten Debut Novels

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