Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: 'Habit'-forming books on nuns

Escape into richly detailed historical fiction with Simonetta Agnello Hornby's newly-translated book The Nun. In 1839 Italy, young Agata falls in love with a most unsuitable man. To prevent the match, Agata's mother sends her on a long and perilous journey to a convent in the south. As Agata settles into the rhythm of her cloistered existence, she realizes that her feelings for one man may have become eclipsed by her feelings for another, and that her new life in the convent is incompatible with both. Want more fiction featuring nuns? Try the thriller Angelology by Danielle Trussoni, or the "Sister Fidelma" mystery series by Peter Tremayne.

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

'Habit'-forming books on nuns

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