Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Kirkus Top 100 Fiction

Kirkus, one of the top American book review magazines, has released their picks for the top 100 fiction titles of 2012. The titles encompass a number of genres including thrillers, romance, translations, science fiction, and historical fiction ensuring there's something every reader will find enjoyable. Highlights include Billy Lynn's Long Half Time Walk by Ben Fountain and Phillipe Claudel's The Investigation. You can see the whole list here. How many have you read?

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

Kirkus Top 100 Fiction

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