Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Happy 200th Anniversary, Pride and Prejudice!

January marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. Austen has always had her fans but her novels seem to be increasing in popularity in the last few decades and for good reason. At its heart, Pride and Prejudice is a profound story about the nature of individual identity, the implication of gender roles, the issues of nature vs. nurture, and the disparity of appearance vs. reality. All of these themes are relatable to modern day life making it the perfect time to read this classic for the first time or fall in love with it all over again!

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

Happy 200th Anniversary, Pride and Prejudice!

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