Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Superior Stand Alone Novel from Jo Bannister

The town of Norbold is famous for its low crime rate, thanks to the zero-tolerance policy of Chief Superintendent Fountain. And Norbold's newest police recruit, Hazel, is happy to help keep it that way. But numbers never tell the whole story, do they? Jerome knew he was going to die. He also knew that it would be made to appear like an accident. He might not be able to prevent it, but Jerome was determined to make sure that someone knew what was going to happen - even if that someone was a man with a concussion lying with his dog in a jail cell next to him. After Jerome is found beaten to death by a fellow inmate in another cell, Ash is unable to forget Jerome's last awkward words to him: "I had a dog once. Othello. That was its name. Othello." Certain there is a hidden message in these words, Ash is determined to discover the truth. But it won't be easy - no one believes his account of that night. And Hazel must decide whether pursuing the truth is worth her career. Jo Bannister, known best for her series featuring private investigator Brodie Farrell, knocks it out of the park with this riveting stand alone novel, Deadly Virtues.

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

Superior Stand Alone Novel from Jo Bannister

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