Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Dangerous Women

The cross-genre anthology Dangerous Women edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois is a collection of twenty-one short stories celebrating dangerous women, both heroines and villains, and includes a new “Outlander” story by Diana Gabaldon, a tale of Harry Dresden’s world by Jim Butcher, a story from Lev Grossman set in the world of "The Magicians," and a novella by George R. R. Martin about the "Dance of the Dragons," the vast civil war that tore Westeros apart nearly two centuries before the events of "A Game of Thrones."

Also included are original stories of heroines and villains alike by Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Sherilynn Kenyon, Lawrence Block, Carrie Vaughn, S. M. Stirling, Sharon Kay Penman, and many others.

"This meaty collection delivers something for nearly every reader's taste as it explores the heights that brave women can reach and the depths that depraved ones can plumb." (Publishers Weekly Reviews)

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

Dangerous Women

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