Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Books on the Silver Screen

2014 is turning out to be the kind of year that sees many novels being turned into screenplays. Columnist Gina Vaynshteyn (of Hello Giggles) compiled a list of 17 books that will hit theaters this year. Here are just several of the books that appear on her list (click here to access the full article):

This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
In Gone Girl, Amy Dunne goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary. Her husband, desperate to clear himself of suspicion resulting from incriminating passages written in Amy's diary, realizes that something more disturbing than murder may have occurred.

Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike
Release date: Oct. 3, 2014

Serena by Ron Rash
Newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel to the North Carolina mountains in 1929 where they plan to create a timber empire. The work conditions are harsh, but Serena holds her own and runs a tight ship alongside her husband, ruthlessly killing anyone who falls out of favor. Things start to quickly unravel when George fathers an illegitimate child and Serena finds out that she is unable to bear her own children.

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper
Release date: 2014

This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
In This Is Where I Leave You Judd Foxman's father dies and its the first time in years that he and his dysfunctional family spend any time together. Complicating matters even further, Judd is also dealing with his wife's infidelity and the end of this marriage.

Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver
Release date: Sept. 12, 2014

***Don't get caught wishing you had read the book before you saw the movie!***

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

Books on the Silver Screen

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