Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Read It Before You See It

Coming to the big screen this December are three more book-to-movie adaptations. There is still time to read the book before you see the movie - here they are in order of release date:

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

An Oprah Book Club 2.0 Selection in 2012, this memoir traces the personal crisis the author endured after the death of her mother and a painful divorce, which prompted her ambition to undertake a dangerous 1,100-mile solo hike that both drove her to rock bottom and helped her to heal.

Movie Title: Wild

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Gaby Hoffmann, and Laura Dern

In Theaters: December 5, 2014

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

Reluctantly investigating a kidnapping threat against his ex-girlfriend's billionaire beau, Doc Sportello tackles a bizarre tangle of nefarious characters and his own marijuana habit before stumbling on a mysterious entity that may actually be a tax shelter for a dental group.

Movie Title: Inherent Vice

Starring: Jena Malone, Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon

In Theaters: December 12, 2014

Unbroken: a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Tells the gripping true story of an Olympic athlete turned U.S. airman who was the soul survivor when his bomber crashed into the sea during World War II and had to face thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, before being rescued by the Japanese Navy and becoming a prisoner until the end of the war.

Movie Title: Unbroken

Starring: Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson; Directed by Angelina Jolie

In Theaters: December 15 2014

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

Read It Before You See It

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