Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: A New Kind of Book Club

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has created a new facebook page just for book discussions called "A Year of Books" in which he plans to suggest a new book to read and discuss every two weeks. According to the page, books chosen "will emphasize learning about new cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies." Visit A Year of Books for more information.

The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being in Charge Isn't What it Used to Be by Moisés Naím

The first book, chosen on Monday, is The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being in Charge Isn't What it Used to Be by Moisés Naím, former editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine who also served as Venezuela’s Minister of Industry and Trade and as executive director of the World Bank. In The End of Power, Naim discusses the changing nature of being in charge and the modern dynamics of power and argues that current leaders actually have less power than ever before.

Amazon sold out of this book in one day (read the news story here) - but you can get a copy of it at the library.

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

A New Kind of Book Club

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