Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Book to TV and Stage Alert

Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies, historical novels fictionalizing the life and times of Oliver Cromwell and King Henry VIII court and marriages, have been adapted into a 6-part mini-series titled Wolf Hall airing this month on BBC Two and coming to America's PBS channels in April. The Royal Shakespeare Company is also bringing a version of these novels to Broadway in March.

Here is the trailer from BBC-Two:

There is still time to read these fascinating books before the series airs in April. Click on the book covers above to place the books on hold or stop in today to pick them up.

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

Book to TV and Stage Alert

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