Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: New Titles on 'The New York Times' Bestseller List

Check out the hardcover titles below that are appearing for the first time on The New York Times Best Sellers list. (Click here to view the entire list for April 5, 2015).

A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear

NYPD Red 3 by James Patterson

When a billionaire's chauffeur is brutally murdered and his son is abducted, NYPD Red Detective, Zach Jordan and his ex-girlfriend partner, Kylie MacDonald, realize that their own lives are becoming more threatened as they get closer to solving the case. (Publisher Summary)

Hausfrau by Jill Alexander

Enduring private misery in spite of a well-appointed life in suburban Zèurich with her distant Swiss banker husband and young children, Anna Benz experiments with unfulfilling hobbies before engaging in a series of surprising sexual affairs. (Publisher Summary)

A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear

Arriving in turbulent 1937 Gibraltar in the aftermath of a tragedy, Maisie Dobbs raises the British Secret Service's suspicions through her involvement in the murder of a Sephardic Jewish photographer. (Publisher Summary)

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

New Titles on 'The New York Times' Bestseller List

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